Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 18 July; 9, 10 September 1968
Producer: Chris Thomas
Engineer: Ken Scott
Released: 22 November 1968 (UK), 25 November 1968 (US)
Paul McCartney: vocals, electric guitar
John Lennon: backing vocals, bass guitar, tenor saxophone
George Harrison: backing vocals, electric guitar
Ringo Starr: drums
Mal Evans: trumpet
Available on:
The Beatles (White Album)
Anthology 3
Love
Paul McCartney's Helter Skelter was an attempt to create a rock 'n' roll song as loud and dirty as possible. It later became one of The Beatles' most notorious songs, after Charles Manson interpreted it as a symbol for Armageddon.
The sound, which has been described as a prototype for 1970s heavy metal sounds, was an attempt to outdo The Who; in an interview, Pete Townshend had described their single I Can See For Miles as the group's most extreme sound to date.
I was in Scotland and I read in Melody Maker that Pete Townshend had said: 'We've just made the raunchiest, loudest, most ridiculous rock 'n' roll record you've ever heard.' I never actually found out what track it was that The Who had made, but that got me going; just hearing him talk about it. So I said to the guys, 'I think we should do a song like that; something really wild.' And I wrote Helter Skelter.
You can hear the voices cracking, and we played it so long and so often that by the end of it you can hear Ringo saying,'I've got blisters on my fingers'. We just tried to get it louder: 'Can't we make the drums sound louder?' That was really all I wanted to do - to make a very loud, raunchy rock 'n' roll record with The Beatles. And I think it's a pretty good one.
Anthology
Helter Skelter referred to a fairground ride mainly popular in Britain, in which people could climb the inside of a wooden tower and slide down a spiral ride on the outside.
I was using the symbol of a helter skelter as a ride from the top to the bottom - the rise and fall of the Roman Empire - and this was the fall, the demise, the going down. You could have thought of it as a rather cute title but it's since taken on all sorts of ominous overtones because Manson picked it up as an anthem, and since then quite a few punk bands have done it because it is a raunchy rocker.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
In the US the term 'helter skelter' was far less well known. Charles Manson, the psychopath who in 1969 led his 'Family' to carry out a series of murders. To him, Helter Skelter was a coded prophecy for an apocalyptic race war.
Charles Manson interpreted that Helter Skelter was something to to with the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. I still don't know what all that stuff is; it's from the Bible, Revelation - I haven't read it so I wouldn't know. But he interpreted the whole thing - that we were the four horsemen, Helter Skelter was the song - and arrived at having to go out and kill everyone.
Anthology
During his murder trial in November 1970, Manson explained his interpretation of Helter Skelter to the court.
Helter Skelter means confusion. Literally. It doesn't mean any war with anyone. It doesn't mean that those people are going to kill other people. It only means what it means. Helter Skelter is confusion. Confusion is coming down fast. If you don't see the confusion coming down fast, you can call it what you wish. It's not my conspiracy. It is not my music. I hear what it relates. It says, 'Rise!' It says 'Kill!' Why blame it on me? I didn't write the music. I am not the person whoh projected it into your social consciousness.
By 1968 The Beatles had become amused by the often-fanciful interpretations applied to their songs. John Lennon affectionately encouraged such thinking on Glass Onion, also on the White Album, and several other songs referenced previous works by the group. However, they were appalled by the effect that Helter Skelter had upon Manson and his followers.
We used to have a laugh about this, that or the other, in a light-hearted way, and some intellectual would read us, some symbolic youth generation wants to see something in it. We also took seriously some parts of the role, but I don't know what Helter Skelter has to do with knifing someone. I've never listened to it properly, it was just a noise.
Rolling Stone, 1970
2006's Love album combines Helter Skelter with elements from Being From The Benefit Of Mr Kite! and I Want You (She's So Heavy).
Related articles:
- Charles Manson and Helter Skelter
- Beatles features
- Mixing: The Long And Winding Road, Let It Be, Get Back, Maggie Mae
- Recording: Across The Universe, The Long And Winding Road, I Me Mine
- Paul McCartney live at The O2, Dublin
Does anyone know what guitars/amps/fx pedals were used to get the guitar sound in Helter Skelter?
Frankly living through 'The Beatles' era, no other group I know of changed their 'Sound' as much as they did. I personally thought 'Happiness is a warm gun' or 'Yer blues' had a more dangerous edge, than did 'Helter Skelter'; who's meaning only Manson tried to invent. Yes, the guitars are gritty + yet I feel the fast version of 'Revolution's grittier! To be a menacing song, alot has to be implied, our imagination stirred like Director Alfred Hitchcock, was so good at! (rc.)
