How would "Here Comes the Sun" have done as a single for The Beatles?*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Pizza, Sep 12, 2018.

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  1. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    That is right. Come Together/Something being the single. Corrected said post. "Here Comes The Sun" would have been an awesome second single off of Abbey Road. It got airplay like a hit single. Would have sold like one.
     
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  2. wildstar

    wildstar Senior Member

    Location:
    ontario, canada
    It may not have even made Top 10 in the UK - a song taken from an album that was released six months earlier, that most people would have in their collection already (even the cash strapped would have been able to save up enough money to buy the album by that time). The UK charts were sales based only - to chart, a single needed to sell, airplay being totally irrelevant to chart position. Paul put out 'The Back Seat Of My Car' three months after Ram, and it flopped (UK #39). He declined to follow it up with the previous US #1 Uncle Albert as a UK single so as not to risk another UK flop with an album extract. It was another three years before he released another single off of a previously released album.

    He may have took the risk with putting out 'Back Seat' due to George's #1 UK 'My Sweet Lord' which was released after the album had come out (and after it had already been a number one single in the US). There are many possible reasons it worked for George (and not for Paul) such as:

    1 - George's single was taken from an expensive triple album that less people would have already had (or intended to have) in their collection.
    2 - People may have been reluctant to risk purchasing a triple album by the "underachiever" Beatle who had spent the previous decade playing catchup with L&M as far as song quality was concerned.
    3 - Airplay may have played a part. What I mean by that is the song may have been released as a single based on strong radio play (for instance if radio listeners reacted strongly enough/requested airplay of the song enough that may have been the reason it was released as a single) They certainly weren't intending to release a second single in the UK, since they used the US (and worldwide?) followup hit single from the album as the B-Side 'What Is Life'
    4 - 'My Sweet Lord' came out as a single in the UK about a month and a half after the album, while 'Back Seat' came out three months after the album. Did I say 'Here Comes The Sun' coming out (as you suggested) six months after AR's release, might not have made the top 10 in the UK? It actually might not have even made Top 20!
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2018
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  3. Mooserfan

    Mooserfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eastern PA
    “Rain”, of course!
     
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  4. idleracer

    idleracer Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    :kilroy: While the bulk of "You Never Give Me Your Money" was recorded while John was vacationing with the wife & kids, he did manage to return just as they were putting the finishing touches on it, and was part of the "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 All Good Children Go To Heaven" three-part harmony at the end.

     
  5. beatleroadie

    beatleroadie Forum Resident

    Cool! I figured John maybe added some vocals to it before the final mix. I could never tell if that was John or George doing the "all good children go to heaven" bit.

    Honestly, I kind of wish Paul and John traded vocals on "You Never Give Me Your Money" for the different sections to give is a real mini-suite feel...I can just hear John coming screaming in "Out of college, money spent..."

    Something like this:

    Paul: You never give me your money
    You only give me your funny paper
    And in the middle of negotiations
    You break down
    I never give you my number
    I only give you my situation
    And in the middle of investigation
    I break down

    John: Out of college, money spent
    See no future, pay no rent
    All the money's gone nowhere to go,
    Any jobber got the sack
    Monday morning, turning back
    Yellow lorry slow, nowhere to go
    But oh, that magic feeling, nowhere to go
    John & Paul: Oh, that magic feeling
    Nowhere to go, nowhere to go

    Paul: One sweet dream
    Pick up the bags and get in the limousine
    Soon we'll be away from here
    Step on the gas and wipe that tear away
    One sweet dream came true today
    Came true today
    Came true today.
    (John: yes, it did now!)
    John, Paul and George: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
    All good children go to Heaven
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2018
  6. Colocally

    Colocally One Of The New Wave Boys

    Location:
    Surrey BC.
    Oh wow, I am glad I reread that before posting, I thought you meant that John did the One Sweet Dream bit. I envisaged a couple of hundred posts about that. :D

    But yes, that would have been nice actually, I always loved it when they sung different parts of the song, like A Day In A Life, I've Got A Feeling etc.
     
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  7. Stephen J

    Stephen J Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    While Harrison didn't get many songs on Beatles albums, IMO some of his are among their very best. E.g., I have "Something", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Taxman", and "Here Comes the Sun" among my top 15 Beatles songs.

    I think "Sun" would have been an easy #1 hit in both the USA and UK.
     
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  8. beatleroadie

    beatleroadie Forum Resident

    Sorry! I may have been unclear. It was just wishful thinking, when I hear that section of the song, to my ears it sounds like a section that John would have nailed (and improved)!
     
