Free as a Bird
Encyclopedia
"Free as a Bird" is a song originally composed and recorded in 1977 as a home demo
by John Lennon
. In 1995 a studio version of the recording incorporating contributions from Paul McCartney
, George Harrison
, and Ringo Starr
was released as a single by The Beatles
.
The single was released as part of the promotion for The Beatles Anthology
video documentary and the band's Anthology 1
compilation album
. For the Anthology project, McCartney asked Lennon's widow Yoko Ono
for unreleased material by Lennon to which the three remaining ex-Beatles could contribute. "Free as a Bird" was one of two such songs (along with "Real Love") for which McCartney, Harrison, and Starr contributed additional instrumentation, vocals, and arrangements. Jeff Lynne
of Electric Light Orchestra
, who had worked with Harrison on Harrison's album Cloud Nine
and as part of The Traveling Wilburys, was asked to co-produce the record.
The music video
for "Free as a Bird" was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka (Space Jam
); from the point of view of a bird in flight, it depicts many references to Beatles songs, such as "Strawberry Fields Forever
," "Penny Lane
", "Paperback Writer
", "A Day in the Life
", "Eleanor Rigby
" and "Helter Skelter". "Free as a Bird" won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
and was The Beatles' 34th Top 10 single in the United States. The song secured the group at least one Top 40 hit in four different decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s), and there is a span of 25 years between The Beatles' break-up and its charting.
_by_david_shankbone.jpg)
McCartney
, Harrison
and Starr
originally intended to record some incidental background music, as a trio, for the Anthology project, but later realized, according to Starr, that they wanted to record, " ... new music". According to Harrison, they had always agreed that if one of them wasn't in the band, that the others would never replace them and, " ... go out as the Beatles", and that the, " ... only other person that could be it it was John."
McCartney then asked Ono if she had any unreleased recordings by Lennon, so she sent him cassette tapes of four songs. "Free as a Bird" was recorded by Lennon in 1977, in his and Ono's Dakota building apartment in New York City
, but was not complete. Lennon introduced the song on the cassette by imitating a New York accent and saying, "Free - as a boid" (bird). The other songs were "Grow Old With Me
", "Real Love", and "Now and Then
". Ono says that it was Harrison and former Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall
who initially asked her about the concept of adding vocals and instrumentation to Lennon's demo tapes. Ono stated: "People have said it was all agreed when Paul came over to New York to induct John into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but it was all settled before then. I just used that occasion to hand over the tapes personally to Paul."
"I did not break up The Beatles, but I was there at the time, you know? Now I'm in a position where I could bring them back together and I would not want to hinder that. It was kind of a situation given to me by fate." In an interview, McCartney remarked: "Yoko said 'I've got a couple of tracks I'll play you, you might be interested'. I'd never heard them before but she explained that they're quite well known to Lennon fans as bootlegs.
McCartney went to Ono's home after the induction ceremony at the The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to listen to, and receive the Lennon demo tapes, he recalls the meeting with Ono:
During an interview for the Anthology project, McCartney revealed that he was surprised to learn that Lennon's demos of "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" had already been released and were well known by Lennon fans. Starr admitted that when he first listened to the recording he found it very emotional.
, who had produced most Beatles' material before then, because of Martin's problems with his hearing. McCartney said: "George wasn't involved, no. George doesn't want to produce much any more 'cause his hearing's not as good as it used to be. He's a very sensible guy, and he says, 'Look, Paul I like to do a proper job', and if he doesn't feel he's up to it he won't do it. It's very noble of him, actually — most people would take the money and run".
The original tape of Lennon singing the song was on a cassette
, with vocals and piano on the same track. They were impossible to separate, so Lynne had to produce the track with voice and piano together, but commented that it was good for the integrity of the project, as Lennon was not only singing occasional lines, but also playing on the song.
Starr said that as Lennon was not in the studio, the three remaining Beatles agreed they would pretend that Lennon had "gone for lunch", or had gone for a "cup of tea". The remaining Beatles recorded a track around Lennon's basic song idea, but which had gaps they had to fill in musically. Some chords were changed, and the arrangement was expanded to include breaks for McCartney and Harrison to sing extra lines. Harrison played slide guitar in the solo. This is the only recording that has Lennon, McCartney and Harrison singing separate lead vocals on the same song, with the exception of the fan club exclusive "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
" which features brief vocal turns from all four members, and "Shout" from Anthology 1
, which features all four Beatles singing separate lead vocals.
