“Free as a Bird”
Single by The Beatles from the album Anthology 1
B-side	"Christmas Time (Is Here Again)"
Released	4 December 1995 (UK) 12 December 1995 (U.S.)
Format	7", CD
Recorded	New York City, circa 1977 and Sussex, February-March 1994
Genre	Rock
Length	4:26
Label	Apple Records
Producer	Jeff Lynne, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
The Beatles singles chronology
"Baby It's You" (1995) "Free as a Bird" (1995) "Real Love" (1996)
Music sample
"Free as a Bird" Problems? See media help. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Anthology 1 is a Compilation album by The Beatles and the first of a three-volume collection A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch Vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s Christmas Time (Is Here Again ( Lennon / McCartney / Harrison / Starkey) is a Christmas song recorded by The Beatles in 1967 "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A gramophone A CD single (abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single The City of New York Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947 in Shard End, Birmingham) is a Grammy Award -winning English rock Songwriter John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 was an English rock Guitarist Singer - Songwriter, Author Ringo Starr, MBE (born Richard Starkey on 7 July 1940 is an English Musician, Singer, Songwriter and Actor The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 " Baby It's You " is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music and Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams and Mack David (lyrics " Real Love " is a song written by John Lennon. "Real Love" was subsequently reworked by the three remaining members of The Beatles ( Paul McCartney

"Free as a Bird" is a song performed by The Beatles. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 The single was released in 4 December 1995, as part of the promotion for the release of The Beatles Anthology video documentary and the band's Anthology 1 compilation album. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The Beatles Anthology is the name of a documentary series a series of three albums and a book all of which focus on the history of The Beatles. Anthology 1 is a Compilation album by The Beatles and the first of a three-volume collection A compilation album is an Album ( Music or Spoken-word) featuring tracks from one or multiple Recording artists, often culled from a variety of

The song had been written and recorded as a demo by John Lennon in 1977. A demo version or demo of a song (shortened from the word "demonstration" is one recorded for reference rather than for release John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born Paul McCartney asked Lennon's widow Yoko Ono for any unreleased material by Lennon, and "Free as a Bird" was chosen as being the song all three remaining Beatles could be involved in, as they could finish the arrangement and write extra lyrics. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, born in Tokyo on February 18 1933 is a Japanese Artist and Musician. Jeff Lynne of The Electric Light Orchestra was asked to co-produce the record as he had worked with George Harrison as part of The Traveling Wilburys. Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947 in Shard End, Birmingham) is a Grammy Award -winning English rock Songwriter George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 was an English rock Guitarist Singer - Songwriter, Author Traveling Wilburys was a supergroup consisting of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.

The music video for "Free as a Bird" was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka (Space Jam) and depicts, from the point of view of a bird in flight, many references to Beatles songs, such as "Penny Lane", "Paperback Writer", "A Day in the Life", "Eleanor Rigby" and "Helter Skelter". A music video is a Short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music most commonly a Song with lyrics Space Jam is a 1996 American Live-action/animated film starring Michael Jordan opposite Bugs Bunny (voiced by " Penny Lane " is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney, recorded during the Sgt " Paperback Writer " is a 1966 pop rock song recorded and released by The Beatles. "A Day in the Life" is a song by the British rock band The Beatles, written by John Lennon with the middle eight by Paul McCartney " Eleanor Rigsby " is a song by The Beatles, originally released on the 1966 Album Revolver. " Helter Skelter " is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon/McCartney, and recorded by The Beatles on The White Album "Free as a Bird" later won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and was The Beatles' 34th Top 10 single in America. The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal has been awarded since 1966

Origins

The Dakota building, where Lennon lived, composed and recorded a demo of the song on cassette

McCartney, Harrison and Ringo Starr originally intended to record some incidental background music (as a trio) for the Anthology project, but wanted to record new songs. The Dakota, constructed from October 25, 1880 to October 27, 1884, is an Apartment building located on the northwest corner of Ringo Starr, MBE (born Richard Starkey on 7 July 1940 is an English Musician, Singer, Songwriter and Actor ^[1] The Beatles had always agreed that if one of them did not agree with something the idea would be vetoed, so the only way they could reunite musically as The Beatles was if Lennon could be on the recording. ^[2]