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  9. BeatlesObsessive

    BeatlesObsessive The Earl of Sandwich Ness

    The source states that YNGMYM was started at Olympic in May 69 with Ringo on drums, Paul on Piano, John on distorted guitar, George on Leslie'd guitar. There is a WHOLE thread on this from the spring "Beatles guitar parts when Harrison & when not ?" page 22 to 26? . the description of how they recorded the basic leads many to the conclusion that the playing on the finished take was captured at the basic track. I doubt this. Also in rereading the Beatles Bible entry again last night it credits Paul with guitar on this song too so we haven't gotten to the bottom of this yet.
     
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  10. MikeM

    MikeM Senior Member

    Location:
    Youngstown, Ohio
    I agree that Paul playing those parts is a more likely scenario that John. And there may not be official confirmation, but my ears tell me that John is singing a harmony on "1-2-3-4-5-6-7."
     
  11. Chemically altered

    Chemically altered Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ukraine in Spirit
    It would have been George's second no. 1 after Something and it could have had You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) as the B side for all I care.
     
  12. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    John is doing those (well edited) lead guitar bits at the end of the song.
     
  13. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    It would have done very well at No. 1!
     
  14. Loup

    Loup Ancient Wool Unraveller

    Location:
    Motown
    Assuming the charts were free of any Engelbert Humperdinck singles this would have easily been another #1 Beatles single.
     
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  15. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    #1 for sure.

    Before I really learned all the facts about the singles and chart position, I simply assumed "Here Comes The Sun" had been a single.

    As to the question of a B-side, why not "Octopus Garden"? Another song I assumed had been a single.

    If they really wanted a song not on ABBEY ROAD, the "Come And Get It" demo was kicking around. I could see them getting that completed for a B-Side.
     
  16. Colocally

    Colocally One Of The New Wave Boys

    Location:
    Surrey BC.
    It is interesting, cos my first real exposure to The Beatles was the Red and Blue albums, so I just assumed they were all singles when I was younger (so much younger than today).
     
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  17. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    It would have done great, very likely. Lovely George song—the height of his Beatles work.
     
  18. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    No-brainer. It's got a catchy intro, with George's mellow lead vocal, a cold end...and two butt-heads constantly voting to keep George from getting any encouragement. :mad:
     
  19. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    The source is my ears and intuition, combined with almost thirty years of playing guitar myself. Listen to the solo, the way he utilizes sustain and feedback- Lennon used those techniques in some of his avant garde work with Yoko. George never would have approached the solo that way. The solo could be Paul (who wasn't afraid of feedback either) but I am 99.9% sure it's Lennon. We did a breakdown trying to suss out who played the specific guitar parts on "You Never Give Me Your Money" here a few years ago, kinda fun trying to figure it out, actually.
     
  20. blutiga

    blutiga Forum Resident

    I think any discussion of 'what if' Beatles singles needs to be taken in the context of the 'stand alone' tradition. The only UK 45 released after the release of an LP was indeed Something/Come Together, released a full month after Abbey Road. The only other time an extracted 45 was not released before an album came out was A Hard Day's Night, released on the same day as the LP. Here Comes The Sun was good enough to be a Beatles A-side whichever way you look at it. It just made no sense to release it as a 45 at the time especially as Let It be was waiting in the wings :)
    Back Seat Of My Car flopped because it wasn't really 45 material. Another Day was.
     
  21. ModernDayWarrior

    ModernDayWarrior Senior Member

    It’s my 10 year old daughters favorite Beatles song:)
     
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  22. lavalamp3

    lavalamp3 Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I certainly don't think it's going too far out on a limb to proclaim Here Comes the Sun would have been a number one single. With the love and affection that song now holds for most, it seems kind of odd now that Apple missed the boat on that one and instead chose the double a-side, 'Something/Come Together', which only peaked in the UK at 4.

    In fact there's usually at least one "number one single that never was" from every Beatles album (especially during the mid 60's when to be honest, any half decent Beatles song would have surely reached top spot).

    Here's my choices: (not counting the Yellow Sub or Mystery Tour LP's) It's from a UK perspective, as I appreciate some of these were singles in other European territories and the rest of the world).

    Twist and Shout (Please, Please Me)
    All My Loving (With the Beatles)
    I Should Have Known Better (Hard Days Night)
    Eight Days A Week (For Sale)
    Yesterday (Help)
    Michelle (Rubber Soul)
    Got to Get You Into My Life (Revolver)
    Sgt Pepper/With A Little Help From My Friends (Pepper)
    Ob-la-Di, Ob-la-da (White Album)
    Here Comes The Sun (Abbey Rd)
    The Long and Winding Road (Let It Be)
     
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  23. It's got so much radio play over the years that I'm a bit surprised it wasn't released as a single.
     
  24. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    It would have gone right into the Top 10. I dont think it would have hit #1, tho.
     
  25. old45s

    old45s MP3 FREE ZONE

    Location:
    SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
    I picked up a second hand 45rpm of "Here Comes The Sun" in the early 70's.
    It's up in my attic with all my 'scratchies' unfortunately. Think it had "Oh Darling" on the flip side.
     
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