The Story of Helter Skelter and How McCartney Got THAT Sound! | Friday Fretworks

A closer look at what is considered by many to be the first ever metal song - Helter Skelter by the Beatles.
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Key Points:
0:00 Intro
0:14 JAM!
1:15 Its history
3:16 Recording the track
4:18 Why is it so heavy?
4:47 Paul on lead guitar?
5:31 The gear
7:16 COMPARISON
8:00 The first heavy metal track?
Hey! My name's Chris Buck and I'm a musician from South Wales, United Kingdom. Thank you for checking out Friday Fretworks! As the name suggests, there's a new video every Friday. If you haven't already, please subscribe and if you have, it'd be lovely if you came to say hello on Facebook and Instagram as well. Links below!
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[@cosmicjohn174]

Even "she's so heavy", is well heavy.

[@larryjeffryes6168]

I clicked to say just that.

[@achannel1818]

I heard someone describe it as "doom metal"

[@cosmicjohn174]

@@HIWATTSteve Oh for certain, and Paul's screaming on a number of tracks. The Beatles were truly prolific they were almost like there own genre, and hell Paul McCartney may have invented alternative rock haha

[@cosmicjohn174]

@@achannel1818 love me some doom metal! Like electric funeral!!

[@jonathanbolger6173]

That outro is devine.

[@youssefkasim7556]

The Beatles were the first band to try so many things and experiment more than any other band. You can see that in their career for example, in the Rubber Soul album their music starts to change from songs about girls and love and all of that, to songs about themselves and songs about everything because that’s when they stopped touring. So they weren’t afraid of experimenting anymore.

[@GibsonFender]

And they had the best melodies

[@friendofbeaver6636]

Their time spent in India, whatever happened there, seemed to also be an expansion of their creativity.

[@massimomarchesin8708]

I BEATLES con HELTER SKELTER forse la prima composizione HEAVY METAL della storia o una delle prime bands a fare brani di questo genere !!!!!! Si può definirlo una sorta di PROTOMETAL !!!!! Ma le bands che hanno seguito un sound duro sporco aggressivo chitarre distorte canti urlanti già nei 60 vi erano , I ROLLING STONES gli WHO TEN YEARS AFTER YARDBIRDS poi anche i CREAM ,i VANILLA FUDGE gli IRON BUTTERFLY ,e poi alle soglie dei 70 arrivano davvero le prime bands che al tempo erano denominate Hard Rock ma che in realtà sono le prime bands HEAVY METAL es LED ZEPPELIN BLACK SABBATH DEEP PURPLE URIAH HEEP FREE ed altre ancora . Da questa prima ondata ,seguirono altri nomi molto celebri es AC/DC GUNS and ROSES KISS IRON MAIDEN METALLICA INGWIE MALMSTEEN RAINBOW OZZIE OUSBORNE solo etc fino ad arrivare a vari tipi di METAL TRASH metal Speed metal Death metal Doom metal ed anche progressive rock metal !!!!!

[@kiillabytez]

It's also when started experimenting heavily with drugs.

[@gavinreid5387]

They were influenced by Dylan to write more serious lyrics.

[@rockit6553]

McCartney is probably the most versatile songwriter in rock. True he can be frolicking & whimsical but that is part of his versatility. He spans the songwriting spectrum from the beautiful yesterday, the poignant Eleanor Rigby to I saw her standing there, to the rocker she's a woman, blackbird & delivering the earth shattering vocal on the headbanger helter skelter. And the list goes on & on. The man indeed spans the spectrum.

[@facelessandnameless]

I totally agree!

[@thesilvershining]

All The Beatles were impressive beyond belief but nobody impresses me like Paul McCartney.

[@thinkforyourself828]

He's creatively fearless!

[@Hallalo]

I think you never heard Neil young’s career 🥲

[@Hanzey1966]

Oh Darling on Abbey Road is an oustanding Vocal performance by Paul. Also later on with Wings his Voice became clearly more Heavy/Rock

[@ericstewart9742]

The first song which actually does sound like Sabbathy heavy doom-metal is I want you she’s so heavy, the end section.

[@SimpleManGuitars1973]

Happiness Is A Warm Gun I think is much heavier in the breakdown.

[@wavydaveeverett]

Just remember the Beatles were an influence on Ozzy...

[@anesthesia24]

@@wavydaveeverett in black sabbath in general...

[@jonathanbolger6173]

That outro 😍

[@UnaWarlock]

Helter skelter was before she’s so heavy

[@Luthiart]

I always thought of "Helter Skelter" as proto-punk. I used to know a guy from Liverpool who was in his late teens when the Beatles were playing the Cavern, and he described their sound as more like hard rock, bordering on punk back then. He said they were really high energy and "loud as fuck". And completely clad in black leather. He said they were like a frickin' "force of nature" and that Brian Epstein tamed down their sound and image a lot more than most people realize. For whatever it's worth, I always thought "I Want You (She's so Heavy)" was more metal than "Helter Skelter".

