Oh! Darling

"Oh! Darling"
Song by The Beatles from the album Abbey Road
Released	26 September 1969
Recorded	20 April – 11 August 1969
Genre	Swamp pop, R&B
Length	3:26
Label	Apple Records
Writer	Lennon–McCartney
Producer	George Martin
Abbey Road track listing
17 tracks Side one "Come Together" "Something" "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" "Oh! Darling" "Octopus's Garden" "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" Side two "Here Comes the Sun" "Because" "You Never Give Me Your Money" "Sun King" "Mean Mr. Mustard" "Polythene Pam" "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" "Golden Slumbers" "Carry That Weight" "The End" "Her Majesty"

"Oh! Darling" is a song by The Beatles composed by Paul McCartney^[1] (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and appearing as the fourth song on the album, Abbey Road, in 1969. Its working title was "Oh! Darling (I'll Never Do You No Harm)".^[2] Although not issued as a single in either the United Kingdom or the United States, a regional subsidiary of Capitol successfully edited it as a single in Central America, having "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" as its B-side. It was also issued as a single in Portugal.

Background

McCartney later said of recording the track, "When we were recording 'Oh! Darling' I came into the studios early every day for a week to sing it by myself because at first my voice was too clear. I wanted it to sound as though I'd been performing it on stage all week."^[3] He would only try the song once each day; if it was not right he would wait until the next day, in order to make sure he got every precious first take right. He once lamented that "five years ago I could have done this in one take".^{[citation needed]} In a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine, John Lennon said, "'Oh! Darling' was a great one of Paul's that he didn't sing too well. I always thought I could have done it better—it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he's going to sing it."^[1]

George Harrison described the song as "a typical 1950s–'60s-period song because of its chord structure."^[4]

Let It Be session

After an early attempt at this song on 27 January 1969 during the Let It Be sessions, Lennon announced, "Just heard that Yoko's divorce has just gone through", after which he and the band burst into an improvised version of the song, substituting "I'm free at last" for a part of the lyric.^[5] The song and the following improvisation are included on the Anthology 3 CD.

Recording

The basic track was recorded on 20 April 1969, but there were many overdub sessions, including multiple attempts at the lead vocal by McCartney (as described above).^[2] According to Ian MacDonald, the backing vocals were "exquisite", but "sadly underplayed in the mix."^[6]

Influences

"Oh! Darling" appears to have drawn heavily on the New Orleans rhythm and blues sound popularised during the 1950s and early 1960s by African-American musicians like Fats Domino; it also seems to have drawn on the Louisiana swamp blues sound found in songs like Slim Harpo's "Raining In My Heart". Furthermore, it may have drawn on the related Louisiana genre known today as swamp pop, whose distinctive sound bears an uncanny resemblance to the basic structure of "Oh! Darling" — so much so that some in Louisiana originally thought the song had been recorded by a local musician.^[4] (When swamp pop musician John Fred met The Beatles in London in the 1960s, he was shocked to learn that "they were very familiar with Louisiana music.") Fittingly, swamp pop musician Jay Randall eventually covered "Oh! Darling" for the Lanor label of Church Point, Louisiana.^[7]

Cover versions

• Robin Gibb recorded "Oh! Darling" in 1977 for the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Released in 1978 as a single, it reached #15 on Billboard's Hot 100 in September.
• Huey Lewis recorded a version for the 1995 Beatles' tribute Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles.
• George Benson also recorded a version for The Other Side of Abbey Road EP.
• Glam Metal band London also recorded a version for the Don't Cry Wolf album.
• Graham Bonnet included his own version of this song in the 1999 album The Day I Went Mad, featuring Slash on guitar.
• It also appears in the movie Across the Universe sung by the characters Sadie (Dana Fuchs) and Jojo (Martin Luther McCoy).
• Etta Scollo recorded an Italian version in 1988
• Bela Fleck and the Flecktones recorded a version for Live Art, with John Cowan providing the vocals
• Sara Bareilles sang "Oh! Darling" in 2007 as the last song for her appearance on Channel 4's Live from Abbey Road. It featured only herself on lead vocals and her guitarist playing rhythm guitar.
• Florence + the Machine play a live version on the second CD of the special box set edition of Lungs.
• Sum 41 played this song live during 2007/08.
• Katelyn Epperly sung this song live on American Idol during the Top 24.
• Hanson regularly play a cover of the song live featuring Zac Hanson on vocals.
• The Beatles tribute supergroup Yellow Matter Custard (Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Paul Gilbert and Matt Bissonette) performed this song on their live double CD and DVD One Night in New York City.
• Models, an Australian alternative rock group covered the song and released it as a non-album single.
• Connie Evingson, a jazz singer, released a cover of "Oh! Darling" and other songs by the Beatles in 2003 for Let It Be Jazz: Connie Evingson Sings The Beatles.

Personnel

• Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocals, bass
• John Lennon – backing vocals, piano
• George Harrison – backing vocals, guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums

Personnel per Ian MacDonald^[6]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Sheff 2000, p. 203.
2. ^ ^{a b} Lewisohn 1988, p. 174.
3. ^ The Beatles 2000, p. 339.
4. ^ ^{a b} Bernard 1993, p. 106.
5. ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 168.
6. ^ ^{a b} MacDonald 2005, p. 350.
7. ^ Bernard 1993, pp. 106–107.

References

• The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8. 
• Bernard, Shane K. (1993). Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. 
• Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1. 
• MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3. 
• Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4. 

External links

• Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Oh! Darling"