The Final Beatles' Recording Session

On April 01 1970, final work was done on three of the tunes for the upcoming "Let It Be" (formerly known as "Get Back") project. The session was held in Studio 1 of EMI/Abbey Road Studios in London.
The participants included producer Phil Spector and Ringo Starr. Also included a 35 piece orchestra, a choir with 14 members, and orchestral arrangement by Richard Hewson (who would later work a lot with Paul McCartney on various Mary Hopkin tunes and is the arranger behind "Thrillington"), John Barham (who would also work on some Apple Records projects) and Brian Rogers.
The first song being worked on was John's "Across The Universe". The song was transferred from the original four track and copied onto eight-track (only using three tracks). The background vocals by the two fans/ Beatles were removed. They then added the choir and the orchestra, extra guitars and Ringo on drums to help keep time. The song was slowed down a key for the final mix.
The second song butchered....uh, I mean re-arranged.....was Paul's "The Long and Winding Road". Supposedly, Paul knew nothing about this session and later claimed anger at the arrangement of his song. The first thing done was to reduced the number of tracks on the original eight track by combining drums and bass onto one track rather than two, and combining Billy Preston's electric piano and George's guitar onto one track as well. Mr Spector than proceeded to add strings, brass, choir and Ringo on the last track. During the mixing process done the next day, two of the stereo mixes were combined.
Lastly, the final song was George's "I Me Mine". Phil Spector had already extended the track by adding a previous verse and chorus repeating instead of once to lengthen the song. Brass, strings and Ringo were added to the song. Thankfully, no choir for this one. The next day, all stereo mixes were completed.
Paul strongly objected to the "The Long and Winding Road" mix and asked that the orchestration be brought down in the mix with the Beatles instrumentation/vocals be brought up. He also asked that the harp at the end be taken out. He was completely ignored. Not the best ending.
All three songs can be heard on the Apple LP/CD "Let It Be".

"You Always Hurt The One You Love" session for Ringo

One last tune for the "Sentimental Journey" LP by Ringo: This one was made popular by the Mills Brothers and entitled "You Always Hurt The One You Love". It was arranged by John Dankworth. He also conducted the backing 20 piece ensemble at De Lane Lea Studios on Februrary 25 with Ringo present for this session. Once the backing was completed, Ringo was called upon to add vocals and finish the recording. The song was also mixed at the same session (in stereo).
The final session took place on March 06 at Morgan Studios when John Dankworth returned to the song in order to add a saxophone solo along with some extra piano and drums. The son was also re-mixed with the additional instruments at Morgan Studios as well.

"Whispering Grass ( Don't Tell the Trees)/Bye Bye Blackbird" session.

During the month of February 1970, both Paul and Ringo had been busy working on their respective Apple solo LPs and in fact, at one point they both used the same recording studio although not at the same time. Morgan Studios in London was used by Paul at first and he have recommended the studio to Ringo at some point at the next Ringo session for the "Sentimental Journey" LP was completed there on March 05 1970.
The two songs recorded and completed (incredibly) in one day, were "Whispering Grass (Don't Tell The Trees)" which was arranged by Ron Goodwin and "Bye Bye Blackbird" which was arranged by non other than Maurice Gibb.
The entire backing session took around three hours to complete with both songs using the same orchestra for the session. Rong Goodwin was first up and conducted the 36 piece orchestra for "Whispering Grass" and once that was perfected, Maurice Gibb stepped up and conducted the orchestra for "Bye Bye Blackbird" adding some banjo and brass.
Next up were Ringo's vocals which he overdubbed onto the backing being double tracked in various places on the song "Bye Bye Blackbird".
The next day (March 06 1970) both songs were mixed in stereo at EMI/Abbey Road Studios with George Martin producing. The songs were eventually released on the Apple LP/CD "Sentimental Journey".

"Kreen-Akrore" Session.

