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Revision as of 23:20, 7 June 2010 editGbonne (talk | contribs)6 edits →Other versions: In 2007, Gary Tole and Legends of Swing recorded the song on it's CD "One Kettle For Count". Arranged by Scott Whitfield and sung by Mike Costley.← Previous edit Revision as of 03:34, 10 June 2010 edit undoOttomanJackson (talk | contribs)649 edits not notable redirecting per WP:NSONGSNext edit →
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{{Infobox song
| Name = With a Little Help from My Friends
| Artist = ]
| Writer = ]
| Album = ]
| Released = 1 June 1967 <!-- NOTE: THIS RELEASE DATE IS FOR THE SONG ON SGT PEPPER -->
| Recorded = ]<br/>29-30 March 1967
| Genre = ]
| Length = 2:44
| Label = ] <small>{{nowrap|PMC 7027 (mono)}}, {{nowrap|PCS 7027 (stereo)}}</small>
| Producer = ]
| Tracks = {{Sgt Pepper tracks}}
}}
{{FixBunching|mid}}
{{Infobox single
| Name = ]"/"]
| Cover = Sgtpepperslonelyheartsclubbandsinglecover.jpg
| B-side = "]"
| Artist = ]
| from Album = <br>]
| Released = 30 September 1978 <!-- NOTE: THIS RELEASE DATE IS FOR THE SINGLE IN 1978 -->
| Format = ]
| Recorded = ]<br/>February–March 1967
| Length = 4:46
| Label = ] <small>R6022</small>
| Producer = ]
| Reviews =
| Last single = "]"<br>(1976)
| This single = "]" /"With a Little Help from My Friends/ "]"<br>(1978)
| Next single = "]"<br>(1982)
}}
{{FixBunching|end}}
"'''With a Little Help from My Friends'''" (originally titled "A Little Help from My Friends") is a song written by ] and ], released on ] album '']'' in 1967. The song was written for and sung by Beatles drummer ] as the character "]"; it is ranked #304 on ]'s list of the ]. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed this song for the first time together at the David Lynch Foundation Benefit Concert in the Radio City Music Hall, New York on 4 April 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radiocity.com/events/change-begins-within-409.html |title=Paul McCartney and Friends: Change Begins Within |work=Radio City Music Hall |publisher=Madison Square Garden |location=New York, NY |accessdate=27 March 2010 }}</ref>

==Origins==
Lennon and McCartney finished writing this song in mid-March 1967{{sfn|Dowlding|1989|p=165}}, written specifically as Starr's track for the album. It was briefly called ''Bad Finger Boogie'' (later the inspiration for the band name ]{{sfn|Matovina|2000}}), supposedly because Lennon composed the melody on a piano using his middle finger after having hurt his forefinger; but in his 1980 ''Playboy'' interview Lennon said: "This is Paul, with a little help from me. 'What do you see when you turn out the light/ I can't tell you, but I know it's mine...' is mine."

Lennon and McCartney deliberately wrote a tune with a limited range - except for the last note, which McCartney worked closely with Starr to achieve.
Speaking in the ], Starr insisted on changing the first line which originally was ''"What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me?"'' He changed the lyric so that fans would not throw tomatoes at him should he perform it live. (In the early days, after ] made a passing comment that he liked ], the group was showered with them at all of their live performances.){{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=242}}

The song's composition is unusually well documented as ] was present and described the writing process in the Beatles' official biography.

The song is largely in the form of a conversation, in which the other three Beatles sing a question and Starr answers, for example: "Would you believe in a love at first sight? / Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time."

The band started recording the song the day before they posed for the Sgt. Pepper album cover (29 March 1967), wrapping up the session at 5:45 in the morning.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=106}}

==Personnel==
*] &ndash; ], ], ]
*] &ndash; ], ], ]
*] &ndash; backing vocal, ]
*] &ndash; ]
*] &ndash; ], ]
*] &ndash; ]
:Personnel per ]{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=246}}

==Cover versions==
There are numerous interpretations of the song and it has achieved the number one position on the British singles charts three times; by ] in 1968, ] in 1988 and by ] in 2004.

