{"id":8482,"date":"2021-09-02T14:46:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T19:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefest.com\/kdstaging2\/?p=8482"},"modified":"2021-09-02T14:47:41","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T19:47:41","slug":"rubber-soul-deep-dive-part-8-what-goes-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/rubber-soul-deep-dive-part-8-what-goes-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubber Soul Deep Dive Part 8: What Goes On"},"content":{"rendered":"

Onward to Side Two of <\/em>Rubber Soul in our Fest for Beatles Fans track-by-track study of this great 1965 LP! With us this month, to dive deeply into the roots of Side Two\u2019s opening track, is our own Liverpool mate, David Bedford, author of <\/em>Liddypool: The Birthplace of The Beatles, The Fab One Hundred and Four, Finding the Fifth Beatle, and his latest wonderful contribution to Beatles research, <\/em>The Country of Liverpool. Dave is also the congenial host of the podcast \u201cLiddypod\u201d and is widely acclaimed for his painstakingly accurate bio-film, \u201cLooking for Lennon.\u201d What a joy to explore this Ringo-manned song with Dave, a true Scouser and Beatles expert!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Standard:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Date Recorded:<\/em><\/strong> 4 November 1965 (although it was written in the Quarrymen days and later played for George Martin on 5 March 1963 as a potential \u201cfollow up\u201d to the lads\u2019 <\/em>Please Please Me LP).<\/em><\/p>\n

Time Recorded:<\/em><\/strong> 11:00 p.m. – 3:30 a.m. <\/em><\/p>\n

Studio:<\/em><\/strong> EMI Studios, Studio 2<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Tech Team<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Producer:<\/em><\/strong> George Martin<\/em><\/p>\n

Engineer: <\/em><\/strong>Norman Smith and Ron Pender<\/em><\/p>\n

Second Engineers: <\/em><\/strong>Ken Scott and Graham Platt (and according to Margotin and Guesdon, Jerry Boys)<\/em><\/p>\n

Stats:<\/em><\/strong> Recorded in only one take. (After their work on \u201cWhat Goes On,\u201d The Beatles turned their attention to \u201c12 Bar Original.\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Instrumentation and Musicians:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

John Lennon<\/em><\/strong>, the composer, unearthed this song for Ringo to perform on <\/em>Rubber Soul. John played rhythm on his 1964 Rickenbacker 325 Capri electric guitar and sang backing vocals. <\/em><\/p>\n

Ringo Starr<\/em><\/strong> sang lead vocal and played drums on one of his Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl \u201cSuper Classic\u201d drum sets. Ringo also contributed somewhat to the lyrical composition of the song. <\/em><\/p>\n

Paul McCartney<\/em><\/strong> sang backing vocals and played bass on his 1964 Rickenbacker 4001S (Hammack, 86) or on his Hofner bass (Spizer, 202). When John brought this early song back to life for <\/em>Rubber Soul, Paul contributed to the lyrics for the middle eight.<\/em><\/p>\n

George Harrison<\/em><\/strong> played lead guitar on his 1963 Gretsch G6119 Chet Atkins Tennessean electric with Bigsby vibrato. <\/em><\/p>\n

***This information is primarily from Jerry Hammack\u2019s excellent work, <\/em>The Beatles Recording Reference Manual, Vol. 2. However, all other sources have been utilized as well. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Sources:<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0Lewisohn, <\/em>The Complete Beatles Chronicle, 205, Lewisohn, <\/em>The Recording Sessions, 67, Harry, <\/em>The John Lennon Encyclopedia, 971, Miles, <\/em>The Beatles Diary, Vol. 1, 218, Margotin and Guesdon, <\/em>All the Songs, 296, Winn, <\/em>Way Beyond Compare, 372-373, Hammack, <\/em>The Beatles Recording Reference Manual, Vol. 2, 86-87, Turner, <\/em>A Hard Day\u2019s Write, 95, Riley, <\/em>Tell Me Why, 163-164, Spizer, <\/em>The Beatles for Sale on Parlophone Records, 202, Everett, <\/em>The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul, 329-330, and Spignesi and Lewis, <\/em>100 Best Beatles Songs, 52.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Changed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. As with \u201cMichelle,\u201d an old song is rediscovered and renovated \u2014 <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    This catchy rockabilly number is officially credited, for the first time ever, to three <\/em>Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and (using his real name) Richard Starkey. But who wrote what? Well, Dave Bedford will fill us in on the complete history of \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d in his \u201cFresh New Look\u201d segment.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    But just as interesting is the story of John Lennon, Collector and Saver of All Things. As a child, during World War II, John had been steeped in frugality. Indeed, the little boy always reminded his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George to dowse the landing night lamp outside his bedroom with the stern words, \u201cDon\u2019t waste the light.\u201d Similarly, Bettie Birdsall, Head Stewardess on the Electra II chartered plane on which The Beatles traveled throughout the 1964 North American Tour, said that John kept spare squares of torn paper in his right coat pocket. He used these scraps for scribbled notes to be used in his upcoming books of poetry and prose, transferring the slips of paper to his left pocket when he had filled them up.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    That tendency to use old, found objects plays into the history of \u201cWhat Goes On.\u201d In his work, The Beatles as Musicians, The Quarry Men to Revolver,<\/em> Dr. Walter Everett reminds us that \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d was a very early song of John\u2019s, saved and then completely transformed in 1965 into something new. Everett calls \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d \u201cLennon\u2019s answer to \u2018Michelle\u2019\u201d since it was a song from years past that John re-energized\u2026brought to life for Rubber Soul<\/em>. More to come in Dave Bedford\u2019s history of the song below!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The traditional Ringo-Side-Two-Opener \u201cups its game\u201d \u2014<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      At first glimpse, \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d seems a bit formulaic in its placement on the record. Yes, exactly like \u201cAct Naturally\u201d on Help!,<\/em> \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d is a Country and Western track with an upbeat sound and a Ringo vocal. And yes, it is also strategically located as the opening track on Side Two of the LP. But as Tim Riley in Tell Me Why<\/em> sagely observes, this go-round, The Beatles didn\u2019t fill that opening track with a mere cover. \u201cInstead of dealing Ringo another cover, [The Beatles] challenge[d] themselves into reworking an old standby,\u201d Riley comments, and he points out that in doing this, the boys upped the bar a notch. He says they made \u201cthe commitment to original material more explicit.\u201d<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. The divide between EMI and Capitol releases and the air play of Beatles songs in Great Britain and Australia versus America widens \u2014 <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

