“You say it’s your birthday, It’s my birthday too, yeah”
The legendary Beatles double album ‘The White Album’ turns 50 this Thursday and we’re going to celebrate all day on LG104.3!
White Album Thursday is in concert with Everything Liverpool Canada.
WIN THE BEATLES WHITE ALBUM
We’ve got two copies of the 4LP 50th Anniversary vinyl White Album for YOU to win. Listen to Kelly and Graham on Thursday for your chance.
Plus, on Thursday, check out the LG Facebook page to win the 2LP 50th Anniversary vinyl White Album. Leave a comment with your favourite song from the album
Below watch videos, maybe learn a few facts you didn’t know about the album and find out more about the 50th anniversary reissues.
50th Anniversary Reissue
In September of this year it was announced that the album would be reissued:
In November 1968, millions of double LPs were shipped to record stores worldwide ahead of that tumultuous year’s most anticipated music event: the November 22nd release of The BEATLES (soon to be better known as ‘The White Album’). With their ninth studio album, The Beatles took the world on a whole new trip, side one blasting off with the exhilarating rush of a screaming jet escorting Paul McCartney’s punchy, exuberant vocals on “Back In The U.S.S.R.” “Dear Prudence” came next, John Lennon warmly beckoning his friend and all of us to “look around.” George Harrison imparted timeless wisdom in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” singing, “With every mistake we must surely be learning.” Ringo Starr’s “Don’t Pass Me By” marked his first solo songwriting credit on a Beatles album. For 50 years, ‘The White Album’ has invited its listeners to venture forth and explore the breadth and ambition of its music, delighting and inspiring each new generation in turn.
On November 9, The Beatles will release a suite of lavishly presented ‘White Album’ packages (Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe). The album’s 30 tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio, joined by 27 early acoustic demos and 50 session takes, most of which are previously unreleased in any form.
“We had left Sgt. Pepper’s band to play in his sunny Elysian Fields and were now striding out in new directions without a map,” says Paul McCartney in his written introduction for the new ‘White Album’ releases.
10 Facts About the White Album You Might Not Know
(from prettygreen.com)
#1 THE RETREAT
Most of the songs for The Beatles were written during the bands time at a Transcendental Meditation course with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh, India, between February and April 1968.
#2 NO BASS
Did you know there’s actually no bass guitar on the song ‘I Will’? Those ‘bass’ notes you can hear are actually being made by Paul. With his mouth.
#3 SERIAL NUMBER
The album’s sleeve was designed by pop artist Richard Hamilton. The cover featured a unique stamped serial number, “to create”, in Hamilton’s words, “the ironic situation of a numbered edition of something like five million copies”. In 2015, Ringo Starr’s personal copy number 0000001 sold for a world record $790,000 at auction.
#4 ‘OB-LA-DI, OB-LA-DA’
This phrase is taken from the Yoruba tribe from Nigeria meaning ‘life goes on.’ It was a saying commonly used by conga player Jimmy Scott, an acquaintance of Paul’s.
#5 SWEET TOOTH
Many Beatles fans will be aware that guitar legend Eric Clapton appears on the album, but what many may not know is that the track ‘Savoy Truffle’ was actually written by George Harrison as a tribute to Clapton’s fondness for chocolate. The title, and many of the lyrics, come from a box of Mackintosh’s Good News chocolates.
#6 ‘DEAR PRUDENCE’
Another student of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in early 1968 was Prudence Farrow, the sister of Hollywood starlet Mia. Allegedly, she locked herself in her hut for three weeks because, as John Lennon described it, she “was trying to find God quicker than anyone else.” The song is all about Lennon trying to coax her to come out of her hut.
#7 TAKING ON THE WHO
When McCartney heard that The Who had written a song that was supposedly one of the loudest, most raucous, and dirtiest ever recorded in the shape of “I Can See For Miles”, he decided he wanted to go one better. “Helter Skelter” was the product of this mission.
#8 FINGER PICKIN’ GOOD
The unique finger picking guitar style used by Lennon in the song ‘Julia’ (the track he had written for his mother) was actually taught to him by longtime friend and fellow popstar Donovan.
#9 THE RETURN OF RINGO
It’s no secret that these recording sessions were some of the toughest the band experienced. Ringo Starr in particular felt so much like an outsider he actually quit for two weeks before he was persuaded to rejoin. When he came back, he was greeted by flowers strewn across his drum kit by Harrison as a welcome-back gesture.
#10 MARTHA THE DOG
Although many people associate the track ‘Martha My Dear’ with McCartney splitting from his then partner Jane Asher, the title was actually inspired by a very different lady: his Old English sheepdog. Martha sadly passed away in 1981.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
The minimalist artwork for ‘The White Album’ was created by artist Richard Hamilton, one of Britain’s leading figures in the creation and rise of pop art. The top-loading gatefold sleeve’s stark white exterior had ‘The BEATLES’ embossed on the front and printed on the spine with the album’s catalogue number. Early copies of ‘The White Album’ were also individually numbered on the front, which has also been done for the new edition’s Super Deluxe package.
THE 50th ANNIVERSARY REISSUE
For 50 years, The White Album has invited its listeners to venture forth and explore the breadth and ambition of its music, delighting and inspiring each new generation in turn. The Beatles have now released a suite of lavishly presented White Album packages, including an expanded 6CD + Blu-ray package. The album’s 30 tracks are newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and mix engineer Sam Okell in stereo and 5.1 surround audio, joined by 27 early acoustic demos and 50 session takes, most of which are previously unreleased in any form.
