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TL;DR:

  • Some of The Beatles played “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” for Mia Farrow’s sister, Prudence Farrow.
  • The song later became a minor hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
  • “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was never a hit in the United Kingdom.
The Beatles in black-and-white during the "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" era
The Beatles | John Pratt / Stringer

Mia Farrow and her sister, Prudence Farrow, were with The Beatles during an important point in the Fab Four’s career. Notably, John Lennon and George Harrison may have played The Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” for Prudence before its release. Subsequently, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” did not become a hit for many years.

Mia Farrow and her sister went on a trip with The Beatles, Donovan, and Mike Love

The Farrows were present during The Beatles’ trip to India. Other celebrities present included Donovan and The Beach Boys’ Mike Love. During a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Prudence was asked if she knew The Beatles were going to be in India. “I did,” she replied.

“I had been trying to go to India, and Mia called me and she said she wanted to go, but she had heard The Beatles were going,” she said. “The Beatles at that point had started meditation in the summer of ’67. The publicity they got was huge … and this whole concept of gurus, India, and mantras just hit the airwaves — it was news.”

Prudence Farrow believes 2 of The Beatles played ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ for her

The Beatles’ presence, however, was not Prudence’s primary focus on the trip. “I was so preoccupied with my own self — it was part of what was happening around me but not my focus,” she said.

Prudence was asked if she was cognizant of the songs The Beatles were writing and performing at the time. “Yes, I heard John practicing and tinkering with different notes and melodies on his guitar every afternoon for a couple of hours or so,” she recalled. “I think it was just John and George (and not Paul) that came into my room one evening and played ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ for me.”

Related

1 Song From The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ Didn’t Become a Hit Until Years After the Band Broke Up

How ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ and ‘The White Album’ performed on the pop charts

“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was not originally a single when its parent album, The White Album, came out in 1968. The tune was not released as a single in the United States until 1976. Then, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for seven weeks. Meanwhile, The White Album topped the Billboard 200 for nine of its 215 weeks on the chart.

Meanwhile, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was never a single in the United Kingdom, so The Official Charts Company says it did not chart there. On the other hand, The White Album hit No. 1 there for eight weeks and remained on the chart for 37 weeks in total.

Like other Fab Four tunes, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” became a standard. Patti LuPone, Marmalade, The Bee Family, and others recorded the track. A cover of the song appeared in a pivotal scene from the Fab Four jukebox musical Yesterday.

“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is a classic bubblegum song and it has an interesting connection to Prudence.

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