# Help! Indentifying Beatles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129 "2011-09-04T02:50:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/21 "2011-09-04T13:16:10Z")
Though John and George sometimes change positions - [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqiAl84ipIk), for example, that’s clearly George on the far right. In the OP’s example, John is singing lead while Paul and George are singing harmony, which probably accounts for having them share a mic. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/22 "2011-09-04T13:19:35Z")
I have a theory that the others didn’t want to share a mic with John because he slobbered brine shimp all over it or something. 😃 I say this because I know any band that plays after mine would be very wise to change out the mic. :o ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/23 "2011-09-04T13:24:03Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > Jesus, what are you eight years old? > > Sorry. Please refrain from personal remarks about other posters. Thanks, **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/24 "2011-09-04T18:06:22Z")
Nuh-UNH, it was “I am a Walrus.” I put my record on the record player, made a cone from paper, and stuck a pin in the narrow end of the cone. Then my friends and I leaned over and I spun the turntable backwards with one finger and we held our breaths, as we listened for John saying, “I buried Paul.” There were clues on the Abbey Road album cover (the other three were dressed like funeral mourners, Paul was barefoot–common custom to save money on shoes–and he held a cigarette in his RIGHT hand), a bunch of very obscure clues on the Sgt Pepper album cover, and supposedly a ton of anecdotal stories to corroborate the demise of Paul. DAMN! It was an effective marketing campaign! I’m still in awe of it, a hundred years later! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/25 "2011-09-04T18:22:55Z")
Except that it wasn’t a marketing campaign. No one has ever shown that the Beatles or their record company had any involvement (and, really, do you really think it required stunts to market the Beatles in 1969?). It also probably didn’t increase sales, since you could see most of the “clues” on the cover artwork in a record store. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/26 "2011-09-04T18:27:01Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Nuh-UNH, it was “I am a Walrus.” I put my record on the record player, made a cone from paper, and stuck a pin in the narrow end of the cone. Then my friends and I leaned over and I spun the turntable backwards with one finger and we held our breaths, as we listened for John saying, “I buried Paul.” Y’all must’ve turned quiet blue after a while. Because the “I buried Paul” / “Cranberry Sauce” line is most definitely at the end of “Strawberry Fields Forever,” as previously mentioned. 🙂[Here you go.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phg1dDN1wh0) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/27 "2011-09-04T18:29:02Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > My sister and I played “Strawberry Fields Forever” (that was the song, right?) backwards on the hi-fi to hear someone say “I . . . buried . . . Paul” and totally freaked ourselves out. (Can you even \*play \*computer files or CDs backwards?) > [@VOW](#): > > Nuh-UNH, it was “I am a Walrus.” No, “I buried Paul” is at the end of Strawberry Fields. It’s John saying “Cranberry sauce” - either as sort of a surrealist thing or because he was stoned out of his gourd. I didn’t think that was one of the ones you were supposed to play backward. I can imagine “cranberry sauce” as “I buried Paul” if you already had the idea in your brain. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/28 "2011-09-04T19:00:25Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Nuh-UNH, it was “I am a Walrus.” That would be “I am \*\*\*the \*\*\*walrus.” I suppose there can never be more than one walrus. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/29 "2011-09-04T19:11:27Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > There were clues on the Abbey Road album cover (the other three were dressed like funeral mourners, Paul was barefoot–common custom to save money on shoes–and he held a cigarette in his RIGHT hand), a bunch of very obscure clues on the Sgt Pepper album cover, and supposedly a ton of anecdotal stories to corroborate the demise of Paul. \*And \*the “28IF” license plate! ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/30 "2011-09-04T19:59:34Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Oh, there’s nothing like the passions of tween/teen girls. We were all convinced that if only we could meet our favorite Beatle, our love would shine through, and he’d immediately fall in love with US. There were girls who had some favorite Beatle who was not Paul? ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/32 "2011-09-04T20:47:46Z")
Right, sorry, “I am THE Walrus.” As for the “I…buried…Paul” controversy, I’m not aware that “cranberry sauce” played BACKWARDS would sound like “I buried Paul.” We HEARD it at the end of “I am the Walrus” played backwards. Want me to get my witnesses? Can’t do it again. #1, that pin probably destroyed the track on the original vinyl record, and #2, my hearing is almost gone, although I don’t think that playing my Beatle albums is what destroyed it. More like a congenital hearing loss exacerbated by high blood pressure and HBP meds. Anyway, I’m officially disabled with profound loss, so I’m not gonna be listening for John’s voice any time soon. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/33 "2011-09-04T21:10:14Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > There were girls who had some favorite Beatle who was not Paul? I can’t remember where I read/heard it (I’ve listened to several Beatles documentaries on the BBC and they all bleed together) but it’s been said that Ringo was extremely popular in the States, what with his prominent role in the film _Help_ – perhaps the quiet, underdog, vulnerable persona was considered especially loveable to young girls. As a testament to the belief in his popularity, in the U.S., his “Act Naturally” was the A-side of their first single following the massive hit “Help.” The thinking was presumably that due to Ringo’s popularity this song would be the bigger hit than the track it was paired with on the B-side. The B-side? An unimportant McCartney song called “Yesterday.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/34 "2011-09-04T21:16:33Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > We HEARD it at the end of “I am the Walrus” played backwards. Want me to get my witnesses? No, because I don’t actually care, and because I think that if you _trying_ to hear something - as most of the people looking for ‘clues’ were - you can easily make yourself hear it. The fact remains that the “I buried Paul” fragment that everyone talks about comes from Strawberry Fields, and it’s actually John saying “Cranberry sauce.” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/35 "2011-09-04T21:41:55Z")