The final instrumental piece and the final song on the "McCartney" solo Apple LP/CD is a tune/improv/drums experiment entitled "Kreen-Akrore". The song and title were inspired by a UK ATV television show on a tribe from the Brazilian jungle known for their defense of their territory  - the Kreen-Akrore Indians. The show's title was "The Tribe That Hides From Man".
The song was recorded at Morgan Studios probably between February 18 and 20 1970 ( the television show aried on the evening of February 17). The song was recorded in two parts: the first part including drums and the addition of organ, piano, guitars, bass as well as their vocals being speeded up to imitate animal sounds as well as hitting the back of a guitar to create that stampede sound. The second part of the song was recorded with more drums and also the addition of vocals, organ and guitar, bass and Paul's heavy breathing. The stereo mix was probably completed around the same time as the completion of the recording on February 20 1970.
It's an interesting experiment but not the best instrumental of the LP. The song has never been performed live as far as I know and can only be found on the "McCartney" album.

"Maybe I'm Amazed" Session

"Maybe I'm Amazed" was recorded and mixed for his first Apple solo LP at Abbey Road/EMI Studio two in one day (February 22 1970). This song featured more instruments than some of the other tunes on the LP with the piano, bass, drums, various guitars and vocals/back up vocals overdubbed mainly by Paul with Linda. The song was written about and written for Linda McCartney. It ended up being the second last song on the B-side ( the sliced Apple side of the "McCartney" LP).
Although the song at the time was not released as a single, there was a promotion film made using Linda McCartney's photo stills and the song aired often on television. When the McCartney catalogue was transferred from Capitol Records to Columbia Records, this version of "Maybe I'm Amazed" was put out as an "oldies" single on Columbia in 1980.
Seven years later at the beginning of 1977, the live version of the song from the LP "Wings Over America" was released on 45 with the B-side being "Soily" - both songs taken from the concert LP. There was also a Capitol promo 12 inch single of the song  (Capitol SPRO 8574/77) mixed and edited in both stereo and fold-down mono. The 45 single reached the 10 ten in the charts in 1977 and has become a classic on 70s radio. The 23 inch single promo was also re-issued for Records Store Day in 2013 by Hear Music.
The song has been a staple of Paul McCartney's live shows starting with both European tours in 1972,  The "James Paul McCartney" television special in 1973, the 1973 UK Tour, it is also featured in the "One Hand Clapping" segment from 1974, the 1975 UK and Australia Tour, the 1976 North American and UK Tour, the "Wings Over The World" television special in 1979, The "Rockshow" movie originally premiering in 1980 and re-issued/remastered in 2013 by MPL, the 1979 UK Tour, the 1989 European and North American Tour, the 1990 UK and US Tour, the "Tripping The Live Fantasic" concert LP from November 1990,  it was also played at the tail end of a "Simpsons" episode in 1995,  the song also appeared in classical form performed by the Loma Mar Quartet on the "Working Classical" LP (EMI Classics) in 1999, it was performed on the "Back in the US/ World" 2002/2003 tours and CDs, the "Paul McCartney In Red Square" DVD from 2005 and the "Space Within Us" DVD from 2006,  it was played on his "On The Run Tour" of 2011 as well as his "Out There" tour of 2013. In 2015, the song was featured on the "Saturday Night Live: 40th Anniversary" special. The song was also performed on his "Freshen UP" tour of 2018.  

"Teddy Boy"

"Teddy Boy" was a song written by Paul McCartney in Rishikesh, India around March of 1968 and later refined in Scotland and London. The song was going to be offered up to The Beatles first for the "White Album" and it was also rehearsed and recorded in January 1969 for the "Get Back/Let It Be" project but was not chosen for official release although early versions of the song appear the Glyn Johns mixes/ sequences for early "Get Back" LP consideration. The revamp was undertaken in early 1970 when "Teddy Boy" was dropped from the sequence with George Harrison's newly recorded "I Me Mine" and "Across The Universe" taking it's place on the LP ("Teddy Boy" is not seen in the movie whereby the other two songs are). The song taken from both the January 24 and January 28 1969 "Get Back/Let It Be" sessions from Apple Studios can be found on the Apple 3 LP/2CD project "Anthology 3".
Paul must have really loved this tune as it was also recorded at his St. John Wood home on his Studer four track machine with acoustic guitar, bass and Paul/Linda vocals (Linda on harmonies). This version was brought to Morgan Studios in London and drums/more vocals were added. The song was also mixed  in stereo at Morgan between February 10/20 1970 and released on the Apple LP/CD "McCartney".