        In 100 Best Beatles Songs, <\/em>Spignesi and Lewis remind us that in 1966 \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d (along with \u201cNowhere Man,\u201d \u201cIf I Needed Someone,\u201d and \u201cDrive My Car\u201d) were restricted from airplay<\/strong> in the U.S. because these four songs had not<\/strong> been included on the Capitol version of Rubber Soul<\/em> and were slated for release on an upcoming Capitol LP. The Capitol execs felt that early airplay of these tracks would dampen sales of the soon-to-hit-the-American-stands album. Indeed, those four restricted songs didn\u2019t reach American listeners until 20 June 1966, when they were included on Capitol\u2019s Yesterday and Today<\/em>. Thus, the gap between fans in the UK and fans abroad continued to be heightened by Capitol\u2019s firm control over what could and what could not be heard in the States.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. A song is \u201ctaught to a Beatle\u201d via a home recording \u2014<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Beatles friend and road manager, Neil Aspinall once stated that Paul McCartney devised a quick and easy way for Ringo to learn \u201cWhat Goes On,\u201d prior to the 4 November EMI studio session. Aspinall claimed that in McCartney\u2019s home studio, Paul (playing lead guitar, bass, and drums\u2026and singing) recorded a demo of the song for Ringo. He then gave the drummer the pre-recorded tape as a learning device.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Interestingly enough, we are informed by Beatles music expert, Bruce Spizer, that \u201cRingo listened to the tape and added his own ideas.\u201d (Spizer, The Beatles for Sale on Parlophone Records,<\/em> 202) It\u2019s interesting to observe that all of The Beatles were maturing and coming into their own. Ringo had his own concept of what worked and didn\u2019t work for him. And by the autumn of 1965, he wasn\u2019t afraid to speak, er, sing up.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          A Fresh New Look: <\/strong><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          It was a joy to sit down with Beatles author, podcaster and filmmaker, David Bedford, whose excellent new book <\/em>The Country of Liverpool zeroes in on the Country and Western roots of The Fab Four. Here is what Dave had to say about \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d:<\/em><\/p>\n

          \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

          Jude Southerland Kessler:<\/em><\/strong> Dave, in your remarkable new book, The Country of Liverpool,<\/strong> you trace The Beatles\u2019 firm connection to Country and Western music, dating back to their earliest days together. Do you hear the Fab Four\u2019s fascination with and connection to country music in \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Dave Bedford:<\/em><\/strong> When you listen to The Beatles\u2019 albums and think about Country songs, you automatically think of either \u201cAct Naturally\u201d or \u201cWhat Goes On.\u201d They are overtly \u201cCountry\u201d and the obvious choices. In the past, I hadn\u2019t thought further than that. When I started working on the research for The Country of Liverpool,<\/em> my primary reason was to tell the story of Liverpool country legend Phil Brady. I knew that Liverpool had a huge Country and Western scene at the same time as The Beatles and Merseybeat. However, I assumed they were distinct from each other. But then, I came across an early Quarrymen business card which proclaimed: \u201cRock \u2018n\u2019 Roll; Skiffle; Country Western.\u201d I had never noticed that before, and it set me on a path to discover the Country roots of The Beatles.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Then, when I started thinking about Skiffle, I realised that the roots of Skiffle were in Country, especially Bluegrass. Then, I considered the groups that influenced The Beatles: Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Elvis, The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, and many more; these artists were rooted in Country music. When talking with Rod Davis from The Quarrymen, it was clear that Country music was very much a part of their influences. Michael Hill, John Lennon\u2019s school friend, told me how John was a huge fan of Hank Williams, the father of Country music.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          With all of this information, I sat down and listened to The Beatles\u2019 albums again with my Country ears on, and I heard so many more Country influences than I expected. It was all there, and yet, I had never noticed it before.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          It is similar to when I was working on my first book, Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles,<\/em> when I realised the Fab Four could not have come from any other city. It had to be Liverpool, and the Country music influences are such an important part of the story of The Beatles, which hadn\u2019t been told before. I understand the musical roots of The Beatles so much better now.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Kessler:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d has a very long and interesting history with The Beatles, doesn\u2019t it, Dave? Tell us about its journey from 1963 up to Autumn 1965, when it\u2019s finally selected not only to grace an LP but to be the opener for Side Two of the record.<\/p>\n

