You Say You Want A Revolution?
Aside from being the greatest Musical Artists of the 20th century, The Beatles created some of the most timeless music there is: but they were far more than pop singles…and here is one of my favorite hard rock songs – that they didn’t agree on!
The “Revolution” / “Revolution 1” Controversy…
“Revolution” from The White Album is one of the band’s hardest rockers ever…but that wasn’t what John Lennon wanted!
Yes, that’s the cover – just the band’s name on a sea of white…it’s a double album filled with such classic songs as “Back In The USSR”, “Helter Skelter” and “Happiness Is A Warm Gun”, but it also had a song the band couldn’t agree on!
It all began with a song John wrote called “Revolution 1”, a bluesy call to action to overthrow a broken political system.
Lennon wanted “Revolution 1” to be the next Beatles single, but McCartney was reluctant to invite controversy, and argued along with Harrison that the track was too slow for a single. Lennon persisted, but rehearsals for a faster and louder remake, simply called “Revolution”, was recorded as well.
One aspect of the song that didn’t change were the lyrics, written by Lennon:
You say you want a revolution, well, you know
We all wanna change the world
You tell me that it’s evolution, well, you know
We all wanna change the world
[Pre-Chorus]
But when you talk about destruction
Don’t you know that you can count me out?
It is here in both versions that John adds the word “IN…” So do you count him out or in? Well, the band sent a very unique music video of the song to The Smothers Brothers Show, which was battling CBS over the network trying to censor the show’s anti-war messages. More on that in a moment but first, here is that video, a live performance that combines Paul’s hard rock version of the song as well as some of John’s slower “doo wop” version! It’s great!
WOW!
Ready for more confusion? The hard rock version isn’t even on The White Album – it was released only as a single on the flip side of Paul’s iconic song “Hey Jude!”
Meet the “Hey Jude” album – which was just a compilation of many of The Beatles singles that were never included on albums – they liked to release music between albums for fans to enjoy, then left them off the next album being released…this compilation included Paul’s version of “Revolution” plus “Hey Jude”, “Paperback Writer” and other singles and rarities like “Rain” from the band.
And now that Smothers Brothers story: that’s Tommy Smothers on the left, playing guitar with John and Yoko at their “bed-in for peace” event!
Here’s that fascinating story, which includes why the band gave the brothers that video!
As I said at the beginning, The Beatles rocked out a lot more than they were given credit for…here’s a great example: here’s the band performing Paul’s terrific “I’ve Got A Feeling” live on the roof of their London office building!
It was all part of their rooftop concert to promote their last album release, “Let It Be” – and decades after that documentary showcased the band’s breakup, Director Peter Jackson went back to into the vaults to create a massive new documentary that focused instead on their incredible creativity in the studio! It’s revelatory!
Click here for the amazing trailer:
And if you just want to know more and more about the group, you can take a deep dive into what is, arguably, the great single album release of all time:
From the iconic cover to the music inside, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is a revelation – click here for a look at the making of this timeless masterpiece:
What a time for music – but did you ever wonder: who kept the boys on schedule in the midst of all that chaos?
Well, Freda of course!
Here is the trailer for a really terrific documentary – “Good ‘Ol Freda!”
It’s a fascinating true story of the woman behind the Fab Four!
You can see more here:
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Categories: Art, British Cinema, Classic Rock, Cult Movies, documentary films, London, Memoirs, Politics, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, The Beatles
johnrieber 
Hi John, I didn’t know this Beatles song which is interesting as Hey Jude is the one Beatles song I really love.
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The best band ever. Modern day music owes them a huge debt.
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Yes, I have been a lifelong fan and this isn’t one of the songs you hear a ton of – but what a great rocker! Thanks for the comment, always great to hear from you
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The beauty of their music for me was that they weren’t afraid to try a wide range of styles, and always pulled them off. They could rock with the best!
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Me and The Beatles? Well, you already know. 😊 Shared on Twitter for you, John.
Best wishes, Pete.
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HA! Indeed Pete!
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