The Vocal Debate About A Day in the Life

[@aria_chatt]

They pulled a sneaky on us and had Ringo sing it

[@cuauhtlehcoc]

of course!!!!!

[@econecoff1725]

Or George

[@jonforbes9792]

It was William Campbell

[@ThePaulster22]

LOL

[@Holdington]

Ringo Starr was the drummer. Actually, he's still alive though the other Beatles are all dead.

[@rbailey1240]

It's obviously John. Not sure how this is even a debate.

[@Meshica111]

Cause it sounds warm like Paul's voice but in the end thru all the effects it becomes more like john

[@joedesiderio5085]

sounds like john to me. My favorite beatle song,

[@markmiller8128]

any beatle fan worth his salt knows it John Lennon

[@holyharlot5222]

Concur .. I don't think it's really a debate

[@darrentaylor9610]

Its John without question.

[@gedq]

"we asked two guys who were there and they both said it was John" I suppose the mystery will live on....

[@Nerkin610]

Giles was not there and Geoff has stated several things about The Beatles that have later been proven factually incorrect.

[@Edandush]

@@Nerkin610 what did he say that was proven incorrect?

[@Nerkin610]

Edandush He was often bitter and biased, which led to him recollecting things in a way that favoured his own mindset and not necessarily reality. He’s often been very criticised for that and his book isn’t considered a reliable source. Not only that, he has been wrong on the Paul/John question before. He claimed that John sang the harmonies on Come Together, but it’s been proven to be Paul’s voice through the release of the isolated track: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYm7loBpnJ5ro9E

[@rubbersoul9462]

I hear george

[@AlanAHAPartridge]

😂😂😂

[@scottread]

This isn't a controversy - it's an unmistakable Lennon vocal.

[@gutgolf74]

Nope, absolutely clearly Paul. The only reason this is STILL a debate is that too many people are too easily fooled by a simple echo effect and too stubborn and ignorant to understand and accept undisputable evidence. 1) From the book "Recording the Beatles" (Kevin Ryan, Brian Kehew): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon." (pg. 444) 2) It's still Paul's part, it's his dream. Why would John (or freaking George?!) sing lead here? 3) It's Paul's voice, unmistakebly. Paul is doing his normal chest voice. His timbre and the way he bends the notes going up and down are very telling too. The way his voice breaks at the very end is another definite tell. You're simply fooled because of the slap back echo that's on his voice. Here's the part WITHOUT the reverb - sounds even more like Paul! clyp.it/npqcuc22?token=1861b0fbf5cc893c3956bbc124eb6654 The example from "Mother" is a FALSETTO part, so if anything it proves that this is NOT John! 4) John didn't sing this part when he recorded HIS vocals (Anthology version). Paul unfortunately didn't get to sing it at the first try, when he said "Oh shit" after messing up the lyrics before. 5) In fact, the Beatles re-recorded the vocals for the bridge AND the transition on February 3rd, so Paul could correct his blunder and "added some soaring aaahs" (John C. Winn, "That magic feeling"). They recorded the bridge and the transition in one take, so if you agree that Paul sings lead on the "Woke up..." part, you HAVE to agree he still sings lead on the transition! There's no audible cut at all (in contrast to the one at the very end of the section), and you can even hear how Paul takes a breath after "dream" before going into the "aaah" part. 6) While the very first of the "aaahs" does sound a BIT like John (because of said echo), ALL the high falsetto "uuuuhs" in the background sound VERY much like John! In fact, John does the excact same note in the excact same sound in "Sexy Sadie" (2.13). kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfXY5qOpc57hJY How Giles Martin could seriously mistake THAT for Paul is beyond me, and it did cost him all respect I had for him. 7) Thankfully his mixer, Sam Okell, has better ears and confirmed several times it's Paul, explaining in detail how the "aaah" and the delay is one of Paul's vocal tracks. www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band 8) There are even PICTURES of their actual protools mixer where you can see the tracks marked as "Paul's vocals". 9) About Emericks detailed story: Did any of the "John"-believers ever read Emerick's interview from 1979 where he didn't even remember who played the piano on ADITL? He thought it was possibly John! [Q: "A day in the life - what do you recall recording that? - “Mainly the orchestral crescendo.” (…) Q: "Was John playing the piano or Paul, do you remember?" - “Sorry, no. Haven’t a clue. It was basically John’s song, so it might have been him. I don’t remember.” ] After reading this, do you SERIOUSLY believe that the SAME man could have remembered such detailed situations and conversations 27 years LATER? This is just ANOTHER blatant example of mistakes, lies and made up stories from his infamous book, famously called out by fellow Beatle-engineer Ken Scott. So although Emerick was there, he doesn't remember anything from the actual sessions (as he admitted himself in 1979), he only quotes from the book. 10) Richard Lush, in contrast to what Howard Massey wrote in "Emerick's" book, confirmed to a fan who reached out to him on something like twitter, it was Paul. 11) While Paul didn't give a specific answer when asked about this vocal part on a reddit AMA, there was this very interesting story in another comment: maclaine "Hopefully he comes back and answers this, but just in case he doesn't, I'll throw in my two cents. I work in the video game industry, and my first job was working on The Beatles: Rock Band. Part of my job was going through all the songs in the game and using as much reference as possible to figure out who was playing/singing which parts, what instruments they were using during that time period, what amps, etc. I and another Beatle nut were meticulous about this because a) working on the game meant the world to us, and b) our research would be reflected by the art and animation in the game forever, so we wanted to get it exactly right. One of the things we had access to was the multitrack audio for the songs. Most of that stuff has leaked out on the internet over the years, but the mixes in game are a bit more condensed than what we had access to because of the nature of how Rock Band works. When I got to A Day In The Life and this part, it was a big bone of contention between me and some of the game leads. I'm 100% sure it's Paul and to me it's crystal clear when you hear the isolated vocal track. There's also a passage in Mark Lewisohn's book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions where he says the same thing, even addressing the confusion that it might be John. I made my case as strongly as I could for as long as I could, but at that stage of the game's development, the animation department had already done the facial animation for John and wouldn't be able to change it in time, so it shipped with the incorrect Beatle "singing" the part. It's one of my greatest professional regrets, honestly, but I'll die on that hill that it's Paul singing that part." 12) And finally The Beatles' official video to ADITL shows PAUL during the "aaah" part, directing the orchestra, together with George Martin. The moment where the video cut's back to John is when his part starts again - the VERSES! kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6SxpHabhLtnfa8

[@boingo5298]

I've always heard paul cuz hes way more talented than John

[@brixenlang3207]

@@gutgolf74 dude we aren’t leftover dogs, i admire the research but I feel like something less than a pawn while reading this. Im just a casual listener listening to music 😭

[@LeonardoNimoy]

@@gutgolf74 without paying the proper attention I have always believed it was john, but hearing the isolated vocals from lovely rita and the other example here I now think it's paul. the thing here is that what paul is doing with his voice has some reminiscences to what to me is john voice style (the video puts it that way also) anyways, it's no crystal clear because otherwise this video and the disscusion woulnd't have existed in the first place. would it? if it were that obvious you wouldn't have written 12 evidence points and god knows how many letters in your answer. love the show. thank you

[@LoganE01]

or some beatle "mocking" him. I cant believe ANYthing else about it. or its lennon's voice "panned" into paul's voice. 2:32 easily both of them together John: "open" worldly AHHss Paul : almost Elvis styled/ classic classic rock like Wuus (which both did decently). Also Which of the 2 was more into the open worldly noises, and sounds? might be a hint to the real answer. Also nothing to unhear.....

[@kothganesh]

Why is this even a debate? It’s John.

[@joedoeodc9754]

Ganesh Koth seriously

[@glowaves]

It’s obviously John. Sounds more Lennonish than 90% of his own records.

[@mollkatless]

there isn't a debate - this guy needs to produce material, and in this case is producing a debate that does not exist - it is John, period.

[@judsonkolk]

Yeah seriously. Duh

[@unorthodoxparadox2339]

I know right

[@TC_83]

Everyone says it sounds like John, the recording engineers that were THERE said it was John. Therefore I think it was John. Or it could be Paul.