The Beatles' overdubs and production were recorded between February and March 1994 in Sussex
, England, at McCartney's home studio. It ends with a slight coda
including a strummed ukulele
by Harrison (an instrument he was known to have often played) and the voice of John Lennon played backwards. The message, when played in reverse, is "Turned out nice again", which was the catchphrase of George Formby, Jr. The final result sounds like "made by John Lennon", which, according to McCartney, was unintentional and was only discovered after the surviving Beatles reviewed the final mix. When Starr heard McCartney and Harrison singing the harmonies, and later the finished song, he said that it sounded just like them [The Beatles]. He explained his comment by saying that he looked at the project as "an outsider". Lynne fully expected the finished track to sound like The Beatles, as that was his premise for the project, but Harrison added: "It's gonna sound like them [The Beatles] if it is them... It sounds like them now" [in the present].
McCartney, Harrison and Starr all agreed that the recording was more pleasurable than when they later recorded "Real Love" (the second song chosen for release) as it was almost finished, they had very little input, and felt like sidemen
for Lennon.
of A Major, in a meter of 4/4, and uses the I-vi-iv-V7 model, with the exception that (in typical Lennon style—see "In My Life
") the iv chord is rendered as a minor chord (in this case Dm rather than D major). The structure is composed of:
Intro
– verse chords
Verse
– Lennon (A F#m F E / A F#m Dm E / A F#m Dm G / C Am Esus E)
Verse – Lennon
Bridge
– McCartney (F F#° G A / F F#° G Esus E)
Verse – Lennon
Verse – Lennon (A F#m F E / A F#m Dm E / A F#m Dm G / C Am Ab+ G)
Bridge – Harrison (F F#° G Esus E) – (half-length)
Verse – Guitar Solo – (C Am Ab G / C Am Fm G / C Am Fm G)
Verse – Lennon
Outro – (A F#m Dm G)
(Apple Records
executive at the time) said that this was because no-one could agree on what kind of bird it should be. Pytka had to send his ideas to McCartney, Harrison and Starr, as well as Ono, to make sure they all agreed before he could proceed with the filming of the video. Derek Taylor
(ex-Apple Records executive) sent a two-page letter to Pytka confirming that he could proceed, and personally encouraged and supported Pytka's ideas. The video was filmed in as many authentic locations as possible: Penny Lane was made by Pytka's art department to look as it was in the 1950s, and other locations filmed were The Liver Building, and Liverpool Docks (as a reference to Lennon's father Alfred Lennon
).
Although Pytka fixed the ideas on a storyboard
, he abandoned it as soon as filming began, and followed ideas based on what angles and perspectives the steadycam camera produced. One instance was the filming of the car crash, which Pytka filmed for hours from above, but realised that a steadycam shot on the ground was a much better idea. Archive footage
was used by imposing it on scenes shot by Pytka, who utilised a greenscreen
stage to digitally blend it into the finished film, such as the Paul's Old English Sheepdog
in the graveyard, and the elephant in the ballroom procession scene. The elephant was put in last, as Aspinall phoned Pytka and said that Starr liked the scene, but insisted an elephant be put in it, which Pytka later did, as he had already put a sitar
in at the request of Harrison. Apart from the steadycam shots, Pytka used a Russian-made Akil-crane for sweeping overhead shots, such as the Abbey Road
zebra crossing shot at the end, as well as a remote-controlled toy helicopter with a camera added to it for intricate aerial shots.
Harrison played the ukulele in the studio for the song, and asked to appear as the ukulele player seen only from behind at the very end of the video. Pytka resisted this, as he felt it would be wrong for any contemporary members of The Beatles to appear on screen. Pytka later stated that it was "heartbreaking" that Harrison had not played the role, particularly after Harrison's death in 2001 and upon discovering that the ukulele was not a sample of an old song as Pytka had assumed. The video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
in 1997.
in the early hours of 20 November 1995. It was released as a single in the UK on 4 December 1995, two weeks after its appearance on the Anthology 1 album. The single sold 120,000 copies in its first week, entering the UK Singles Chart
at number 2, but it was kept off the no.1 position by Michael Jackson
's "Earth Song
". It remained in the charts for 8 weeks. In the US, the song reached no.6 on the Billboard Hot 100
, becoming The Beatles' 34th Top 10 single in America.
" in the United States in 1970. The promotional video was broadcast during episode one of The Beatles Anthology that aired on ITV
in the UK and ABC
in the US.
