Oh! Darling
Encyclopedia
"Oh! Darling" is a song by The Beatles
composed by Paul McCartney
(credited to Lennon–McCartney) and appearing as the fourth song on the album, Abbey Road, in 1969. Its working title was "Oh! Darling (I'll Never Do You No Harm)". Although not issued as a single in either the United Kingdom or the United States, a regional subsidiary of Capitol successfully edited it as a single in Central America, having "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" as its B-side. It was also issued as a single in Portugal.
In a 1980 interview with Playboy
magazine, John Lennon
said, "'Oh! Darling' was a great one of Paul's that he didn't sing too well. I always thought I could have done it better—it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he's going to sing it."
George Harrison
described the song as "a typical 1950s–'60s-period song because of its chord structure."
sessions, Lennon announced, "Just heard that Yoko
's divorce has just gone through", after which he and the band burst into an improvised version of the song, substituting "I'm free at last" for a part of the lyric. The song and the following improvisation are included on the Anthology 3
CD.
, the backing vocals were "exquisite", but "sadly underplayed in the mix."
; it also seems to have drawn on the Louisiana swamp blues
sound found in songs like Slim Harpo
's "Raining In My Heart". Furthermore, it may have drawn on the related Louisiana genre known today as swamp pop
, whose distinctive sound bears an uncanny resemblance to the basic structure of "Oh! Darling" — so much so that some in Louisiana originally thought the song had been recorded by a local musician. (When swamp pop musician John Fred
met The Beatles in London
in the 1960s, he was shocked to learn that "they were very familiar with Louisiana music.") Fittingly, swamp pop musician Jay Randall eventually covered "Oh! Darling" for the Lanor label of Church Point
, Louisiana.
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
composed by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
(credited to Lennon–McCartney) and appearing as the fourth song on the album, Abbey Road, in 1969. Its working title was "Oh! Darling (I'll Never Do You No Harm)". Although not issued as a single in either the United Kingdom or the United States, a regional subsidiary of Capitol successfully edited it as a single in Central America, having "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" as its B-side. It was also issued as a single in Portugal.
Background
McCartney later said of recording the track, "When we were recording 'Oh! Darling' I came into the studios early every day for a week to sing it by myself because at first my voice was too clear. I wanted it to sound as though I'd been performing it on stage all week." He would only try the song once each day; if it was not right he would wait until the next day, in order to make sure he got every precious first take right. He once lamented that "five years ago I could have done this in one take".In a 1980 interview with Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
said, "'Oh! Darling' was a great one of Paul's that he didn't sing too well. I always thought I could have done it better—it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he's going to sing it."
George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
described the song as "a typical 1950s–'60s-period song because of its chord structure."
Let It Be session
After an early attempt at this song on 27 January 1969 during the Let It BeLet It Be (album)
Let It Be is the 12th and final studio album released by the English rock band The Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970 by the band's Apple Records label shortly after the group announced their break-up....
sessions, Lennon announced, "Just heard that Yoko
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
's divorce has just gone through", after which he and the band burst into an improvised version of the song, substituting "I'm free at last" for a part of the lyric. The song and the following improvisation are included on the Anthology 3
Anthology 3
Anthology 3 is a compilation album by The Beatles released in October 1996 by Apple Records as part of The Beatles Anthology series. The album includes rarities and alternative tracks from the final two years of the band's career, ranging from the initial sessions for The Beatles to the last...
CD.
Recording
The basic track was recorded on 20 April 1969, but there were many overdub sessions, including multiple attempts at the lead vocal by McCartney (as described above). According to Ian MacDonaldIan MacDonald
Ian MacCormick was a British music critic and author, best known for Revolution in the Head, his forensic history of The Beatles which borrowed techniques from art historians, and The New Shostakovich, a controversial study of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich...
, the backing vocals were "exquisite", but "sadly underplayed in the mix."
Influences
"Oh! Darling" appears to have drawn heavily on the New Orleans rhythm and blues sound popularised during the 1950s and early 1960s by African-American musicians like Fats DominoFats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
; it also seems to have drawn on the Louisiana swamp blues
Swamp blues
Swamp blues, sometimes the Excello sound, is a sub-genre of blues music and a variation of Louisiana blues that developed around Baton Rouge in the 1950s and which reached a peak of popularity in the 1960s. It generally has a slow tempo and incorporates influences from other genres of music,...
sound found in songs like Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo was an American blues musician. He was known as a master of the blues harmonica; the name "Slim Harpo" was derived from "harp," the popular nickname for the harmonica in blues circles.-Early life:...