"Momma Miss America" by Paul

"Momma Miss America" is on Paul McCartney's first Apple solo LP known simply by the title "McCartney". This was recorded as two instrumental demo pieces with the first part going under the working title "Rock And Roll Springtime" as evidenced by said title announced before the take. The performances were completed at Paul's home on Cavendish Avenue in London.
The first part of the song consists of an electric guitar with added tremolo, bass, piano and drums. There is an obviously edit just prior to the two-minute mark in the song whereby the second part of the song appears. The instrumentation is different here with the addition of acoustic guitar and straight electric guitar as well as the piano, drums and bass.
The song may have been edited either by Paul or during the mixing stage at EMI Abbey Road Studio 2 in London on February 21 1970.
The song was also used on the soundtrack to the 1996 film "Jerry Maguire" which was probably suggested by director Cameron Crowe. Both the LP version and the soundtrack version have the same stereo mix.

"Oo You" from McCartney

"Oo You" is the first track on side two of the Apple LP "McCartney", Paul's first self made solo LP. This track was developed as an instrumental at his home in St. John's wood probably over the month of January 1970 which included himself recording guitar, drums and bass.
The tape was brought over to Morgan Studios in London whereby Paul thought up some lyrics after a lunch break and overdubbed the vocals when the tape was being transferred at the studio from four track (at home) to eight track (at the Studio).Also added were some percussion instruments, "more guitar" as well as the vocals.
The song was mixed for stereo on or slightly before February 20 1970. As far as I know, it has not been performed live. A great rocker !!

"Blue Turning Grey Over You" for Ringo

Both Ringo's first solo LP "Sentimental Journey" and Paul's first solo LP "McCartney" were simultaneous in their recordings. Paul was conducting sessions at home, in Morgan Studios and at EMI Studios in London while Ringo was also in EMI Studios during the same month (February 1970) but not at the same time in the same place.
"Blue Turning Grey Over You" was written by "Fats" Waller and a hit for the song was by Louis Armstrong. This song was arranged by Oliver Nelson for Ringo to sing on his "Sentimental Journey" Apple LP. A demo of the song for Ringo was recorded at EMI Abbey Road number 2 at the end of November (28) 1969. Six days later on December 04 1969 at EMI Studio 1. A 17 piece orchestra was recorded and according to studio records, nine takes were produced with the last being best.
Next, Ringo's vocals were added to the backing track. His vocals included a bit of scat singing as well.
Fast forward to February 24 1970 (the same date McCartney was recording "Hot As Sun" at Morgan Studios) and Ringo added more vocals onto the backing track at EMI Studios. Ringo's vocals were layered and edited using six reduction mixes. In total, seven stereo mixes were completed to satisfaction by all. The song was released on the Apple LP/CD "Sentimental Journey".

"Man We Was Lonely" Session

The last song on side one of the Apple LP/CD "McCartney" is entitled "Man, We Was Lonely". This song was written by Paul and Linda the morning of February 25 1970 allegedly "in bed" and the lyrics to the song were completed during the lunch hour when the song was recorded at Studio 2 in EMI Abbey Road Studios all on the same day.
It was the last song to be recorded for the LP and started off with acoustic guitar and some guide vocal, the perfection of lyrics and then overdubs including a bass drum, bass guitar, and a "steel guitar" effect whereby Paul used a tuning peg on a Fender Telecaster. The vocals were dubbed onto all this. This is a duet by Paul and Linda with Linda supplying harmonies.
The song was written, recorded and mixed in stereo on the same day (Feb. 25/1970) and the overdubs were put onto take 12 of the song.  Shades of "Instant Karma" with all aspects of the song from writing to mixing in one day.