[@CinnamonBruhs]

T C plot twist it was ringo

[@eliasstenman3710]

ElCaptainMexico Plot twist: Everyone sang it

[@yoursleepparalysisdemon8171]

John

[@SavageGreywolf]

It's too bad Paul is dead and can't answer this question in an interview or something.

[@eliasstenman3710]

SavageGreywolf Were you making a joke about the Paul is Dead conspiracy or were you sarcastic about the fact that he indeed could answer it in an interview?

[@ハモンビート]

I think the 'Ahhh's' are John, and the 'ooh's' are Paul. Making it seem like Paul is singing.

[@gutgolf74]

Other way around. Very nasal falsettos, just like at the end of "Sexy Sadie", very obviously John.

[@pete2455]

Yeah it’s clearly Paul with the chest voice “ahhs”. The trick is that it sounds like Paul mimicking john’s timbre, which he does uncannily (especially in songs like eight days a week where he’s singing a unison double for most of the song)

[@elainericketts8820]

..I've always thought the "ahhh's" are John's raspy voice.......and after this, I still do............

[@markatto33]

@@pete2455 yes, even its paul, he sounds like john, and they KNEW IT. thats the main reason many people will still think its john. Plus, its not so crystal clear like that stupid account that keeps flooding eveywhere says.

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

I think as well as the "Aaahs" (John) and "Ooohs" (Paul) there are also some high "Aaahs" weaving in and out of the background "Ooohs". I think that might have been George. When you tune-out the main "Aahs" and listen to what's going on behind it's pretty hillarious. They 'messed around' on a lot of tracks in the background. Listen to the backing vocals to Yellow Submarine for instance. So, in that section, maybe all three of the vocalists contributed. There's also a sneeze in there (see my other comment). I doubt it, but I'd like to think Ringo had a cold, meaning it was all four of them. So "Aaaaah", "Oooh", "Aaaah", "Ahh-choo". 😂

[@Gribbo9999]

Always sounded like John to me. Still does after more than half a century after release and still a thrill to hear. I'll never be 17 again that's for sure but the Beatles help me get back to those days in my life.

[@gutgolf74]

Why it shouldn't be John: It's Paul's part, end of story. No need for John to sing lead on Paul's part in Paul's dream. That's also why we only see PAUL during this part in the official video to ADITL. They were finished recording John's vocals for ADITL weeks before and just returned for recording Paul's part on February 3rd. Why it couldn't be John: Since -- in contrast to Emerick's fairy-tale - there is absolutely no cut between the "dream" and the "aaah", it must be still the same lead singer, Paul. You can even hear him take a breath between the "dream" and the "aaah" on the isolated vocal track. Since John is doing his trademark NASAL high falsetto in the background AT THE SAME TIME it's impossible for him to also do the lead aaah. Also, the lead aaah doesn't sound like John AT ALL. It's a chest voice that would have been too high for him to do. Please name a single example where John sings like that - I bet you can't! Note how the example of "Mother" from this video is a FALSETTO part!! That's only proving it's Paul doing the "aah". With Paul you only have to go as far as "Lovely Rita" to find a very similar example. There are many experts who very thoroughly listened to all the actual reels and went through all the paperwork and wrote very highly praised books, like Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew (from the book "Recording the Beatles", p. 444): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon." Or John C. Winn, who actually pointed out all the little differences between every single mix every made of any Beatles song: (from the book "That magic feeling - The Beatles' recorded legacy, p. 86): "Paul then corrected his vocal blunder by taping a new vocal on track 2, also adding some soaring "aahs" over the circle-of-fifths segment that linked back to the final verse". And of course Sam Okell, who did the freaking Sgt. Pepper's REMIX: "Paul's main vocal track is in stereo, because we gave it some spread with the Waves S1 Stereo Imaging plug-in, so it has a different sound than John's lead. We also split off two little bits to be able to pan them left and right. His fourth vocal track is the 'aaah' section, and below it is an 'Aah delay' aux track." "Inside Sgt. Pepper's": Sound On Sound. SOS Publications Group. 26 October 2021

[@yuukoyuukoi476]

@@gutgolf74 damn you are still commenting its been one year

[@gutgolf74]

@@yuukoyuukoi476 I know - and there are still MORE clueless people who didn't get all the Information!!!

[@yuukoyuukoi476]

@@gutgolf74 nah mate you are a bloody schizo

[@gutgolf74]

@@yuukoyuukoi476 LOL, you don't even have a clue what a schizo is, dude! 🤣

[@SamusicChannel]

it’s always sounded like john to me, mainly because of how nasaly the aaaahs are, but i do see why some think it’s paul as well

[@ashtonr7879]

Its ringo

[@PillsBuryDoughBoy_]

Its Pete best

[@michellehunter355]

@Daniel Natal Where has Paul stated that John sang this? I agree it IS John but never once have I heard any of the Fab4 mention this specific part of the song? Don't recall Neil being quoted on this either, but could be wrong on that

[@seancasaus5091]

ashton r well obviously

[@terryperring104]

@Daniel Natal Close delay, rather than reverb

[@alanbarnett718]

Don't get it. It's John. Who else could sound sarcastic while singing a single vowel?...

[@jarredmcmerrick5311]

Alan Barnett hahah

[@susanelizabethmorse]

Fantastic!

[@gregmark1688]

Well done.

[@Troutslayer_]

I just laghed so hard at this

[@southlaketahoe7973]

Alan Barnett Paul doesn’t have that note in his vocal range.

[@therandomshowthing8413]

What if it was George Harrison (the chad) all along?

[@jasonjones4857]

That's what I think. Listen to George's Indian influenced harmonies it's dead on

[@Enki1013]

I had always thought it was John but when I saw the title I thought the debate would be "John or George," not "John or Paul."

[@murialgoldman5670]

That's what I think it is

[@crazierthan-u7571]

@@Enki1013 That's exactly what I thought. George's vocal contribution to the Beatles' sophisticated, seamless harmonies tends to be under-sung (ha); therefore George isn't even considered as a possibility by many. Studio vocal FX notwithstanding, I don't hear even a hint of Paul's voice in the aahhs. George is possible, but John is the most probable.

[@executionsquad3926]

I'm with you.

[@grahambretman4010]

I think it's both,mainly John with Paul backing as they transition from Paul's part back to John's

[@gutgolf74]

You said it yourself - this is NOT John‘s part YET - it‘s the transition, meaning it‘s still Paul‘s part! That‘s why the „aaah“ starts on the left, which is Paul‘s side and moves over to John‘s side, the right. That‘s where John comes back in with the last verse. Also, John couldn‘t have done the aaah, it‘s out of his register. Also, there‘s no cut between the „dream“ and the „aaah“, so it must still be Paul. But they are both there, indeed. John is doing that unmistakable high NASAL falsetto in the background, exactly the same he did on „Sexy Sadie“.

[@normallen3457]

John. Definitely. Paul's voice was more "airy" while John's was more nasal. The aaaahs are nasal.

[@bobbyjonkey13]

Exactly .. if You have a talented music ear You can tell it is John ....

[@tobymummert3035]

@@bobbyjonkey13 👂👂👂👂 open up your ears and you will hear it's Paul

[@bobbyjonkey13]

@@tobymummert3035 check Your own ... can You tune a guitar to 1 step above or standard tuning without any help from outside source ...

[@tobymummert3035]

@@bobbyjonkey13 Sorry dude, got to be honest. I'm not a guitarist. My job is to listen to music and the musicians' job is to play their instruments and entertain me. I only know what I hear when I'm hearing it and I definitely hear Sir Paul McCartney singing this line.

[@bobbyjonkey13]

@@tobymummert3035 good for You then .... if You like classic rock .. go to bobbyjonkey.blogspot.com/ most songs recorded 12 to 40 yrs ago ..

[@LeoGuidi]

It’s John. Too Nasally to be Paul

[@gutgolf74]

It's Paul's voice, unmistakebly, and not even THAT nasally. Paul is doing his normal chest voice. His timbre and the way he bends the notes going up and down are very telling too. The way his voice breaks at the very end is another definite tell. You're simply fooled because of the slap back echo that's on his voice. Here's the part WITHOUT the reverb - sounds even more like Paul! clyp.it/npqcuc22?token=1861b0fbf5cc893c3956bbc124eb6654

[@YorkyOne]

@@gutgolf74 Doesn't sound like Paul to me, with or without echo. So, not unmistakable.