"Free as a Bird" was greeted with mixed reviews. Its release was criticised by one writer in The Guardian
as a publicity gimmick, exploiting The Beatles brand, and owing less to The Beatles than to Lynne. The Independent
called the song "disappointingly low-key...George's guitar weeps gently enough when required, but the overall effect is of a dirge." Chris Carter, now the host of Breakfast with the Beatles
, commented: "I would value any song (especially if it was great) performed by John, Paul, George and Ringo, no matter how (or when) it was recorded." "Free as a Bird" later won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. In the United States, the song continued the group's streak of having at least one single chart in the Top 40 in every decade since the 1960s.
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
by John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
. In 1995 a studio version of the recording incorporating contributions from Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, and Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
was released as a single by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
The single was released as part of the promotion for The Beatles Anthology
The Beatles Anthology
The Beatles Anthology is the name of a documentary series, a set of three double albums and a book focusing on the history of The Beatles. Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr all participated in the making and approval of the works, which are sometimes referred to collectively as the...
video documentary and the band's Anthology 1
Anthology 1
Anthology 1 is a compilation album by The Beatles, released by Apple Records in November 1995. It was released as the first part of the Anthology trilogy of albums with Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, all of which tie-in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. It contains "Free as a Bird",...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
. For the Anthology project, McCartney asked Lennon's widow Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
for unreleased material by Lennon to which the three remaining ex-Beatles could contribute. "Free as a Bird" was one of two such songs (along with "Real Love") for which McCartney, Harrison, and Starr contributed additional instrumentation, vocals, and arrangements. Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
of Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
, who had worked with Harrison on Harrison's album Cloud Nine
Cloud Nine (George Harrison album)
-Personnel:The following personnel was credited in the liner notes.*George Harrison – vocals, guitars, keyboards, sitar*Jeff Lynne – guitars, bass, vocals, keyboards*Eric Clapton – guitar*Elton John – piano*Gary Wright – piano*Ringo Starr – drums...
and as part of The Traveling Wilburys, was asked to co-produce the record.
The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Free as a Bird" was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka (Space Jam
Space Jam
Aside from Jordan, a number of NBA players and coaches appeared in the film. Larry Bird portrays a friend of Jordan who joins him for a game of golf. When the Monstars steal the NBA players' talent, they invade a game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, causing the Knicks' Patrick...
); from the point of view of a bird in flight, it depicts many references to Beatles songs, such as "Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and attributed to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near his childhood home."Strawberry Fields...
," "Penny Lane
Penny Lane
"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney. It was credited to Lennon–McCartney.Recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, "Penny Lane" was released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with "Strawberry Fields Forever". Both songs were later included...
", "Paperback Writer
Paperback Writer
"Paperback Writer" is a 1966 song recorded and released by The Beatles. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song was released as the A-side of their eleventh single...
", "A Day in the Life
A Day in the Life
"A Day in the Life" is a song by The Beatles, the final track on the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song comprises distinct segments written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions...
", "Eleanor Rigby
Eleanor Rigby
"Eleanor Rigby" is a song by The Beatles, simultaneously released on the 1966 album Revolver and on a 45 rpm single. The song was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney...
" and "Helter Skelter". "Free as a Bird" won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals was awarded between 1966 and 2011...
and was The Beatles' 34th Top 10 single in the United States. The song secured the group at least one Top 40 hit in four different decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s), and there is a span of 25 years between The Beatles' break-up and its charting.
Origins
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
and Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
originally intended to record some incidental background music, as a trio, for the Anthology project, but later realized, according to Starr, that they wanted to record, " ... new music". According to Harrison, they had always agreed that if one of them wasn't in the band, that the others would never replace them and, " ... go out as the Beatles", and that the, " ... only other person that could be it it was John."
McCartney then asked Ono if she had any unreleased recordings by Lennon, so she sent him cassette tapes of four songs. "Free as a Bird" was recorded by Lennon in 1977, in his and Ono's Dakota building apartment in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but was not complete. Lennon introduced the song on the cassette by imitating a New York accent and saying, "Free - as a boid" (bird). The other songs were "Grow Old With Me
Grow Old with Me
"Grow Old With Me" is one of the final songs written by John Lennon. It was recorded by Lennon as a demo at his home in the Dakota Building in 1980, and later appeared on the posthumous album, Milk and Honey in 1984. It was also considered as a possible reunion single by his former bandmates during...
