The next ditty on side two of the double Apple LP/CD "The Beatles" (White Album) is an original Lennon/McCartney composition mainly written by Paul entitled "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" which is the greatest Beatles song ever recorded. The inspiration came to Paul while he was in India and noticed the monkeys fucking in the middle of the road, hence the title.
The song was recorded on October 09 1968 (John Lennon's Birthday) with Paul McCartney inside EMI studio one and Ken Townsend from EMI in the control room manning the four track tape machine. Five takes of the song were recorded with Paul experimenting on the first four takes using a soft falsetto voice and alternating with the loud raucous rock 'n' roll voice. All of the basic five takes were recorded with Paul on vocal and acoustic guitar. An outtake, take four, is available on the Apple/EMI 2-LP/2-CD "Anthology 3". Upon take five where McCartney used his rocker voice throughout, this take was considered as the keeper and Paul overdubbed a piano on top of the acoustic/vocal take.
The next day on October 10 1968, the recording was moved to EMI studio three. The original McCartney vocal was wiped and Paul added new vocals. Also added were handclaps, bass guitar and Ringo joining in on the drums. A tape reduction was attempted and completed due to the four tracks being filled up and then the final overdub of a lead guitar was added to the song by Paul.
"Why Don't We Do It In The Road" was mixed for mono and stereo overnight during a long session between October 16 and October 17 1968 from all rooms at EMI. There is a difference between the mono and stereo mixes in the handclaps performed during the intro of the song.
"Why Don't We Do It In The Road" is available on the Apple/EMI 2-LP/2-CD "The Beatles" (White Album). It has not been performed live.
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