[@nicole7224]

it sounds like john but listen carefully, it’s paul

[@havardhenriksen8866]

@@nicole7224 Because it is John

[@formerunsecretarygeneralba9536]

@@nicole7224 it sounds like john because it's join but if you listen carefully you also find out that it's john.

[@rayalex7794]

Without ever seeing this before I’ve always thought it was John. It’s his sound.

[@robberlopez]

Ray Alex i have no doubt is George Harrison voice

[@ElRolty]

It's Paul

[@youtubeman78937]

Clearly you haven't seen this before either, because it's actually not John's sound at all: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqm0aICDaZeEY9U

[@kurtmooreca]

They were both singing and they blended the audio in the dub for release. That is why it sounds like both of them, because it is both of them. Edit: Actually you can also hear Harrison in the mix. you were able to isolate the vocals but not the harmonics. The Beatles often triple harmonized, their songs. So there is no mystery voice, its the 3 of them harmonized. The dragging neutral ahh's are George, the highs are Paul, and the tonal is John. You can hear the same in the first example I want to tell you, when George comes in about a half beat behind both John and Paul again. The base voice doesn't change pitch, so their are 2 singers, and then it breaks into 2 tenor sections with Paul going off high and George holding the tenor, and John holds the bass of the vocals through the section. So ya 3 probably all 4 were mic'd to tracks, as Ringo also provided many backing vocals because of is lower tenor range although I don't hear his tone in the track so I don't think he sang on it. George Paul and John definitely did. You can literally hear all three vocal parts in the Ahhs.

[@gutgolf74]

It is PAUL'S part, they recorded PAUL'S vocals that day (February 3rd), that's why PAUL is singing lead here and is the only voice we hear in the full mix. There's no cut between the "dream" and the "aaah", only Paul taking a breath, so it's still him. John is doing his typically nasal high falsettos in the background. George is doing some lower falsettos, and even Ringo is doing a low octave aaah. So again: In the lead "aaah" we hear ONLY Paul, but the others are in the background.

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

Yes, I hear all three. The main "Aaahs" being John. The Beatles usually used all three voices. There's also a sneeze in there around 02:56:51. Would love to think that was Ringo. 🤣

[@savagebiker1879]

Have none of you considered that George's voice sounds like a mixture of John and Paul

[@ZehraDimlioglu]

this is so true! sometimes I hear a Beatles song and I be like "Is this John or Paul I can't freaking decide!" and always turns out it is actually George. I mean Ringo has a unique voice that you can easily tell apart. And John's and Paul's vocals are so obvious as well but when it comes to George, his voice is mysteriously sounds so much alike John's , and other times so much alike Paul's. Especially during I Just Want To Dance With You! I know it's George but it's like John and Paul singing together.

[@TheLadyk53]

It starts off sounding like John but then it becomes more certain to me that it was actually George!

[@markcelio9597]

Come on dude not even close

[@meghnasaha4349]

He always sang above John and below Paul during harmonies but he's got his own voice I'd never be as confused as some of y'all claim. Having said that I used to think John sang Do You Want to Know a Secret as a kid

[@nightbot4357]

...its john

[@asymptoticspatula]

I had no idea this was a mystery. I have always heard it as 100% John. I can't even imagine that it is Paul singing.

[@youtubeman78937]

I imagined the same until I heard the isolated track, now the illusion is shattered- it is Paul afterall. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqm0aICDaZeEY9U

[@slothfromthegoonies8201]

100% it was John. Only the hard of hearing think this is up for debate.

[@tobymummert3035]

It's easy to think 100% that is John but it's harder to know that is 100% Paul! Let's just drop this thing man

[@the_original_Bilb_Ono]

No it's not John. Case closed. Paul did that part and the engineer who was there while recording says it's Paul.

[@slothfromthegoonies8201]

@@the_original_Bilb_Ono, quote and source?

[@JohnnyWoodard]

But that tweet from Giles is from May 2017, after he had worked on the re-release. Right?

[@ryanblob3105]

@Rain, Geoff Emerick, who was actually there and was responsible for the sound engineering on the song, says it was John. Besides, has no-one ever thought of actually asking Paul himself?

[@jamsistired]

It’s Lennon, if it was McCartney, there wouldn’t be as much audible effort to reach those higher notes

[@gutgolf74]

LOL, it's McCartney, since it is done quite effortlessly, and John couldn't have done it AT ALL. Also, there's John doing his typically NASAL high falsetto in the background at the same time, so it's impossible to be him.

[@lerkscore]

It's so obvious who is singing it. Ringo Starr, of course!

[@skibitirizzla]

no it’s Lucy in the sky

[@nightbot4357]

Bruh🤣🤣

[@blubase06]

Who is that?

[@funcatgingerxl6889]

Their drummer.

[@julianstraubel1395]

the walrus is obviously the singer

[@gdholmfirth]

Its John, with Paul adding a high harmony behind him. Been listening to this since June 17, 1967 (the day I bought the album) until today. Never any doubt who it is.

[@seanc9507]

I 100% agree!

[@SK-xc6cd]

Bang on! I was going to type a comment but now there’s no need 👍🏽

[@vadsvoltube8131]

gdholmfirth same

[@jaimecastro1752]

Wow! You bought it the day it was released???

[@Cadorkis]

Thanks for you and Giles clearing this up

[@kietursarcade]

Sounds like John’s doing the Ahhs and Paul’s singing some Ooohs

[@marty6779]

Most likely

[@sokerplair]

It might the reverse. Johns definitely doin some ooohs at 2:39-2:40. U can hear the voice crack

[@dominicmoisant8393]

No one pointing out there's a 3rd harmony part

[@basilchapmanlft]

It’s both of them while John is doing the “ah” you can hear Paul in the background going “ooh”

[@gutgolf74]

Wrong way around. It's Paul's part, and that chest voice would have been too high for John. John is doing the high NASAL falsetto in the background. George is doing a low falsetto and even Ringo joins in with a low octave aaah.

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

And George doing a higher "Aaah" I think. It was fairly normal for them to use all singers.

[@IAmSekto]

Its so obviously john, listen to that rasp when he sings the higher parts

[@gutgolf74]

It's very obviously Paul doing the aaahs. 1) It's still Paul's part, it's his dream. Why would John sing lead here? 2) It's Paul's voice, unmistakebly. Paul is doing his normal chest voice. His tembre and the way he bends the notes going up and down are very telling too. The way his voice breaks at the very end is another definite tell. You're simply fooled because of the slap back echo that's on his voice. 3) John didn't sing this part when he recorded HIS vocals (Anthology version). Paul said "Oh shit" when he did HIS part and missed the cue for doing the "aaaah". 4) While the very first of the "aaahs" do sound a BIT like John (because of said echo), ALL the high falsetto "uuuuhs" in the background sound VERY much like John! In fact, John does the excact same note in the excact same sound in "Sexy Sadie" (2.13). How Giles Martin could seriously mistake THAT for Paul is beyond me, and it did cost him all respect I had for him. 5) Thankfully his mixer, Sam Okell, has better ears and confirmed several times it's Paul, explaining in detail how the "aaah" and the delay is one of Paul's vocal tracks. 6) There are even PICTURES of their actual protools mixer where you can see the tracks marked as "Paul's vocals". 7) About Emericks detailed story: Did any of the "John"-believers ever read Emerick's interview from 1979 where he didn't even remember who played the piano on ADITL? He thought it was possibly John! www.angelfire.com/planet/beatlesrecording/GeoffEmerick1979.html After reading this, do you SERIOUSLY believe that the SAME man could have remembered such detailed situations and conversations 27 years LATER? This is just ANOTHER blatant example of mistakes, lies and made up stories from his infamous book, famously called out by fellow Beatle-engineer Ken Scott. So although Emerick was there, he doesn't remember anything from the actual sessions (as he admitted himself in 1979), he only quotes from the book. 8) Richard Lush, in contrast to what Howard Massey wrote in "Emerick's" book, confirmed to a fan who reached out to him on something like twitter, it was Paul. 9) Walter Everett, widely considered one of the most reliable sources about the Beatles' recordings, says it was Paul. That's just from the top of my head, I'm sure I forgot even more prove. Let's have a look at the "John" points: 1) It sounds like John. - In fact, it doesn't. There's no rasp, not much nasal quality. What confuses most people is the slap back echo which is very similar to the one on John's voice. The "uuuhs" in the background, as already pointed out, sound VERY much like John. Note also that John's voice is in a completely different position in the stereo picture, while Paul's "aaah" is wandering from one side to the other - leading over to John, so to say. 2) Geoff Emerick said it was John, and he was there. - Sadly, as pointed out, his book is mostly written and made up by Howard Massey. Emerick couldn't even say who played the essential piano part in 1979 - and he had been THERE as well! So whatever he says, most often it's the excact opposite of what really happened. 3) Giles Martin says it's John. True, you can hear in on the youtube video "How to play ADITL" on guitar". I can't express enough surprise and frustration about such a stupid mistake made by George Martin's son... Well, he's just human after all. I wish I could personally point out to him the similarity between "Sexy Sadie" and John's "uuuuhs" in the background... I don't have an actual quote on it, but I've read several people saying that Giles made the "John" claim in 2017 and revoked his statement to "Paul" in 2018. 4) In "Rockband" it's John doing the aaah. - Well, it's a computer game, and they made a mistake. I know Paul is supposed to have it all "approved", but clearly he couldn't be bothered with watching every second of it. If they had played him that specific part before he would have told them they got it wrong. That's about it.