[@seanmckelvey6618]

I agree, it's clearly more on the line to garage and punk rock. Not that it really matters, it ultimately all comes from them same place.

[@nickn2794]

Finally someone who uses his brain. It's proto-punk which Velvet Underground and Monks were already doing, it wasn't new. Proto-metal comes from acid rock, Who are the brain police? by Zappa, Purple Haze by Hendrix, Summertime Blues by Blue Cheer, In-A-Gadda-Na-Vida by Iron Butterflies. That's proto-metal, not Helter Skelter.

[@Luthiart]

@Star Traveler Well. I can't speak from personal experience, but I knew a guy who saw the Beatles many times at the Cavern, and he said the band was like a force of nature. High-energy and loud AF. He said that he didn't experience anything close to that until punk came around in the '70s.

[@bobbystereo936]

@Star Traveler Taxman - with it's punk guitar & political lyrics. Harrison's it's all too much is more metal sounding to me than helter skelter which is more grunge & pre dates skelter over a year.

[@futuropasado]

I think Helter is more metal due to the quick and deep bass line. I want you is more, doom metal or even post-rock, progressive music.

[@LennyJohnson5]

Paul's output, especially on the White Album, was eclectic, to say the least!

[@SimpleManGuitars1973]

Martha My Dear is easily my favorite song on that album and I think it's his most complex piece ever as far as I'm concerned. It's like classical music or something.

[@LennyJohnson5]

TacoTacoTacoTaco I can’t say if you’re right or wrong; I’ll have to ask my eclectic group of friends and acquaintances if they are actually aware of my existence, or whether I’ve been labouring under a misapprehension all my life. But thanks for your insightful and opinionated input 😘

[@thesilvershining]

@@SimpleManGuitars1973 As a classical musician I think “Martha My Dear” is a brilliant well-crafted little masterpiece combining rock elements with chamber & swing band music. It’s one of my favorite Beatles songs.

[@SimpleManGuitars1973]

@@thesilvershining I've literally said I could hear Mozart or somebody doing it.

[@briangregory6303]

Beatlemaniac here, and that was so cool.

[@joepalooka2145]

Great video! "Helter Skelter" is one of the greatest masterpieces of rock and roll and a fabulous McCartney composition. The musicianship with the other Beatles is amazing. Unfortunately that evil asshole Manson and his insane followers hijacked it and turned it into something totally opposite from what it was intended to be. Because of this, the world kind of pushed it to the background for many years, which was grossly unfair. McCartney has now reclaimed it, and plays it live as only he can. He deserves all the acclaim and respect this song deserves. This is a guy who can write every kind of song from "Yesterday" and "Michelle" to "Band On The Run" and "When I'm 64" and "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude" and "Mull Of Kintyre", then turn around and write a blistering heavy metal song that is definitely one of the greatest in rock and roll history.

[@paulinehannon4514]

McCartney was and is extremely versatile.

[@ckallaher]

Totally agree about She’s So Heavy, which I have always thought of as the heaviest Beatles track. But the first heavy metal song is the third movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. That thing kills.

[@gretchennelson9965]

Never mind the instrumental part of it, how the hell did he do that with his voice!”Look out! Helter Skelter!” I never in my life heard a voice like that!

[@kimsullivan5576]

Perhaps by tripping on LSD during the recording productions of the track. Back in those years, LSD was legal in England.

[@NinjaMatt2201]

Helter Skelter and Revolution pioneered non-fuzz distortion and heavy rock that pre-dates Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, but I'd say it's a slightly different musical direction than metal.

[@UnaWarlock]

Zeppelin was heavy in 68 I think

[@matejebach5487]

@@UnaWarlock The Yardbirds were heavy in '67.

[@dylanadams1455]

I'd say from a technical point of view you need heavy palm muting, two string power chords, and heavy leaning on the flat five or the minor second to be metal. To me, that still doesn't happen until the song "Black Sabbath". It's unlike anything that came before it. Two thirds of the song is the root and the flat five, and the outro is galloping palm muted triplets. I love me some "Whole Lotta Love" and "She's So Heavy", but to me there's not a lot that makes them metal.

[@NinjaMatt2201]

@andrion waser Yes, but my point is based on the fact that Metal couldn't exist until heavy rock stopped sounding like 60's psychedelic rock, hence Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin being so important to metalheads. The Beatles Helter Skelter and Revolution were earlier examples of non-fuzz distortion, though that was inspiredby the Who, so maybe give them credit. Though if Hendrix could have used a Boss DS-1 Distortion, first sold in 1978, instead of a Fuzz Face, yes, he absolutely would have sounded something close to Metal. Also, I Want You (she's so heavy) did the quiet loud quiet thing that Nirvana and Grunge popularized in the 90's. Which, yes, Nirvana did rip that off of the Pixies, but Kurt Cobain was a huge Beatles fan before he heard the Pixies, so there's a solid chance he heard it from them first. Also, aside from his playing technique and the Fuzz Face, Hendrix stole most of his guitar tone from British artists like Pete Townsend from the Who and Eric Clapton then from Cream, from his choice of guitar to his Marshall amps. So the Who and Cream did it first, not Hendrix. Though you can go further back, like the Kinks, who slashed an amp speaker to get distortion.

