14 posts
Just spent the evening with my Hollywood producer friend, and he told me some Beatles stories that he heard from Sir George Martin himself. It is so cool to hear all of these stories from someone I know and trust about the musicians/producers I admire. Can you imagine attending a seminar with The Beatles Producer. I would have loved to go to that, it was an insider event that his buddy the drummer from the Police could not attend, so he gave my friend two tickets to see Sir George in the flesh and spend the evening listening to the history of recording from the 40's on through the Beatles productions and beyond. Even second hand it is amazing because my friend says he remembers every word the guy spoke and from the stories I believe him. I will be riding up to Sedona Tomorrow and Wednesday to Tucson and I am sure I will hear more about all of that. Great stuff. Almost as good as being there myself.
Lucky bugger! I've got a good friend (also the singer in my band) whose father worked at Abbey Road in the sixties. He's in some of the photos of when the Beatles played on the roof at Saville Row. As a kid my mate used to sit in the foyer at Abbey Road waiting for his dad to finish work. Often the Beatles would pass through and say hello and pat him on the head. Another lucky bugger!
That is too cool man! :)
I love the behind the scene stories.
They're always the best ones.
Randy
They just called, and are on the way over for a drive up to Sedona which is a couple of hours each way, and I am sure the stories will continue all the way up. His wife is the granddaughter of the guy who started Universal Studios the film company, so she used to hang out with many of the movie stars when she was a kid, so I also get the stories of the movie stars too. When I visited their home I saw autographed pictures in the hundreds of her friends, which were movie and TV stars. I never in my life imagined those Hollywood folks would be ordinary, with ordinary concerns. But they are. And they are as nice as can be too. Of course they drive a hybrid Camry.
Speaking of the Beatles, my trombone teacher from my undergrad years was playing in the Philharmonia Orchestra in London around the time that the Beatles were starting to hit it big. Him, and many others from the Philharmonia, actually got to play recording sessions for the ACTUAL Beatles songs that used orchestra players (such as, "A Day in the Life"). He got to play at least on a couple different albums. My teacher was also a composer and got his brain picked by Paul McCartney about compositional techniques. The first time they chatted, Paul asked about a couple techniques and Ray mentioned a couple classical composers who had done what he was asking about. By the next time they met, Paul had listened to the recordings and they got to chat further about it.
If my memory serves me correct, he also got to do a little work with The Who. He also got to tour with Sinatra on his 1976 European tour. Pretty cool, huh?
Here's a little about him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Premru
Sorry for hijacking the thread DBM. ;)
No problem hijacking, it is not all about me, it is a thread and adding to it is more interesting than just me and my experiences. Thanks for the addition.
Sorry to hijack the hijack! ;) My uncle also recorded with the Beatles and has the distinction of being one of the few session musicians who was credited on an album! Look for Anil Bhagwat's name on Revolver on Love You To.
The story he's told me was that he got a call out of the blue one day from someone asking if he was interested in playing tabla's on a session. Being a young man with a new family, he jumped at the chance of getting a little extra cash but said that he would need transportation. No problem he was told, someone would come around and pick him up.
When the drive appeared it was a Royle Royce! My uncle got in and asked who's car belonged to and where was he going. Imagine his shock when he was told it was George Harrison's and he was going to Abbey Road Studio's! He said that when he walked in he saw John and Paul playing chess and was introduced to George Harrison. He was given a playback of the track and asked to improvise something over it. He did a couple of takes until George was happy and left. If I remember correctly, he said he was paid 50 pounds but a that point, the money became secondary. He never expected to get a credit on the album and was surprised to see it when it came out.
Cheers,
jayson
You'd think the Beatles would come up with more than 50 pounds for a professional recording session.
yeah, but I'd do it free for an album credit. Who wouldn't?!
Well after an afternoon in my studio showing my producer friend some of my stuff, I offered to do some of his next movie if he needs the help. I also told him I would do it for a dollar and sign the releases and he said OK and you get the credits for your work. After he saw how I did things I think he is interested in getting my help if he needs it. The guy plays everything and has been a professional musician since the 1960's so I was a little intimidated playing in front of him, but I overcame that easily, and we jammed. It was fun.
In fact he recalled that he did his first mixes on my equipment way back when I was using analog tape and synthesizers. I had forgotten he did not know anything about recording when we were hanging out, he was a pro bass player at the time.
Man I heard stories last week about his antics throughout the years. He has played with some big names as a band leader. What a life.
desertbluesman — Aug 25, 2008You'd think the Beatles would come up with more than 50 pounds for a professional recording session.
50 pounds back in 1966 probably bought a lot more than it does now! He recalled that it was 50 pounds but wasn't sure.
I found a link to an interview he did for a book, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions.
http://www.thebeatlesonline.com/pages/beatles_loveyouto.htm
Cheers,
jayson
Yeah - the inflation calculator makes that £666 today.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/historic-inflation-calculator
Sounds very cool DB! It would be fun, that is sure!