[@Fool3SufferingFools]

@@gutgolf74 I totally agree that it's Paul doing a Johnlike sound, which he was fully capable of. The soft sound at 2:39 when he comes back in the sixth bar after taking a breath is way too smooth for John's voice. Also, from the anthology version we know there was reverb set up on Paul's mike. It's possible that his "oh shit" was because he had just messed up the lyric by singing "everybody spoke," which made him laugh... but actually you're right, the timing of the "oh shit" is exactly right if it was, in fact, because he had missed his "aaaah" cue.

[@brovold72]

@Kris Scanlon There were Wings songs where Paul would do a good Denny impersonation.

[@brovold72]

@@Fool3SufferingFools oh great point! The rest was very flat.

[@IAmSekto]

@@JK-xu9qc Was this in the same session they recorded their hit single "It's okay to leave a dog in a hot car"?

[@Jamesharveycomics]

Sounds like John, the engineers said it was John. Not a mystery or a debate.

[@henryb1555]

Yes...mystery and intrigue, that is not there.

[@adamduerwachter2596]

If I’m being real, it only sounds like Paul in the anthology version

[@mikmik8206]

@Erika b yeah but if you listen closely, it kinda sounds like Paul

[@ratsubhan4968]

Erika b listen to 2:49

[@ratsubhan4968]

Erika b no i mean when the singer betrays his voice (more like 2:51 - 2:52 actually)

[@slankyjanky9483]

It sounds like John, but Paul kinda splices in there. Maybe they were both doing the aah's and one was just louder at times

[@rubix187]

On the isolated track you can also vaguely hear the other Beatles harmonizing

[@markorendas1790]

I THINK YOUR RIGHT. ITS MAINLY JOHN WITH PAUL SLIGHTLY GHOSTING A NOTE S IN END OF A PHRASES. I NOTICED IT ALSO AS I WAS LISTENING. 95 %JOHN 5% PAUL

[@billslocum9819]

@@markorendas1790 Yes, that's what I hear, too, backing vox from Paul.

[@brent3760]

This is one of the best moments in music history ever recorded! So, so so good! Absolutely beautiful. Just lovely. I always thought it was John, but Paul???

[@Seantendo]

I can't picture that voice coming out of Paul. It's John. Stop it.

[@mattrogers1946]

Amen

[@markv.5962]

agreed

[@mattrogers1946]

matafuko Seems like your opinion is in the minority. So there.

[@markv.5962]

@UCe-wuEw-1xiBvXFmX3qB6ig well, ur listening you twat

[@dancrownn9821]

Well, i allways thought "Oh darling!" was singed by John, but then i discovered it was a Paul's song

[@TurtleFrack]

To me it sounds 100% like John - - - in the beginning of the "Ahhhhh's", but then the voice tends to alter from the raspiness and morphs into Paul's voice. What do you think?

[@ambienteterrazas]

I heard that to and knowing how experimental they were in those years maybe it was done like that..

[@agusatr]

this!

[@hidinginyourcloset]

That's what I've been thinking. It seems more like something they'd do at the time.

[@jejohnson1982]

It’s John all the way

[@georgeparker6664]

TurtleFrack I just realised the same it’s weird

[@rivalstemplar1142]

I’ve always thought it was John. But if it’s such a mystery why not just ask Paul?

[@seanicus100]

Yeah there are a lot of Beatles mysteries like this that can be easily solved by...asking Paul and/or Ringo. Or Yoko or anyone else who was there.

[@chillcooking3119]

@@juliebraden6911 😂😂😂

[@bootybuffet2819]

@@juliebraden6911 Don't know what you expected. People can't _read_ sarcasm, and you didn't deliver the joke well enough for them to perceive it as one. Just saying "Paul's dead" is obviously just going to make you look like an idiot that actually believes that.

[@glenn2145]

@@bootybuffet2819 er, I read it as a joke. And laughed.

[@bootybuffet2819]

@@glenn2145 That's fair enough, but you really can't blame people for taking "Paul's dead" seriously saying they "have trouble spotting humor and nuance". Not really any humour or nuance to take from that.

[@colmanconnollymusic]

1000% Paul. It's funny, I always assumed it was John. But listening to the isolated vocals makes it so obvious it is Paul. Amazing

[@WatchVidsMakeLists]

🤨

[@gutgolf74]

I KNOW! And it's even more obviously John's unmistakable high NASAL falsetto in the background at the same time. No mystery at all.

[@Nerkin610]

I thought it was John when I was a kid, since nasal + reverb gave me that association. That was before I began digging deep in the Beatles + solo catalogues and learned how to properly identify their vocal IDs. Of course it’s Paul, how there can be so many wrong answers from people claiming to be diehards is beyond me.

[@gutgolf74]

@@Nerkin610 I KNOW!!

[@rickweatherford8787]

Since the first time I heard the song I knew it was John. No doubt about it.

[@ElRolty]

It's Paul

[@PaoloDurham]

Rick Weatherford - you’re quite right. I think the people who claim it’s Paul are either attention-seekers who think believing nonsense will somehow con people into thinking they are somehow inciteful. Or they could just be plain stupid.

[@ElRolty]

@@PaoloDurham are you a musician?

[@rickweatherford8787]

@@PaoloDurham I can't see how anyone could or would think it's Paul? But on the other hand different people hear different things.

[@someshittomakeyouhappy]

Yep

[@somethingyousaid5059]

Surely John is singing the ahhs. Surely. It doesn't sound enough like Paul's voice that I should think it's him.

[@SonGoku-iw4zk]

I like how your comment is worded as though you're living in the 60s

[@somethingyousaid5059]

@@SonGoku-iw4zk Actually (nostalgically speaking) I'm trying to live in the 70s only because that will have ranked as being the best decade of my life. The 60s I don't remember so much only because I was so young, and the 80s were the beginning of all of my tribulations and sorrows that continue to this day. Even so, I understand and can appreciate what you mean by your comment.

[@dpericone]

I believe it is John also. And don't call me Shirley. 😛

[@SonGoku-iw4zk]

@@somethingyousaid5059 I sincerely hope today's experience is better for you.

[@somethingyousaid5059]

@@SonGoku-iw4zk I appreciate that. I really do. Today's experience _isn't_ better. Even so, that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate you hoping that it is.

[@rsolsjo]

I never ever questioned that it's John singing "aah". That's just..his voice, clearly.

