“Blackbird” is a song that resonates deeply with listeners, its gentle melody and evocative lyrics painting a picture of hope and perseverance. But beyond the beautifully crafted Blackbird Song Lyrics, lies a fascinating story of its creation within the tumultuous atmosphere of the Beatles’ “White Album” sessions. This article delves into the complete recording history of “Blackbird,” tracing its evolution from a home demo to a globally loved classic, offering insights into the musical genius of Paul McCartney and the innovative recording techniques employed at Abbey Road Studios.
From Kinfauns to EMI: The Genesis of “Blackbird”
The journey of “Blackbird” began in May 1968 at George Harrison’s home, Kinfauns, in Esher, Surrey. Using a four-track Ampex machine, Paul McCartney laid down the initial demo. This early version already showcased the core elements of the song: Paul’s acoustic guitar and double-tracked vocals, even featuring some ambient bird sounds added by John Lennon. Interestingly, the song’s structure and ending were still in flux, but the poignant blackbird song lyrics that would become so iconic were already fully formed.
Image alt text: The exterior of EMI Studios, later known as Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles recorded “Blackbird”.
Paul recognized the potential of “Blackbird” immediately, making it the first of his compositions to be brought to EMI Studios for consideration on their upcoming album, which would become known as the “White Album”. While it was the fourth song started for the album, “Blackbird” holds the distinction of being the first to be fully completed, remarkably recorded in a single day on June 11th, 1968. Session documents confirm the recording commenced in EMI Studio Two at 6:30 pm.
A Solo Effort Amidst Band Tensions: Recording “Blackbird”
Engineer Geoff Emerick, in his insightful book “Here, There And Everywhere,” provides a vivid account of the atmosphere during the “White Album” sessions and the specific circumstances surrounding the “Blackbird” recording. He recounts how the Beatles, increasingly strained in their relationships, had adopted a working method of splitting into smaller groups, often utilizing multiple studios within the Abbey Road complex simultaneously.
Image alt text: Cover of Geoff Emerick’s book “Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Beatles”, detailing his experiences engineering “Blackbird”.
Emerick explains, “It was as if the four band members were so much in separate spaces personally, they wanted to make their record in separate spaces physically.” On the evening “Blackbird” was recorded, this separation was evident. Emerick, who had a strong working rapport with Paul, was designated to work with him. Other engineers would accompany John and George Harrison, while Ringo Starr, often less involved in specific sessions at this stage, moved between studios as needed. Emerick describes this as the backdrop for the recording of “Blackbird,” Paul’s “poignant ballad” and first contribution to the album.
John Lennon was present during the initial rehearsals for “Blackbird,” from 6:30 to 7 pm, but his involvement was brief. Geoff Emerick clarifies that John, eager to begin compiling sound effects for “Revolution 9,” opted to move to another studio with producer Chris Thomas and Phil McDonald, accompanied by Yoko Ono. This left Paul, George Martin, and Geoff Emerick alone to focus on “Blackbird.” Notably, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were absent from the studio that day, being in San Francisco where George was filming with Ravi Shankar for the documentary “Raga.”
Image alt text: Producer Chris Thomas, who briefly joined the “Blackbird” session before moving on to work with John Lennon.
Arrangement Ideas and a Solo Path
Despite John’s short stay, he contributed to the early arrangement discussions. Tape recordings reveal Paul outlining his initial vision, including a potential string quartet after the second verse. George Martin also offered suggestions, proposing a complete stop in rhythm and tempo followed by a restart, envisioning an “arranged sound coming from a distance” to create a unique sonic texture. While the idea of a stop was retained, the elaborate orchestral arrangement was ultimately dropped. John playfully suggested a “little bit of brass band,” referencing Harry Nilsson’s arrangements, but Paul felt this idea was better suited for his other acoustic song, “Mother Nature’s Son,” which he proceeded to demonstrate.
Image alt text: Sheet music excerpt for “Mother Nature’s Son”, another song from the White Album where Paul McCartney considered brass arrangements.
Geoff Emerick recalls being immediately captivated by “Blackbird” as Paul played it. Paul, a known perfectionist, meticulously rehearsed the song, striving to nail the intricate guitar part. A brief interruption occurred when a cameraman arrived to film an Apple promo, but Paul continued undeterred, with his then-girlfriend present in the studio. Emerick notes that Paul’s recent breakup with Jane Asher might have contributed to his subdued demeanor during the “White Album” sessions.