[@nickn2794]

Yeah. Let's just pretend Hendrix, Blue Cheer and Iron Butterflies didn't exist and weren't doing proto-metal... Not to mention "Who are the brain police?" by Zappa. Anyway Helter Skelter is more like "proto-punk" which Velvet Underground and Monks were already doing. Helter Skelter wasn't something new. Just new for a mainstream pop rock band like Beatles. The great merits of Beatles are in production and songwriting. The other bands created the new genres.

[@rosemarywessel1294]

I was a toddler when that album came out. I still remember, even at that age, stopping in my tracks when my sister brought the album home and that track came up. Totally lit. Even 55 years later.

[@nickdryad]

Helter Skelter is the first grunge song. According to Butch Vig

[@gretchennelson9965]

More hard rock maybe? Or psychedelic rock? Be kind. I’m a little out of my element here. Not that I don’r love rock,but as to all of the different styles-I’m a little lost.🙃

[@nickdryad]

@Gretchen Nelson I guess I’d start from a definition. I mea what does grunge mean? Is an attitude. Punk was anarchistic. Grunge was nihilistic in one sense but it’s themes were about alienation. disintegration, despair, pretending not to care when you really did. Musically it’s hallmark were dirty guitar sounds played on cheap guitars. Unpolished production relatively speaking. Authentic lyrics that avoided pompous and sentimental themes and a violent anger that is internal and never directed at another person in a physical sense. Punk had some similarities as it as a big inspiration for the Seattle bands but it was never the be all and end all. Helter Skelter was is a good starting point but I always think of it as coming from a place of inauthenticity because Paul was writing it as a response song to The Who. He conveniently forgot all this in 1967. Grunge music like a Nirvana or Screaming Trees came from real poverty and despair.

[@nickdryad]

@andrion waser My initial comment was simply repeating what Butch Vig said. I don’t doubt you.

[@nickdryad]

@andrion waser Reply. I get it. Lady GaGa is a phoney from her rip of name to her meat wearing antics.

[@gretchennelson9965]

@@nickdryad Thank you very much for taking the time for the explanation of the different music styles. What category would you place Helter Skelter in? I know you said that Paul basically wrote it as an answer to The Who’s song(most likely I can see for miles) but I’m just curious if you can place it in a certain category. It’s one of my all time favorite Beatles songs-not just instrumentally but WOW ..Paul’s vocals on this are insane. John is and will always be my favorite but Paul absolutely kills it on this!😎

[@GibsonFender]

It’s so cool that they even started metal, as well as everything else

[@nickn2794]

Except they didn't!! Lol. They never started a rock genre except maybe raga-rock. Pop rock: The Crickets Blues rock: The Rolling Stones Garage rock: The Kinks Hard rock: The Kinks Psychedelic rock: The Byrds, 13th Floor Elevators, Texas rock scene Acid Rock: Cream and Hendrix Proto-metal: Zappa, Hendrix, Blue Cheer, Iron Butterflies Proto-punk: Monks, Velvet Underground, garage rock bands Alternative rock: Velvet Underground Noise rock: Velvet Underground ""Gothic rock"": the Doors Metal: Black Sabbath Glam rock: David Bowie probably was the first but he was inspired by Lou Reed Punk: Ramones Before you tell me "they were all inspired by the Beatles", no they weren't, chronologically they all did it before the Beatles. The merits of the Beatles are in production and songwriting and mixture of styles with pop-rock. But no, that wasn't what started the genres. They mixed a style with their own music just after other bands invented a style. Beatles have been very influencential but they didn't everything.

[@-NguyenKienHao-CA]

@@nickn2794 ok but beatles still pretty cool tho

[@Hallalo]

No Black Sabbath started metal. And the first true hard rock songs belong to Led Zeppelin 1. Helter skelter still is too thin in comparison to Good Times bad times etc.

[@nippy7425]

@@nickn2794 Brian Wilson did it before some of those bands with Pet Sounds

[@billdowney1487]

@@nickn2794 ----- Music is subjective ----- but you made some great points and observations, that I agree with.

[@flatsixcyl]

love the Maiden font

[@ChrisBuckGuitar]

Haha! It’s made my day that someone noticed that 😆

[@jma6893]

@@ChrisBuckGuitar a font that was ripped off from god knows where... Google Steel Mill: "green eyed god" an album from 1975

[@vocalion9519]

John famously commented that Ticket to Ride had a heavy sound that he considered a genesis for heavy metal. I would also point to the guitars on She Said She Said from Revolver.

