"12-Bar Original" is an instrumental 12-bar blues by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. It was recorded in 1965, but was not commercially available until 1996 when an edited version of take 2 of the song was included on the ''

Anthology 2 ''Anthology 2'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 18 March 1996 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the 1965 sessions for ''Help!'' until the se ...

'' album. Prior to editing, the length of take 2 was 6:36. It is one of the few songs credited to Lennon/ McCartney/ Harrison/ Starkey and published by Lenono Music, Inc., MPL Communications Ltd, Harrisongs Ltd., and Startling Music Ltd. Other songs credited to all four Beatles include " Flying" from '' Magical Mystery Tour'', " Dig It" from '' Let It Be'', " Christmas Time (Is Here Again)", the B-side to the 1995 single " Free as a Bird" and Now and Then. Of the Beatles, only

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

ever commented on the song. During some US radio interviews, Lennon was asked if there were any unissued Beatles recordings, he replied that all he could recall was "some lousy 12 bar". Starr told journalist Peter Palmiere that "we all wrote the track and I have an acetate of one of the versions". The quote was later used by Palmiere in a Ringo Starr cover interview/story in DISCoveries magazine in 1993 and by Jim Berkenstadt and Belmo in their book ''Black Market Beatles''. "12-Bar Original" was the Beatles' first instrumental after signing for EMI, and was produced by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

at EMI's

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

, London. Four other instrumentals by the group are the aforementioned "Flying", an outtake version of that song called "Aerial Tour Instrumental", "

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

" and " Cry for a Shadow".

Composition and recording

"12-Bar Original" was recorded on 4 November 1965, the same day as " What Goes On". Beginning with a count-in by McCartney, the track consists of 17 twelve-bar choruses in the key of

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

, recorded without

overdub Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more a ...

s, with drums, bass, guitar and harmonium, clocking in at 6:42. For the track's release on ''Anthology 2'', Martin edited together certain choruses: #1–2 (0:00–0:46), #9–10 (3:04–3:50),#14 (4:59–5:22) and #16–17 (5:46–6:38). The track was the first instrumental the group recorded since "Cry for a Shadow".

Personnel

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

– lead guitar *

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

–

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

:Personnel per Ian MacDonaldMacDonald (2005), p. 177

Notes

References

* *

External links

Alan W. Pollack's analysis of "12-Bar Original"

The Beatles Bible: 12-Bar Original
{{authority control Song recordings produced by George Martin The Beatles songs 1996 songs Songs written by George Harrison Songs written by Ringo Starr Songs written by John Lennon Songs written by Paul McCartney Rock instrumentals The Beatles Anthology Music published by Startling Music 1990s instrumentals