Image alt text: Jane Asher, Paul McCartney’s former girlfriend, whose breakup may have influenced the atmosphere during the White Album sessions.
The Apple promo film, intended for EMI and Capitol Records executives, captured Paul’s dedicated rehearsal process for “Blackbird.” The film reveals the woman present to be Francie Schwartz, Paul’s girlfriend at the time, who would soon be succeeded by Linda Eastman. In the footage, George Martin briefly interrupts Paul’s rehearsal, seemingly causing a slight annoyance to Paul who remained focused on perfecting his performance.
Image alt text: Francie Schwartz, Paul McCartney’s girlfriend during the “White Album” sessions, pictured in conversation.
Recording Outdoors (or Not?) and the Quest for Perfection
Geoff Emerick recounts Paul’s desire for the recording to evoke an outdoor ambiance. Emerick suggested recording outside the echo chamber, a small space just outside the studio. He describes running a microphone lead outside and recording “Blackbird” there, adding that some bird sounds were captured live from sparrows and finches near Abbey Road.
Image alt text: An echo chamber at Abbey Road Studios, a space used for creating reverb and ambiance in recordings.
However, engineer Ken Scott offers a different perspective, stating that the bird sounds were solely from an EMI sound effects tape, and no traffic or other outdoor noises were present. This suggests Emerick might have conflated the “Blackbird” session with a later outdoor recording in 1974.
Image alt text: Cover of the book “Recording The Beatles”, a detailed account of The Beatles’ recording techniques at Abbey Road Studios.
Official recording commenced in EMI Studio Two on June 11th, with Paul performing 32 takes of “Blackbird” on acoustic guitar and vocals. A unique element of the recording was Paul’s foot tapping, specifically miked by Geoff Emerick at Paul’s request. Emerick, in “Recording The Beatles,” clarifies that this foot tapping, often mistaken for a metronome, is indeed Paul’s rhythmic accompaniment, clearly visible in the Apple promo film.
Image alt text: Portrait of Geoff Emerick, the recording engineer who played a crucial role in capturing the sound of “Blackbird”.
Two four-track tapes were used for the session, with rehearsals occupying a significant portion of the first tape. The numerous takes, coupled with false endings in many performances, led to some confusion in labeling. For instance, “take 23,” featured on “Anthology 3,” was actually marked as “take four” on the tape box. This take reveals Paul still refining the song’s structure and performance nuances, though background noise deemed it unusable for the final release. Another bootleg recording captures Paul stopping a take after singing “Blackbird singing in the dead of night….” and asking Geoff Emerick, “What do you think, what do you think?”
Despite the extensive effort, Paul aimed for a relaxed and effortless vocal delivery. After “take 16,” he remarked, “I’ve been trying to throw it away for the last hour.” “Take 28,” mislabeled “take nine,” was included in the “White Album” 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe box set. This take features a slightly different arrangement, ending with Paul repeating “dark black, dark black, dark black night.” Afterward, Paul consulted with the engineers and Francie Schwartz about vocal choices, leaning towards a quieter, more intimate vocal performance, a preference Francie agreed with.
Image alt text: A tape box labeled for the “Blackbird” recording session, showcasing the organizational aspects of studio recording.
Ultimately, “take 32” was chosen as the master. Paul then double-tracked his vocals during the refrains and added a second acoustic guitar part in the instrumental section. The EMI tape box details the track assignments: original vocal on track one, foot tapping on track two, initial acoustic guitar on track three, and double-tracked vocal and guitar on track four. Before concluding the session at 12:15 am, Geoff Emerick made six mono mix attempts, none of which were used for the final record.
Image alt text: Mal Evans, The Beatles’ road manager, who took away tape copies of mixes for the band to review.
A tape copy of “remix mono 6” was made on August 27th, 1968, considered the finalized mono mix at that stage. This tape, along with three others, was taken away by roadie Mal Evans for the Beatles’ review.