[@Upside_Down_Guitar_Guy]

Really? That’s super interesting. Geniuses, man

[@zwolfsmub5008]

@@Upside_Down_Guitar_Guy If you look at the ending drums on ticket to ride, you can see why John would think that, its still interesting to think about

[@romulus125]

What are everyone’s thoughts on day tripper? Either way, what the world should take away from this is that The Beatles liked heavy music, and made some heavy songs that influenced future metal performers.

[@zwolfsmub5008]

@@romulus125 Absoloutley , yeah! That's the main takeaway

[@julessabio]

yes and he mentioned that Paul suggested the beat of the drums. It seems that Paul had a thing with that.

[@matt.fromtheinternet]

I love getting to listen to isolated Beatles tracks, man. It just gives you a sense of the fact that they were, at times, imperfect. They weren't gods, but just four extremely good musicians, and the isolated tracks tend to highlight just how raw the whole process really was. Anyways, great video as always.

[@richardkay2000]

Yes, some of their rough playing on the film Let it Be is cringe-worthy, but then it seemed to all come out in the wash in the end.

[@allrequiredfields]

This should be an epiphany for most, that your technical skill level has almost nothing to do with success. Work on writing good tunes instead of moving your fingers faster.

[@davidpepper442]

Great video Chris! I have the John Lennon Casino as well...cool guitar. This is why the White Album is my favorite Beatles album. The creative headspace that could take someone from Helter Skelter to Blackbird is mind boggling.

[@jltrem]

Thank you, Mr. Buck. Love when you do these.

[@jamesforbes4996]

I am very thankful for KZbin. I never would have heard someone with such incredible wisdom concerning all things related to guitars and those who play them. It is an honor to watch your wonderful content. Keep up the great work Chris! Cheers from across the pond!

[@kiillabytez]

Absolutely digging these introspective videos on The Beatles sounds and songs. Keep 'em coming.

[@pleasantvalleypickerca7681]

To me this is Proto Metal/Punk. Paul's insane vocals must have inspired Punk singers!

[@LaughingStock_]

Actually, it's The Kinks "You Really Got Me Now" that was the template for Heavy Metal in 1964 - yes, 1964, kids - repeat "1964". However "Helter Skelter" takes things to the next level - a genuine McCartney masterpiece. Excellent video, thanks for sharing and caring.

[@utmostzen9602]

Yep Paul just kinda took some of those early "heavy metal" at that time and took it to another level

[@mattbarbarich3295]

Yes, Yes exactly ! Was going to say the same but u beat me to it. The kinks as innovative as the Beatles.

[@nickn2794]

Kinks invented hard rock with that song. It is very important but to me the first foreshadowing of metal are "Who are the brain police?" by Zappa, Purple Haze, Summertime Blues by Blue Cheer and In-A-Gadda-Na-Vida by Iron Butterflies. Metal comes from acid rock, not Helter Skelter, which is more like a proto-punk song. Velvet Underground and Monks and garage rock bands were already doing proto-punk when the song came out. It just wasn't mainstream.

[@bobbystereo936]

@@nickn2794 What about Harrison's - it's all too much? With it's tidal wave of feedback.

[@datavalisofficial8730]

I see you really got me now as wolfenstein and helter skelter as doom (And i recognize there were even other fps games before, but doom is doom)

[@ukarmencb]

Can you imagine Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Tzaikovsky living in the same town, meeting as teens and starting a group? That was The Beatles, an impossible fact but for some reason Destiny wanted it to happen and it did happened. Against all odds.

[@adipsous]

I get your point, but, that's a bit of a stretch. The Beatles aren't quite Bach, or any of those guys. Though, it's debatable.

[@gdaig203]

Well said!

[@toddstratford7685]

Great analogy!

[@dogguitarbluesman]

Once again fabulous Mr. Buck.

[@graemeking7336]

Which of them is Ringo ?

[@johnwhite9825]

Chris, I really enjoyed this report .. thank you so much from Australia.

[@anonymohipp9097]

Thank you! I really enjoy your videos, and your playing is amazing!

[@facelessandnameless]

I’ve always loved the aggressive as hell vocals in the song!

[@videovuer]

Fun! So quacky, banging, fuzzed out, intense. Really great playing, Chris. & a delightful romp through some simply great music. Cheers, mate!

[@nigelvernon4431]

So informative Chris, great work, superb video, thanks a lot.

[@jmad627]

To my ears "Taxman" in 1966 was a heavy metal style song.

[@eziospaghettiauditore8369]

Yep Paul McCartney screaming and guitar solo on that

[@mannyruiz1954]

Yeah, I'd add Day Tripper too.

[@dmytrocks]

@@mannyruiz1954 it's one of my favourites

[@mannyruiz1954]

@@dmytrocks that riff is heavy. No it's not Sabbath heavy but it's well defined and tight. It's just killer.

[@rafael12121998]

@@mannyruiz1954 I don't know about that unless there's a heavy metal group or genre you're thinking about specifically.

[@scottellefson1155]

I love this! Friday Fretworks is my favorite presentation on any platform. Thanks Chris! I love watching you play even though I strongly consider selling all my gear after watching.