[@gutgolf74]

Indeed! Except it's not. It's Paul. 1) From the book "Recording the Beatles" (Kevin Ryan, Brian Kehew): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon." (pg. 444) 2) It's still Paul's part, it's his dream. Why would John sing lead here? 3) It's Paul's voice, unmistakebly. Paul is doing his normal chest voice. His timbre and the way he bends the notes going up and down are very telling too. The way his voice breaks at the very end is another definite tell. You're simply fooled because of the slap back echo that's on his voice. Here's the part WITHOUT the reverb - sounds even more like Paul! clyp.it/npqcuc22?token=1861b0fbf5cc893c3956bbc124eb6654 4) John didn't sing this part when he recorded HIS vocals (Anthology version). Paul said "Oh shit" when he did HIS part and missed the cue for doing the "aaaah". 5) In fact, the Beatles re-recorded the vocals for the bridge AND the transition on February 3rd, so Paul could correct his blunder and "added some soaring aaahs" (John C. Winn, "That magic feeling"). They recorded the bridge and the transition in one take, so if you agree that Paul sings lead on the "Woke up..." part, you HAVE to agree he still sings lead on the transition! There's no audible cut at all (in contrast to the one at the very end of the section), and you can even hear how Paul takes a breath after "dream" before going into the "aaah" part. 6) While the very first of the "aaahs" does sound a BIT like John (because of said echo), ALL the high falsetto "uuuuhs" in the background sound VERY much like John! In fact, John does the excact same note in the excact same sound in "Sexy Sadie" (2.13). kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfXY5qOpc57hJY How Giles Martin could seriously mistake THAT for Paul is beyond me, and it did cost him all respect I had for him. 7) Thankfully his mixer, Sam Okell, has better ears and confirmed several times it's Paul, explaining in detail how the "aaah" and the delay is one of Paul's vocal tracks. www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band 8) There are even PICTURES of their actual protools mixer where you can see the tracks marked as "Paul's vocals". 9) About Emericks detailed story: Did any of the "John"-believers ever read Emerick's interview from 1979 where he didn't even remember who played the piano on ADITL? He thought it was possibly John! [Q: "A day in the life - what do you recall recording that? - “Mainly the orchestral crescendo.” (…) Q: "Was John playing the piano or Paul, do you remember?" - “Sorry, no. Haven’t a clue. It was basically John’s song, so it might have been him. I don’t remember.” ] After reading this, do you SERIOUSLY believe that the SAME man could have remembered such detailed situations and conversations 27 years LATER? This is just ANOTHER blatant example of mistakes, lies and made up stories from his infamous book, famously called out by fellow Beatle-engineer Ken Scott. So although Emerick was there, he doesn't remember anything from the actual sessions (as he admitted himself in 1979), he only quotes from the book. 10) Richard Lush, in contrast to what Howard Massey wrote in "Emerick's" book, confirmed to a fan who reached out to him on something like twitter, it was Paul. 11) While Paul didn't give a specific answer when asked about this vocal part on a reddit AMA, there was this very interesting story in another comment: maclaine "Hopefully he comes back and answers this, but just in case he doesn't, I'll throw in my two cents. I work in the video game industry, and my first job was working on The Beatles: Rock Band. Part of my job was going through all the songs in the game and using as much reference as possible to figure out who was playing/singing which parts, what instruments they were using during that time period, what amps, etc. I and another Beatle nut were meticulous about this because a) working on the game meant the world to us, and b) our research would be reflected by the art and animation in the game forever, so we wanted to get it exactly right. One of the things we had access to was the multitrack audio for the songs. Most of that stuff has leaked out on the internet over the years, but the mixes in game are a bit more condensed than what we had access to because of the nature of how Rock Band works. When I got to A Day In The Life and this part, it was a big bone of contention between me and some of the game leads. I'm 100% sure it's Paul and to me it's crystal clear when you hear the isolated vocal track. There's also a passage in Mark Lewisohn's book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions where he says the same thing, even addressing the confusion that it might be John. I made my case as strongly as I could for as long as I could, but at that stage of the game's development, the animation department had already done the facial animation for John and wouldn't be able to change it in time, so it shipped with the incorrect Beatle "singing" the part. It's one of my greatest professional regrets, honestly, but I'll die on that hill that it's Paul singing that part."

[@rsolsjo]

@@gutgolf74 That's some detective work!

[@gutgolf74]

@@rsolsjo Yeah, it's been a little hobby of mine since I ran into the debate completely surprised that there WAS one! It was always obviously Paul for me, and I never expected so many Beatlesfans to be wrong about this, including Giles freaking Martin!

[@youtubeman78937]

@@gutgolf74 I was one of those diehard "it's John" guys until I simply listened to the isolated track- now it's clear that anyone who still thinks it's John either hasn't done that, or is smoking the wrong stuff. 1000% Paul.

[@gutgolf74]

@@youtubeman78937 Well done! I definitely should see comments like that more often - unfortunately what I usually get instead is "I don't care it's clearly John!"

[@rainpain3655]

This is what someone should just do, just take this song of paul and then the ahs from DITL and put it through this audio graph and then compare the ahs to the vocals of paul from another song and it will just prove that its him doing the ahs. I can't even believe that so many people are still saying its john, its so obviously pauls vocal range. Beatles vocal harmony on KZbin who's a professional beatles vocal expert even says its paul. Someone needs to do it and just end the argument of if its Paul or John once and for all.

[@rainpain3655]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/omaUfnyDjd2Nbbcsi=E1x_HbOCqn9LdG8t From Beatles vocal harmony

[@SavageGreywolf]

>it sounds like John >two guys who were there say it was John >it's framed as a bridge back to the main verses, which are sung by John >the Beatles generally sung stuff they wrote themselves and Paul only wrote the 'woke up got out of bed' lines >there is an effect applied over the voice which is something John regularly had done because he didn't like the sound of his voice itisamystery.jpg

[@niyaboyd3805]

Paul said himself he sang the “woke up” part and John wrote AND sang the news part

[@gutgolf74]

@@niyaboyd3805 That's right, and that does NOT include the bridge!

[@gutgolf74]

Who are the "two" guys? One is Emerick, I guess, who in 1979 couldn't even remember who played the piano on ADITL! So he's anything but reliable. Who's the second one? Paul did indeed come up with the transition, John just had his "news" part.

[@glenn2145]

@@gutgolf74 Giles Martin. Obviously you haven't watched the video.

[@gutgolf74]

@@glenn2145 Hahahaha! So "Giles Martin" was there when they recorded it? I have to disappoint you: He was born in 1969, two years AFTER his DADDY helped recording it! :-D Obviously you haven't watched the video!

[@mattd1142]

It’s John. It’s been proven already and yes it obviously sounds like him too

[@jaco7675]

Matt D Obviously.

[@mulletpower2009]

I dont think it's been proven definitely, Ive always thought, and have read before that its Paul imitating John.

[@mulletpower2009]

@Rain right? The Beatles have always been known for sounding similar to each other. George sounds alot like John as well, especially in Roll Over Beethoven in my opinion

[@tjz9218]

It's obviously John it doesn't sound remotely like Paul.

[@tjz9218]

The video said both Jeff Emerick and Giles martin confirmed it was John. Did you watch the video?

[@jimhicks1947]

I have always believed it to be John because of the nasally tones. But seriously, why not ask Paul?

[@MaccaLives]

People have. It's John. Paul has always been clear about that in his stories about how he had to rush his vocals to make sure they wouldn't overlap John's. The studio records also clearly show who's singing the aaaah's.

[@strangedaysindeed9]

@@MaccaLives Every single claim you make here is false. If McCartney is talking about this section in interviews, he's talking about his first part of the bridge. After which he does a breath inhale and goes into the "ahh"'s. Also, there's nothing in the studio documentation about who sang this part. Yet, Mark Lewisohn (leading authority on the band) concluded it’s Paul McCartney. And Kevin Ryan & Brian Kehew (who worked on the definitive book on the Beatles' studio recordings), they all know it’s Paul McCartney. Because it's him.

[@YouCantUnhearThis]

@@MaccaLives I haven't come across any "studio records" that show who is singing that part - do you have a source for that?