{{Infobox single
| Name = With a Little Help from My Friends
| Cover = With a Little Help From My Friends - Joe Cocker.jpg
| Artist = ]
| from Album = ]
| B-Side = Something's Coming On
| Released = October 1968 <small>(])</small>
| Format = ]
| Recorded = 1968
| Genre = ]/]
| Length = 5:11
| Label = ]
| Producer =
| Last single =
| This single = "'''With a Little Help from My Friends'''"<br/>(1968)
| Next single = "Delta Lady"<br/>(1969)
}}

===Joe Cocker version===
]'s version was a radical re-arrangement of the original, in a slower, 6/8 meter, in a different key, using different chords in the middle eight, and a lengthy instrumental introduction (featuring drums by ]'s ], guitar lines from ], and organ by ]). It was used as the opening theme song of the American television series '']'' and is one of Cocker's most famous songs. Cocker performed the song at ] in 1969 and that performance was included in the ], "3 Days of Peace and Music". His cover was ranked number two in UpVenue's top 10 best music covers of all time in 2009.{{sfn|UpVenue.com|2010}} The version heard in the film '']'' segues from the original to Cocker's arrangement at the end of the song.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} Cocker also made a slight change to the lyrics. In the original version of the song, it begins "What would you ''think'' if I sang out of tune", while Cocker's version begins with "What would you ''do'' if I sang out of tune". Cocker's version of the lyric is the one most often used in later versions of the song, including later times in which Ringo Starr himself would perform it.{{sfn|The Daily Show with Jon Stewart|2010}}

===Wet Wet Wet version===
{{Infobox single
| Name = With a Little Help from My Friends
| Cover = With A Little Help From My Friends.jpg
| Artist = ]
| from Album =
| Released = 9 May 1988 <small>(])</small>
| Format = ]
| Recorded = 1988
| Genre = ]
| Length =
| Label = ]
| Producer =
| Last single = "]" <br/>(1988)
| This single = "'''With a Little Help from My Friends'''"<br/>(1988)
| Next single = "]"<br/>(1989)
}}

]'s version was released on 9 May 1988. The proceeds from sales of the single, which spent four weeks at Number One in the UK chart, were around £600,000, all of which was donated to ], the UK-based charity for abused children. ]'s performance of "]" was the joint A-side. Vocalist ] recorded his own version of the song for inclusion on his 2002 album '']''.

===Other versions===
*] covered the song while recording their album, '']'', in the fall of 1967. It "probably never was intended for inclusion on ''Wild Honey''. According to Bruce Johnston, who handles the lead vocal, “We did it just to see what it would sound like.” {{sfn|bradelliott.com|1983}}
*] recorded the song, with a Michel Legrand arrangement, for her 1969 album, '']''.
*In 1976, ] of ] recorded the song for the musical documentary film '']''.
* A recording of ]'s live version of the song appeared on their ''The World of Ike & Tina'' live album in 1973. The song was a regular feature of their repertoire at this time and was performed in concert and on television.{{sfn|YouTube|2010}}
* In 1985, ] released a version of the ] arrangement, featuring an ensemble of then-current Canadian Rock artists, including ], ], and ].
* In 1993, ] released a cover version of it on ''Absolutely Live''.
*] use the song for the opening of ] special called ]. The show took place at the Kaufman's Studios Astoria Queens NYC in 1992.
*In 2007, ] covered the song for ''It Was 40 Years Ago Today'', a television film with contemporary acts recording the album's songs using the same studio, technicians and recording techniques as the original.
*In 2007, ] released a guitar instrumental version on his CD ''Pepper Front To Back''. It drew from the ] arrangement but put a more aggressive styled lead guitar out front.
*The song is included on the ] album '']'', released in 2009.
*Actors ] and ] sang the song in the 2007 musical film '']''.
*] ] performed the song with famed cellist ] and local Ottawa band Herringbone{{sfn|Chianello|2009}} on 3 October 2009 at a fundraising benefit at the ] in ].{{sfn|thestar.com|2009}}
*The ] covered the song on their reggae album ''Easy Stars Lonely Hearts Dub Band'' in 2009.
*]' song "Rendezvous" is based on this song.
*] did a cover of the song as a b-side for "Questions and Answers".
*] covered the song (using an arrangement similar to the Joe Cocker version) and this version appears on the "Low Life in High Places" CD single.
*Janice, lead guitarist of ] performs the song as part of a human sacrifice sketch in ] episode 419.
*] did a "hummin" version at Woodstock 1969.
*The song is featured in the 1990 film ], performed by the main female character.
*The Band ] frequently started covering this song during their 2008 and 2009 Summer Tours, including historic ], where the band performed it with ] and ].
*The song is featured in the 1980 film '']'', and a selection of the melody in a minor key appears as well towards the end of the film.
* In 2001, Polish band ] covered the song on their album ], with vocals by their drummer, Tomasz Goehs, who has never sung anything in the band before.
* In 2007, ] and ] recorded the song on it's CD ]. Arranged by ] and sung by ]. The CD was nominated for 3 Grammy's.