[@chrischamberlain2168]

Great video. Very informative. Many thanks.

[@deliusmyth5063]

I like how Paul's guitar style - anarchic, angular - is at odds with his general musical personality.

[@danielbretall2236]

Manson's interpretations aside, the real crux of this song is Paul's drug use, and his conceit that he is so far into the void, that you couldn't even conceive how gone he is. The line "you may be a lover but you ain't no dancer" says it all. You may casually love drugs, but he dances with death to the limits he takes it, and thats what he wanted to convey with discordant, harsh guitar.

[@petehealy9819]

Whoa, great analysis! Love it!

[@jimmyjimmy951]

Interesting as always Chris. Stay safe..👍🇦🇺

[@victorhugo-wo2ci]

I love john for making such an out of place bass sound amazing and the Bass VI plek plek sound just makes the song for me

[@andrzejsajdak5114]

You are Great at commenting what really happened balancing what is true versus false and accompanied with lots of musical competence. Thanks for that Chris.

[@DennisTrovato]

Another song released even earlier that same year was Blue Cheer's - Summer Time Blues. Hella heavy for the time.

[@nickdryad]

ᛞᛖᚾᚾᛁᛋ ᛏᚱᛟᚹᚨᛏᛟ I love your runes font.

[@paulwomack1048]

Try Eddie Cochran's - Summertime Blues 1958

[@jpollackauthor]

Blue Cheer's version was a ripoff of the Who's version from the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.

[@theccarbiter]

Yeah but I wouldn’t call that a metal song either

[@pascalecnto68]

The thing for me that defines heavy metal is the dilution or abolition of the blues influence you see all throughout hard rock styles. I never thought of Hendrix, Cream, Blue Cheer as Metal because they were still very rooted in the blues. That goes for Led Zeppelin too with some exceptions without much of a blues influence like Dazed & Confused, Immigrant Song. Black Sabbath (and indeed, The Beatles Helter Skelter) were different.

[@SimpleManGuitars1973]

Happiness Is A Warm Gun is equally as heavy to me when it breaks down. The best Beatles distorted tone to me ever is Paperback Writer though. That distortion is glorious and what' crazy is people spend years buying tons of "boutique" equipment and things of that nature to get a tone that George Harrison didn't need any of that stuff to achieve.

[@jonathanbolger6173]

This irks me no end.. then again I'm a bit of plane Jane.. little bit of drive, little bit of delay. Fair enough of your playing shoe gaze stuff that's all cool, but really you can get through a full set with one dirt pedal.

[@peterolbrisch1653]

@@jonathanbolger6173 sigh

[@mannyruiz1954]

Yer Blues is damn heavy too.

[@allrequiredfields]

I hate to disappoint you, but their guitar rigs for that sound is incredibly rare and phenomenally expensive. They were using the Vox UL730 of which, almost all were destroyed, and the few remaining examples cost as much as a new car.

[@Deliquescentinsight]

Mind you, Cream were well heavy 66-68, disraeli gears came out in 67, there are a few examples

[@DanielBoonelight]

so were deep purple.

[@JimDeferio]

"Spoonful" on Fresh Cream (Dec. 1966) is the FIRST heavy metal song. I don't even like Eric Clapton by I have to give him credit.

[@jhogoboom]

Great history lesson!!

[@normjones6916]

Hey so well done :)

[@kkelleybass]

if you want to hear some true early raw heavy rock, check out 'Kick out the Jams' by the MC5.

[@coffeenow2382]

Nailed it!!!🎸🎸

[@tenabruce3548]

It doesn’t matter the what’s y’s or anything!!! A HELL Of An Excellent Bad Ass Heavy Metal Song!!!

[@jfrbcelloguitar]

Gracias!

[@athens2513]

the fact these 4 were rocking this crazy ass shit all the way back in 68 is fucking crazy

[@anonymohipp9097]

Purple Haze is pretty metal, and I think it predates Helier Skelter.

[@LennyJohnson5]

Chris does mention that at 8:45

[@anonymohipp9097]

@@LennyJohnson5 Yep. I commented too soon. Great video.

[@piggyroo100]

Yup

[@gavinreid5387]

The Jimi Hendrix Experience released all three of their albums before The White Album.

[@bobbystereo936]

Harrison's - it's all too much predates Hendrix.

[@barrystanton6693]

Very interesting. Thanks

[@billkeaveney1526]

Thank you Chris once again a great video, your tone was better 👍

[@friendofbeaver6636]

I play it on my acoustic all the time. Nice presentation!

[@SimpleManGuitars1973]

When Ginger Baker was asked if he thought Cream "birthed" heavy metal he said "I don't know who birthed it but I do know that it should have been aborted" or something to that effect. Jimmy Page also HATES when people try and label Zeppelin as heavy metal. Some also credit the origins of heavy metal to Hendrix when a journalist described his sound as "heavy metal falling from the sky".

