January 1967

Filming: Strawberry Fields Forever

The second day of filming for the Strawberry Fields Forever promotional clip took place on this day at Knole Park in Sevenoaks, Kent.

Mixing: A Day In The Life

Studio Three (control room), EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick A rough mono mix of A Day In The Life was made in the control room of Studio Three on this day. It was for demo purposes and wasn't intended for release, as recording wasn't yet complete on the song.

Filming: Strawberry Fields Forever

Having decided that their next single would be the double a-side Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane, The Beatles took part in promotional films. Work began on this day in Knole Park in Sevenoaks, Kent.

Mixing: Penny Lane

Studio One (control room), EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick The recording of Penny Lane had finished on 17 January 1967, but work wasn't completed to The Beatles' satisfaction until this day.

Recording: A Day In The Life

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick This second session for A Day In The Life began with three reduction mixes to reduce four tracks down to two. Afterwards the rhythm parts were on track one and the vocals, double tracked at times, and occasional piano onto track two.

Recording: A Day In The Life

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick The Beatles began work on the finale of their Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album on this day, recording four takes of A Day In The Life.

Recording, mixing: Penny Lane

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick The recording of Penny Lane was completed during this session, which began at 7pm and finished at 12.30am the following morning.

John Lennon begins writing A Day In The Life

The Beatles began recording A Day In The Life, with the working title In The Life Of..., on 19 January 1967. Two days previously, however, two stories were published in the Daily Mail newspaper which provided John Lennon with inspiration for the lyrics.

Recording, mixing: Penny Lane

Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick This session, which began at 2.30pm and ended at 11pm, saw the second set of session musicians record contributions to Penny Lane, following the 9 January 1967 addition of flutes of trumpets.

McCartney and Starr watch Jimi Hendrix in London

On this evening Paul McCartney saw trumpet player David Mason performing Bach's Brandenburg Concerto Number 2 in F Major with the English Chamber Orchestra from Guildford Cathedral, on the the BBC 2 television series Masterworks. Impressed with what he heard, McCartney decided to use him for the final overdub on Penny Lane.

Recording: Penny Lane

Studio Three, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick The Beatles switched from Studio Two to the smaller Studio Three for this overdub session for Penny Lane, which took place from 7pm to 1.40am.

Recording, mixing: Penny Lane

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick Penny Lane was almost complete prior to this session, but required some additional overdubs by session musicians.

Recording: Penny Lane

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick On 4 January 1967 The Beatles had added piano and guitar parts to track two of the Penny Lane four-track tape. During this session those overdubs were wiped, and replaced with rhythm guitar, bass guitar, drums and congas, the latter played by John... Read more »

Recording: Penny Lane, Carnival Of Light

Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road Producer: George Martin Engineer: Geoff Emerick The Beatles worked on two recordings during this session: their next single Penny Lane, and a long-unreleased piece known as Carnival Of Light.