", "Real Love", and "Now and Then
Now and Then (song)
"Now and Then" is the name given to an unreleased composition by John Lennon...
". Ono says that it was Harrison and former Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall
Neil Aspinall
Neil Stanley Aspinall was a British music industry executive. A school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he went on to head The Beatles' company Apple Corps....
who initially asked her about the concept of adding vocals and instrumentation to Lennon's demo tapes. Ono stated: "People have said it was all agreed when Paul came over to New York to induct John into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but it was all settled before then. I just used that occasion to hand over the tapes personally to Paul."
"I did not break up The Beatles, but I was there at the time, you know? Now I'm in a position where I could bring them back together and I would not want to hinder that. It was kind of a situation given to me by fate." In an interview, McCartney remarked: "Yoko said 'I've got a couple of tracks I'll play you, you might be interested'. I'd never heard them before but she explained that they're quite well known to Lennon fans as bootlegs.
McCartney went to Ono's home after the induction ceremony at the The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to listen to, and receive the Lennon demo tapes, he recalls the meeting with Ono:
She was there with Sean ... and she played us a couple of tracks. There were two newies on mono cassettes which he did at home ... [s]o I checked it out with Sean, because I didn't want him to have a problem with it. He said, "Well, it'll be weird hearing a dead guy on lead vocal. But give it a try." I said to them both, If it doesn't work out, you can veto it. When I told George and Ringo I'd agreed to that they were going, "What? What if we love it?" It didn't come to that, luckily. I said to Yoko, "Don't impose too many conditions on us, it's really difficult to do this, spiritually. We don't know, we may hate each other after two hours in the studio and just walk out. So don't put any conditions, it's tough enough."
During an interview for the Anthology project, McCartney revealed that he was surprised to learn that Lennon's demos of "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" had already been released and were well known by Lennon fans. Starr admitted that when he first listened to the recording he found it very emotional.
Recording
The remaining Beatles decided that Lynne would produce the record (as he had worked with George Harrison as part of the Traveling Wilburys) and not George MartinGeorge Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
, who had produced most Beatles' material before then, because of Martin's problems with his hearing. McCartney said: "George wasn't involved, no. George doesn't want to produce much any more 'cause his hearing's not as good as it used to be. He's a very sensible guy, and he says, 'Look, Paul I like to do a proper job', and if he doesn't feel he's up to it he won't do it. It's very noble of him, actually — most people would take the money and run".
The original tape of Lennon singing the song was on a cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
, with vocals and piano on the same track. They were impossible to separate, so Lynne had to produce the track with voice and piano together, but commented that it was good for the integrity of the project, as Lennon was not only singing occasional lines, but also playing on the song.
Starr said that as Lennon was not in the studio, the three remaining Beatles agreed they would pretend that Lennon had "gone for lunch", or had gone for a "cup of tea". The remaining Beatles recorded a track around Lennon's basic song idea, but which had gaps they had to fill in musically. Some chords were changed, and the arrangement was expanded to include breaks for McCartney and Harrison to sing extra lines. Harrison played slide guitar in the solo. This is the only recording that has Lennon, McCartney and Harrison singing separate lead vocals on the same song, with the exception of the fan club exclusive "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
"Christmas Time " is a Christmas song recorded by The Beatles for their 1967 fan-club Christmas record....
" which features brief vocal turns from all four members, and "Shout" from Anthology 1
Anthology 1
Anthology 1 is a compilation album by The Beatles, released by Apple Records in November 1995. It was released as the first part of the Anthology trilogy of albums with Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, all of which tie-in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. It contains "Free as a Bird",...
, which features all four Beatles singing separate lead vocals.
The Beatles' overdubs and production were recorded between February and March 1994 in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England, at McCartney's home studio. It ends with a slight coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
including a strummed ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
by Harrison (an instrument he was known to have often played) and the voice of John Lennon played backwards. The message, when played in reverse, is "Turned out nice again", which was the catchphrase of George Formby, Jr. The final result sounds like "made by John Lennon", which, according to McCartney, was unintentional and was only discovered after the surviving Beatles reviewed the final mix. When Starr heard McCartney and Harrison singing the harmonies, and later the finished song, he said that it sounded just like them [The Beatles]. He explained his comment by saying that he looked at the project as "an outsider". Lynne fully expected the finished track to sound like The Beatles, as that was his premise for the project, but Harrison added: "It's gonna sound like them [The Beatles] if it is them... It sounds like them now" [in the present].
