The Beatles Song That Was ‘Hard on Ringo’ to Record, According to Paul McCartney
The Beatles always had a more casual rock sound, but they sometimes experimented with a more hardcore sound. On one of The Beatles’ more hardcore songs, Paul McCartney says the recording sessions were ‘hard on Ringo [Starr]’ who had to play his heart out multiple times.
Paul McCartney called ‘Helter Skelter’ a ‘precursor to heavy metal’
“Helter Skelter” debuted on 1968’s The White Album. The song was written by the John Lennon and Paul McCartney duo, and it stemmed from McCartney wanting to create the loudest and dirtiest song possible. In an interview with GQ, McCartney said the inspiration for the track came after he heard Pete Townshend of The Who said they created a “really heavy track.”
“I can see why people would think it was the precursor of heavy metal,” McCartney said. “How it came about was I had read in a music paper that The Who had done a really heavy track, and Pete Townshend of The Who was quoted saying, “We’ve just made the dirtiest, loudest, filthiest song ever.’ So, I was kind of jealous. I didn’t hear their song. I still don’t know what song he was referring to, but I went in the studio and I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to do a song that’s dirtier and filthier and louder than The Who.’”
The Beatles song was ‘hard on Ringo’ to record
“Helter Skelter” is a heavy rock tune with screaming guitars and fast-paced drums. McCartney said it took multiple takes by The Beatles to get it right, leading to Ringo being exhausted by the performance. Listeners can even hear the drummer’s exhaustion at the end of the track when he exclaims, “I got blisters on my fingers!”
“It is pretty raw,” McCartney shared. “You know, it’s pretty screamy. It was good to do. We did a lot of takes on it. It was hard on Ringo. On one of the takes, you can hear him right at the end, he says, ‘I got blisters on my fingers’ because he had been drumming so long and so loud. I wonder whether heavy metal bands heard that and thought, ‘That’s a way to go.’”
Starr later confirmed the strenuous recording sessions for the song, saying they did the takes in “total madness and hysterics.”
“‘Helter Skelter’ was a track we did in total madness and hysterics in the studio,” Starr said. “Sometimes you just had to shake out the jams, and with that song, Paul’s bass line, and my drums, he started screaming and shouting and made it up on the spot.”
‘Helter Skelter’ proved The Beatles could handle hard rock
While “Helter Skelter” never charted, critics were impressed by the track upon release because it proved the band was more talented at their respective instruments than many thought. It was also a refreshing shift from the more mellow sound the band was known for. McCartney still often plays the song at his live shows, and Rolling Stone listed it at No. 52 on their list of the Top 100 Beatles Songs.
