Julia

John Lennon's beautiful, heartfelt song about his mother significantly proved to be the only time he ever made a solo recording and attributed it to the Beatles.  Julia also serves as a sort of bookend for John's work on the "White Album" - it was one of the first compositions he wrote for the album, yet it wound up being the last one recorded.

The Beatles' retreat in Rishikesh, India in the spring of 1968 was a prolific time for John, Paul and George, with each of them inspired to write numerous compositions.  John numbered his handwritten lyric sheets from this time, and Julia was given the number one, perhaps indicating that it was the first song he wrote while there.  The three Beatles also spent a good deal of time with their acoustic guitars learning a fingerpicking style taught to them by singer-songwriter Donovan and his friend Gypsy Dave.  In addition, Donovan claims that John asked him for a bit of help with the lyrics for this song.

And, of course, John eventually revealed that his mother is not the only woman referenced in the song.  He had begun receiving mail from Yoko while he was in India, with cryptic messages such as "I am a cloud."  This gave him some of his imagery, along with her very name, which roughly translates as "ocean child."

Julia was among the demos recorded at George Harrison's house in May before work on the album began.  John's demo for this song is remarkably like the finished product, with two acoustic guitars and overlapping lead vocals.  The only major difference is Paul attempting some high harmonies in the background.

The recording session for this number took place on October 13th of 1968.  Though John performed the song as a solo, Paul was present in the booth along with producer George Martin.  A great discovery was made a few years ago when the 50th anniversary edition of the "White Album" was in the works.  Some rehearsals were preserved at the end of the master tape before it was rewound for the first official take.  We therefore get to hear John try the song while strumming his guitar, saying it is easier to sing it that way.  He then reverts to the fingerpicking style for one final runthrough.

Take two appears on Anthology 3.  John sings only the first line or so of the song, then concentrates on his fingerpicking.  He only gets about halfway through the number before it breaks down.  What follows is, for me, the most fascinating and revealing exchange in the entire Anthology series as Paul pipes in with some encouragement from the booth.  John sounds almost embarrassed - he clearly stills values his partner's input at this point in their relationship despite the strains that were beginning to rise to the surface during these five-month-long sessions.

The next take, take three, proved to be the master.  John then double-tracked his acoustic guitar part as well as his lead vocal to recreate the overlapping voices he had used so effectively years earlier for the song Any Time at All.

Julia is placed at the end of side two on the double album The Beatles.  It immediately follows Paul's equally-beautiful ballad I Will, but it stands in stark contrast to that slickly-produced number.  John's song is raw and personal, his pitch faltering at times.  It sets the stage for an outpouring of first-person pieces by him in the years to come, peaking with the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.