John Lennon Gave Rare Praise for Paul McCartney’s Orchestra Idea for ‘A Day in the Life’
The Beatles reached a high point with the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band song “A Day in the Life.” John Lennon praised Paul McCartney’s idea to marry the two halves of the song with an orchestral section. It was rare that John complimented his bandmates, but he made an exception for “A Day in the Life.” Macca’s plan wasn’t the only smart thinking that helped the song come together. All that for a tune that John didn’t think was The Beatles’ best song.
John Lennon praised Paul McCartney’s orchestra plan for ‘A Day in the Life’: ‘It just sort of happened beautifully’
John didn’t offer compliments freely during his Beatles days. They cut their teeth playing church gatherings and residencies in Hamburg, Germany, but John rarely dispensed approval to his Fab Four bandmates.
How rare was it? Paul vividly recalled one of the few times John showed admiration for one of his songs.
Maybe Macca wasn’t around to hear it, but John praised his idea to make “A Day in the Life” the song it is today. The guitarist had a snippet of a song (about death, tragedy, and despair), and so did the bassist (an upbeat, slice-of-life narrative). Neither knew how to finish their portions, so they combined them (Paul’s idea) with an orchestral swell in the middle (also Paul’s). Two songs became one, and the results definitely pleased John.
“It just sort of happened beautifully,” he said, per Paul McCartney: A Life author Peter Ames Carlin.
The two disparate tunes blended together almost perfectly despite their thematic differences. John’s grim half and Paul’s optimistic portion fit the title “A Day in the Life” — each day sees people existing on both extreme ends of the emotional and mental spectrum. Good days and bad days happening simultaneously for different people. The rising orchestral swell in the middle and end of the song lifted it like a wave and gave it a dramatic feel. Still, Paul’s praise-worthy idea needed a little assistance from producer George Martin.
George Martin helped make Paul’s orchestra idea that John loved come to life
John complimented Paul’s plan to piece together their individual songs to make “A Day in the Life.” The orchestra idea perfectly suited the song, but Martin had a genius idea that made it happen.
Macca wanted to enlist a full symphony orchestra — 80 musicians or more — and have them play the steadily rising without sheet music at any pace they liked. The first part of the plan cost too much, and the second part went against how trained orchestras play music.
Martin’s brilliant move arguably made the orchestral swell sound even bigger. He employed a smaller, 40-musician ensemble and recorded them four times, making it sound like 160 musicians performed on “A Day in the Life.” Paul’s idea to have them improvise didn’t survive, but the producer found a compromise. Martin gave the classical musicians a rough guide to land on specific notes at prescribed moments in the song. The organized chaos of an orchestra that sounded 160 people strong gave the Sgt. Pepper finale a gargantuan sound.
John Lennon didn’t often praise Paul McCartney’s ideas or songs. He made an exception for “A Day in the Life.” Macca earned his bandmate’s respect for “All My Loving” in the early days and “Here, There, and Everywhere” later on. With a little assistance from George Martin, Paul’s plan made the last song on Sgt. Pepper perhaps the greatest Beatles song of all.
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