McCartney then asked Ono if she had any unreleased recordings by Lennon, so she sent him cassette tapes of for songs. ^[3][4] "Free as a Bird" was recorded by Lennon in 1977, in his and Ono's Dakota building apartment in New York City, but was not complete. The Dakota, constructed from October 25, 1880 to October 27, 1884, is an Apartment building located on the northwest corner of The City of New York Lennon introduced the song on the cassette by imitating a New York accent and saying, "Free - as a boid" (bird). ^[5][6][7] The other songs were Grow Old with Me, Real Love, and Now and Then. " Grow Old With Me " is one of the final songs written by John Lennon in 1980 which later appeared on the posthumous album Milk and Honey " Real Love " is a song written by John Lennon. "Real Love" was subsequently reworked by the three remaining members of The Beatles ( Paul McCartney " Now and Then " (also known as " I Don't Want to Lose You " or " Miss You " is the name given to an unreleased composition by ^[8] Ono said: "It was all settled before then, I just used that occasion to hand over the tapes personally to Paul. I did not break up The Beatles, but I was there at the time, you know? Now I'm in a position where I could bring them back together and I would not want to hinder that. It was kind of a situation given to me by fate. ^[9]

In an interview, McCartney remarked: "Yoko said 'I've got a couple of tracks I'll play you, you might be interested'. I'd never heard them before but she explained that they're quite well known to Lennon fans as bootlegs. A bootleg recording is an audio and/or Video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority I said to Yoko, 'Don't impose too many conditions on us, it's really difficult to do this, spiritually. We don't know, we may hate each other after two hours in the studio and just walk out. So don't put any conditions, it's tough enough. If it doesn't work out, you can veto it. ' When I told George and Ringo I'd agreed to that they were going, 'What? What if we love it?' It didn't come to that, luckily". ^[9] McCartney was later surprised to learn that Lennon's demo song of "Free as a Bird" had already been released on the Internet by fans, and was widely available. ^[5][10] Starr admitted that when he first listened to the recording he found it very emotional. ^[11]

Recording

The remaining Beatles decided that Lynne would produce the record (as he had worked with George Harrison as part of The Traveling Wilburys) and not George Martin, who had produced most Beatles' material before then, because of Martin's problems with his hearing. Sir George Henry Martin CBE (3 January 1926 is a British record producer arranger and Composer. ^[7] McCartney said: "George wasn't involved, no. George doesn't want to produce much any more 'cause his hearing's not as good as it used to be. He's a very sensible guy, and he says, 'Look, Paul I like to do a proper job', and if he doesn't feel he's up to it he won't do it. It's very noble of him, actually — most people would take the money and run". ^[12]

The original tape of Lennon singing the song was on a cassette, with vocals and piano on the same track. ^[13] They were impossible to separate, so Lynne had to produce the track with voice and piano together, but commented that it was good for the integrity of the project, as Lennon was not only singing occasional lines, but also playing on the song. ^[14] Starr said that as Lennon was not in the studio, the three remaining Beatles agreed they would pretend that Lennon had "gone for lunch", or had gone for a "cup of tea". ^[15] The remaining Beatles recorded a track around Lennon's basic song idea, but which had gaps they had to fill in musically. ^[16] Some chords were changed (an F to an E suspended) and the arrangement was expanded to include breaks for McCartney and Harrison to sing extra lines. Harrison played slide guitar in the solo. ^[17]

The Beatles' overdubs and production were recorded between February and March 1994 in Sussex, England, at McCartney's home studio. Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland ^[18] It ends with a slight coda, including a strummed ukulele by Harrison (an instrument for which McCartney and Harrison were known to have often played) and the voice of John Lennon played backwards. Coda ( Italian for "tail" from the Latin cauda, see below is a term used in Music in a number of different senses primarily to designate The ukulele (ˌjʉːkəˈlɛɪli from ʻukulele /ˌʔukuˈlele/ variantly spelled ukelele (particularly in the UK) or alternatively abbreviated uke ^[19] The message, when played in reverse, is "Turned out nice again", which was the catch-phrase of George Formby. A catch phrase (or catchphrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance George Formby may refer to George Formby Jr, banjolele player singer and comedian 1904 - 1961 George Formby Sr ^[7] The final result sounds like "made by John Lennon", which, according to McCartney, was unintentional and was only discovered after the surviving Beatles reviewed the final mix. ^[20] When Starr heard McCartney and Harrison singing the harmonies, and later the finished song, he said that it sounded just like them [The Beatles]. He explained his comment by saying that he looked at the project as "an outsider". ^[21] Lynne fully expected the finished to sound like The Beatles, as that was his premise for the project, but Harrison added: "It's gonna sound like them [The Beatles] if it is them. . . It sounds like them now" [in the present]. ^[22]

