The Beatles - (The History of) Strawberry Fields - Part 1

[Colin0513]

You have to remember that the album that became Sgt.Pepper was supposed to be a theme album about the Liverpool childhoods of The Beatles,however,when the Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane single was released(due in large part to pressure placed on the band by Capitol Records and Brian Epstein),the concept was dumped!

[ternak001]

3:15 that's the jacket the beatles wore on their last 1966 tour

[sembraunangelocaduto]

I have the shivers when I hear your voice....

[sembraunangelocaduto]

I love you, John...

[MattHatter]

MY GOSH....are the pics at 2:00 the actual photos of them arriving for the first session for "Strawberry Fields" on Nov. 24, 1966?! Paul was the only one sporting a mustache at that point! They must have all decided to grow them after Paul did! Like, "Well mate, if you're gonna wear one, then we all are."

[Colin0513]

@MattHatter Paul actually had a very cosmetic reason for growing his moustache,on November 9,1966,Paul had gotten into a moped accident(urban legend was that he and Tara Browne,heir to the Guinness fortune were stoned out of their minds while driving them),as a result of this accident,one of Paul's bottom teeth went through his upper lip,leaving a nasty scar,so Paul grew the moustache to cover it up,the incident would haunt Paul as it provided fodder for the "Paul is Dead"rumours if 1969!

[doubleDdog09]

for some reason i like to think that john meeting yoko influenced their music, until he let her into the studio of course. because he met her on november 9th, and before that he was having trouble with the song, then after he met her, strawberry fields kind of started to fall into place and become one of the best songs ever recorded..

[registerman07]

Just in case the only other person who keeps track of stuff like this besides me looks at this, the pictures at 2:00 are of the Beatles when they re-entered the studio in November, 1966, while the ones following are from late February/early March 1967. I haven't seen any of these photos before this video. Where the hell did they come from?

[manyoutooktoomuch]

is that a mellotron string sample at the end of the november 24th take?

[mppaiges]

I know the history very well, the beginning of chapter1 is the ONLY time you get to hear John writing this in Spain..It is a fact that you are in on John's best song and G,P,AND R HAVEN'T HEARD IT YET.Like being secret friends with John and hearing his new song first...thanks so much, blessings to you ,may John's beautiful and tormented voice rule the airwaves forever..no one wrote like that, no

one sang like that..it was HIS band.....much love. Michael

[Taxi502]

@mppaiges couldnt agree more except, paul george and ringo made the beatles awesome too along with john. some of the beatles best songs were written and song by paul and george. i mean for george, rolling stone mag voted "something" the number one love song of all time. and as for paul, i'll follow the sun, she's a woman, got to get you into my life, and let it be are as good as any of johns songs. dont get me wrong john has an amazing voice and it transcends most vocalists

[vectortemple]

wonderful - thank you!

[wodrummerworld]

thanks for posting this. It's a walk down memory lane of sorts (except there weren't YouTube videos and internet connections back then, just radio, LP's 45 rpm records, and once in a while a promotional video on TV.

[apeshitdig]

It sure is

[adamr63]

Love the 'Beatles '65' style at 1:50!

[apeshitdig]

That's yoko in the background at Kenwood I think

Kenwood not Keenwood

[vespaciao1968]

Thank you very much! Wonderfull!

[ThankfulForLife52]

No, I haven't seen this before. Thanks for sharing, Laura!

Kathy

[DieHardBeatlesFan]

Brilliant  GR8 share Laura - Thanx

[1Beatlemaniac1]

FANTASTIC!!!!

[migroja]

Im a fan of beatles

[loughman4life]

@migroja 

[Calaitafan]

@migroja aha

[Calaitafan]

0:27 nice my Picture i was made

[Banghouseisaphony]

Or maybe it's Ringo's wife, Maureen?

[gigidulou]

great photographs of a very creative period of the band.really HUGE

What man has done a song so much intropective with so much grace?thank you mr martin

[pythongoon]

very interesting.my fav beatles song.

[ludachris475]

Hehe, Brian Epstein.

[croopshoe2]

Thats brian Epstine Stupid!

[dragonbladeclock]

on 3:33 there is a ghost next to john or its a reflection on the window

[tarutcha66]

yes is belcebu ghost.

[Banghouseisaphony]

LOL! Yes, I think it's Brian.  And who's the bird giving John a lap dance? Cynthia?

[Viznel137]

One of Lennon's best BAR NONE!!!

[woodrailking]

At 2:52, John is holding the "Electronic Music" record.

[Guitar4Life2007]

its all on the anthology

[zrexrob]

in the begining i think somthing was wrong with johns voice

[supermaus1980]

Versions I never heard, pictures I´ve never seen..thank you very much for posting this!

[aron4him]

No, this version of Strawberry Fields wouldn't have been as strong or as good as the finished product(didn't care for the lead guitar solos or the organ sound on this take).

The only way it COULD have been a better song is if John sang and played it with acoustic guitar only, maybe strings(ala Paul's "Yesterday") and with backing harmonies by Paul and George(similiar to "Here, There, and Everywhere").

[Protoman91]

where did you find this?

[mmhussainliu]

No one I think is in my tree; I mean it must be high or low---



Exactly how I feel Mr. Lennon

I don't know exactly what it is but he knew exactly what to say

[liverpoolishgirl]

It's not a graveyard, you know. Never was. Get it right.

