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Paul did not play bass!
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 12:04 pm
by shamustwin
...on some Beatles' recordings. Can anybody come up with a list with songs that either John or George did? This is something I didn't know til I read it on this forum, thank you very much!
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 12:27 pm
by apollo11
Lennon, bass on Hey Jude
Harrison, bass on Old Brown Shoe
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:50 pm
by stuart
There's a thread at Voxtalks with tons of replies that has a pretty good list....
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 2:13 pm
by bosifis
Didn't George play bass on "She Said, She Said"?
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 2:19 pm
by glass_onion
harrison on old brown shoe? is that for real?
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 3:21 pm
by soundmasterg
I've heard that Helter Skelter is another one Paulie didn't play on. Maybe Taxman too? And yes, Harrison on Old Brown Shoe is for real.
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 3:53 pm
by revolver323
Harrison on "She Said, She Said" because Paul left in a huff for some reason. Paul played the guitar solo on "Taxman" but I think he also played bass.
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 3:53 pm
by swedish_nick
Paul definitely played bass on Taxman.
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2005 5:56 pm
by sloop_john_b
It was Lennon on "The Long and Winding Road" and most likely "Let it Be" as well.
Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 6:05 am
by teeder
I wonder what song George is playing here?
I think it was during Abbey Road.
Wish there was a full shot.

Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 1:52 pm
by maplered
George played bass on Hey Jude, not Lennon. That photo of George w/ the jazz bass is probably from Golden Slumbers. He did play bass on that one.
Paul did play bass on Old Brown Shoe. He doubled George's guitar line. George basically wrote the bass line and Paul doubled it.
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:24 pm
by iamthebassman
I always thought Paul played bass on the recording of "Hey Jude".
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:42 pm
by revolver323
From Lewisohn's "The Beatles Recording Sessions": "Thursday, Aug. 1, 1968 -- Between 5 and 8 p.m. on this day Paul McCartney overdubbed a bass guitar and his lead vocal ... Then from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. the orchestra was recorded for the musical build-up during the song's long refrain. (The bass guitar part was wiped in favour of a separate track for the strings.)" The next day, final mixes were done. Piano, guitars, drums and a scratch vocal had been recorded the previous day according to the book. Nowhere does Lewisohn say that McCartney redid the bass part but if it was wiped, wehave to assume that Paul redid the bass after strings were added. At any rate, he did play bass.
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:41 pm
by danbind
Later, they mimed to a film for "Hey Jude", where George was shown "playing" a Fender VI--this is the source of the misconception.
According to "Beatles Gear" by Andy Babiuk, John or George played the bass part on the Fender VI relatively often, when Paul was playing something else. "Back in the USSR" was actually recorded during a period where Ringo had briefly quit, with a basic track of Paul on drums, George on guitar, and John on the VI. John also overdubbed Fender VI on Helter Skelter. George played it on "Honey Pie".
Paul played ALL the instruments on "Why Don't We Do It in the Road", actually (according to Babiuk).
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:26 am
by revolver323
Why DON'T we do it in the road, by the way? Still the great unanswered musical question of all time ...
