The legacy
While it was well-known that The Beatles recorded most of their music at EMI Studios in Abbey Road, the release of the album made the building, and the street on which it stands, world famous. In the early 1970s the company officially changed the studio's name to Abbey Road Studios, to acknowledge the legacy bestowed upon it by The Beatles.
The pedestrian crossing outside the studio, too, is a favourite destination for tourists, with countless photographs being taken of fans following in The Beatles' footsteps. A webcam was later installed to give fans outside London a chance to see the crossing at any time.
The artwork has been much-mimicked and parodied in the years since Abbey Road's release, by musicians including Booker T and the MGs, Kanye West, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. In 1993 Paul McCartney even adapted the original artwork for his album Paul Is Live.
'Paul is dead'
McCartney wore sandals for the first two shots taken by Iain Macmillan, but afterwards took them off and walked barefoot. This action became one of the 'clues' in the Paul Is Dead myth, which began in September 1969.
There were said to be three clues on the front cover:
- The order in which The Beatles walked was said to make reference to a funeral procession, with John Lennon dressed all in white as a priest; Ringo Starr in a black suit as an undertaker; McCartney being barefoot, as many corpses would have been buried; and George Harrison following as a gravedigger. McCartney was also out of step with the others, with his eyes closed.
- McCartney was pictured holding a cigarette with his right hand. However, it was well known that he was left-handed, suggesting that an impostor was in his place.
- A Volkswagen Beetle car in the background has the numberplate LMW 28IF. LMW was taken to mean 'Linda McCartney weeps', and 28IF was interpreted as referring to Paul's age if he had lived. However, at the time of Abbey Road's release in 1969 he would have been 27, rather than 28.
Furthermore, on the back cover a ghostly face, fancifully believed by some to be the Grim Reaper, is cast by a shadow onto the wall next to The Beatles' name.
Chart success
Abbey Road was released in the United Kindom on 26 September 1969, as Apple PCS 7088, and in the United States on 1 October 1969 as Apple SO-383.
Advance orders in the UK were more than 190,000. The album entered the UK albums chart at number one on 4 October, and remained there for 11 consecutive weeks. It spent a further six weeks at the top from 27 December, having briefly been displaced by The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed, and spent a total of 81 weeks in the charts.
Abbey Road was the UK's best-selling album of 1969, the eighth highest-selling of 1970, and the fourth highest-selling of the entire 1960s.
In the US it débuted at number 178, then climbed the following week to number four, before topping the chart in its third week on sale. It spent 11 non-consecutive weeks at number one, and was in the top 200 for 83 weeks until May 1971. It was America's fourth best-selling album of 1970.
In the first six weeks four million copies of Abbey Road were sold worldwide, with a further million by the end of 1969. It was the first Beatles album to sell more than 10 million copies, a milestone which was passed in 1980.
Something/Come Together
A double a-side single, Something/Come Together, was released in the US on 6 October, and in the UK on 31 October. It was the first time a song by George Harrison received top billing on a Beatles single.
In America it was common practice to count sales and airplay of a- and b-sides separately, allowing both sides of a single to chart separately. Both songs were popular, which threatened The Beatles' chances of topping the charts, but from 29 November the Billboard chart compilers began combining both sides.
As a result the single topped the chart for a week; converseley, on the Cash Box chart, which counted the songs separately, Something peaked at number two, while Come Together topped the chart for three weeks.
In the United Kingdom it was the first Beatles single to feature songs already available on an album. The group had previously avoided this, believing it represented poor value for money. The arrival at Apple of Allen Klein changed this, and the release was a brazen attempt to bring in more money for the group and their company.
Such a move was evidently unpopular with record buyers: the single peaked at number four in the UK, and spent 12 weeks on the charts.
Related articles:
- Mixing, editing: I Want You (She's So Heavy)
- Radio: Side By Side
- Abbey Road to offer studio time to wealthy hotel guests
- Recording: Can't Buy Me Love, You Can't Do That, And I Love Her, I Should Have Known Better
- Recording: Please Mister Postman, It Won't Be Long
Didnt Mal Evans play the Anvil... not Ringo?
Mal Evans played the anvil during rehearsals at Twickenham, as seen in the Let It Be film. In the studio some months later, when they were making Abbey Road, it was Ringo.
Actually, it seems that it was Mal. This quote from Geoff Emerick in a track-by-track walkthrough, interviewed by Joe Bosso, Thu 10 Sep 2009:
"For the hammer bits, we actually had to rent a proper blacksmith's anvil. The thing weighed a ton, as did the hammer used to strike it. Ringo tried but he just couldn't hoist the hammer in a way that allowed him to hit the anvil with the correct timing, so Mal Evans [one of The Beatles' roadies], who was a large man, he wound up doing it."
Just a curious fact when the picture was shot (8/8/1969), these were the Beatles' ages (in order from left to right in the picture):
a) George - 26 (02/25/1943)
b) Paul - 27 (06/18/1942)
c) Ringo - 29 (07/07/1940)
d) John - 28 (10/09/1940)
Regards.
Oscar.
Thanks Oscar. Useful to have a reminder that Paul was 27, not 28.
"28 IF" became part of the 'Paul is dead' conspiracy, in relation to the number plate of the VW Beetle car behind the group. As in, McCartney would have been 28 IF he was still alive. Incidentally, the other part of the number plate, LMW, was taken to mean 'Linda McCartney weeps'. Crazy stuff!
Don't forget the attire, Paul is barefoot, (people are buried barefoot), John is in all white as an angel, George is a grave digger and Ringo is a preacher.
very intentional
Nonsense.
Funny is that "Red Hot Chilli Peppers" have same named album. Don't know why?
