Hello again, and welcome to the weekend. Hope your all well.
As 1966 came close to an end, December 9th launched
a Beatles Oldies but Goodies LP direct from the vault of EMI, which triggered a
mind blown rumor the lads had faltered on
demand. News spread their musical reign vanished,
washed up, dried out and had nothing more to give. Part of the gossip
pointed blame toward all termination with touring. So, with the stick to their
guns’ policy of no more concerts, the Beatles answered the call from Manager
Brian Epstein and producer George Martin to write and record music for a new
album. Enter Sgt. Pepper. Through months of hard work and sealed lips against the media,
well-nigh every song was complete
and fashioned around a decent arrangement, except for one, needed to spotlight drummer
Richie. Paul knew he had to whip up some type of playful ditty immersed in a
children’s style chorus for Ringo that followed the fascination formula done so
well on Yellow Submarine––and what a masterpiece he established. McCartney must
have swallowed the concept of how “Less is More” because the melody of each
verse took only five notes––a task Ringo appreciated to no end––huh, not
counting the high closing note their percussionist fussed and complained about
often that he couldn’t reach it without adding an awful strain to his already
inferior and weak vocal. Well, as Paul’s grandfather in A Hard Day’s Night
would say, “Poor little Richard, have you no natural resources of your own?”,
Ringo dreaded every ounce of his effort to climb the melodic scale and belt out
the horrendous top note. But he did it after great encouragement and a few tips
from Paul. However, that high note wasn’t the first major complaint the
shortest member with the deepest voice had over this song. Mr. Starr brought an
even larger protest to the board room. His legitimate gripe was the outlandish,
in his opinion, lyric, by which he asserted, was asking for assault and battery
to his face, either on the stage or just out and about in public. You see, In
the beginning, this clever song had the first verse sound off with a question.
John liked Paul’s idea of having a question open the tune and in reply to
Paul’s inquiry, John let his tongue spill out the obvious people wish to do
when they hear rubbish. Read the line Ringo refused to sing . . . (What would you think if I sang out of tune? Would you throw rotten tomatoes at me?) Ringo
remembers it as written, (What would you do if I sang out of tune, would you
stand up and throw tomatoes at me.) The Beatles’ best film actor understood he
wasn’t a singer and realized his featured tracks on previous albums had areas
where they drifted off key. But he wasn’t keen on becoming an exposed target,
based on a thought provoked invitation. Hence, the line was changed.
How did the title start with Bad Finger Boogie? Before Paul showed the melody to his
composing partner, John had slightly damaged his forefinger and felt much too
sore to play guitar or keyboard. After he arrived at McCartney’s home, he used
his middle finger to ka-plunk the melody on the piano Paul had taught him for
Ringo to sing. It was at that point the awkward sensation and appearance in
using the middle finger birthed the silly name. I can’t say how long John’s
finger caused him pain, but I know that the last time he used his guitar was
while recording Getting Better on March 9, 1967. Twenty days later the lads
laid down ten takes inside the studio for Ringo’s, With A Little Help From My
Friends, and the only instrument John played was the cowbell.
A final side note,
sad as it is, this song happened to be little Sean’s favorite just before his
famous father perished, gunned down at the Dakota in New York City. However, it’s
by far my favorite Ringo lead vocal song and when I perform the tune at
restaurants or assisted living facilities, several sing along and enjoy the happy-go-lucky feeling that dominates the
room when played.
We all can benefit with a little help from our friends.
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