Behka’s Breakfast with The Beatles Recap: Week of February 24

I play something from The Beatles every day to kick off the morning show at 6:00 a.m. They’re my favorite band, it’s my show, and I get to indulge a little. Here’s a look at all the songs I’ve played this week if you missed em.

On Monday, I played "I've Just Seen a Face".

"I've Just Seen a Face" was written by Paul McCartney and features McCartney on vocals. It was on the Help! Soundtrack. Before its release, the song was briefly titled "Aunty Gin's Theme" after his father's youngest sister, because it was one of her favorites. It is one of very few Beatles songs that lacks a bass track.

On Tuesday, I played "She's Leaving Home".

This song was one of the mid period collaborations between Lennon and McCartney. It was on the album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was mostly Paul's idea, with additional ideas from John like the call and answer from the parent's point of view. The idea for the song came from an article in the newspaper. The newspaper story McCartney read was from the front page of the Daily Mirror, about a girl named Melanie Coe. Although McCartney invented most of the content in the song, Coe, who was 17 at the time, claims that most of it was accurate. In actuality, Coe did not "meet a man from the motor trade", but instead a croupier, and left in the afternoon while her parents were at work, while the girl in the song leaves early in the morning as her parents sleep. Coe was found ten days later because she had let slip where her boyfriend worked.

On Wednesday, I played "Baby, You're a Rich Man".

Two song fragments were combined to create "Baby, You're a Rich Man". The verses from "One of the Beautiful People" by John Lennon were combined with Paul McCartney's previously unaccompanied "Baby, you're a rich man …" chorus. Two songs were combined in a similar fashion to make "A Day in the Life", and "I've Got a Feeling". It ended up as the B-side to "All You Need is Love" and was featured on the Magical Mystery Tour album.

On Thursday, I played the "Love" version of "Get Back".

A few years ago, the surviving Beatles and family worked with the French entertainment company Cirque De Soleil on a new show.  It incorporated new versions of several Beatles classics, reworking them in mash ups with different tunes.  As a Beatle nerd it was very fun for me to hear the album and pick out each of the three to seven or eight different tunes used in each number.  In this one, they use "A Hard Day's Night", "The End", "A Day in the Life" and "Get Back".

On Friday, I played "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End/Her Majesty".

In terms of recording, Abbey Road was the last Beatles album.  Let it Be came out after Abbey Road, but they were recorded in January and summertime 1969 respectively.  None of the group felt that Let it Be was their strongest effort, and all of them wanted to end their career with a bang.  Since they knew Abbey Road was to be their last album, they all were on their best behavior and made sure to make the best product possible.  Every member of the group, their producer and engineers are showcased on the album in the best possible light, and this is very evident on this last part of the album.  Each guitar playing Beatle has a moment in the guitar solo here.  You can pick them out pretty easily if you know each personality - John as the hard rocker with a simple line, George as the main lead guitar with a more straightforward solo, and Paul McCartney as the more elaborate, almost complicated solo.   This is also the only time on record that Ringo Starr has a drum solo.  Ringo hated drum solos and thought they were pretentious and show offy - so even in his solo he showcases what he thinks is the most important job for the drummer, the hearbeat of the song with some additional fills.

Let me know if there's something you'd like to hear next week. We'll kick things off on Monday at 6:00 a.m.

Mop-top-ily yours,
Behka