[@johnnieblunt6752]

@Michael H. Sounds more like Yoko Ono than it does Paul.

[@euanspencer4596]

Because Paul is dead 😂

[@sunghyunyoon5961]

Intentionally distorting his voice on high notes, the way he bends the notes, but what gave it away is the last vocal adlib part which is too Paul. I can absolutely see why this could be confusing because Paul is chameleon when it comes to singing. on his 1971 release RAM, you can hear how he does all kinds of things with his voice.

[@gutgolf74]

It is Paul indeed, but there's absolutely nothing "distorted" about his here.

[@sunghyunyoon5961]

@@gutgolf74 yeahhhh i mean like when the notes are high i hear a bit of thicker texture idk how to say that tho English not my first language

[@KopCole]

Paul is still alive. Go ask him. Raging for 50years when all someone had to do was go ask

[@adrianc.6714]

Must have been the drugs

[@jmadratz]

He'll never give you an honest answer. He even takes credit 50/50 for HELP!, where he may have contributed an odd lyric or two, but the theme of needing help would never occur to Paul. When John died, he declared open season on taking credit for Lennon/McCartney songs

[@danieljung9078]

@@jmadratz I'm pretty sure he made the style for HELP!

[@jmadratz]

Daniel Jung i dont know what you mean by style, but john lennon created the original demo for help that you can find on KZbin

[@matthewconley8763]

You mean William Campbell?

[@dixiechatty958]

On the isolated track, I hear two voices. Mainly John but with a second voice that sounds more like Paul.

[@Skootsem]

dixie Chatty I do, too. John singing Ahs, Paul singing a few Ooos!

[@aislynwelch484]

I hear the same thing it's John doing the ah and Paul is singing ooh

[@jcthefluteman]

I don’t understand the mystery or confusion; it seems really obvious to me that it’s John

[@theivory1]

It is. There is no confusion.

[@Nerkin610]

theivory1 Fascinating, please do tell more of when John was magically given Paul’s voice.

[@theivory1]

@@Nerkin610 Fine. You think it's Paul. Whatever.

[@Nerkin610]

theivory1 I’m sorry for being crude, you’re much entitled to your opinion and this question is of course irrelevant in the end. It just sets me off when people claim there is no confusion when the entire video is literally dedicated to how big a confusion it is and has been for a long time. There is a reason to that confusion. All the best to you. Cheers.

[@NightwingReturns]

I never thought once it was Paul. Always knew it was John's voice. Had no clue people were confused over this.

[@yoyo1899]

For over 30 years I thought it is Lennon. I have to admit I was wrong. Guys on Hoffman forum done a great job bringing it to the details. I won't repost it, anyone can check it so I just say that according to evidence like production process and isolated tracks it seems very likely it was McCartney all along. We will never got a decisive 100% here, though. People were convinced all their lives that it is Lennon and I understand it's hard to overcome it. What is more, "A day in the life" is more than a song. This is THE song. Ultimate masterpiece. Widely regarded on Lennon's side apart from McCartney bridge. Taking into account that many people got their favourites it would be hard for some of them to admit they were wrong because now, digging into evidence we got, the contribution for the song is shifting to the center, making it almost equal (still, main melody and idea came from John). That is what bothers some people but it is what it is. And, if you still hear Lennon's voice in the isolated tracks, well, nothing gonna change your world. PS Great material, I simply cannot unhear this.

[@gutgolf74]

Well done! But, in fact, it's the same over there as right here or on other discussions: There are the sane, reasonable people, who bring up evidence after evidence after evidence that it's Paul. They even convince a few people. And then the legions of "It's definitely John!!"-believers appear and just ignore the HELL out of all the evidence. You are a very rare exception. Most of these people are beyond help and beyond reason.

[@roberttalbot6397]

That was Lennon, try not to go around in circles with yourself,. Jon Lennon sang it on " day in the life"

[@gutgolf74]

@@roberttalbot6397 John sings only the verses, Paul does the middle part, including the transition. There's absolutely no logical, musical or technical reason how John should or could do the "aah". Oh, and it's JOHN.

[@roberttalbot6397]

@@gutgolf74 thanks,yes I know exactly who sings what,what lines,verses, etc I knew John pretty well back in the day, I remember him saying about it when they were recording it,. John yes it was, cheers

[@yoyo1899]

@@roberttalbot6397 We disagree on it but for me, the most important is that we all listen to Beatles 😉

[@bhavajim657]

While it was a very enjoyable video. I was always certain it was John and question if any fan ever thought otherwise.

[@peterjuff]

I knew this was John, but this video is worth it just for the vocal-only section. The reverb and distant back up harmonies! I love it!

[@baronsorgi1]

Definitely John Lennon

[@gutgolf74]

It is literally impossible to be John, so you never "knew" it was him, you just falsely THOUGHT it was him!

[@prachtical]

It has to be John, because he sings aaaahhhh; if it was Paul, he would have sung oooohhhhh, he was more joyful in life.

[@heavyla]

Whilst this would typically be true of Paul, in this recording, they were going for that psychedelic vibe, probably without even fully realising what that was. And so when you sing with a lot of delay and reverb, an "ooh" can sound slightly bassy and just completely different in terms of tonality. Where as an "ah" sound, is much more raspy and clear cut, as well as having a trippy feel. I feel McCartney may have took slight inspiration from Lennon with this in mind, but I do believe that it is Paul singing here: I feel that if you focus solely on the vocal technique used, then it matches that of Paul's

[@markarnelhabal37]

john lennon is singing in a part of aahhhhhh

[@heavyla]

@@markarnelhabal37 strong argument

[@welhynole4082]

Paul would sing ahh too but his voice would be higher and wouldn’t have that graspy grab that Lennon’s voice does.

[@heavyla]

@@welhynole4082 I believe that his voice would be as high as the voice in this recording, and with the rasp, I believe McCartney has the ability to turn it on and off, like many great singers out there, e.g Freddie mercury. Also, when you sing "ahs" in a higher register such as the one in the recording, your voice can naturally create a slight raspy tone, as I have experienced multiple times. However it isn't the tone that is the most important thing here, as there are multiple external forces that are altering it, I feel the only way to accurately determine who this is, would be by observing the vocal technique, which in my opinion, resembles McCartney much more than Lennon

[@dougd1617]

It very clearly sounds like John, and the multiple people there say it was John. There is literally no mystery here.

[@gutgolf74]

It very clearly does NOT sound like John but like Paul. That high nasal falsetto in the background, otoh, sounds TOTALLY like John! The aaah is too high for him. And out of "the multiple people" who were there only Geoff Emerick claimed it was John - abd ge disqualified himself as a reliable witness! Not only did he admit that he didn't have any actual memories, he also just made up - with the help of Howard Massey- a whole story about some "difficult punch-in that is JUST NOT THERE!! 😂 So I agree, it's absolutely no mystery, it's Paul, and it's literally impossible to be John.

[@sixbladeknife44]

It’s always been glaringly obvious that it’s John, I never knew this was even debated by anyone.

[@shaunw9270]

Same here , it's news to me that anyone has ever even questioned it .

[@jopisano67]

Exactly.

[@ElRolty]

It's Paul

[@beatlechick1]

Same here. I'm a Macca fan and always thought it was John.

[@IsaHarrisonLennon]

Its Paul

[@BernsteinOmega]

I never knew this was controversial?!? I just correctly assumed it was John.

[@winkydee]

Hahaha, me too. This vid seems like they were stretching for content.

[@Aff3ct000]

It's quite clearly the nasally John.

[@tjsmithson1598]

Same

[@Grachtnakk]

It would've been awesome if they had given this part to George imo :)

[@antoniomello7566]

Well, I also thought it was clearly John, but hearing the isolated vocals made me doubt it a little bit.

[@johnduale430]

Don't know what the debate is about. It's clearly President Kennedy singing.

[@ffcorona]

Assho-le.

[@pinkfedoras]

OSUM C6 Tf isn’t the comment a joke did you not understand?

[@petebachelder1131]

Listen again, might be President Ford

[@babyguilhem9338]

@@pinkfedoras he's a Trump elector

[@bobbybrown2291]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Er-Uh Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[@elijaheskin1]

Paul! Didn’t even watch the video. It’s obviously Paul

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

You're pretty much alone in that choice.

