Goodnight Vienna (Reprise)

Written by: John Lennon
Recorded: 6 August 1974
Producer: Richard Perry

Released: 15 November 1974 (UK), 18 November 1974 (US)

Available on:
Goodnight Vienna

Personnel

Ringo Starr: vocals, drums
John Lennon: piano
Lon Van Eaton, Jesse Ed Davis: electric guitar
Klaus Voormann: bass guitar
Billy Preston: clavinet
Carl Fortina: accordion
Trevor Lawrence, Steve Madaio, Bobby Keyes: horns
Jim Keltner: drums
Richard Perry, Vini Poncia, Clydie King, Billie Barnum, Venetta Fields, Carlena Williams: vocals

‘Goodnight Vienna (Reprise)’ is the final song on Ringo Starr’s 1974 album Goodnight Vienna.

And don’t forget, folks, the band will be back in fifteen minutes. Just a short break and they’ll be back on stage, ready to do it to you one more time!

The Beatles had reprised their music on occasion, most notably at the end of Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road. McCartney had pulled a similar trick on Band On The Run, segueing back into ‘Jet’ towards the end of ‘Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)’.

Starr’s producer Richard Perry decided to close Goodnight Vienna with a return to the title track.

We’d originally cut it as one track. The ending was one of those great spirited moment where we decided to end the song in the fashion that it ends the album. There were at least 25 people in the studio, and we all went out to sing. Then it occurred to me that it would be a good way to open the album and a great way to end it and therefore put it all together in a kind of quasi-concept and call it Goodnight Vienna. Which, in its abstract manner, had a lot of meaning to it. I had to create an ending for the opening cut and a beginning for the reprise, so I took the beginning of a different take, plus instrumentation.

The fourth and final single released from the album was a medley of ‘(It’s All Down To) Goodnight Vienna’ and ‘Goodnight Vienna (Reprise)’. ‘Oo-Wee’ was on the flipside of the single, which was released only in the USA on 2 June 1975. It peaked at 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.