's "Raining In My Heart". Furthermore, it may have drawn on the related Louisiana genre known today as swamp pop
Swamp pop
Swamp rock is a musical genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s and early 1960s by teenaged Cajuns and black Creoles, it combines New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and traditional French...
, whose distinctive sound bears an uncanny resemblance to the basic structure of "Oh! Darling" — so much so that some in Louisiana originally thought the song had been recorded by a local musician. (When swamp pop musician John Fred
John Fred
John Fred was a blue-eyed soul, Cajun swamp pop and bubble-gum pop performer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, best known for the song, "Judy in Disguise ".-Career:...
met The Beatles in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the 1960s, he was shocked to learn that "they were very familiar with Louisiana music.") Fittingly, swamp pop musician Jay Randall eventually covered "Oh! Darling" for the Lanor label of Church Point
Church Point, Louisiana
Church Point is a town in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,756 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Louisiana.
Cover versions
- Robin GibbRobin GibbRobin Hugh Gibb, CBE is a British singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the Bee Gees, co-founded with his twin brother Maurice , and elder brother Barry....
recorded "Oh! Darling" in 1977 for the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a 1978 American musical film. Its soundtrack, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, features new versions of songs originally written and performed by The Beatles. The film draws primarily from two of their albums, 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club...
. Released in 1978 as a single, it reached #15 on Billboard's Hot 100 in September. - Huey LewisHuey LewisHuey Lewis is an American musician, songwriter and occasional actor.Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs...
recorded a version for the 1995 Beatles' tribute Come Together: America Salutes The BeatlesCome Together: America Salutes The BeatlesCome Together: America Salutes The Beatles is a tribute album to The Beatles. Released in 1995 on Liberty Records, the album features covers of various Beatles songs, as performed by country music artists. The album cover features artwork by John Lennon.-Track listing:-Chart performance:...
. - George BensonGeorge BensonGeorge Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
also recorded a version for The Other Side of Abbey Road EP. - Glam Metal band LondonLondon (heavy metal band)London is an American heavy metal band, based in Hollywood, California. The band is perhaps most notable for featuring members that would go on to play in more famous bands such as Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, W.A.S.P...
also recorded a version for the Don't Cry WolfDon't Cry Wolf (album)Don't Cry Wolf was the second album by London, released in 1986.The song "For Whom the Bell Tolls" was co-written by Blackie Lawless, he later recorded his own version with W.A.S.P., featured on the album The Headless Children....
album. - Graham BonnetGraham BonnetGraham Bonnet is an English rock vocalist, and songwriter. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist, and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, the Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri.-Early days:Bonnet was born in Skegness in 1947...
included his own version of this song in the 1999 album The Day I Went MadThe Day I Went MadThe Day I Went Mad is the sixth solo album by English rock singer Graham Bonnet, originally released in 1999. Much like his previous solo efforts, Bonnet enlisted a host of guest musicians for the recording, including former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell and...
, featuring SlashSlash (musician)Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
on guitar. - It also appears in the movie Across the UniverseAcross the Universe (film)Across the Universe is a musical romantic drama film directed by Julie Taymor, produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film's plot is centered around songs by The Beatles. It was released in the United States on October 12, 2007. The script is based on an original...
sung by the characters Sadie (Dana FuchsDana FuchsDana Fuchs is an American singer, songwriter, actress and voice over talent most famous for her performance in the 2007 film Across the Universe, in which she played the role of Sadie.-Early life:...
) and Jojo (Martin Luther McCoyMartin Luther McCoyMartin Luther McCoy is an American musician and actor. The San Francisco native collaborated extensively with musicians like The Roots and Cody ChesnuTT and appears as one of the six lead characters in the 2007 Beatles musical Across the Universe in the role of "Jo-Jo", who reflects Jimi Hendrix...