[@martinpaddle]

one can argue long about the origins of metal and its influences, but the first band that is beyond doubt metal is Black Sabbath

[@Glicksman1]

In this vein, I remember the first time I heard what became a staple of heavy metal and hard rock, the lead guitar and bass playing the same riff. The first time that I think this occurred was in the chorus of “For Your Love” by the Yardbirds (around 0:59), recorded on February 1, 1965, and released in the U.S. on April 9, 1965. When I first heard this I was a young, new electric guitar player trying desperately to learn everything on the radio. At first I couldn’t’ figure out what they were doing that made it sound so special, so great and so different from anything I had heard to that time. Once I figured it out, it was a revelation. So, it appears that it was the Yardbirds who played the first heavy metal riff in a song. Cheers, Chris.

[@Dobrovinskiy]

What a song!!

[@HartponderJr]

I agree, add Birthday and Revolution and you have a well rounded launching pad to what was to come...

[@rkb4571]

It’s always fascinated me that the earliest takes of Helter Skelter are a slow, heavy blues jam, a very different arrangement to the album version. I’ve always wondered what prompted Paul to re-arrange the song.

[@_PuppetMaster86]

I’m sure Paul had already wanted it to be heavy, but just like a rough draft, softer or lighter than the final product. Possibly playing around as he was using an acoustic guitar instead of an electric guitar for the demo.

[@mountart2]

It's on my best of heavy metal playlist

[@mikemclenison8200]

Great job with a great tittle!

[@Henry3Studios]

I think George played the solo, that fill in the last verse and the slide in the Outro. It sounds very Clapton-esque.

[@jpollackauthor]

For what it's worth, Ringo says Paul played bass on Helter Skelter in the Beatles Anthology book, and I believe him because 1: he was actually there and 2: that bass sounds exactly like a Rickenbacker 4001S with the foam mutes rolled up. Further evidence of this is the fact that McCartney's lead guitar track wasn't added until later - if you listen to the early takes on the recent White Album box set, his lead track is not present yet.

[@marcusphelan57]

Yes it's Paul on bass but he uses his Fender Jazz on this. The chorus riffs on guitar were overdubbed by Paul and, I think George. The solos sound very George to me.

[@jpollackauthor]

@@marcusphelan57I wasn’t aware of the Jazz Bass when I originally left that comment but I’ve since come to the same conclusion as you - definitely Paul on the Jazz.

[@JesseJuup]

Nailed it!

[@sosoguerra]

AAAAAHHHHH.... I love this Beatles Metal song

[@moore2522]

Recorded in June of 1966, Love's "7and 7 is" is a very early inspiration for Garage/Punk/Heavy Metal. and a group that The Beatles were familiar with. They were very big in the Los Angeles music scene. They influenced The Byrds, The Doors, and were followed by members of The Stones and The Yardbirds. The "7 and 7 is" release predates the forming of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin by two years. Arthur Lee, the band's writer/front man/creative genius would go on with several iterations of Love, but the original group fell apart by the release of their 3rd album in 1968 due to drug use and creative differences. Give it a listen. And then go on to listen to more Love, one of the most underrated and influential bands of the mid '60's. Rock, jazz, progrock, blues-they mixed it all in.

[@catsofsherman1316]

I just got out my little red book the minute that you said goodbye. Love's first 3 albums are amazing. Pretty spotty after the original band imploded. Did you see the documentary that came out a few years ago?

[@ekw555]

The Ramones covered "7 and 7 is" on Acid Eaters, I believe.

[@RobertRoth-oj6zz]

I dig the way the lead guitar sounds which starts off the song

[@captaincrash9286]

Musical genres are invented by journalists, not musicians. Someone mentioned Link Wray... the story goes that Link came back wounded from the Korean war, and formed a band with his brother. At a dance one night a fight broke out, stuff was knocked about and Links' speaker cone was torn. Feeling mean, he cranked the amp up, hit a chord, the band joined in, and the resulting jam gave birth to "The Rumble", which was so scary sounding it was banned from the radio in many places.. a good trick for an instrumental! To recreate the sound, people started taking razors to perfectly good speakers, which led to the fuzz box being invented. Paul played bass through one on Rubber Soul, on (from memory) Think For Yourself. I like this channel! 👍✌

[@megatedassaultituary6783]

Holy crap.. wasnt expecting a tone "re-creation", that was pretty identical

[@9Visuals]

The sound comparison that starts around minute 7:17 - Due to the twanginess of McCartney vs the rounder tone of your casino has me leaning towards McCartney using his squire for this track. However, I can admit my speakers and headphones could also be factor here as well. Thanks for your work. I love your Chanel.

[@jfrbcelloguitar]

Saludos cordiales desde Oaxaca México

[@dgates6165]

It's the fact that Paul is almost SCREAMING at the end that makes the track. Nobody was yelling like that back then. Not even the Ozzman!

[@gretchennelson9965]

Yes, Paul’s vocals are insane.