"Junk" and "Singalong Junk"

"Junk" and "Singalong Junk" were two songs featured on Paul McCartney's first Apple solo LP "McCartney". The working title for the tune was "Jubilee". Both of the songs have the same tune with one being issued with vocals and the other "Singalong" version being an instrumental.
"Junk" was written by Paul back in India in early 1968 and was to be recorded/issued on the "White Album" set but didn't get any further than the Kinfauns/Esher demoes (acoustic demos recorded at George Harrison's home in early summer 1968). A copy of the demo can be found commercially on the Apple 3LP/2CD "Anthology 3" project as well as on the Apple 2LP/CD "Esher Demos" from the 50th anniversary "White Album" package. The song was also busked at one of the recording/film sessions for the "Get Back/Let It Be" project in early January at Twickenham Studios (one source says January 09 1969).
The recording for the solo LP was done in two takes. The first take (take 1) was mainly recorded at McCartney's home with acoustic/electric guitars, piano and bass. Overdubs for the first take were a mellotron keyboard and percussion recorded at Morgan Studios in London (exact date unknown to me). This version has no vocals and is known as "Singalong Junk" (being an instrumental). The song was mixed in late Februrary 1970. The second take was also recorded at McCartney's home with guitar, bass and vocals. Extra vocals and percussion were also overdubbed at Morgan Studios in London and the result was the song "Junk" (with vocals). This was also mixed around the same time frame - late February 1970. Both are stereo only.
"Junk" was also performed live for MTV's "Unplugged" series on January 25 1991. This live version appeared on the Capitol LP "Unplugged: The Official Bootleg" in the same year. "Junk" was also performed as a classical piece by the Loma Mar Quartet and was recorded at EMI Studio One in the winter of 1998-1999. It was released in October of 1999 on EMI Classics 2LP/CD.
"Singalong Junk" appeared on the 1996 movie soundtrack on the Epic CD "Jerry Maguire" which contains the same stereo mix as the commercial LP.

"Hot As Sun/Glasses/Suicide" Recording Session

Three pieces of music were made into a medley for Paul McCartney's first Apple solo LP entitled "McCartney". All of these pieces were recorded in London and mixed in London  The recordings were made at Morgan Studios early in February 1970 (the exact date is unknown) and mixed at EMI Abbey Road Studios 2 on February 24 1970.
The first piece "Hot As Sun" is an instrumental that was written by Paul in the early day of the Quarrymen/ Beatles during their Cavern period . The middle section was added by Paul specifically to complete the song probably before going in to record it. It has all the instruments played by McCartney including: organ, guitars, bass, drums, maracas, bongos and acoustic as well.
The instrumental fades out and the second piece "Glasses" commences. This is basically Paul playing wine glasses several times in a random order and overdubbing his various takes randomly as well.
The wine glasses stop and we hear Paul playing the third and final piece of the "Medley". At the time of release no one knew the title of the song since there is only a small section of the song being sang and it fades out rather quickly. The song in question we later learn is entitled "Suicide" and was written with Frank Sinatra in mind. The entire song can be heard on the "McCartney Archive Collection" 2LP/2CD set on the second disc. There is also video of Paul performing the song at EMI Studios during the taping of "One Hand Clapping" in August 1974 and this visual can also be found on the "Archive" collection. A home studio demo of the song made in Scotland at Rude Studios in 1977 with an extra verse as well as additional bass and drums can be heard on the bootleg CD "Good Times Comin'" by Vigatone. A bit of the song was also performed on the BBC show "Parkinson" in the UK on December 02,1999 with Paul at the grand piano explaining his desire to "give" it to Sinatra.
"Hot As Sun" was also performed live in concert during Wings' 1979 UK tour. The Glasgow 1979 performance can be heard on the bonus audio of the "Archive" collection as well as a video of Wings performing the song for "The Concert For the People of Kampuchea" in December 1979.