McCartney, Harrison and Starr all agreed that the recording was more pleasurable than when they later recorded "Real Love" (the second song chosen for release) as it was almost finished, they had very little input, and felt like sidemen for Lennon. Session musicians are musicians available for hire as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical outfit or who have acquired fame in their own right ^[23]

Structure

The song is the key of A Major, in a meter of 4/4, and uses the I-vi-iv-V7 model. In Music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways The time signature (also known as " meter signature" is a notational convention used in Western Musical notation to specify how many beats The structure is composed of:
Intro
Verse (2X - Lennon)
Bridge (McCartney)
Verse (2X)
Bridge (Harrison - half-length)
Guitar solo (over a verse)
Verse
Outro^[24]

Music video

The music video for "Free as a Bird" was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka (Space Jam) and depicts, from the point of view of a bird in flight, many references to Beatles songs, such as "Penny Lane", "Paperback Writer", "A Day in the Life", "Eleanor Rigby" and "Helter Skelter". In Music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. The structures or Musical forms of Songs in Popular music are typically sectional forms such as Strophic form. This article is about a bridge section in a piece of popular or classical music An outro (sometimes "outtro" or extro is the Conclusion to a piece of music literature or television program Space Jam is a 1996 American Live-action/animated film starring Michael Jordan opposite Bugs Bunny (voiced by Between 80 and 100 allusions to The Beatles' story, music and lyrics in the video have been estimated. ^[25] Although the bird can be heard at the beginning of the video, it is never seen. Neil Aspinall (Apple Records executive at the time) said that this was because no-one could agree on what kind of bird it should be. Neil Aspinall (13 October 1941 — 23 March 2008 was a British music industry executive Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. ^[26] Pytka had to send his ideas to McCartney, Harrison and Starr, as well as Ono, to make sure they all agreed before he could proceed with the filming of the video. Derek Taylor (ex-Apple Records executive) sent a two-page letter to Pytka confirming that he could proceed, and personally encouraged and supported Pytka's ideas. Derek Taylor ( May 7, 1932 &ndash September 8, 1997) was a British journalist best known as the long-serving press agent for the hugely ^[27] The video was filmed in as many authentic locations as possible: Penny Lane was made by Pytka's art department to look as it was in the 1950s, and other locations filmed were The Liver Building, and Liverpool Docks (as a reference to Lennon's father Alfred Lennon). The Royal Liver Building (pronounced ˈlaɪvə) is a building in Liverpool, England; part of the city's UNESCO World heritage The Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed dock system that runs from Herculaneum Dock to Seaforth Dock, in the city of Liverpool, Alfred "Alf" Lennon (14 December 1912 – 1 April 1976 was the Father of English musician John Lennon. ^[28]

Although Pytka fixed the ideas on a storyboard, he abandoned it as soon as filming began, and followed ideas based on what angles and perspectives the steadycam camera produced. See also Pre-production Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of Illustrations or Images displayed in sequence for the purpose of A steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a Motion-picture camera, which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera allowing a very smooth shot even when One instance was the filming of the car crash, which Pytka filmed for hours from above, but realised that a steadycam shot on the ground was a much better idea. ^[29] Archive footage was used by imposing it on scenes shot by Pytka, who utilised a greenscreen stage to digitally blend it into the finished film, such as the Old English Sheepdog in the graveyard, and the elephant in the ballroom procession scene. In Film and Video, footage is the raw unedited material as it had been originally recorded by video Camera, which usually must be edited to Chroma Key is the name under which ex- Dream Theater Keyboardist Kevin Moore records The ^[30] The elephant was put in last, as Aspinall phoned Pytka and said that Starr liked the scene, but insisted an elephant be put in it, which Pytka later did, as he had already put a sitar in at the request of Harrison. The sitar ( Hindi: सितार Urdu: ستار Persian: سی تار) is a Plucked stringed instrument. ^[31] Apart from the steadycam shots, Pytka used a Russian-made Akil-crane for sweeping overhead shots, such as the Abbey Road zebra crossing shot at the end, as well as a remote-controlled toy helicopter with a camera added to it for intricate aerial shots. ^[32]

A ukulele, which Harrison played at the end of "Free as a Bird"