==Cultural references==
"With a Little Help from My Friends" was played as wake-up music on ] Mission ].{{sfn|Fries|2009}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|colwidth=22em}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book
| author=The Beatles
| year=2000
| authorlink=The Beatles
| title=The Beatles Anthology
| publisher=Chronicle Books
| location=San Francisco
| isbn=0-8118-2684-8
| ref=harv
}}
* {{Cite news
| last=Chianello
| first=Joanne
| year=2009
| title=Harper gets on stage with a little help from his wife
| date=2 October 2009
| work=Ottawa Citizen
| url=http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Harper+changes+tune+gala/2064118/story.html
| accessdate=2 October 2009
| ref=harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last=Dowlding
| first=William J.
| year=1989
| title=Beatlesongs
| publisher=]
| location=New York
| isbn=0-671-68229-6
| ref=harv
}}
* {{cite web
| work=]
| year=2009
| title=Chronology of Wakeup Calls
| date=30 November 2009
| editor-last=Fries
| editor-first=Colin
| url=http://history.nasa.gov/wakeup%20calls.pdf
| ref=harv
}}
* {{cite web
| work=YouTube
| year=2010
| title=Ike & Tina Turner: With a Little Help From My Friends
| url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm6_JziTrYw
| ref={{SfnRef|YouTube|2010}}
}}
* {{cite book
| last=Lewisohn
| first=Mark
| year=1988
| authorlink=Mark Lewisohn
| title=The Beatles Recording Sessions
| publisher=]
| location=New York
| isbn=0-517-57066-1
| ref=harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last=MacDonald
| first=Ian
| year=2005
| authorlink=Ian MacDonald
| title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties
| publisher=Pimlico (Rand)
| location=London
| edition=Second Revised
| isbn=1-844-13828-3
| ref=harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last=Matovina
| first=Dan
| year=2000
| title=Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger
| date=2000
| publisher=Frances Glover Books
| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=eAURGSMNfTUC
| isbn=0965712222
| ref=harv
| quote=Apple's Neil Aspinall remembers, "(...) Badfinger just popped in my head. It was from an old Lennon thing. He was playing the piano and he had a bad finger so he called the piece he was playing 'Bad Finger Boogie' (which evolved into 'With A Little Help From My Friends')
}}
* {{cite web
| work=bradelliott.com
| year=1983
| title=Original liner notes for Capitol’s Beach Boys Rarities album
| url=http://www.bradelliott.com/writings/rarities/liners.html
| ref={{SfnRef|bradelliott.com|1983}}
}}
* {{cite web
| work=The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
| year=2010
| title=Ringo Starr – With a Little Help from My Friends
| date=13 January 2010
| url=http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-january-13-2010/ringo-starr---with-a-little-help-from-my-friends
| ref={{SfnRef|The Daily Show with Jon Stewart|2010}}
}}
* {{cite news
| work=thestar.com
| year=2009
| title=Stephen Harper rocks out
| date=4 October 2009
| url=http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/705169
| accessdate=22 October 2009
| ref={{SfnRef|thestar.com|2009}}
| location=Toronto
| first=Sean
| last=Kilpatrick
}}
* {{cite web
| work=UpVenue.com
| year=2010
| title=UpVenue Top 10 Best Music Covers
| url=http://www.upvenue.com/music-news/blog-headline/1058/top-10-best-music-covers.html
| ref={{SfnRef|UpVenue.com|2010}}
}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* (page about B.J. Wilson and Joe Cocker's recording of the song)

{{start box}}
{{succession box
| before = "]" by ]
| title = ]
| years = 6 November 1968 - 13 November 1968 (Joe Cocker version)
| after = "]" by ] & His Orchestra
}}
{{succession box
| before = "]" by ]
| title = ]
| years = 15 May 1988 - 12 June 1988 (Wet Wet Wet version)
| after = "]" by ]
}}
{{succession box
| before = "]" by ] vs ]
| title = ]
| years = 15 February 2004 - 21 February 2004 (Sam and Mark version)
| after = "]" by ]
}}
{{end box}}

{{The Beatles}}
{{Wet Wet Wet}}

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Revision as of 03:34, 10 June 2010

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