"Valentine Day/ Every Night" Recording Sessions

Paul McCartney first Apple solo LP contained the song "Valentine Day" which was recorded initially for further testing of the Studer at Paul's home in St. John's Wood. Paul played all the instruments and it gave him an occasion to show off his guitar skills. The recording started with acoustic guitar and then drums. Electric guitar and bass were added afterwards. The song was mixed at EMI Studios at Abbey Road on February 22 1970.
"Every Night" was an earlier song that existed during the "Get Back/Let It Be" sessions in January 1969 but it's lyrics were not completed until the spring of that year. This particular song was not recorded at Paul's home but it was recorded in Studio 2 of EMI Studios at Abbey Road on February 22 1969 and was mixed two days later on February 24 1969. The instrumental line up played by Paul are as follows: 1. Vocal 2. Acoustic. 3. Drums 4. Bass 5. Acoustic lead 6. Acoustic lead harmony 7. Double tracked vocals. 8. Electric Guitar (not used in the final mix). This should have been a single. "Every Night" was also performed on the Wings UK Tour of November/December 1979 in the set list as well as being performed for the Concerts for the people of Kampuchea and is available on the Atlantic 2-LP set: "Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea". The song was also performed acoustically live for the MTV "Unplugged" series in January of 1991 and released on the Capitol LP: "Unplugged: The Official Bootleg" released in the UK in May of 1991. The song was also performed live during Paul McCartney's 1993 New World Tour of Australia/ New Zealand in March 1993 as well as the North American leg of the tour in April/May/June 1993 and November 1993 in Japan.

"That Would Be Something"

Another track that was written by Paul McCartney pre-Christmas 1969 and recorded at around the same time as his other tune "The Lovely Linda", the song "That Would Be Something" had Paul playing all instruments and vocals. The instrumentation for this one contains electric and acoustic guitar, bass, a single drum "tom" and cymbals.
The song was mixed at Abbey Road (EMI) Studios on February 22 1969 and it was released on Paul's first Apple solo LP "McCartney".
Paul must have been quite fond of this tune as it was performed with his "Off The Ground" band for the taping of MTV's "Unplugged" series on January 25 1991.  The song was also included in the set list for the May/June 1991 UK "surprise gigs. The performances included the same line-up of musicians (the "Off The Ground" band).

"The Lovely Linda" Recording

Paul McCartney had been literally "missing in action" for the last few months of 1969. He had shut himself down and didn't venture out to any public events nor did he attend to any matters relating to the Beatles' company "Apple". In the meantime, to keep himself busy he started to write some new songs, go through some old songs and record a solo album.
The equipment used on some of the tunes were done at 7 Cavendish in London at home with a four track Studer tape machine and a microphone plugged directly through the Studer channel. I guess this basically meant that levels and the equalization of the instruments/vocals would be refined in the mixing stage of the songs.
In order to test out the equipment, McCartney decided to record a short tune dedicated to his lovely wife, Linda. "The Lovely Linda" consisted of acoustic guitar and vocal, second acoustic guitar, percussion and bass guitar - all played by Paul via overdubbing. The song ended up opening the album.
Since the recording equipment arrived at Paul's home before Christmas 1969, most reference books have placed the recording itself in mid December 1969.
The song was mixed in stereo at Abbey Road Studios in the control room of Studio 2 on February 21 1970 after having a trail mix at Morgan Studios in London earlier in February and ultimately rejected in favour of Abbey Road. The work at both Morgan Studios and Abbey Road were booked under the name of "Billy Martin" (a baseball player) as McCartney wanted to keep the recordings secret from the media and the public until it was finished.
"The Lovely Linda" is the opening track on the Apple LP/CD "McCartney".

"Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing" For Ringo

Another selection from Ringo's debut solo LP. This particular tune was written by Paul Webster/ Sammy Fain and the backing orchestra had been arranged by our friend Quincy Jones and conducted / recorded in Hollywood at the A&M studios on boxing day 1969. Ringo added vocals to the backing track on January 1970 at Olympic Studios in London but all of this was rejected and not released.
So, they started again. Another remake of the song with a new backing track and a 16 piece orchestra including Apple artist Billy Preston on organ was completed in 8 takes at Abbey Road Studios on February 03 1970. Ringo added his vocals and son was actually mixed into stereo at the same session. The mix would eventually be scrapped.
Finally, Ringo once again re-did his vocals on February 05 1970. Later on February 17 1970, a string section conducted by Francis Shaw was added to the recording.
The last session took place on February 19 1970 for the song: added were backing vocals and more organ, vibes and flutes. Stereo mixing took place the next day and also on March 06 1970. A lot of work for a weak song from the Apple LP/CD "Sentimental Journey".
You can hear it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOSRf47pUvU

"Have I Told You Lately That I Love you"/ "Let The Rest of the World Go By" sessions.