[@ZacksRockingLifestyle]

I believe the song Paul is referring to by The Who is Boris The Spider! Has a death-metal-esque growl

[@robsavage9440]

I'm pretty sure, it's 'I Can See For Miles'

[@NinjaMatt2201]

George used a Vox Conqueror with its built in effects for his distorted guitar sound from Revolver onwards. We know that on Revolution, they used 2 Epiphone Casinos plugged directly into the soundboard to get distortion on that track. By my ears, it sounds like one Casino into the soundboard, and another Casino into the Vox Conqueror.

[@marcusphelan57]

Paul played his Jazz bass on this...and it's brilliant, despite all the nonsense comments about it hearing it in isolation. It's wild and crazy but still expertly crafted and performed - the band was going off in the studio, having a gay old time. You listen to any of Paul's basslines in isolation- even iconic ones such as "Something" - and you will find moments of sloppiness or clams that nowadays we'd drop in to fix. He himself said that if George Martin didn't notice a fluff he wasn't going to own up to it if the overall take was a goodie. Ringo later remembered: “‘Helter Skelter’ was a track we did in total madness and hysterics in the studio. Sometimes you just had to shake out the jams, and with that song - Paul’s bass line and my drums - Paul started screaming and shouting and made it up on the spot”. John played a one note bass line on the first slow version, the one in E minor, and he didn't deviate from that one E note for a full 13 minutes! (and folks think he progressed so fast that he could play the frenetic, dexterous bass line in Helter Skelter.) Didn't anyone pay attention to John's woeful attempts at bass playing in the Get Back movie? I present as evidence "The Long And Wind Road" your Honour...I rest my case. Before that, it was Fixing A Hole which Paul had to later double to try and cover up its amateurishness (George Harrison wasn't around so I guess John was the last resort - and yes Paul plays the guitars in Fixing A Hole too.) Anyway, for the final fast versions of HS they reverted to their usual instruments. John plays his Casino and he thumbs the F note. Why would anyone put their guitar neck through such a pounding when you can simply place your thumb on and off the string? It's hard enough to keep a Casino in tune without doing that kind of thing. AND how anyone who closely listened to Take 17 could not understand that Paul is showing John how he wants him to play that opening guitar riff by playing the bass exactly in unison with his voice. The bass and the voice are in perfect alignment. At 1:56 Paul sings along with his bass line. In unison. The iconic chorus riff is only played by the bass on the base track. As you say, the guitars doing so are overdubs. On the original slow version where Paul plays guitar, the only one playing that riff is the guitar. From this we can conclude that the riff is a Paul thing. For the solos I'd put my money on George.

[@PAUL14447]

What about HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN ? On THE WHITE ALBUM O maybe ticket to ride ? Lennon said it was the very first hevy metal song ever written

[@AngryShredder2004]

Nailed it on the head

[@uwu-gr7il]

I recently learned how to play it and you gave me the good bending tip cause when you are playing by yourself it's not right until you add the droning bend on the e chord but you also have to incorporate George's licks on the a chord as he says Helter Skelter 3 times . I find that I can make it flow smoothly after a couple of drinks as I'm not as self conscious and I'm not thinking too much about it or worrying or pre-plotting the quick move down the neck for George's part. Also I like the little bend on the 5th fret before he goes back to the bending e chord for the second verse. I'm the Paul should not be allowed to die guy.

[@mjt11860]

would love to have seen paul do an alternate take, the way he was playing it acoustically & in a bluesy way.

[@GibsonFender]

You really know your stuff

[@johnbrookes4892]

i feel educated! great reaction... i only ever had an Epiphone semi-acoustic and rarely put it to good use ;)

[@CatheLeiper]

Excellent discussion/demonstration. You have the sound nailed. I've always been unclear re the track's "rhythm" and "lead" guitar designations. Going by the usual definition of lead guitar, there are just two short lead licks at 1:34 to 1:45 and 2:04 - 2:08, then the curling notes before the raucous jam to the fade-out. Perhaps there's another rhythm guitar (George's) deeper in the mix? I figured either George played the lead licks live, or Paul overdubbed them. However you figure, it's an amazing track. Haunting, aggressive; structured but totally unhinged. Thanks for digging into it.

[@Benjammin117]

What about the article written after Hendrix's performance stating "it sounded like heavy metal falling from the sky" :)

[@platonicriot]

Jimi's stuff is psychedelic and hard rock, but I do agree his sound is one of the things that inspired metal.

[@nickn2794]

@@platonicriot it is called "acid rock" and that was the base for metal. Summertime Blues by Blue Cheer and In-A-Gadda-Na-Vida by Iron Butterflies (notice the similarity in the name with Iron Maiden) were proto-metal songs. Also "Who are the brain police? " by Zappa (1966) is heavy. Helter Skelter is more proto-punk than proto-metal. Velvet Underground and Monks and other garage rock bands were already doing proto-punk.

[@DeflatingAtheism]

The Beatles' output really boggles the imagination. They were recording Helter Skelter late in 1968... and they still recorded all of Let it Be, and all of Abbey Road, as well as the additions for Yellow Submarine, before the decade closed!

