As described in his 1968 book The Beatles, Davies witnessed pretty much the same things that we did watching the new documentary - the endless pounding away of Paul on piano and John on acoustic guitar, the occasional germ of a line for the lyrics, the multiple suggestions until just the right combination of words is found, the sudden sidetracks to off-topic subjects or playing of favorite oldies, and the equally abrupt return to the task at hand. After several hours of this, they called Ringo to inform him that his song was ready to record that evening, even though only the refrain and one verse (the second) was actually written at the time.
The group did meet soon thereafter at Abbey Road Studios, where they must have really gotten down to business, finishing up the writing of the other verse and the bridge, and working out the arrangement. By the time they were ready to record, it had been determined that With a Little Help from My Friends would immediately follow the album's title song and that Ringo would be the singer referred to in that earlier song as Billy Shears. Thus, this recording began with the section linking the two songs.
With Ringo on drums, George on electric guitar, Paul on piano and John at the ready with a cowbell, they recorded ten takes of the basic track. Producer George Martin joined them on Hammond organ, but only for the brief linking section. Take one, which quickly breaks down, and take two can be heard on the 50th anniversary editions of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. A good deal of rehearsal must have preceded the rolling of the tape, because the band's arrangement is completely set, even with no vocal to guide them.
With take ten chosen as the master, Ringo tried to slip away, but Paul and the others called him back to record his lead vocal part. Though it took him several attempts to hit and hold the final high note, he delivered one of his best vocals, despite (or perhaps because of) his exhaustion.
Much of the next day, March 30th, was devoted to shooting the elaborate cover for the album. The recording session thus began at a very late hour, but the boys were energized from the excitement of the day's shoot. Paul and John (and possibly George) added and overdubbed the backing vocals, George played a few electric guitar flourishes and Ringo added tambourine. It was only after everything else had been recorded that Paul sat down to add his bass part, which pretty much serves as the lead instrument for most of the song.
A brilliant final touch was added on April 6th. The tapes of the 1964 and 1965 Hollywood Bowl shows were retrieved from the archives and a snippet of screaming fans was added to aid the transition from the Sgt. Pepper theme to the introduction of Billy Shears.
In the group's post-career compilations, With a Little Help from My Friends is always linked to the title song, as on the Blue Album from 1973 and the 1999 Yellow Submarine Songtrack. Actually, only a few opening lines of Ringo's song are heard in the animated film, and, curiously, everyone points to the character of John as Billy Shears is introduced.
The tune naturally became Ringo's signature song, even eclipsing Yellow Submarine. He has included With a Little Help from My Friends many times over the years in his performances with the various line-ups of his All-Starr Band - groups that have been built based on the premise of the song. Lennon helped cement the status of the song as Ringo's defining number by writing I'm the Greatest for the 1973 album Ringo. Sadly, Paul was not asked to participate in the recording, but John, George, and Billy Preston, with old Hamburg friend Klaus Voorman on bass, back Mr. Starkey as he sings, "Yes, my name is Billy Shears/You know it has been for so many years..." They even remembered to add some screaming fans to the track at this point.
Despite the fact that With a Little Help from My Friends is forever tied to Ringo, I feel compelled to mention Joe Cocker's searing vocal performance on his stunning version of the song from 1968. When this was used as the theme song to the TV show The Wonder Years in the 1990's, there were many who had no idea that it was originally a tune from the Beatles.
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