). - Etta ScolloEtta ScolloEtta Scollo is an Italian singer and songwriter.Her music combines traditional Sicilian music, pop and jazz.-Biography:Born in Catania, Italy, she moved to Turin to study Architecture...
recorded an Italian version in 1988 - Bela Fleck and the FlecktonesBéla Fleck and the FlecktonesBéla Fleck and the Flecktones is a primarily instrumental group from the United States, that draws equally on bluegrass, fusion and jazz, sometimes dubbed "blu-bop". The band formed in 1988, initially to perform once on the PBS series Lonesome Pine Specials. The Flecktones have toured extensively...
recorded a version for Live ArtLive ArtLive Art is the fifth album released by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and their first non-studio album. It was recorded live at various concerts between 1992 and 1996 and features ten guest musicians....
, with John CowanJohn CowanJohn Cowan is an American soul music and progressive bluegrass vocalist and bass guitar player. He was the lead vocalist and bass player for the New Grass Revival...
providing the vocals - Sara BareillesSara BareillesSara Beth Bareilles is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song", which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. She has sold over 1 million records in the United States alone and has been...
sang "Oh! Darling" in 2007 as the last song for her appearance on Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Live from Abbey RoadLive from Abbey RoadLive from Abbey Road is a 12-part, one-hour performance series/documentary that began filming its first season during 2006 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Season 2 was filmed between 2007 and 2008, season 3 was filmed in 2009 and Season 4 was filmed in 2011...
. It featured only herself on lead vocals and her guitarist playing rhythm guitar. - Florence + the Machine play a live version on the second CD of the special box set edition of LungsLungs (album)Lungs is the debut album by English indie pop band Florence and the Machine, released 6 July 2009 by Island Records. The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart for five weeks after its release, behind The Essential Michael Jackson compilation. On 10 January 2010 the album returned to...
. - Sum 41Sum 41Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of members Deryck Whibley , Tom Thacker , Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz .In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records...
played this song live during 2007/08. - Katelyn Epperly sung this song live on American IdolAmerican Idol (season 9)The ninth season of American Idol premiered on January 12, 2010 and concluded on May 26, 2010 on Fox. Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi all returned as judges, and Ellen DeGeneres permanently replaced Paula Abdul as the fourth judge. Idol Gives Back also returned for the season and was...
during the Top 24. - HansonHanson (band)Hanson are an American pop rock band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Isaac , Taylor , and Zac Hanson . They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations...
regularly play a cover of the song live featuring Zac HansonZac HansonZachary Walker "Zac" Hanson is an American musician, best known as a member of the pop band Hanson. He plays drums, percussion, piano, guitar and also sings back-up and lead vocals...
on vocals. - The Beatles tribute supergroupSupergroup (music)In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Yellow Matter CustardYellow Matter CustardYellow Matter Custard is a Beatles tribute supergroup consisting of Mike Portnoy , Neal Morse , Paul Gilbert , Matt Bissonette...
(Mike PortnoyMike PortnoyMichael Stephen "Mike" Portnoy is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and a co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater, as well as the temporary drummer for the hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold. Known for his drumming prowess and technical...
, Neal MorseNeal MorseNeal Morse is an American multi-instrumentalist and progressive rock composer based in Nashville, Tennessee.-Background:...
, Paul GilbertPaul GilbertPaul Brandon Gilbert is an American guitarist. He is well known for his technical guitar work with Racer X and Mr...
and Matt BissonetteMatt BissonetteMatt Bissonette is an American bass player and the brother of drummer Gregg Bissonette. He attended the University of North Texas's jazz music program. According to Guitar 9, an online musicianship magazine, he has played bass and other stringed instruments on at least 22 albums, with music...
) performed this song on their live double CD and DVD One Night in New York City. - ModelsModels (band)Models were an alternative rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1978 and went into hiatus in 1988. They are often incorrectly referred to as The Models. They re-formed in 2000, 2006 and 2008 to perform reunion concerts. "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", their only No. 1 hit,...
, an Australian alternative rock group covered the song and released it as a non-album single. - Connie EvingsonConnie EvingsonConnie Evingson is an American singer who performs jazz and pop music. She is lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has been a guest soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony. She has appeared with Doc Severinsen and Bobby McFerrin...
, a jazz singer, released a cover of "Oh! Darling" and other songs by the Beatles in 2003 for Let It Be Jazz: Connie Evingson Sings The Beatles.
Personnel
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
– leadLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
and backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
– backing vocals, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
– backing vocals, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald