What Goes On (Beatles song)
"What Goes On" | ||||
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Single by the Beatles | ||||
A-side | "Nowhere Man" | |||
Released |
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Recorded | 4 November 1965 | |||
Country and western | ||||
Length | 2:50 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney–Starkey | |||
Producer(s) | George Martin | |||
The Beatles US singles chronology | ||||
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"What Goes On" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, featured as the eighth track on their 1965 album Rubber Soul. The song was later released as the B-side of the US single "Nowhere Man", and then as the tenth track on the North America-only album Yesterday and Today. It is the only song by the band credited to Lennon–McCartney–Starkey and the only song on Rubber Soul that features Ringo Starr on lead vocals. The song reached number 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.
Composition
John Lennon wrote the song in early 1959, likely at 251 Menlove Avenue.[1] The early version of the song is heavily inspired by Buddy Holly,[1] and differed substantially from the Rubber Soul version with only the chorus being the same.[2]
Recording
"From Me to You" session, 1963
On 5 March 1963, during a session for "
Rubber Soul sessions, 1965
Neil Aspinall recalls that McCartney made a multitrack home demo of the song in 1965: "When Paul wanted to show Ringo how 'What Goes On' sounded he made up a multi-track tape. Onto this went Paul singing, Paul playing lead guitar, Paul playing bass and Paul playing drums. Then Ringo listened to the finished tape and added his own ideas before the recording session."[12]
The Rubber Soul version was recorded in one take, with
Martin, assisted by Smith and Jerry Boys, mixed the song for mono and stereo on 9 November 1965.[14] Harrison's Gretsch Tennessean guitar is muted during the last two bars of the mono mix. Everett suggests this likely happened because the engineer meant to mute the vocal track but forgot that Harrison's guitar was on that track as well.[13]
Release and reception
The Beatles released "What Goes On" in both mono and stereo in the U.K. on the 3 December 1965 release Rubber Soul.
Critics have generally been unfavourable towards the song when comparing it with the others on Rubber Soul. Beatles writer Kenneth Womack asserts that the song is "quite arguably the weakest and most incongruous track on the album."[20] Professor of English and writer James M. Decker writes the song represents, "a retrograde achievement lyrically," then adds, "Lyrically formulaic and musically plain (though perhaps the 'country' feel is offered as an arch parody of the lyrics), 'What Goes On' anchors the Beatles in the very tradition that they are exploding during many other moments on Rubber Soul."[21] MacDonald writes the song "has the same sloppy country-and-western ambience as "Act Naturally".[7] For AllMusic, Richie Unterberger writes the song is an "enjoyable if lightweight" country & western-flavoured entry in the Beatles catalogue. He praises Harrison's guitar work, which "again marks him as the finest disciple of Carl Perkins."[22] Everett describes McCartney's bass as "soulful."[9] He further writes that after "What Goes On", the Beatles rockabilly style went "into dormancy".[23]
Cover versions
Sufjan Stevens recorded a cover of the song in 2005 for the compilation album, This Bird Has Flown – A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul. In a review for Pitchfork, Rob Mitchum writes that Stevens takes Starr's "abysmal country tune" and turns it into, "a really good Sufjan Stevens song, arranged for the full Illinoisemaker band with choral interludes, diving strings, and a surprisingly gritty jam."[24] Barry Walters of Rolling Stone magazine writes, "Changing chords, rewriting melody, overhauling rhythms and resequencing large chunks of lyrics, the ever-ambitious Sufjan Stevens turns 'What Goes On' inside out with an intricate stop-and-start arrangement that affirms Rubber Soul's elastic strength."[25] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic was less favourable, describing Stevens track as, "the only severe misstep in an album filled with good, generally pleasant covers."[26]
Personnel
According to Ian MacDonald:[7]
- Ringo Starr – vocal, drums
- John Lennon – harmony vocal, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass guitar
- George Harrison – lead guitar
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (1966) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard Hot 100[27] | 81 |
References
Citations
- ^ a b Lewisohn 2013, p. 215.
- ^ Lewisohn 2013, p. 215n.
- ^ a b Lewisohn 1988, p. 28.
- ^ a b Lewisohn 1988, p. 67.
- ^ Sheff 2000, p. 178.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 275.
- ^ a b c d MacDonald 2005, p. 176.
- ^ Everett 1999, p. 206.
- ^ a b Everett 2001, p. 329.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 411n154.
- ^ Marinucci, Steve (21 September 2017). "Unreleased 1963 Beatles Demo Up for Sale on eBay: Listen to a Snippet". Billboard. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ Aspinall 1966, p. 6, quoted in Everett 2001, p. 329
- ^ a b c d Everett 2001, p. 330.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 68.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 69.
- ^ Womack 2009, p. 290.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 336.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 207.
- ^ Womack 2009, p. 292.
- ^ Womack 2007, p. 120, quoted in Decker 2009, p. 84
- ^ Decker 2009, p. 84.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. ""What Goes On" – The Beatles". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ Everett 1999, p. 146.
- ^ Mitchum, Rob (24 October 2005). "Various Artists This Bird Has Flown: A Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul [Razor & Tie; 2005]". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ Walters, Barry (17 November 2005). "This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute To The Beatles' Rubber Soul". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "AllMusic Review: This Bird Has Flown: 40th Anniversary Tribute to Rubber Soul". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "The Beatles Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
Sources
- Aspinall, Neil (April 1966). "Neil's Column". The Beatles Monthly Book. No. 33.
- Decker, James M. (2009). ""Try thinking more": Rubber Soul and the Beatles' transformation of pop". In ISBN 978-0-521-68976-2.
- ISBN 978-0-19-512941-0. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul. US: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514105-9.
- ISBN 978-0-517-57066-1.
- Lewisohn, Mark (2013). ISBN 978-1-4000-8305-3.
- ISBN 978-1-84413-828-9.
- ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- Womack, Kenneth (2007). Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles. New York: Continuum.
- Womack, Kenneth (2009). "Beatles Discography, 1962–1970". In Womack, Kenneth (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 286–293. ISBN 978-0-521-68976-2.
External links
- Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "What Goes On (Beatles song)"
- "What Goes On". The Beatles Bible. 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.