Solo Beatles single by single thread

Paul's demo of "Come and Get It" was recorded in July 1969 and it's only credited to McCartney.

I guess that was the first time Paul or John wrote a song and didn't credit the other?

 

BUT "Come & Get It" by Badfinger wasn't released until December 1969, a few months after "Cold Turkey" came out. So I think Paul was just following John's (solo) lead.

 

The Family Way got a solo McCartney credit.

 

True. But Paul felt guilty and made sure that John got half of the royalties (even though I think John told him not to).

 

Not sure if the Beatles had released "Come And Get It' if it would have been credited Lennon-McCartney.

 

If it had been released as a Beatles song there is absolutely no question that it would be a Lennon-McCartney credit.

 

You're right. I think Arnie is right that Paul was reacting to John's lead.

 

Yes. That would have been the case for sure.

And likewise, IF the Beatles had indeed recorded "Cold Turkey", it too would have been credited to Lennon-McCartney.

 

When John left the band in September 1969, he really meant it, although he didn't admit it in public. The other 3 were probably hoping he would change his mind, even when they touched up "Let It Be" and recorded "I Me Mine" in January 1970. BUT by April/May 1970, it was too late, and Paul went solo too.

 

If so, I wasn't aware of it. I love the hard edge to this song... The riff sounds Lennonish now that you mention it. Cold Turkey definitely pointed the way POB was going to go...

 

Give Peace A Chance was of its time. A simple anthem, with a catchy chorus and not much else going on (except maybe Paul sneaking in a "woo" during later overdubs). I remember fooling around trying to write a song with more of Lennon's "isms" back in the day. Ah, to be young.

Never really cared for Cold Turkey all that much. I like the guitars, but the primitive recording (dull bass and lackluster drums) just doesn't swing. Voorman's bass part is particularly plodding. I think I would have liked the song better without the long outro and listening to John all but vomit on record. The end is pretty cool though. Ron

PS I also have my doubts that John ever seriously "asked" the others to record this as their "new" single. He may have said something at one of the Apple meetings that he had a new song about heroin withdrawal, but to actually want them to record a new single mere weeks after the Abbey Road sessions seems pure folly to me.

 

What a brilliant analysis.

 

and there i was thinking the Hells Angels devoured all the 68 cold turkey as it made it's way across the apple office.....

 

bloody hell u got that in ahead of me lol

 

100%

If it were recorded by The Beatles it's likely it would have been altered in some way - John adding/subtracting lyrics etc

 

Great thread and great records. From peace within to cold turkey in three months. Lennon was in tune with all sides of his personality, the good and the bad, the high and low, pain and fun, serious and childish, party and isolation, the social and anti-social, dreams and reality, soft and hard... he was like an open book, you have to admire him for it, and I do.

 

John of course was famously absent for the jan 69 i me mine recording much to Georges recorded chagrin. I don't think it was necessarily too late but the Klein/Paul thing was just going to get worse especially with Paul in hiding and uncontactable in Scotland and Paul was so fed up when the journo asked him if he had any plans to record with the Beatles again he said no. He did not actually quit the Beatles but that he had no plans to record with them , but quit is how the press took it and i think they all grabbed the opportunity as a blessing likeit was putting a suffering animal out of its misery.

However John was rightly miffed cos he was persuaded by Paul & Klein to say nothing about leaving the band and just let it wither on the vine, although Paul could still claim had he wanted to that he hadn't actually quit the band ( and i believe he suggested as much when asked a few years later " i was asked a question and i answered it "), but John always thought he did it to help sell his album.

Regardless, the real official death knell however was Paul suing the others to dissolve the partnership a few months later. Had the will be there it could have been resolved and the band parked for a couple of years or more as is the norm now but almost unheard of then

 

i dunno. its not as much folly as suggesting Mary Jane as a single, by the Beatles or anybody else for that matter.

I don't think Cold Turkey is a smash hit but i think it could still have made a very interesting & decent Beatles single.

 

A side Cone and Get it
B side. Cold Turkey

 

Double A side
Instant Karma/Come and Get It

 

yes i thought that, or as a double a side, however i think that once the song was earmarked for the movie as an iveys track there was never any serious chance the beatles would have recorded it themselves.

 

Absolutely 100% irrelevant. You'd have half a point if the Cold Turkey single as released was actually co-credited to Ringo in some way - kind of like the Get Back single including Billy Preston prominently on the label credit. There's a huge difference between acting as a session musician to help a buddy out (completely anonymously - or at most semi-anonymously - not acknowledged, but not denied either - like Clapton on WMGGW) as compared to agreeing (with your 1/4 vote) to allow the recording/release of a likely highly offensive to many, and certainly highly ban-able single which could have the potential to damage your OWN career as a full 1/4 member of that band.

Anyway I've never heard that Ringo was either for or against Cold Turkey as a Beatles album track or single. It was Paul and George who were the ones who always received the credit/blame for veto-ing it. I can see their point as TBOJ&Y suffered from radio bans that nearly cost it a top ten position in Billboard (when the norm had nearly always been a surefire #1 chart position. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Paul and George had put their foot down saying "We're not going through THAT again - risking two flop singles in a row" since TBOJ&Y was at that time their most recent single)"

But for what album? Let It Be? Abbey Road was already recorded and out before Lennon even recorded and possibly before he even wrote (?) Cold Turkey.

Plus if they HAD agreed to record/release Cold Turkey as a Beatles single then (given the time frame) we almost certainly wouldn't have gotten the Something/Come Together single. Remember the Beatles NEVER extracted singles from previously released albums (in the UK where they actually HAD control over what/when things were released) prior to Something/Come Together - which was actually instigated by Klein to generate some much needed cash to help bail out the sinking ship that was Apple.

 

yes thats correct although i'm not sure what benefit that was to Apple since the Beatles apple records remained Capitol/EMI products, although i guess the extra revenue to the band would allow them to bail out Apple from the band coffers.

Something of course was a bit of a disaster, had it been released at the same time as AR in the UK it may have made number one, but being released a month later meant it failed to make the UK top spot. Ironically BOJ&Y was not a flop single in the UK and did make number one.

However i suspect you are right if Cold Turkey was seriously pitched by Lennon George and Paul would have likely vetoed it for commercial reasons as not being a strong enough track for a number one 45. They would have been right of course but its a shame, if John & Paul can sneak out Ballad with just the two of them on, I'd have like the seen the Beatles give CT a go.

 

Nice!

I had to settle for a Japanese pressing that I bought in the early 80s. It was packed in a soft poly sleeve that had the 45 in a green Toshiba EMI paper sleeve and there was a sheet containing the artwork on one side and the lyrics on the reverse. I like how they abbreviated the lyrics to Don't Worry Kyoko.

 

Was Cold Turkey already in the can before Toronto or after? The Toronto version sounds like they didn't really have the song down, compared to harder single version.
Great thread btw too. And just wondering whether the thread might include 'all' the solo singles released in the major markets, i.e.; for Ram we have Back Seat (UK), Admiral Halsey (US), Eat At Home (Europe). That alone makes for some interesting discussion around the merits or decisions as to why each 45 was realesed for specific markets. Also things like, in the US, My Sweet Lord and What Is Life were seperate releases, but doubled up on the UK release etc?