Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

John Lennon was usually upfront when speaking about the intentions behind any of his compositions, so when he declared that the initials LSD in the title Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds were not arranged that way on purpose, you can be pretty certain that that is indeed the case.  Supposedly, his son Julian simply spoke those exact words when asked what a drawing he was showing to his father depicted.  Of course, the Through the Looking Glass imagery crafted by Lennon and McCartney into the lyrics of the song inspired by that drawing just happened to coincide perfectly with the psychedelic movement of 1967.

The Beatles were already a few months into working on the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band when they turned their collective attention to this composition on February 28th.  Unusually, that entire session was devoted to merely rehearsing the arrangement of the number, without a single take.  Recording of the basic track commenced on March 1st, featuring the lineup of John singing a guide vocal and shaking maracas, George on acoustic guitar, Ringo on drums, producer George Martin on piano and Paul on the Lowery DSO organ.  Paul plays the distinctive opening passage of the song on this organ and continues using this "voice" throughout the verses, switching to a more conventional organ sound for the refrains.

A bonus track on the 50th anniversary editions of Sgt. Pepper allows us to hear take one, starting with a little chatter before they all launch into the song.  John only sings the verses, remaining silent every time the refrain comes around.  After the take, Paul suggests that John alter his stacatto-like delivery of the lines to a more flowing style, something John readily agrees to.  Anthology 2 gives us take six from this day, although overdubbed vocals are added.

The master is take seven, which was most notable for the fact that George abandoned his acoustic guitar for a droning tamboura, changing the overall feel of the soundscape to something decidedly more exotic.  A reduction mix of the four track tape completed the day's work.

All overdubs were done on March 2nd.  John recorded his dreamy lead vocal as Paul joined in for each refrain.  John then double-tracked his vocal in places and Paul added high harmonies to the refrains.  The final touches were Paul's bass part and a distorted electric guitar part played by George.  Including the rehearsals on February 28th, twenty-four total hours were spent on the song, yet it was still one of the quickest recordings of the Sgt. Pepper sessions.

Though no single was released from Sgt. Pepper, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds proved to be a standout on the album, becoming such a well-known track that it was an obvious choice for the Blue Album in 1973.  The song is used to great effect in the animated film Yellow Submarine.  Though it does not advance the story in any way, it is one of the most visually stunning and psychedelic sequences in the movie, which is saying a lot.  A new mix of the song appears on the 1999 album Yellow Submarine Songtrack.

John Lennon was involved in another studio recording of the song in 1974, playing rhythm guitar and singing backing vocals on a rather odd arrangement by Elton John.  This version jumps from a slow, dreamlike style to a quirky reggae interlude and back again.  It was released as a single and went to number one.  When Lennon joined Elton onstage at Madison Square Garden on Thanksgiving Day of '74, their live performance of the number was recorded and wound up being issued on various compilations by both artists over the years.