[@cedricjoshuapayne]

I can recognize John's voice, and so can everyone else in the comments. There doesn't seem to be a debate at all.

[@thomasvinelli]

Clearly this guy is looking for likes and keeping his channel going. These so called debates have been debated a long time ago and answered.....its john ..

[@ratsubhan4968]

@@thomasvinelli listen to the end of the isolated vocal track when the singer betrays his voice

[@darrellscholl1651]

@@ratsubhan4968 then he betrayed the world and broke up the band no just kidding nothing good lasts forever

[@darrellscholl1651]

The grocery store sold a nice raspberry Jelly Roll then one day it didn't see what I mean?

[@ratsubhan4968]

@@darrellscholl1651 [

[@tgreen1469]

The Ahhs are so John, with some (lighter/background) Ooohs from Paul...

[@SonGoku-iw4zk]

I never heard those ooohs before watching this. Very ghastly/phantomlike and haunting...

[@christinabryant1899]

omg it's John.....totally his nose ass voice.

[@hardstuckbronze5880]

I think the oohs are what threw people off, tecnically it was paul and john both

[@ScaryStoriesNYC]

If its Paul, he's imitating John.

[@krisscanlon4051]

Now that's possible

[@hinkhall5291]

The twist: it’s Ringo

[@yoipy6336]

Paul truly has an amazing voice, an extreme vocal range and the ability to sound like completely different people. it wouldn’t surprise me if (in his prime) he could imitate micheal jackson

[@krisscanlon4051]

I think it was in joke and out joke and their amazing abilities at mimicry and overall talent

[@dachille1]

If it’s John he’s imitating Paul.

[@claudiodevita136]

That's Paul, no discussion. John couldn't reach that notes so easly and clean like this. Only Paul had that stable high note voice

[@spaceace8717]

Sounds nothing like Paul, it's John 100%. I didn't know this was a debate, and how is this a debate its John Lennon

[@lostparlour]

Isolated track blew me away 100% macca

[@dave8386]

Thought it was John until the isolated vocal, now it could not be clearer to me that it’s Paul. There are certain things Paul does with his voice that only he does and are a dead giveaway

[@darkdan3549]

I thought it was John before and I still think that

[@BelmoresMusic]

I agree it's sounds a lot like John Lennon. In fact, Until watching the video I didn't even know about debate. But great video by the way

[@YouCantUnhearThis]

To my ears, it really sounds like it could be either of them, especially on the isolated vocal track. I've switched my choice even in the middle of listening to it!

[@thomasomalley6320]

With song: Definitely John Isolated vocals: wait...

[@bretttempleman5373]

You cant unhear hear this. Total bollocks

[@martinhumble]

Excatly. Totally sure it was John on the track, then.... Paul!!! Though - it us John

[@martinhumble]

Benny Andersson in ABBA has this as his favourite song ever. No surprise though...

[@marty6779]

Its still definitely john. Paul doing some ooohs in the background

[@zibbezabba2491]

It's John doing the ahhs... Paul doing a few oohs underneath it.

[@camdenhildebrand5409]

Is this seriously about the “ahhh” obviously it’s John.

[@georgeharrison3699]

That’s what I said!!!

[@sexobscura]

it's obviously Yoko

[@wh4193]

@@sexobscura :O

[@blakejackson35]

Camden Hildebrand that’s what I thought but idk

[@johnnieblunt6752]

@Kevin Wood Exactly! Paul does not sound like that. But George comes pretty close.

[@sidneyjsmakin8613]

It's paul you can clearly tell in the isolated vocals

[@nateds7326]

YCUT: who is singing this? *plays clip* Me: George YCUT: its either john or paul Me: ok then thanks for clearing that up

[@dagiansterp]

idk why i think its george too xd

[@R68A5050]

Until I listened to this, I thought it was John. Now I'm between John and George.

[@peterwilsongreen1]

Always thought it was John till I saw this video and now I think maybe George too.

[@milesloker7883]

I always thought it was John but after reading this comment, Im starting to think its george lol

[@tannakaobi1]

It is all three, George is singing the aahs, Paul the oooos and John is also singing aaahs but higher. It gets a bit messy towards the end but George is the constant.

[@Jg-be7it]

It is so CLEARLY John that I feel stupid for even clicking this thinking it was going to be interesting.

[@DrMoonRose]

John did the chorus however Paul did the "wake up" part in the second part

[@DrMoonRose]

@Rain I'm going off of a interview where Paul said this, that John did the beginning and Paul sung the rest

[@youtubeman78937]

Well you'll feel even stupider then after you click this link, because it's not John: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqm0aICDaZeEY9U

[@One.Zero.One101]

Yeah unfortunately I can't unsee this video.

[@seanflannick9215]

John is doing the Ahhhhhhh part , Paul and George back it up with oooooohhhhhh

[@gutgolf74]

Wrong. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfXY5qOpc57hJY

[@テイラー-z1f]

@@gutgolf74 you are wrong 😏

[@Brendo0239]

I agree

[@hartoyokicq1504]

@@gutgolf74 you wrong..

[@hartoyokicq1504]

@@gutgolf74 stupid fans..

[@rachelsinger1717]

It never occurred to me that it might be Paul singing, it always sounded exactly like John to me. Until I heard the isolated vocal, and now I'm fully convinced that it's Paul with lots of reverb. I don't want to believe it because at the beginning of the video I never thought I would hear it as Paul, but now that I have I can never unhear it. I think I'll choose to believe that it's doubletracked and it's actually both of them singing.

[@gutgolf74]

You were doing so well until the last sentence… You can hear it`s not doubletracked, it`s a Single Voice, Also, John is clearly audible at the same time in the background, doing his unmistakable nasal falsetto.

[@rachelsinger1717]

@gutgolf74 Sorry I got the lingo wrong, I'm not an expert on track mixing. But you and I are saying the same thing: that it's both John AND Paul singing.

[@amused7928]

Too me atleast it sounds clearly like John Lennon.. The Nasal quality really makes it sound like him... Reminds me alot of strawberry fields (This is when the question was asked, not after watching the whole video)

[@Raumsounds]

The nasally aspect gives it away as john.

[@beforethesoap4840]

I was convinced it was John until I heard the isolated Aah track from Lovely Rita. Can't we just ask Paul?

[@aBitterMelon]

He wouldn't remember, he'd say just to ask a dedicated fan lol

[@jefp6954]

FUNNY/ SERENDIPITOUS : I JUST SAWR THIS VIDEO TODAY SO

[@jefp6954]

Your point is as powerful to me as it could possibly be lol

[@jefp6954]

Oh. Oops. I thought you meant the specifically "isolated vocals" vid for "Lovely Rita"

[@thebreakfastmenu]

Lovely Rita's vocals were sped up to make his voice higher though so I don't think it's a great comparison

[@chinajazzcat]

It’s definitely John, I could pick this out even listening as a kid. Unmistakable.

[@robingardella6240]

Yep, I used to sneak in and listen to my older sister’s records - knew it was John then!

[@markv.5962]

it sounds more like john than john does. of course its john.

[@meghnasaha4349]

@Rain online threads have no value it's just a bunch of random people discussing feeding into their opinions. Geoff Emerick said it's John. Giles said it was John on his Twitter so I don't know why he'd contradict himself. I prefer to trust my own ears. This isn't even much of a debate Paul would've laid the claim if it was him. What's Giles Martin's credibility anyway? He wasn't there in the studio.

[@niallkeane3794]

Rain I agree with you! Ye even my dad wasn’t born when this was recorded but from listening to it allot you can hear right at the start it clearly sounds like Paul doing a similar nasally technique that John does 👍🏼

[@counterfeit1148]

@Rain I am not trying to say you are wrong, but you said that only one person said it was John. How many people have said it was not John? Probably not everyone else who could answer that question. Most of them for sure, so my point doesn't really matter, but it is something that I noticed while reading your comment. I personally think it sounds like John but I guess you could make Paul sound like John with many effects.

