Monday, February 13, 2017

50 years ago: The Beatles released “Strawberry Fields Forever”

Strawberry Fields Forever

The Beatles

Writer(s): John Lennon, Paul McCartney (see lyrics here)


Released: February 13, 1967


First Charted: February 23, 1967


Peak: 8 US, 10 CB, 9 HR, 1 CL, 2 UK, 15 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)


Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 26.7 video, -- streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

The real Strawberry Field was a Salavation Army orphanage near John Lennon’s childhood home in Liverpool. TC John would go there to play, which his Aunt Mimi disapproved of, fearing the children there would lead John astray. However, John felt a kinship with them having lost his own parents. SF

The song itself isn’t really about a physical place but “a childlike state of mind” LW or “inner state of being.” AMG Far from being about “a utopia, though...it could be interpreted as an unhealthy escapist withdrawal.” AMG It also expresses Lennon’s experimentation with LSD and his attempt to find a sound that was its “aural equivalent.” LW “Strawberry Fields” took the Beatles experimentation from 1966 album Revolver to the next step. LW

During the recording process, however, Lennon grew frustrated after working on the song for a month TC and asked producer George Martin to merge two versions. Martin responded that they were in different keys and tempos TC but Lennon merely quipped, “Well, you can fix it.” TC Martin decreased the pitch on one section and sped up one piece while slowing down another TC in his greatest production effort. AMG

The result was the era’s most complicated pop song, TC showcasing “Lennon’s distant dreaming voice” LW and “new worlds of sound imagery” LW in what Lennon considered “his greatest accomplishment with the Beatles.” RS500 Indeed, it is one of the groups finest efforts and “one of the greatest psychedelic singles ever released.” BBC


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Last updated 11/25/2022.

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