Written by: Johnson
Recorded: 14 August; 18 October 1964
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Norman Smith
Released: 4 December 1964 (UK), 15 December 1964 (US)
John Lennon: vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney: harmony vocals, bass, Hammond organ
George Harrison: harmony vocals, lead guitar, African drum
Ringo Starr: percussion
Available on:
Beatles For Sale
Anthology 1
A staple of The Beatles' live act for some years, Mr Moonlight was recorded by the group during sessions for their fourth LP, Beatles For Sale.
The song was written by Roy Lee Johnson. The first known recording was by blues pianist Piano Red, recording as Dr Feelgood and the Interns. It was released as the b-side of Dr Feelgood, a minor R&B hit in 1962.
In the studio
The Beatles attempted the song twice in the studio in 1964. The first time was on 14 August, when they recorded four takes - the last of these was for a time considered the best.
Anthology 1 contains takes one and four. The first broke down almost immediately; take four was complete, and featured a frantic slide guitar solo by George Harrison.
The Beatles re-made the song on 18 October. Again they recorded four takes, the last two of which featured McCartney's somewhat gaudy Hammond organ solo.
Despite a blistering vocal from John Lennon, Mr Moonlight is held by many Beatles fans as one of the least successful songs in their catalogue.
I loved this song because of its pop atypicality, the aforementioned Lennon vocals, and the organ solo.
One of the great Beatles song? No, but a fine way to add more texture to "Beatles '65."
Good word choice on "blistering" to describe John's vocal! While some might say this was a not great song, I say not so! Each time John sings "And the night you don't come my way...", possibly totaling 10-15 seconds worth of Beatles history, is emblazoned in my mind as perhaps the best 15 seconds in musical history! His raw energy and total commitment there (and in so many other songs) is fantastic! Whenever I think of the particular vocal quality that John had that I loved the most, I think of this song and that line as its quintessential expression. That energy is what made John John. That makes Mr. Moonlight a top-10 greatest Beatle song in my book!
The above comment is the best one that I have read in this particular Beatle website as of this date.
Hopefully more comments like this will appear relating to the Beatles and their songs.
Burnin' and J. Brush have got it right. John never thought his voice was all that good, but music lovers know that John's voice was one of the most recognizable sounds of the 20th century. Paul's too !
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Yeah, I never thought this one was so bad either, and I agree that it made for a nice little diversion on Beatles '65/For Sale. Nicely weird instrumentation and a great vocal. And how appropriate that it immediately follows "I'll Follow the Sun"!
I always loved this song. IMHO, one of best Lennon vocals as a Beatle.