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#199 - 12 Bar Original with Adam Hill, Memphis based engineer/producer (Big Star, Jack White, Klaus Voorman, Low Cut Connie)

#199 - 12 Bar Original with Adam Hill, Memphis based engineer/producer (Big Star, Jack White, Klaus Voorman, Low Cut Connie)

FromRanking The Beatles


#199 - 12 Bar Original with Adam Hill, Memphis based engineer/producer (Big Star, Jack White, Klaus Voorman, Low Cut Connie)

FromRanking The Beatles

ratings:
Length:
67 minutes
Released:
Oct 27, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Few can dispute the fact that The Beatles were masters at the craft of songwriting. Melding music and lyrics was literally THEIR THING. They were GREAT at it. So it's an odd move for them to undertake recording a Memphis R&B styled instrumental during the sessions for Rubber Soul. A track owing more than just a tip-of-the-cap to Booker T. & The MGs' "Green Onions," "12 Bar Original" finds the band doing their best to step WAY out of their lane. The track gets tossed into the archives eventually and Rubber Soul gets spared this white boy groove, but if nothing else, it serves as love letter from the band to the music of Memphis and Stax Records, Detroit and Motown, and New Orleans R&B legends, all of whom serve as the literal foundation of what The Beatles are building upon in their own way. That love proved to be reciprocal, especially in Memphis, with Stax legends like Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes, and the aforementioned Booker T. & The MGs, not to mention non-Stax acts like Al Green (to say nothing of power-pop acolytes Big Star, but that's a whole other episode - and it's coming) all embracing, covering, and reinventing The Beatles music. 
To explore the love-in between the Fabs and Memphis, we welcome Memphis-based engineer & producer Adam Hill into the two-timers club. Having been submersed in the music scene and recording industry in Memphis for the better part of 20 years, Adam gives us a history lesson through the river that runs from Liverpool to Bluff City. We also touch on The Beatles' aborted plans to record the album that would become Revolver in Memphis, choosing the wrong instruments to get funky on, and the surprising mystery of an acetate rough-mix of "A Day In The Life" surfacing in Memphis months before Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released. 
Be sure to follow along, leave your comments, and join in on the discussion on the rankings at Facebook (facebook.com/rankingthebeatles) and on Instagram @rankingthebeatles. Enjoying the show and want to show your support? Check out https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/support!
Send us your HOT TAKES for a chance to be featured in a future episode! Visit anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles, and click on Message. You can do it from your phone or computer, and send us your thoughts on a track we've discussed or any particular thing that you'd like to hear us yammer on about!

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Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/message
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/support
Released:
Oct 27, 2020
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Musician and self-described Beatles fanatic Jonathan Pretus ranked the entire recorded catalog of the Beatles, because he's a big, big nerd. Then he decided to make a podcast to talk with other people and learn about their connection with The Beatles' music. Tune in as Jonathan and his guests, joined by his co-host/wife Julia (a more level-headed, casual fan) discuss the rankings, what they think makes each song so great (or not-so-great), and see if it really is a fool's errand to try and rank the music of the greatest band of all time. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/support