Late period Beatles heavy guitar sound is usually an Epiphone Casino (w/ Gibson P90 pickups), Vox AC-30 amp with the drive cranked up, plus a bit of compression.
This setup can pretty much nail everything Lennon did from Revolver on. Think Dr. Robert, Rain, Paperback Writer, Revolution, Hey Bulldog, I want You (She's So Heavy). Right on up thru Let it Be, and you can watch him playing his (by then stripped and refinished natural) Casino in the Rooftop Concert (Get Back, Dig a Pony, I've Got a Feeling).
Paul acquired a Casino same time as Lennon, calling it his favorite guitar, and still plays one today (when he is not playing his bass). He used it for his lead work on Taxman, Helter Skelter, and others.
By this time George was using Fender guitars (Strat and Tele), often with Leslie (rotating speaker) effects.
Its kinda weird how I got into the Beatles, I read the book Helter Skelter.My sister had the White Album. I checked it out out of curiosity...I was hooked. The Beatles have so many different sounds..just an amazing amount of talent in one band
The guitars in Revolution, however, were not amped and then mic'ed; they were fed directly into the mixing desk.
John plays bass on this song. From listening to the stereo remaster, John's bass really stands out, giving the impression that he is actually enjoying himself playing it! Listen for yourself, you will be impressed!
Since everyone else has said something dark about this song, here's an alternative on the 'meaning' behind 'Helter Skelter'. Its real meaning, in my view, is an altogether kinder, healthier one than the one insane people made it into decades ago. How about this version? A famous pop star is talking about rising to the top and going up and down famewise, but every time he comes down or has a problem, he always sees the same fan coming round, over and over again, and wonders what that fan wants of him. He notices the fan might be able to love him ('you may be a lover') but can't 'dance' in life like he can - at one point even warning the fan that his fame, or his fall from the pedestal which that fan has put him on, might 'break' (or harm) the fan. Could that be the song's true meaning?
I'm pretty certain it's simply about a fairground ride and chasing after girls. I wouldn't read too much into it, as I don't think McCartney has ever suggested there might be a hidden meaning.
I'm surprised that actually the one who shouted "I've got blisters on my fingers" was was Ringo. I always thought it was John.
Like most of the White Album, this was parody, from an era when smashing guitars during a concert, or lighting them on fire (like Hendrix) was standard fare.
As with much of the Beatles' subtler commentary, it's meaning has been lost on subsequent generations of listeners. Today "Helter Skelter" just seems like a great "hard rock" tune and precursor to "heavy metal," especially watered down, as it has been, by minimalist bands like Motley Crue or U2. Gone are the devilish squeals seeming to emanate straight out of hell, and the awful taint of the Tate-LaBianca murders.
Modern audiences probably don't realize that Roman Polanski, much in the news of late, was Sharon Tate's husband, and escaped being butchered himself by his absence, although he presumably lost an unborn child in the attack.
The ghost hunters of "TAPS" recently paid a visit to the site of the murders, and filmed evidence of supposed contact with the spirits of one or more murdered victims.
I'll stop there -- I admit that's already more than weird enough, and apologize if anyone finds it upsetting.
Frankly, I wish people would quit linking this to Manson. Manson was an ex-convict, druggie, and wanna-be songwriter who for a time hung out with and mooched off Dennis Wilson (Beach Boys), trying to get them to take him seriously as a songwriter. He was, in fact, awful and on the extreme fringe. Like most nut cases with fragile egos and delusional tendencies, Manson took things to extreme and threatened Wilson when the Beach Boys didn't give Manson what he wanted. He later adopted the Beatles as part of his twisted psychosis, which had nothing to do with their songs but with his apocalyptic delusions and misinterpretations. There was/is simply no connection between the Beatles and Manson.
"This is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles...we're stealin' it back."
And so Bono of U2 introduces "Helter Skelter" on my copies (CD and DVD) of "Rattle and Hum."
I can understand your angst, and your wish that the song and the Manson murders not be inextricably linked in people's minds. History has not been your ally, however, in this regard, and prospects for the future appear equally dim.
Lennon's bass playing on this track is suprising considering how badly he supposedly played on The Long and Winding Road...but I suppose this is a much more exciting track...
Ringo: drums
George: lead guitar and backing vocals
Paul: lead vocals, lead and bass guitars, piano
John: backing vocals, rhythm and bass guitars, saxophone
Mal: trumpet
They atacked with three guitars and then Paul and John contribution on bass.