Episode 14: I'd Love to Turn You On
We open in Manila, in the Republic of the Philippines, July 3rd, 1966. The second stop of the Far East leg of the Beatles’ 1966 tour starts out weird and ominous, and gets worse from there. By the time the tour sputters to a halt—late August in San Francisco—the boys are almighty sick of it.
We talk about how an offhand remark by John Lennon to a British journalist gets taken out of context and blown out of proportion. The ensuing controversy in America only confirms something The Beatles have been thinking for a while, and the decision is made: No more touring.
We talk about the year leading up to the Sgt. Pepper sessions, and how Rubber Soul and Revolver lead up to Pepper. At the beginning of the Revolver sessions, Geoff Emerick enters The Beatles’ orbit, and this whiz-kid recording engineer helps The Beatles establish their new direction.
We close with a discussion of Sgt. Pepper, and how it set the tone for the Summer of Love. The Summer of Love—and what happens next—will be the topic of the next two episodes, so come on back!
Songs
The Beatles: “Drive My Car” from Rubber Soul, 1965 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Day Tripper” Single Released December 1965, Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Help!” from Help! 1965 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “I Want to Tell You” from Revolver, 1966 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “The Word” from Rubber Soul, 1965 Parlophone Records
Gram Parsons and The Fallen Angels: “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,” from Live 1973, Warner Brothers
The Beatles: “I’m Looking Through You” from Rubber Soul, 1965 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “And Your Bird Can Sing” from Revolver, 1966 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Tomorrow Never Knows” from Revolver, 1966 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Strawberry Fields Forever” single released February 1967, Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Penny Lane” single released February 1967, Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Fixing a Hole” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “Within You Without You” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967 Parlophone Records
The Beatles: “A Day in the Life” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967 Parlophone Records
Books
Emerick, Geoff and Massey, Howard: Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles; 2006 Penguin Books
Everett, Walter: The Beatles as Musicians, Vol 2: Revolver Through Anthology; 1999 Oxford University Press
MacDonald, Ian: Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the 1960s; 1994 Chicago Review Press Schonfield, Hugh: The Passover Plot; 1965 Hutchinson Publishing
Slate, Jeff: “Sgt. Pepper and America,” from the liner notes to the 50th Anniversary Edition of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; 2017 Apple Entertainment Ltd.
Spitz, Bob: The Beatles: The Biography; 2004 Little, Brown, and Company
Turner, Steve: Beatles ’66: The Revolutionary Year; 2016 Harper Collins
Magazine Articles
Dawidoff, Nicholas: How The Beatles Wrote A Day in the Life, Atlantic Monthly, May 2017; retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/05/how-the-beatles-wrote-a-day-in-the-life/527001/
Films and Documentaries:
Beatles Anthology: six DVD set, three audio CDs, and accompanying book, 2001 Apple Entertainment Ltd.
The Making of Sgt. Pepper, from “The South Bank Show,” first broadcast 1992, ITV (United Kingdom); retrieved from http://www.beatlesonfilm.rocks/documentaries_3.html
Online Sources, by Topic in Order of Appearance
Cultural Impact of Sgt. Pepper: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/review-the-beatles-sgt-peppers-anniversary-editions-w484397
LSD and Rock Music: Rock N Roll Archaeology Podcast, Episode Nine: The Medium, The Message, The Music, 2016 DiY and HoW Studios; retrieved from: http://www.rocknrollarchaeology.com/new-blog-3/
Errors and Corrections:
From about 40:02 to about 40:22 in the podcast, Christian reads:
"(S)o was John’s determination to convey what he felt, to honor the starry images of his Woolton childhood. Martin listened— sitting erect, arms folded across his chest, legs crossed— as impassively as possible, but his ears burned with excitement."
That's a quote from Bob Spitz's "The Beatles: the Biography." That quote should have been done by our voice actor, and properly credited to Bob Spitz. No biggie--we cite this source elsewhere in the program and show notes. But it's a beautifully written bit and we want to give credit where--and when--it's due.
We regret the error. Now go buy Bob's book!