The Beatles - Lady Madonna
The Beatles - Lady Madonna 1968
"Lady Madonna" is a song by The Beatles credited to Lennon/McCartney. In March 1968, it was released as a single, backed with "The Inner Light". The song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios during sessions on 3 February and 6 February 1968 before the Beatles left for India. This single was the last release by the band on Parlophone in the UK, where it reached number one, and Capitol Records in the U.S., where it reached number four. All subsequent releases, starting with "Hey Jude" in August 1968, were released on their own label Apple Records, under EMI distribution, until the late 1970s, when Capitol and Parlophone re-released old material.
The piano playing on this song was inspired by 1950s rock/blues pianist, Fats Domino. McCartney recalled in 1994, "'Lady Madonna' was me sitting down at the piano trying to write a bluesy boogie-woogie thing ... It reminded me of Fats Domino for some reason, so I started singing a Fats Domino impression. It took my voice to a very odd place." Domino himself covered the song later in 1968, and it became his most recent U.S. Hot 100 hit (peaking at exactly #100).
The song and in particular the introduction are similar to Humphrey Lyttelton's "Bad Penny Blues" from 1956. John Lennon helped write the lyrics. The line "see how they run" was included after his suggestion (and was a theme that had been used in the previous year's "I Am the Walrus").
A remixed version of this song was featured in the Cirque du Soleil show Love. In this form, the saxophone solo is played almost un-accompanied at the very beginning of the song. The drum intro to "Why Don't We Do It In the Road" can be heard at the beginning. After the first two verses, it changes to the riff from "Hey Bulldog" in A minor, with a remixed version of the Hammond Organ solo from "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and parts of Eric Clapton's guitar solo from "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". It then returns to the original form of the song, and at the very end a saxophone solo outro is played.
* Paul McCartney -- vocals, piano, bass, handclaps
* John Lennon -- backing vocals, lead guitar, handclaps
* George Harrison -- backing vocals, lead guitar, handclaps
* Ringo Starr -- drums, handclaps
* Ronnie Scott -- tenor saxophone
* Bill Povey -- tenor saxophone
* Harry Klein -- baritone saxophone
* Bill Jackman -- baritone saxophone
* George Martin -- Producer
* Ken Scott -- Engineer
* Geoff Emerick -- Engineer
In other news, I have added the lyrics to this song so you can sing along, or perhaps learn the song! This is how I learned my first Beatles song! Enjoy :)