[@kevinbaskin9489]

This is presently my favourite beatles tune in joint position with tomorrow never knows

[@jnagarya519]

During 1968 the debate was whether "The Kinks" -- "You Really Got Me" -- or "The Yardbirds" "invented" "hard rock," which label became "heavy metal" during the 1970s.

[@larrypower8659]

Gotta consider The Yardbirds an early practicioner of what was pretty close to Metal, especially in the Jeff Beck phase. Yes, the Kinks, too. And when was the first really heavy Deep Purple album? Not their very first but after that. I was in college so it had to be ‘68 or ‘69. Helter Skelter is a definite push along the road to Heavy Metal, though. It’s easy to see why people feel this way. The Who of 1967 was damn heavy, as was Hendrix, for sure. Purple Haze, yeah!

[@NewFalconerRecords]

The single 'Happenings Ten Years Time Ago' b/w 'Psycho Daisies' by the Yardbirds (1966) is insane. It has both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on twin lead guitars. Definitely early metal.

[@fortunatejeremy]

So essentially at the time Paul knew enough or was good enough of a person to be vague so he didn't insult or step on anyone's toes. Years on he felt it was ok to be more specific about the details.

[@karst41]

We’re Beatles ever second to anything? Tomorrow never knows, sending the loop in reverse was probably due to some level of boredom, they just killed it. And that mop top banging the skins, Ringo had a few things going on in that one for sure. But the lyrics to She Said, just smacks of Heavy Metal,,, oh the irony of it all

[@accam6734]

Actually, Paul was friends with artists who experimented with different sounds made using tape loops and he became interested too, and he contributed the tape loop sounds on TNN.

[@julessabio]

@@accam6734 exactly electronic music had several years at that time. " the first musicians to use loops, as early as 1944, were electroacoustic music pioneers such as Pierre Schaeffer, Halim El-Dabh, Pierre Henry, Edgard Varèse and Karlheinz Stockhausen." Paul was quite fanatic of Stockhausen and as you said, he was friend of many artists who experimented with loops.

[@johnmoorcroft8226]

I read or listened to an interview many years ago, Paul or one of the Beatles saying Paul was referring to the Who's I can see for miles

[@NewFalconerRecords]

Paperback Writer from 1966 has a deceptively heavy riff. Also, no one has ever been able to locate the interview with Pete Townshend that supposedly inspired Helter Skelter.

[@jpollackauthor]

Untrue - it's commonly accepted that it was in the October 14, 1967 issue of MELODY MAKER, and it was Chris Welch's review of "I Can See For Miles" - a song that is also in the key of E and figures a similar bending riff during the chorus that is played in "Helter Skelter".

[@NewFalconerRecords]

@@jpollackauthor I get ya, and I'd say that's what McCartney read, but that's a review of the song, it's not Pete Townshend declaring that "we've made the filthiest, dirtiest record ever".

[@gretchennelson9965]

@@NewFalconerRecords I love The Who but imho, Helter Skelter is MUCH dirtier than I Can See For Miles

[@NewFalconerRecords]

@@gretchennelson9965 Totally agree, I Can See For Miles is a beautiful record, the harmonies are sublime.

[@mikenaykki2173]

I believe it 👍👍🎸😎

[@tedc6694]

I've lived the beatles since I was a kid in early 70s but have trouble telling if that's paul or chris singing in the beginning close up of the Epi. Great video

[@mass_of_rest]

they did !

[@Linda-pw8gx]

I believe it to be true, looking back on the time

[@mcbillygoat]

Paul McCartney is a badass on this song and in life in general. Both he and John Lennon clued in on what Buddy Holly and the Crickets were doing in the 50’s along with every other band from the 60’s. Guitar driven teenage garage rock sound with the fewest instrument. Guitar, bass and drums. Both Buddy Holly and Bo Diddley were the sounds and style of the 60’s psychedelic movement.

[@LaNwamNi]

Surely Hendrix's "Spanish Castle Magic", from a full year before Helter Skelter, is a more definitively proto-metal; and coming out running!

[@TypicalTonk]

Shut up! the Beatles invented everything! Duh!

[@rocktober1327]

I always thought that HOLD ME TIGHT from WITH THE BEATLES was the first heavy song.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Helter Skelter used a Fretless Guitar & Godin has them which sound great for this song

[@Robbay363]

The Paul slander from critics of the day was genuinely kind of nuts. Especially now that he's universally recognized as one of the all time great songwriters.

[@PuJitois]

I love this song and the Beatles, but the first heavy metal sound I remember was Blue Cheer's 'Summertime Blues' (1968)

[@Dobrovinskiy]

🤩

[@robrtsparkman9362]

There was a fretless guitar floating around the studio. There is a recorded interview with John playing with it. Check out Ably House on youtube.

[@Andyanddiana467]

Hmmm. This, plus, “Revolution”...yeah, I can see it.