          Bedford: <\/em><\/strong>\u201cWhat Goes On\u201d is one of those songs that was mainly written in those very early days. In the Playboy Interviews<\/em>, John told David Sheff, \u201cThat was an early Lennon written before The Beatles when we were The Quarrymen.\u201d (Sheff, All We Are Saying,<\/em> 158, Riley, Tell Me Why,<\/em> 163-164, Everett, The Beatles as Musicians, the Quarry Men through Rubber Soul,<\/em> 329-330, Spizer, The Beatles for Sale on Parlophone Records,<\/em> 202, and Harry, The John Lennon Encyclopedia,<\/em> 971) Now that we understand those early Country influences on The Beatles, it was natural, especially during those early days, that John would be writing a Country song. When The Beatles were looking to contribute songs to their first album in March 1963, John suggested \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d to George Martin. But the song wasn\u2019t recorded or even finished properly until they brought it out again in 1965 for Rubber Soul<\/em>.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Kessler:<\/em><\/strong> So, we know that John wrote \u201cWhat Goes On,\u201d but Paul and Ringo played a part in bringing \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d to life. Tell us a little about that, please.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Bedford:<\/em><\/strong> With John bringing the basic structure of the song to the group for Rubber Soul<\/em>, it still required some work before it could be considered for the album. John recalled that the song needed a middle eight, which was contributed by Paul and Ringo, though Ringo\u2019s contribution maybe wasn\u2019t as considerable as could be thought. Ringo recalled, \u201cI contributed about five words to \u2018What Goes On.\u2019\u201d I haven\u2019t done a thing since.\u201d (Miles, Many Years From Now<\/em>)<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          It was an unusual combination in Beatles song-writing and created a unique writing credit: Lennon\/ McCartney\/ Starkey.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          The recording of the song is in a very \u201cCountry\u201d style, from John\u2019s rhythm to George\u2019s Carl Perkins-esque picking style on his Gretsch Tennessean \u2014 very much in the Nashville style.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Kessler:<\/em><\/strong> When The Beatles played the Hollywood Bowl in 1964 and 1965, \u201cI Love Ringo\u201d buttons outsold buttons of all the other Beatles combined<\/em> times four! Ringo was highly favored in America! What steps did both EMI and Capitol take with \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d to please Ringo fans?<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Bedford:<\/em><\/strong> Ringo never claimed to be a great songwriter. He never claimed to be a great singer, compared to his band mates. He even never claimed to be good-looking, yet he was so popular! So, when \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d was released on Rubber Soul<\/em>, it opened Side 2; when it appeared on Yesterday and Today<\/em>, it was the penultimate track.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Capitol Records\/EMI released it as a B-side to \u201cNowhere Man\u201d on 15 February 1966, which peaked at #3 on the Billboard<\/em> pop chart. \u201cWhat Goes On\u201d was given a chart placement too, even though it only reached #81. However, when they released the single initially, it was only credited to Lennon\/McCartney. When it was pointed out that Ringo was also a contributor, Capitol did a second pressing, crediting the song correctly to Lennon\/ McCartney\/ Starkey, although the record was already disappearing from the charts, making this a very collectible record indeed.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          I have a new appreciation for the song, knowing that it evolved from the Country and Western Quarrymen days of 1957, was considered as the follow-up to Please Please Me<\/em> in 1963, was finished off by Paul and Ringo in 1965, and was given prime position on their ground-breaking album, Rubber Soul<\/em>. It was even recorded in only one take!<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          For more information on David Bedford\u2019s books<\/strong>, head here<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          To hear Dave\u2019s podcast, \u201cLiddypod,\u201d<\/strong> head here<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Follow Dave on his website <\/a>and <\/span>check out his YouTube channel here<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Onward to Side Two of Rubber Soul in our Fest for Beatles Fans track-by-track study of this great 1965 LP! With us this month, to dive deeply into the roots of Side Two\u2019s opening track, is our own Liverpool mate, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[89,117],"class_list":["post-8482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-beatles","tag-rubber-soul","tag-the-beatles"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8482"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8485,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8482\/revisions\/8485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}