The RHCP's Abbey Road E.P. is a tribute to The Beatles' album, and the cover features a similarly posed picture of the group (naked except for socks).
See http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wnj9kett7q7q
Back when they had LP's, I always liked the back cover shot of the girl in the blue mini-dress walking by Abbey Road. So 1969.
I wonder if the model was one of the Beatle women of the era?
It wasnt a model who posed for the back of the album. the photographer, Iain McMillan, wanted the back just to be the road sign, however the girl in the blue dress walked in the shot and had no idea what was going on.. in the end they liked how the shot came out because it was interesting.. so there you have it
I just listened to the "Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab" issue of Abbey Road recently. Sounds just like the studio tapes! I haven't listened to the new remaster yet. Probably can't get any better.
I used to know this but now I can't remember: Did original copies of the album leave "Her Majesty" uncredited on the back cover? Anyone? Thanks!
Yes "Her Majesty" is uncredited on the back cover of my original Abbey Road LP!
BUT
"Her Majesty" is credited on the B-side record label!
Go figure.
Yes, I still own one. Bought it in the early '80s.
Yes, Her Majesty was left off from the back of the album on the first pressings.
My favorite song on the album is "Sun King". I like everything about it from the arrangement to the way it is performed. If you want to go to school, you get three albums: Revolver, the White Album and Abbey Road.
Another interesting fact the beatles are walking away from abbey road studios which could mark the end of their recording career
It's too bad that the technology took so long to catch up with them. They could have done some incredible things.
I listen to this album all the time. My favorites are the shorter songs.
Only problem with todays technology like cd's in general are the last songs are supposed to be medley yet they are cut song by song for easy tracking on cd so you get some annoying sudden blank killing the medley vibe. In order to bring back the medley feel to those tunes just like in records and cassette tape is simply stick them together using a nice audio software and boom! their continuous again just the way i like it.
That only happens to me if I play it in my computer rather than CD player. (And the cool thing about the computer is that I can resequence the tracks to restore "Her Majesty" to its original and rightful place in between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam"!)
The greatest album ever recorded, composed, conceptualized, performed and produced! Every track is a jewel. Even the Ringo track is a masterpiece (probably due to Harrison's imput) but a masterpiece none-the-less. The second side suite or medley, whatever you wanna call it, is the single most inspiring entity in rock history that there is! It's like a Beethoven symphony with each movement by a different composer. When it slides from "Polythene Pam' into "She Came in through the Bathroom Window" and kicks back into "You Never Give Me Your Money" during "Carry That Weight" it makes me wish I was a Beatle just so I could claim that level of genius! I've read that "I Want You (she's so heavy)" was written by Lennon to align himself with the new emerging heavy/progressive bands like Led Zeppelin. If that's true than he did it right! I dare say that it surpassed anything ever done by any "heavy" band including the great Led Zeppelin. Although I do think that it's Paul's bass playing that makes the song along with Billy Preston's playing. Indeed, Paul's bass playing overpowers almost every track...in a good way! I've also read tat Paul was primarily responsible for the second side of segued tracks. Well, thank you Paul! John always said that he hated that second side of half finished tracks thrown together, maybe a little jealousy on his part?
During the Beatles' later years, Ringo and George seemed to be developing their own musical partnership. George obviously assisted in writing Ringo's Octupus' Garden (even though he did not take a songwriting credit). Then, a year or so later, Harrison helped Ringo record one of his greatest songs "It Don't Come Easy." Then in 1973, George played a big role in Ringo's self-titled solo album with the 2 former Beatles co-writing the #1 smash "Photograph" - a song as good as any they (or Lennon-McCartney)had released since the breakup. Perhaps had they remained Beatles, the Harrison-Starkey songwriting team would have evolved to counter the vaunted Lennon-McCartney songwriting machine.
The reason why I Want You is so great is John's intensity. Obsession and soul.
That is what makes the song.
All the great bass and piano playing don't mean a thing if a song isn't great to begin with.
Without John's four tracks on the second side, especially Because, the segue wouldn't be the same.
"Another interesting fact the beatles are walking away from abbey road studios which could mark the end of their recording career"
Begining with I want you, all the way through to the end of the album, is unbelievably awesome. Maxwell's Silver Hammer and Octopus's Garden however both pretty much blow. And Oh Darlin should have been sung by Lennon (even though McCartney wrote it).
Octopus's Garden has awesome Harrison guitar and cool piano and backing vocals. Maxwell's Silver Hammer has goofy sounding but very cool lyrics and cool use of the moog. It is this kind of variation that makes the Beatles so great. Yeah, those songs pretty much "blow" (my mind).
It interesting that John often said how he hated the segue of songs on side two - also there is this sense that he and Paul were not working together by this point - yet look at this interview quote:
"Paul and I are now working on a kind of song montage that we might do as one piece on one side. We've got two weeks to finish the whole thing so we're really working at it."
You can read the whole Lennon quote at http://beatlesinterviews.org/db1969.0503.beatles.html
it's really interesting because John's tone is so normal.
That's a really interesting interview - I'd not seen it before. It's great to see John being so enthusiastic about The Beatles' projects, and so sad that it all fell apart just a few months later.
According to the Rolling Stone article from late 2009 on the group breakup he originally enthusiastic about the medley but he soon soured on the idea
It's been great reading the discography notes here- very informative!
Just a note about "Her Majesty" not being performed/rehearsed until the Abbey Road sessions: if you're talking strictly the TRACKING sessions at Saville Row, that's true... But it actually was shown to the boys by Paul during rehearsals at Twickenham in January '69.
(I just looked up the dates on A/B Road, and it appears it was played 1/9, and twice on 1/24.)
Good point, although the 24 January session was at Apple, not Twickenham, so it was performed at both places. I'll update the article on Her Majesty.