Dear Prudence
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| “Dear Prudence” | ||
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| Song by The Beatles | ||
| Album | The Beatles | |
| Released | 22 November 1968 | |
| Recorded | 28 August 1968 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:57 | |
| Label | Apple Records | |
| Writer | Lennon/McCartney | |
| Producer | George Martin | |
| The Beatles track listing | ||
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Side one
Side two
Side three
Side four
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| “Dear Prudence” | |||||
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| Single by Siouxsie & the Banshees from the album Hyæna |
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| B-side | "Tattoo", There's a Planet in my Kitchen" | ||||
| Released | September 23, 1983 | ||||
| Format | 7" single, 12" single | ||||
| Recorded | 1983 | ||||
| Genre | Post-punk | ||||
| Length | 3:48 | ||||
| Label | Polydor | ||||
| Writer(s) | Lennon/McCartney | ||||
| Producer | Siouxsie & the Banshees | ||||
| Siouxsie & the Banshees singles chronology | |||||
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"Dear Prudence" is a song written by John Lennon,[1] and credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was initially performed by The Beatles and is the second track on the 1968 double-disc album The Beatles (also known as "The White Album"). It was recorded in one take at Abbey Road on 28 August 1968.
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[edit] Origins
The song is about actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, who was present when the Beatles visited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. Prudence, focused on meditation, stayed in her room for the majority of their stay.[1] Lennon, who was worried that she was depressed, wrote this song for her, inviting her to "come out to play". While the Beatles left the course, Mia, Prudence, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, and others, stayed and became Transcendental Meditation (or TM) teachers. Prudence now teaches elementary school along with her husband, and they both still practice TM and advanced versions of it.[citation needed]
This song, along with the preceding track "Back in the U.S.S.R.", features Paul McCartney on drums rather than Ringo Starr, who had recently walked out. Starr returned after the recording of this song to find flowers waiting for him on his drumkit [2] (which were a gift from George Harrison).
Lennon considered this song to be one of his favorite Beatles songs, and his son Julian Lennon has named it his favorite.
In 1987, Lennon's original handwritten copy of the lyrics was sold at auction for $19,500.
[edit] Credits
- John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal and backing vocal; lead and acoustic guitars
- Paul McCartney – backing vocal, drums, bass, piano and flügelhorn
- George Harrison – backing vocal; lead and rhythm guitars
- Mal Evans – backing vocal, handclaps
- Jackie Lomax – backing vocal, handclaps
- John McCartney – backing vocal, handclaps
(according to Mark Lewisohn)[3]
[edit] Siouxsie & The Banshees version
English rock band Siouxsie & the Banshees released "Dear Prudence" in 1983. The band has repeatedly mentioned the Beatles as musical influences, and previously recorded a cover version of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter". "Dear Prudence" became one of Siouxsie & the Banshees' biggest hits, peaking at number three in the UK singles chart during 1983.
[edit] Other cover versions
- 1970, The Five Stairsteps released a version of the song as the B-side of their 1970 hit "Oooh Child"; it reached #49 on its own on the R&B music charts.
- 1976, Leslie West covered the song on his 1976 LP The Leslie West Band[1]
- 1970s, Graham Central Station recorded a previously unreleased version of the song in the mid-1970's. It appears on 2001 greatest hits album The Jam: The Larry Graham & Graham Central Station Anthology.
- 1973, Australian rocker Doug Parkinson released a cover of the song in 1973 on the Polydor label, which was a top twenty hit in that country.
- 1980s, The Jerry Garcia Band was known to have covered the song regularly during the 1980s and 1990s. It was thought to be one of Jerry Garcia's favourite Beatles songs. JGB's rendition was often extended and improvised (with many versions exceeding ten minutes) in accordance with their musical style.
- 2000, The end of the Aimee Mann song "Susan", from her album Bachelor No. 2 (2000) the guitar plays several iterations of the distinctive chord pattern and riff from "Dear Prudence".
- 2000, Alanis Morissette also covered the song in some of her live shows and performed it at the John Lennon tribute in 2000.
- 2002, Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau covered the song in his 2002 album entitled Largo.
- 2005, Yonder Mountain String Band covers the song in live shows (Bonnaroo 2005, for example).
- 2007, Featued in the movie Across the Universe
- 2008, Umphrey's McGee covered the song on February 11th, 2008, at the Majestic Ventura Theatre in Ventura, California.
- Canadian band Our Lady Peace has covered the song in live shows.
- Carbon Leaf has covered the song in concerts and also recorded a version for an iTunes-only set of covers.
- Raq covers the song in live shows.
- Jaco Pastorius covered the song with a band in a live performance recorded for the album titled Live in New York City
- volume two.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press, 198-199. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, Second Revised Edition, London: Pimlico (Rand), 310-311. ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
- ^ The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years (1962-1970) ISBN 0-681-03189-1
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