McCartney, Harrison and Starr all agreed that the recording was more pleasurable than when they later recorded "Real Love" (the second song chosen for release) as it was almost finished, they had very little input, and felt like sidemen
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
for Lennon.
Structure
The song is the keyKey (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of A Major, in a meter of 4/4, and uses the I-vi-iv-V7 model, with the exception that (in typical Lennon style—see "In My Life
In My Life
"In My Life" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney . The song originated with Lennon, and while Paul McCartney contributed to the final version, the extent of his contribution is in dispute. George Martin contributed the instrumental bridge...
") the iv chord is rendered as a minor chord (in this case Dm rather than D major). The structure is composed of:
Intro
Introduction (music)
In music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. In popular music this is often abbreviated as intro...
– verse chords
Verse
Song structure (popular music)
The structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional, repeating forms, such as strophic form. Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, verse-chorus form, and the twelve bar blues...
– Lennon (A F#m F E / A F#m Dm E / A F#m Dm G / C Am Esus E)
Verse – Lennon
Bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
– McCartney (F F#° G A / F F#° G Esus E)
Verse – Lennon
Verse – Lennon (A F#m F E / A F#m Dm E / A F#m Dm G / C Am Ab+ G)
Bridge – Harrison (F F#° G Esus E) – (half-length)
Verse – Guitar Solo – (C Am Ab G / C Am Fm G / C Am Fm G)
Verse – Lennon
Outro – (A F#m Dm G)
- McCartney and Harrison provide backing and harmony vocals in each section of the song.
Music video
The music video for "Free as a Bird" was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka and depicts, from the point of view of a bird in flight, many references to Beatles songs, such as "Penny Lane", "Paperback Writer", "A Day in the Life", "Eleanor Rigby", "Helter Skelter", "Piggies", "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Doctor Robert", and "The Fool on The Hill". Between 80 and 100 allusions to The Beatles' story, music and lyrics in the video have been estimated. Although the bird can be heard at the beginning of the video, it is never seen. Neil AspinallNeil Aspinall
Neil Stanley Aspinall was a British music industry executive. A school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he went on to head The Beatles' company Apple Corps....
(Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
executive at the time) said that this was because no-one could agree on what kind of bird it should be. Pytka had to send his ideas to McCartney, Harrison and Starr, as well as Ono, to make sure they all agreed before he could proceed with the filming of the video. Derek Taylor
Derek Taylor
Derek Taylor was an English journalist, writer and publicist, best known for his work as press officer for The Beatles...
(ex-Apple Records executive) sent a two-page letter to Pytka confirming that he could proceed, and personally encouraged and supported Pytka's ideas. The video was filmed in as many authentic locations as possible: Penny Lane was made by Pytka's art department to look as it was in the 1950s, and other locations filmed were The Liver Building, and Liverpool Docks (as a reference to Lennon's father Alfred Lennon
Alfred Lennon
Alfred "Alf" Lennon was the father of English musician John Lennon. He spent many years in an orphanage—with his sister, Edith—after his father died. He was known as being very witty and musical throughout his life—he sang and played the banjo—but not as being very dependable...
).
Although Pytka fixed the ideas on a storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
, he abandoned it as soon as filming began, and followed ideas based on what angles and perspectives the steadycam camera produced. One instance was the filming of the car crash, which Pytka filmed for hours from above, but realised that a steadycam shot on the ground was a much better idea. Archive footage
Footage
In filmmaking and video production, footage is the raw, unedited material as it had been originally filmed by movie camera or recorded by a video camera which usually must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or similar completed work...
was used by imposing it on scenes shot by Pytka, who utilised a greenscreen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
stage to digitally blend it into the finished film, such as the Paul's Old English Sheepdog
Old English Sheepdog
The Old English Sheepdog is a large breed of dog which was developed in England from early herding types of dog. The Old English Sheepdog has very long fur covering the face and eyes...
in the graveyard, and the elephant in the ballroom procession scene. The elephant was put in last, as Aspinall phoned Pytka and said that Starr liked the scene, but insisted an elephant be put in it, which Pytka later did, as he had already put a sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
in at the request of Harrison. Apart from the steadycam shots, Pytka used a Russian-made Akil-crane for sweeping overhead shots, such as the Abbey Road
Abbey Road (street)
Abbey Road is a thoroughfare located in the borough of Camden and the City of Westminster in London, running roughly northwest to southeast through St. John's Wood, near Lord's Cricket Ground...
zebra crossing shot at the end, as well as a remote-controlled toy helicopter with a camera added to it for intricate aerial shots.