Final Mixes and the Birdsong
The stereo and mono mixes released to the public were created on October 13th, 1968, by George Martin and engineers Ken Scott and John Smith. The stereo mix was completed first, with only one attempt needed for each mix. The mono mix, strangely designated “remix 10,” despite only six previous attempts, features a key difference from the stereo version: the placement of bird sound effects. The mono mix keeps the instrumental break silent, while the stereo mix incorporates blackbird chirping sounds from a sound effects tape during this space.
Image alt text: George Martin, The Beatles’ producer, overseeing the mixing process for “Blackbird”.
Mark Lewisohn, in his book “The Beatles Recording Sessions,” identifies the bird sounds as coming from “’Volume Seven: Birds Of Feather,’ from the Abbey Road taped sound-effects collection.” Stuart Eltham, who recorded the bird sounds around 1965 in his garden using a portable EMI tape recorder, recalls capturing both the bird’s song and its alarm call when startled.
Image alt text: A blackbird, the bird whose song was used as a sound effect in the final mix of “Blackbird”.
Paul McCartney, in his 2021 book “The Lyrics,” explains EMI’s extensive sound library, allowing easy access to sound effects like blackbird song for “Blackbird.” He mentions the blackbird sound was added at the end of the song, filling the instrumental break. While some mistook it for a thrush, Stuart Eltham confirmed it was indeed a blackbird.
Paul clarified the song’s minimalist production, stating that unlike tracks on “Pepper,” they intentionally avoided adding violins or trumpets. He considered “Blackbird” a simple, self-sufficient song that didn’t require elaborate backing, highlighting its core strength in its melody and blackbird song lyrics.
Image alt text: A trumpet, representing the orchestral instruments that Paul McCartney decided against using in “Blackbird”.
Later Recordings and Live Performances
In January 1969, during Mary Hopkin‘s “Postcard” album sessions, Paul and Donovan were recorded casually performing “Blackbird.” Paul even included a blackbird imitation between vocal lines and humorously recounted singing the song to Diana Ross, joking about her mock offense.
Image alt text: Cover of Mary Hopkin’s album “Postcard”, featuring Paul McCartney and Donovan, where a casual recording of “Blackbird” was made.
Another recording session took place on August 30th, 1974, at Elstree Studio for a Wings film, later released as “One Hand Clapping.” Club Sandwich magazine detailed how Paul opted to record outdoors in the studio’s yard. Geoff Emerick, also involved in this session, may have confused this outdoor recording with the original EMI session.
Image alt text: Cover of Club Sandwich magazine, featuring an article detailing Paul McCartney’s outdoor recording session for “Blackbird” in 1974.
In 1996, George Martin and Geoff Emerick created a stereo mix of “take 23” for the “Anthology 3” compilation, offering a clearer insight into the recording process.
Image alt text: George Martin in later years, revisiting the “Blackbird” master tapes to create new mixes.
Between 2004 and 2006, George Martin and Giles Martin combined instrumental segments of “Blackbird” with “Yesterday” for the “Love” album, creating the track “Blackbird” / ”Yesterday.”
Image alt text: Giles Martin, son of George Martin, who continued his father’s work on Beatles recordings, including “Blackbird”.
Sam Okell and Giles Martin later created a new stereo mix for the “White Album” 50th Anniversary editions, accurately placing the blackbird sound effects. They also mixed the Esher demo and “take 28,” including Paul’s dialogue with Francie Schwartz.
Image alt text: Sam Okell, a recording engineer who worked with Giles Martin on the 50th Anniversary mixes of “Blackbird”.
“Blackbird” has been a constant in Paul McCartney’s live performances, captured on albums like “Wings Over America,” “Unplugged (The Official Bootleg),” “Back In The US,” “Back In The World,” “Paul McCartney Live In Los Angeles,” “Amoeba Gig,” and “Good Evening New York City,” demonstrating the song’s enduring appeal to audiences worldwide.
Image alt text: Paul McCartney performing live in Los Angeles, showcasing the continued popularity of “Blackbird” in his concerts.
From its humble beginnings as a demo to its status as a timeless classic, the recording history of “Blackbird” reflects both the simplicity and the meticulous craftsmanship that define Paul McCartney’s songwriting and the innovative spirit of The Beatles in the studio. The enduring power of the blackbird song lyrics, combined with its delicate acoustic arrangement, ensures its place as one of the most beloved songs in music history.
