Geoffrey Ernest Emerick was an English sound engineer and record producer who worked with the Beatles on their albums Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and Abbey Road (1969). Beatles producer George Martin credited him with bringing "a new kind of mind to the recordings, always suggesting sonic ideas, different kinds of reverb, what we could do with the voices".
"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written and composed primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney.
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' first release on their Apple record label and one of the "First Four" singles by Apple's roster of artists, marking the label's public launch. "Hey Jude" was a number-one hit in many countries around the world and became the year's top-selling single in the UK, the US, Australia and Canada. Its nine-week run at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 tied the all-time record in 1968 for the longest run at the top of the US charts, a record it held for nine years. It has sold approximately eight million copies and is frequently included on music critics' lists of the greatest songs of all time.
Apple Records is a British record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger and Billy Preston. In practice, the roster had become dominated by the mid-1970s with releases of the former Beatles as solo artists. Allen Klein managed the label from 1969 to 1973, then it was managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the Beatles and their heirs. Aspinall retired in 2007 and was replaced by Jeff Jones.
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" otherwise known as simply "Norwegian Wood", is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album Rubber Soul. It was written mainly by John Lennon, with lyrical contributions from Paul McCartney, and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. Influenced by the introspective lyrics of Bob Dylan, the song is considered a milestone in the Beatles' development as songwriters. The track features a sitar part, played by lead guitarist George Harrison, that marked the first appearance of the Indian string instrument on a Western rock recording. The song was a number 1 hit in Australia when released on a single there in 1966, coupled with "Nowhere Man".
Mary Hopkin, credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists to be signed to the Beatles' Apple label.
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song is about a student named Maxwell Edison who commits murders with a hammer, with the dark lyrics disguised by an upbeat sound. McCartney described the song as symbolic of the downfalls of life, being "my analogy for when something goes wrong out of the blue, as it so often does".
"Blackbird" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney with minor lyrical contributions from John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, and performed as a solo piece by McCartney. When discussing the song, McCartney has said that the lyrics were inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird in Rishikesh, India, and by racial tension in the Southern United States.
"The End" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was composed by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was the last song recorded collectively by all four Beatles, and is the final song of the medley that constitutes the majority of side two of the album. The song features the only drum solo recorded by Ringo Starr with the Beatles.
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Following the album's release, the song was issued as a single in many countries, although not in the United Kingdom or the United States, and topped singles charts in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and West Germany. When belatedly issued as a single in the United States in 1976, it peaked at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"The Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles that was released as a non-album single in May 1969. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, and chronicles the events surrounding the wedding of Lennon and Yoko Ono. The song was the Beatles' 17th UK number-one single and their last for 54 years until "Now and Then" in 2023. In the United States, it was banned by some radio stations due to the lyrics' reference to Christ and crucifixion. The single peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song has subsequently appeared on compilation albums such as Hey Jude, 1967–1970, Past Masters, and 1.
"Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The lyrics contain sayings the Beatles heard from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, with whom they studied Transcendental Meditation in India in early 1968. In his subsequent comments on the song, Lennon said it addressed his bandmates' initial reaction to his relationship with Yoko Ono. Recorded early in the sessions for the White Album, the track typifies Lennon and the Beatles' return to a rock sound in 1968 after their psychedelic period.
"Lovely Rita" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written mainly by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It is about a meter maid and the narrator's affection for her.
"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It is the fifth track of their third UK album A Hard Day's Night and was released 20 July 1964, along with "If I Fell", as a single release by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Those Were the Days" is a song credited to Gene Raskin, who put a new English lyric to the Russian romance song "Дорогой длинною", composed by Boris Fomin (1900–1948) with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevsky. It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism. It also deals with tavern activities, which include drinking, singing and dancing.
Grapefruit were a London-based British band of the late 1960s, brought together by Terry Doran of Apple Publishing, a music publishing company started and owned by the Beatles. Their brand of music was a typical late 1960s blend of rock, which they often fused with psychedelic effects such as phasers and vocoders, or classical arrangements.
"If You've Got Trouble" is a song written by Lennon–McCartney and recorded by the Beatles on 18 February 1965 with Ringo Starr singing the lead vocal. The song was intended to be Starr's vocal appearance on the Help! album and the Help! film, but the Beatles were not happy with the recording and later chose to cover "Act Naturally" instead. "If You've Got Trouble" remained unreleased until Anthology 2 in 1996.
"Sour Milk Sea" is a song written by George Harrison and released by English rock singer Jackie Lomax as his debut single on the Beatles' Apple record label in August 1968. Harrison wrote the song during the Beatles' stay in Rishikesh, India and gave it to Lomax to help launch Apple Records. Lomax's recording is a rarity among non-Beatles songs since it features three members of the band – Harrison, who also produced the track, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Performed in the hard rock style, the song also includes musical contributions from Eric Clapton and session pianist Nicky Hopkins. It was the first of many Harrison productions for artists signed to the Beatles' record label.
"Goodbye" is a song written by Paul McCartney and performed by Mary Hopkin. It was released on 28 March 1969, and it reached No. 2 in the UK singles chart, prevented from reaching the top position by the Beatles' single "Get Back". In the US, released 7 April 1969, the song reached No. 13 on the singles chart. In the Netherlands and Ireland the single peaked at No. 1.
Brother is the debut album by the American pop-rock duo Lon & Derrek Van Eaton. It was released on the Beatles' Apple record label in September 1972 in the United States and February 1973 in Britain. It includes the single "Sweet Music", produced by George Harrison, and was otherwise produced by Klaus Voormann, a friend and longtime associate of the Beatles. On release, the album received favorable reviews from music critics but failed to achieve commercial success. Rolling Stone critic Stephen Holden hailed it as a "staggeringly impressive first album".
