What Goes On (The Beatles song)

Infobox Single
Name = What Goes On
Writer = Lennon/McCartney/Starkey


Artist = The Beatles
from Album = Rubber Soul (UK) Yesterday ... and Today (US)
A-side = "Nowhere Man"
Released = 15 February 1966 (US)
Format = 7"
Recorded = Abbey Road Studios 21 October 1965
Genre = Country rock
Length = 2:50
Label = Parlophone (UK) Capitol (US) 5587
Producer = George Martin
Chart position =

• #81 (US)

Last single = "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper" (1965)
This single = "Nowhere Man" (US-1966)
Next single = "Paperback Writer" (1966)
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Album = Rubber Soul
Type = studio
Tracks = ;Side one
# "Drive My Car"
# "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
# "You Won't See Me"
# "Nowhere Man"
# "Think for Yourself"
# "The Word"
# "Michelle";Side two
# "What Goes On"
# "Girl"
# "I'm Looking Through You"
# "In My Life"
# "Wait"
# "If I Needed Someone"
# "Run for Your Life"

"What Goes On" is a song by The Beatles, featured as the eighth track on their sixth UK album "Rubber Soul". The song was later released as the tenth track on the American-only album "Yesterday and Today". The song-writing credit is Lennon/McCartney/Starkey. The original version of the song was written by John Lennon in the Quarrymen dayscite book |author=David Sheff |title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono |pages=178 |year=2000 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=0-312-25464-4] and considered as a follow-up to "Please Please Me" in early 1963,cite book |author=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=28 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0-517-57066-1] The song was not used until 1965 as Ringo Starr's vocal piece for "Rubber Soul". According to Lennon, "it was resurrected with a middle eight thrown in, probably with Paul's help" for "Rubber Soul". Barry Miles also claimed that McCartney and Starr combined for the middle eight.cite book |author=Barry Miles |title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now |year=1997 |pages=275 |publisher=Henry Holt & Company |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-5249-6] There is no formal middle eight in the song, though one chorus and one verse are extended; Ian MacDonald believes those longer sections were written by McCartney.cite book |author=Ian MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head: the Beatles' Records and the Sixties |year=1994 |pages=142 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-2780-7] Starr contributed to the lyrics, his first-ever composing credit on a Beatles song. However, when asked what his contribution was to the song, Starr jokingly stated, "About five words, and I haven't done a thing since." To his chagrin, the first pressing of the single accidentally omitted "Starkey" in the song-writing credit.

Richie Unterberger, in Allmusic, says the song is an enjoyable, but lightweight, country & western-flavored entry in the Beatles catalog. Unterberger praises George Harrison's guitar work, which "again marks him as the finest disciple of Carl Perkins,"cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:5nk9kextgq7c |title=Allmusic Review of What Goes On |accessdate=2007-02-26] and the guitar work is indeed similar to "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", a Perkins cover version the Beatles released on "Beatles for Sale".

Recording

As mentioned above, an early version was considered as a follow-up to "Please Please Me", and the Beatles hoped to record it on 5 March, 1963, but there was only time for the other songs recorded that night: "From Me to You", "Thank You Girl", and an early version of "One After 909".

The "Rubber Soul" version was recorded in one take, with overdubs, on 4 November, 1965. During this session the Beatles recorded a long (6:36) instrumental tune called "12-Bar Original" for lack of a better name.cite book |author=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=67] "12-Bar Original" was not included on "Rubber Soul", and was not commercially available until 1996 when an edited version of take 2 of this song was included on the "Anthology 2" album.

Cover versions

*In 2005, Sufjan Stevens covered the song on the compilation "This Bird Has Flown - A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul". Sufjan's version only keeps the lyrics of the original, as he takes his own interpretation on the melody and arrangement [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15821-this-bird-has-flown-a-tribute-to-the-beatles-rubber-soul Various Artists: This Bird Has Flown: A Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul: Pitchfork Record Review ] ]
*In 2006 and 2008, Ringo Starr performed "What Goes On" live as part of that year's "All Starr Tour".

Notes

References

*Turner, Steve. "A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song", Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X

External links

* [http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/what-goes-on/ The Beatles Bible: What Goes On]