Yellow Submarine (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Yellow Submarine”
Single by The Beatles from the album Revolver
B-side	"Eleanor Rigby"
Released	5 August 1966 (UK) 8 August 1966 (U.S.)
Format	7"
Recorded	Abbey Road Studios 26 May, 1 June 1966
Genre	Psychedelic pop
Length	2:38
Label	Parlophone (UK) Capitol (U.S.)
Writer(s)	Lennon/McCartney
Producer	George Martin
The Beatles singles chronology
"Paperback Writer" (1966) "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine" (1966) "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" (1967)
Music sample
"Yellow Submarine" Problems? See media help.
Revolver track listing
Side one "Taxman" "Eleanor Rigby" "I'm Only Sleeping" "Love You To" "Here, There and Everywhere" "Yellow Submarine" "She Said She Said" Side two "Good Day Sunshine" "And Your Bird Can Sing" "For No One" "Doctor Robert" "I Want to Tell You" "Got to Get You Into My Life" "Tomorrow Never Knows"
Yellow Submarine track listing
"Yellow Submarine" (1) "Only a Northern Song" (2)
Yellow Submarine Songtrack track listing
"Yellow Submarine" (1) "Hey Bulldog" (2)

"Yellow Submarine" is a 1966 song by The Beatles (credited to the Lennon-McCartney duo, but mainly written by McCartney) and the theme song for the 1968 animated United Artists film based on the music of the Beatles. It is also the title for the soundtrack album to the film, released as part of The Beatles' music catalogue.

[edit] Recording

"Yellow Submarine" was recorded on 26 May and 1 June 1966, at Abbey Road Studios.

[edit] Promotion

The "Yellow Submarine" single was the Beatles' thirteenth UK single. Ringo Starr performed lead vocals and played harmonica. It was released in the UK on 5 August as a 'double A side' with "Eleanor Rigby", and in the United States on 8 August.

[edit] Charts

[edit] United States

Original US release single

In the United States, the single was #2 on the Billboard "Hot 100", #1 in Record World, and #2 in Cashbox, where it was held off #1 by The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love".

[edit] United Kingdom

The single went to #1 on every major British chart, remained at #1 for four weeks and charted for 13 weeks. It won an Ivor Novello Award for the highest certified sales of any single issued in the UK in 1966. No promotional film clip was made, so some TV programs (including the BBC's Top Of The Pops) created their own clips from stock footage.

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Drug rumors

Following its release in August 1966, the song received bad publicity through rumors that it referred to hypnotic Nembutal capsules^{[citation needed]}. Paul McCartney vehemently denied the allegations, saying he had written the song as a children's tune.

[edit] "Bigger than Jesus"

The single was released at the height of the controversy surrounding John Lennon's remarks about Christianity and this has been cited as part of the reason that it failed to reach #1 on all US charts. Despite this, it sold 1,200,000 copies in only four weeks and earned the Beatles their twenty-first US Gold Record award, beating the record set by Elvis Presley.

[edit] Credits

• John Lennon – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Paul McCartney – bass guitar, backing vocals
• George Harrison – percussion, backing vocals
• Ringo Starr – lead vocals, drums, harmonica

Various people – including Neil Aspinall, Pattie Boyd, Donovan, Mal Evans, Marianne Faithfull, and Brian Jones – have been (unofficially) credited with contributing to the record's final vocal chorus, and/or sound effects such as the "party" noises (laughter, clinking glasses, etc.) on the second verse. Donovan reportedly also helped write the song (he reportedly wrote the line "sky of blue and sea of green").

[edit] Cover versions

In 1968, Apple Records issued a single by the Black Dyke Mills Band—a brass band—which featured a cover version of "Yellow Submarine" as the B-side. In 1966 Maurice Chevalier recorded a version in French ("Le sous-marin"). In 1967 Cathy Berberian recorded it with a baroque arrangement on the album "Revolution", later re-issued as "Beatles Arias".

[edit] See also

• List of fictional submarines