Thus we find the musical geek’s equivalent of the “Do Balrogs have wings?” argument that fantasy nerds have… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/36 "2011-09-04T22:18:48Z")
choie, “Yesterday” was the A-side and “Act Naturally” was the B-side: > **[Yesterday (song)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yesterday_(song))** > > "Yesterday" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first released on the album Help! in August 1965, except in the United States, where it was issued as a single in September. The song reached number one on the US charts. It subsequently appeared on the UK EP Yesterday in March 1966 and made its US album debut on Yesterday and Today, in June 1966. > McCartney's vocal and acoustic guitar, together with a string quartet, ... > **[Act Naturally](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_Naturally)** > > "Act Naturally" is a song written by Johnny Russell, with a writing credit given to Voni Morrison and publishing rights transferred to Buck Owens. It was originally recorded by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, whose version reached number one on the Billboard Country Singles chart in 1963, his first chart-topper. In 2002, Shelly Fabian of About.com ranked the song number 169 on her list of the Top 500 Country Music Songs. > The song tells the tale of someone who has been jilted and, because of tha... This single was only released in the U.S. It was only ten years later that a single of “Yesterday” was released in the U.K. You could have checked this in a minute’s worth of research. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/37 "2011-09-04T22:47:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’s John saying “Cranberry sauce” - either as sort of a surrealist thing or because he was stoned out of his gourd. I think it’s just a joke name for the song. “Strawberry Fields” ~ “Cranberry Sauce”. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/38 "2011-09-04T22:49:43Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I think it’s just a joke name for the song. “Strawberry Fields” ~ “Cranberry Sauce”. Could be. Wikipedia quotes McCartney as saying this: “That wasn’t ‘I buried Paul’ at all—that was John saying ‘cranberry sauce’. It was the end of Strawberry Fields. That’s John’s humour. John would say something totally out of sync, like cranberry sauce. If you don’t realise that John’s apt to say cranberry sauce when he feels like it, then you start to hear a funny little word there, and you think, ‘Aha!’” Which doesn’t exactly explain very much. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/39 "2011-09-04T22:54:32Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > As for the “I…buried…Paul” controversy, I’m not aware that “cranberry sauce” played BACKWARDS would sound like “I buried Paul.” > > We HEARD it at the end of “I am the Walrus” played backwards. Want me to get my witnesses? Yeah, I think you’re a bit mixed up. “I Am the Walrus” has quotes from _King Lear_ in it (“Seek him out/Upon the English party/O, untimely death!/Death!/I know thee well: a serviceable villain/As duteous to the vices of thy mistress/As badness would desire”), played forward, and “Strawberry Fields Forever” has “cranberry sauce”/“I buried Paul”, also played forward. You might be thinking of “Revolution 9”, which supposedly said “turn me on, dead man” when played backwards. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/40 "2011-09-04T22:56:54Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > choie, “Yesterday” was the A-side and “Act Naturally” was the B-side: > > [Yesterday (song) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yesterday_(song)) > > [Act Naturally - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_Naturally) > > This single was only released in the U.S. It was only ten years later that a single of “Yesterday” was released in the U.K. You could have checked this in a minute’s worth of research. Funnily enough, O ever-helpful **Wendell** , I did. > [@http://www.beatlesebooks.com/act-naturally](#): > > 'Unlike Britain, Capitol Records in America had high expectations that the hastily recorded “Act Naturally” would become a highly successful follow-up hit to their current chart topper “Help!” As evidence of this, Capitol ran a full page advertisement in the September 11th, 1965 issue of Billboard magazine boldly announcing “Ringo Starr Sings Solo!” This ad was promoting the next Beatles single which was to be released two days later on September 13th, 1965. While the other side of the single was “Yesterday,” it was obvious from the ad that “Act Naturally” was the favorite and would easily eclipse the McCartney ballad in popularity. Someone at the label must have thought that, since the song was a #1 country hit a couple of years ago, surely the US market would gravitate that way. Therefore, the files at Capitol list “Act Naturally” as the a-side of the single, resulting in this song’ title being printed on the ‘full apple’ label on its’ 1971 issue of the single on Apple Records, “Yesterday” being printed on the ‘sliced apple’ label which usually designated the b-side. [Image of “Act Naturally” with both A- and B-side versions](http://www.jpgr.co.uk/a5498.html) Anyway, I didn’t just go to Wikipedia, which I should have. Sue me. But it does appear that Capitol Records has listed “Act Naturally” as the A-side. This was also repeated on one of the BBC documentaries I listened to, which unfortunately I can’t cite. May have been the George Martin “The Producers” interview/biography (which I highly recommend to anyone who’s interested in that side of things). ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129/41 "2011-09-05T01:47:55Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > You might be thinking of “Revolution 9”, which supposedly said “turn me on, dead man” when played backwards. Omigod, my sister and I were too freaked-out to even \*try \*that! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-indentifying-beatles/595129.md?page=3)