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TL;DR:

  • Dave Grohl is really impressed with the bass line from one of The Beatles’ songs.
  • He said the bass line sounds like it’s from “outer space.”
  • The track appeared in the film Yellow Submarine.
Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl at a microphone
Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl | Michael Tran / Contributor

Dave Grohl jammed with Paul McCartney a few times. He was blown away by the bass line in one of The Beatles’ songs. During an interview, John Lennon said the song in question was meaningless.

Dave Grohl said 1 Beatles song reminded him of how good Paul McCartney is at playing bass

During a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone, Grohl discussed working with Paul. “It’s funny, the few times that I’ve jammed with him, I think people forget about his musicianship because they’re so blown away with the Beatles side of things. And then he puts on the instrument, and you’re like, ‘Jesus, he’s f***ing good.'” 

Grohl then complimented Paul’s work on one of The Beatles’ more obscure songs. “I mean, like, the bass line to ‘Hey Bulldog,’ what is that?!”

Ringo Starr rhetorically asked Grohl where the song’s bass line originated. “I don’t know!” he replied. “Outer space — it’s crazy.” Ringo said Paul is the most inventive bass player ever.

John Lennon explained the origin of the song and what he thought about it

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono includes an interview from 1980. In it, John was asked about “Hey Bulldog.”

“That’s me, ‘cuz of the Yellow Submarine people, who were gross animals apart from the guy who drew the paintings for the movie,” he replied.

“They lifted all the ideas for the movie out of our heads and didn’t give us any credit,” he added. “We had nothing to do with that movie, and we sort of resented them. It was the third movie that we owed United Artists.”

John said the experience wasn’t all bad. “But I liked the movie, the artwork,” he continued. “They wanted another song, so I knocked off ‘Hey Bulldog.’ It’s a good-sounding record that means nothing.”

Related

1 Beatles Song Didn’t Become a Top 10 Hit Until the 1990s

How The Beatles’ ‘Hey Bulldog’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Hey Bulldog” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the soundtrack of The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine. The soundtrack reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 25 weeks.

“Hey Bulldog” was not a single in the United Kingdom and The Official Charts Company says it never charted there. On the other hand, Yellow Submarine hit No. 3 in the U.K. and lasted a total of 10 weeks on the chart.

“Hey Bulldog” wasn’t a hit but it impressed Grohl.

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