Two of the upcoming songs for the Ringo Starr debut solo LP "Sentimental Journey" were completed on February 18 1970 with some final vocals from Ringo in Studio 2 of Abbey Road.
The first one, "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" composed by Scott Wiseman had the basic orchestral track done in the USA at A&M studios in Hollywood, California earlier on February 03 1970. The song was arranged by Elmer Bernstein and unfortunately is one of the weaker arrangements in the sense that it sounds very, very outdated and corny. Ringo did a good job of his vocals which were done on February the 18th 1970.
The second tune is "Let The Rest Of the World Go By". Les Reed did the arrangement with orchestra and voices and this was completed six days previous to the vocals on February 12 1970. Once again, Ringo added his final vocals to the song six days later in Studio 2 of Abbey Road on February 18 1970. This song was used as the last track on the LP.
Both songs were commercially released on the Apple LP/CD "Sentimental Journey".

"I'm A Fool To Care" Sessions

Another track for the first Ringo solo LP "Sentimental Journey".  This particular track was arranged by Beatles' Hamburg friend and bass player Klaus Voorman. The song was written by Ted Daffan and was originally a hit for Les Paul and Mary Ford.
The backing track was recorded in Studio 2 of Abbey Road with the instrumental rhythm of drums, bass, horn and piano (supposedly played by Beatles' musical colleague Billy Preston) on February 11 1970. It took 21 takes and the last three takes were edited together for the commercial release. With the addition of an acoustic guitar and Ringo's vocal overdubbed, the song was mixed in stereo.
Six days later on February 17 1970, it was decided to add a 15 piece string section to the recording and therefore there was a tape reduction in order to accommodate this. Lastly, the song was once again mixed to stereo with the new addition on February 20 1970 and this was the final mix.
It was released on the Apple LP/CD "Sentimental Journey" and can be heard here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhFLSBuI9OI

"Instant Karma" Promo Video

On February 11 1970, The Plastic Ono Band required a promotional video (or "film" as they used to call them in those days) for the single "Instant Karma" since it was rising in the charts and it warranted airplay on visual media (television) for the various top ten shows of the day like "Top Of The Pops" , etc.
It was decided to do a "live" type version of the song. Engineer Geoff Emerick took the song and created a mono mix of the tune as well as removing the vocals in the verses so that it would appear "live" when John sang it. This unique mix was conducted two days before the performance inside Abbey Road Studios.
The actual visual performance was conducted for BBC1 at the Television Center (Studio 8) in London.  John sat behind a piano and sang the song live, Klaus Voorman mined the bass part and Alan White mimed the drums and Yoko appeared near John's piano either knitting blindfolded or holding up placards.
There are two versions of the video: One has John and Yoko (knitting) in black turtlenecks (take 3) and it features Mal Evans on tambourine and a second bass player - a Mr. BP Fallon. The second version has John in a paisley type shirt (take 4) and a jean jacket. Yoko also is wearing a jean jacket and holding placards with various logos printed on them while miming to the song. Mal Evans is not present on this version but has been replaced on tambourine by the above Mr. BP Fallon.
A bootleg of the video soundtrack (take 3) can be heard on the unofficial LP "Doll's House" and (take 4) can be seen on the 1992 "The John Lennon Video Collection".
You can watch take 3 on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLy2SaSQAtA

"Dream" Sessions

"Dream" was a song composed by Johnny Mercer and was an early contender for the upcoming Ringo Starr solo LP "Sentimental Journey". The backing track featuring bass, drums and a guitar were recorded in Trident Studios London on November 14.
After the basic track was completed, Ringo decided to add some of his vocals to the tune and ended up over-dubbing two or three different voices to give him a "group" effect sounding like more than one guy singing the song. Once completed, the tape was brought over to Abbey Road and a rough mix was done by Geoff Emerick four days later.
George Martin wrote the orchestral score for the song and it was added to the track in EMI Studio 2 months later on February 10 1970. Once this was completed, the song was mixed in stereo only on February 20 1970 probably at EMI as well.
The song was released commercially on all copies of the Apple LP/CD "Sentimental Journey".
You can hear it here as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc-JtwzKP-I