[5inthehole]

I always found "take one" to be something special. Lennon at his best.

[tripper85]

lol..whats with the negro kid(2:16)..

[mmhussainliu]

he's probably an orphan standing in front of strawberry fields (the sign is sort of a giveaway) ;) lol

[lazrpo1nt3r]

I fail to see the humor...

[tripper85]

do u?

[tripper85]

lol..Whats with the negro kid

[beatlz1]

strawberry feilds is a graveyard

[beefy7147]

hey buddy strawberry fields isnt a graveyard its an orphanage that john and his aunt mimi would go to annualy for its carnaval type event

[daleroes]

In addition to its namesake, which inspired John Lennon's song, Strawbery Fields is now also the name of a memorial to John Lennon located in Central Park across the street from the Dakota building in the sixties or seventies blocks on CPW in NYC where Lennon and Yoko Ono settled in the 1970's.

[liverpoolishgirl]

SF was a Salvation Army orphanage just around the corner from the house where John grew up on Menlove Avenue. He did go there for the annual summer concert with his Aunt Mimi, but also used to sneak in by himself. Abandoned because foster parenting arose as a better way to take care of orpans. Yoko gave them some money and there was a John Lennon Hall - it was torn down.

And BTW, the Mayseles movie in the Plaza hotel - John is playing SF in February 1964. Must have been in his head that long!

[CliffRichardsNeck]

i've still got a pea-sized chunk of the gateposts me bruv chipped off back in the 70's. he got spotted and chased by a gardener!

(ps..it's kenwood in weybridge)

[Aenthrallya1]

Its like were hearing the birth of a miracle.

[richardturnerflorida]

thanks for the history lesson.great stuff

[chestertouristcom]

thanks for posting, very interesting ...

[speak4you]

It seems that John must have tripped across the melody and put it to tape so he wouldn't forget it. Keith Richards did the same on "Satisfaction" where he put the riff to tape because he was afraid he'd forget it once he fell asleep. So, he got the riff and then 30 minutes of his snoring. We owe a lot to analog tape!

[AdamShanklyUK]

There's just something about this song, I dunno what it is, that absolutely mesmorises me, maybe the melody, maybe the mellotron, maybe the lyrics, but it's magic, I love it

[captainbeefheart07]

who would have thought a few scousers from liverpool changed the world 4ever were not english were scouse Y.N.W.A JFT96 SCOUSE POWER

[lennonpresley69]

Take 1 doesn't sound anything like the final take, neither do the demos, but take 1 is my favorite take of the song, and I wish they released that one.

[garriaga21]

a similar version appears on the LOVE(2006)album

[goldhat3]

Great story and video. Thanks for posting all of them.

[beatless8]

Does anyone know where to get a full version of the acoustic part? Like a bootleg cd or something? It is my favorite version of my favorite song.

[Albertanator]

Man..John's voice is just so wonderful...unique and beautiful!!

[RATTLEY67]

One of me favorite trippy songs. Thank you.

[lennonpresley69]

The version that begins at 2:03 is actually the first take of Strawberry Fields Forever!

[JimiHendrix574]

is that how long it takes to write a song. Fuck. Now i know where i'm going wrong.

[runnin0nbravado]

i here ya

[asdf02160]

The version that begins at 2:03 is possibly my favorite version of any song, ever!

[bloodnokian]

Wow....I've heard all versions of Strawberry Fields but where the hell did you get the first one done while filming 'How I won the war'?

Brilliant, thanks!

[txeenee]

Terrific! Made my night. thanks

[nudger08]

cheers for the vid

quailty

[mujlzoo]

beautifully put together, accuracy & precision!! as is pt.2 thank you.

[dariouzz]

it makes me cry

[nbkid]

On the video/DVD Beatles first visit to usa, you can hear the intro to this song as john is dabbling. So he already had the intro BEFORE the ed sullivan show!!!

[speak4you]

That's the music portion. He lived near the orphanage and was, thus, inspired well before he became a Moondog.

[nbkid]

They recently just shut down the place.

[speak4you]

Nice work! Lennon's absolute soul. However, kinda shows one just how important Mr. Martin truly was. And, let's not forget Mr. Brian Wilson: Those rumbling cellos in Strawberry Fields seem like they're straight out of "Good Vibrations". Fuckin' cross-Antlantic cross-pollination! I miss John, even though he's still here.

[Pabe125]

The one of November 24 1966 is now used on the song of the album The Beatles - Love, just listen

[johnlemmon]

brilliant collection...thanks...

[shockingblue55]

Very nice, many thanks for this video!

[BeatsonsGirl84]

Wow, it that the very first time John sang it at the beginning? I've never heard that version before.

[smokindog]

Oh hell yes! Thanks

[pabruk]

very rare pics

[paulreeve]

I do believe that is Graham Chapman (left at 1:46) ! Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Undergroundvision]

I think that's Peter Cook.

[paulreeve]

Thanks Underground.You may well be right. I'm still not too sure so I'll ask a an expert who works for EMI and if he doesn't know then at least he'll know someone who does..Expect the true identity very soon!

[paulreeve]

Yes Underground. You are right!

[paulreeve]

Informative and well put together.Well done and thanks for taking the trouble.

[Butlins]

Very interesting and great to hear.