Harrison played the ukulele in the studio for the song, and asked to appear as the ukulele player seen only from behind at the very end of the video. Pytka resisted this, as he felt it would be wrong for any contemporary members of The Beatles to appear on screen. Pytka later stated that it was "heartbreaking" that Harrison had not played the role, particularly after Harrison's death in 2001 and upon discovering that the ukulele was not a sample of an old song as Pytka had assumed. The video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos...
in 1997.
Chart performance
"Free as a Bird" was premiered on BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
in the early hours of 20 November 1995. It was released as a single in the UK on 4 December 1995, two weeks after its appearance on the Anthology 1 album. The single sold 120,000 copies in its first week, entering the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number 2, but it was kept off the no.1 position by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's "Earth Song
Earth Song
"Earth Song" is the third single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. It is the fifth song on the second disc of the album. It is a ballad that incorporates elements of blues, gospel and opera. Jackson had a long-standing history of releasing socially conscious...
". It remained in the charts for 8 weeks. In the US, the song reached no.6 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, becoming The Beatles' 34th Top 10 single in America.
Critical reception
It was the first time a new single containing new material had been released under The Beatles' name since "The Long and Winding RoadThe Long and Winding Road
"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' 20th and last number-one song in the United States on 23 May 1970, and was the last single released by the quartet...
" in the United States in 1970. The promotional video was broadcast during episode one of The Beatles Anthology that aired on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in the UK and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in the US.
"Free as a Bird" was greeted with mixed reviews. Its release was criticised by one writer in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
as a publicity gimmick, exploiting The Beatles brand, and owing less to The Beatles than to Lynne. The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
called the song "disappointingly low-key...George's guitar weeps gently enough when required, but the overall effect is of a dirge." Chris Carter, now the host of Breakfast with the Beatles
Breakfast with the Beatles
Breakfast with the Beatles is a popular programming segment format on FM radio in cities in the USA. The segment format typically features one or more hours of programing consisting exclusively of music by or related to The Beatles...
, commented: "I would value any song (especially if it was great) performed by John, Paul, George and Ringo, no matter how (or when) it was recorded." "Free as a Bird" later won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. In the United States, the song continued the group's streak of having at least one single chart in the Top 40 in every decade since the 1960s.
Personnel
- John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
– lead vocal, piano - Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
– lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, electric and upright bass - George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
– lead and backing vocals, lead, acoustic and slide guitars, ukulele - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
– drums, percussion
Track listings
All songs written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, except where noted.- 7" UK: R6422 / USA: NR-58497
- "Free as a Bird" – 2:42
- "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)Christmas Time (Is Here Again)"Christmas Time " is a Christmas song recorded by The Beatles for their 1967 fan-club Christmas record....
" – 3:02- Music recorded 28 November 1967 at EMI Studios, LondonAbbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
; ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
greetings recorded 6 December 1967 at EMI Studios, London- CD UK: CDR6422 / USA: CDP 58497
- Music recorded 28 November 1967 at EMI Studios, London
- "Free as a Bird" – 4:26
- "I Saw Her Standing ThereI Saw Her Standing There"I Saw Her Standing There" is a song written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and is the opening track on The Beatles' debut album, Please Please Me, released in the United Kingdom by Parlophone on 22 March 1963....
" (Lennon/McCartneyLennon/McCartneyThe Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
) – 2:51- Recorded 11 February 1963 at EMI Studios, London
- Produced by George MartinGeorge MartinSir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
- This version (take 9) was recorded after the version released on the album Please Please MePlease Please MePlease Please Me is the debut album by the English rock band The Beatles. Parlophone rush-released the album on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of singles "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do" .Of the album's fourteen songs, eight were written by Lennon–McCartney...
(take 1). The introductory count-in from take 9 was edited onto the start of take 1 for the album.
- "This BoyThis Boy"This Boy" is a song by English rock band The Beatles released in November 1963 as the B-side of the British Parlophone single "I Want to Hold Your Hand". The Beatles performed it live on 16 February 1964 for their second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show...
" (Lennon/McCartney) – 3:17- Recorded 17 October 1963 at EMI Studios, London
- Produced by George Martin
- Two incomplete versions (takes 12 and 13), which both break down into laughter.
- "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" – 3:02