Harrison played the ukulele in the studio for the song, and asked to appear as the ukulele player seen only from behind at the very end of the video. The ukulele (ˌjʉːkəˈlɛɪli from ʻukulele /ˌʔukuˈlele/ variantly spelled ukelele (particularly in the UK) or alternatively abbreviated uke Pytka resisted this, as he felt it would be wrong for any contemporary members of The Beatles to appear on screen. Pytka later stated that it was "heartbreaking" that Harrison had not played the role, particularly after Harrison's death in 2001 and upon discovering that the ukulele was not a sample of an old song as Pytka had assumed. ^[33] The video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 1997. The Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video has been awarded since 1984. ^[7]

Chart performance and critical reception

"Free as a Bird" was premiered on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of 20 November 1995. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 ^[34] It was released as a single in the UK on 4 December 1995, two weeks after its appearance on the Anthology 1 album. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The single sold 120,000 copies in its first week, entering the UK Singles Chart at #2, but it was kept off the #1 position by Michael Jackson's "Earth Song". The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC on behalf of the British record industry Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29 1958 is an American musician entertainer and businessman " Earth Song " is a song by Michael Jackson featured on Jackson's 1995 HIStory album It remained in the charts for 8 weeks. ^[35] In the U. S. , the song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming The Beatles' 34th Top 10 single in America. ^[6][36]

It was the first time a new recording had been released under The Beatles' name since "The Long and Winding Road" in 1970. " The Long and Winding Road " is a Ballad written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) that originally appeared on The Beatles ^[5][6] The promotional video was broadcast during episode one of "The Beatles Anthology" that aired on ITV in the UK and ABC in the U. The Beatles Anthology is the name of a documentary series a series of three albums and a book all of which focus on the history of The Beatles. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. S. ^[37][38]

"Free as a Bird" was greeted with mixed reviews. Its release was criticized by one writer in The Guardian as a publicity gimmick, exploiting The Beatles brand, and owing less to The Beatles than Lynne. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ^[39] The Independent called the song "disappointingly low-key. The Independent is a British compact Newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly 's Independent News & Media. . . George's guitar weeps gently enough when required, but the overall effect is of a dirge. "^[40] Chris Carter, who is the host of "Breakfast with The Beatles" on KLSX-FM in Los Angeles, commented: "I would value any song (especially if it was great) performed by John, Paul, George and Ringo, no matter how (or when) it was recorded. "^[41] "Free as a Bird" later won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. ^[6]

Credits

• John Lennon: lead vocal and piano. John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born
• Paul McCartney: lead and backing vocals, piano, acoustic guitar and bass guitar. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer,
• George Harrison: lead vocal and backing vocal, lead, acoustic and slide guitars and ukulele. George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 was an English rock Guitarist Singer - Songwriter, Author
• Ringo Starr: drums and percussion. Ringo Starr, MBE (born Richard Starkey on 7 July 1940 is an English Musician, Singer, Songwriter and Actor

Track listings

• 7" UK: R6422 / USA: NR-58497

1. "Free as a Bird" – 2:42
   • Original composition by Lennon; The Beatles version by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey.
   • Produced by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Starkey, and Lynne.
2. "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" – 3:02
   • By Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey. Christmas Time (Is Here Again ( Lennon / McCartney / Harrison / Starkey) is a Christmas song recorded by The Beatles in 1967
   • Music recorded 28 November, 1967 at EMI Studios, London. Greetings recorded 6 December, 1966 at EMI Studios, London.

• CD UK: CDR6422 / USA: CDP 58497

1. "Free as a Bird" – 4:26
2. "I Saw Her Standing There" – 2:51
   • By Lennon and McCartney Recorded 11 February, 1963 at EMI Studios, London. " I Saw Her Standing There " is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and is the opening track on the The Beatles ' debut Album Produced by Martin.
   • This version (take 9) was recorded after the more familiar version released as an album track on Please Please Me. Please Please Me is the first album recorded by The Beatles, rush-released on March 22, 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalise The introductory count-in from take 9 was actually edited onto the start of take 1 to create the version that can be heard on the Please Please Me album.
3. "This Boy" – 3:17
   • By Lennon and McCartney. "This Boy" is a song by The Beatles composed by John Lennon,and was first released in November 1963 as the B-side of the UK Recorded 17 October, 1963 at EMI Studios, London. Produced by Martin.
   • Here are two fun, but incomplete, versions (takes 12 and 13) of this song; both of them break down in laughter.
4. "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" – 3:02

Notes

References

• The Beatles (2003). The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 The Beatles Anthology (DVD). The Beatles Anthology is the name of a documentary series a series of three albums and a book all of which focus on the history of The Beatles. Apple records. Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. ASIN: B00008GKEG.  

External links

• Free As A Bird video shots
• Notes on song structure
• Free as a Bird video on YouTube