[@IngotAU]

This is so interesting, thanks for presenting this! The isolated tracks are fascinating. I've listened to these songs my entire life, and it's fantastic to hear the building blocks. Helps me to hear them in a new way. Oh and it's John 💯👊💥😄

[@gutgolf74]

No, it's Paul, and he missed quite a lot of evidence in his video... Why it shouldn't be John: It's Paul's part, end of story. No need for John to sing lead on Paul's part in Paul's dream. That's also why we only see PAUL during this part in the official video to ADITL. They were finished recording John's vocals for ADITL weeks before and just returned for recording Paul's part on February 3rd. Why it couldn't be John: Since -- in contrast to Emerick's fairy-tale - there is absolutely no cut between the "dream" and the "aaah", it must be still the same lead singer, Paul. You can even hear him take a breath between the "dream" and the "aaah" on the isolated vocal track. Since John is doing his trademark NASAL high falsetto in the background AT THE SAME TIME it's impossible for him to also do the lead aaah. Also, the lead aaah doesn't sound like John AT ALL. It's a chest voice that would have been too high for him to do. Please name a single example where John sings like that - I bet you can't! Note how the example of "Mother" from this video is a FALSETTO part!! That's only proving it's Paul doing the "aah". With Paul you only have to go as far as "Lovely Rita" to find a very similar example. There are many experts who very throughly listened to all the actual reels and went through all the paperwork and wrote very highly praised books, like Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew (from the book "Recording the Beatles", p. 444): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon." Or John C. Winn, who actually pointed out all the little differences between every single mix every made of any Beatles song: (from the book "That magic feeling - The Beatles' recorded legacy, p. 86): "Paul then corrected his vocal blunder by taping a new vocal on track 2, also adding some soaring "aahs" over the circle-of-fifths segment that linked back to the final verse". And of course Sam Okell, who did the freaking Sgt. Pepper's REMIX: "Paul's main vocal track is in stereo, because we gave it some spread with the Waves S1 Stereo Imaging plug-in, so it has a different sound than John's lead. We also split off two little bits to be able to pan them left and right. His fourth vocal track is the 'aaah' section, and below it is an 'Aah delay' aux track." "Inside Sgt. Pepper's": Sound On Sound. SOS Publications Group. 26 October 2021

[@bowiesinspace7152]

That is 100% John singing. Just sounds exactly like him

[@DrZhivago-l2b]

To you.... To me, it sounds like Paul.

[@animageofsound5351]

It’s Paul

[@dwayneconaway1733]

Sorry got to be John.

[@PaoloDurham]

Biibi R - can you name another song where McCartney sounds like that? Because I can’t. But I can think of lots of Lennon ones that do. What you need to ask yourself is: why do you want to believer this nonsense?

[@DrZhivago-l2b]

@@PaoloDurham lovely Rita fixing a hole.

[@GuitarDaveandSqueeb]

Why is this even up for discussion? It's Lennon. Total waste of time.

[@hifijohn]

Exactly ,theyre trying to make something out of nothing I always thought it was john it sounds like john it is john.

[@metallicmonkey4519]

Yup

[@littlesanti3x1]

Yes, it's like arguing about who's the Beatle wearing glasses.

[@ak40kevn]

It’s Paul. Paul does those weird vocal things near the end of it.

[@ghendar]

Agreed that it's John. It sounds like John.

[@vingonzalez3199]

It’s obviously John doing the “ahhh” and Paul doing the “ooh” you can hear behind it

[@haaazzziiim]

Exactly!

[@michaelquaglia4266]

it’s Paul. You can tell by his timbre at the beginning and end of the notes. Also, at 2:29 just after the high “backround harmony” starts, you can hear john singing his silly high note falsetto that he also does also at the very end of Got To Get You Into My Life - first version/take 5 from the new Revolver remaster

[@garyskyner5855]

It never entered my head that it could be anyone except John.

[@scottwallace901]

I reply just to make your phon go off. Yes I am a cunt!

[@MsArtemis64]

I always thought it was John, but going just be sound it also could be George. LOL, I never thought it was Paul.

[@chairmanmeow3693]

@@MsArtemis64 No way it's George

[@obijuankenobi2584]

I am a DIEHARD Beatles fan and I can tell you that it is definitely john

[@milkk_8686]

100%

[@the20thDoctor]

It's such an instantly recognizable voice. I don't get how this is a debate.

[@omarvalle1808]

@@the20thDoctor when i saw this video i said WTF??? 😒

[@tina.InTheSkyWithDiamonds]

I am too. And I can see why people are debating. Because to me, it's either both of them (first John, then transitioning to Paul), or just Paul. Just remember how he was able to alter his voice! At the end, it's the same raspy but darker/warmer tone, just like in Lovely Rita. Totally Paul. I'm so frustrated 😂

[@henryd98]

This just proves even a DIEHARD fan can be wrong

[@johnhall7850]

Considering it's clearly johns voice, I'd say john.

[@gutgolf74]

It's very obviously Paul doing the aaahs. 1) It's still Paul's part, it's his dream. Why would John sing lead here? 2) It's Paul's voice, unmistakebly. Paul is doing his normal chest voice. His tembre and the way he bends the notes going up and down are very telling too. The way his voice breaks at the very end is another definite tell. You're simply fooled because of the slap back echo that's on his voice. 3) John didn't sing this part when he recorded HIS vocals (Anthology version). Paul said "Oh shit" when he did HIS part and missed the cue for doing the "aaaah". 4) In fact, the Beatles re-recorded the vocals for the bridge AND the transition on February 3rd, so Paul could correct his blunder and "added some soaring aaahs" (John C. Winn, "That magic feeling"). They recorded the bridge and the transition in one take, you if you agree that Paul sings lead on the "Woke up..." part, you HAVE to agree he still sings lead on the transition! 5) While the very first of the "aaahs" does sound a BIT like John (because of said echo), ALL the high falsetto "uuuuhs" in the background sound VERY much like John! In fact, John does the excact same note in the excact same sound in "Sexy Sadie" (2.13). How Giles Martin could seriously mistake THAT for Paul is beyond me, and it did cost him all respect I had for him. 6) Thankfully his mixer, Sam Okell, has better ears and confirmed several times it's Paul, explaining in detail how the "aaah" and the delay is one of Paul's vocal tracks. 7) There are even PICTURES of their actual protools mixer where you can see the tracks marked as "Paul's vocals". 8) About Emericks detailed story: Did any of the "John"-believers ever read Emerick's interview from 1979 where he didn't even remember who played the piano on ADITL? He thought it was possibly John! www.angelfire.com/planet/beatlesrecording/GeoffEmerick1979.html After reading this, do you SERIOUSLY believe that the SAME man could have remembered such detailed situations and conversations 27 years LATER? This is just ANOTHER blatant example of mistakes, lies and made up stories from his infamous book, famously called out by fellow Beatle-engineer Ken Scott. So although Emerick was there, he doesn't remember anything from the actual sessions (as he admitted himself in 1979), he only quotes from the book. 9) Richard Lush, in contrast to what Howard Massey wrote in "Emerick's" book, confirmed to a fan who reached out to him on something like twitter, it was Paul. That's just from the top of my head, I'm sure I forgot even more prove. Let's have a look at the "John" points: 1) It sounds like John. - In fact, it doesn't. There's no rasp, not much nasal quality. What confuses most people is the slap back echo which is very similar to the one on John's voice. The "uuuhs" in the background, as already pointed out, sound VERY much like John. Note also that John's voice is in a completely different position in the stereo picture, while Paul's "aaah" is wandering from one side to the other - leading over to John, so to say. 2) Geoff Emerick said it was John, and he was there. - Sadly, as pointed out, his book is mostly written and made up by Howard Massey. Emerick couldn't even say who played the essential piano part in 1979 - and he had been THERE as well! So whatever he says, most often it's the excact opposite of what really happened. 3) Giles Martin says it's John. True, you can hear in on the youtube video "How to play ADITL" on guitar". I can't express enough surprise and frustration about such a stupid mistake made by George Martin's son... Well, he's just human after all. I wish I could personally point out to him the similarity between "Sexy Sadie" and John's "uuuuhs" in the background... I don't have an actual quote on it, but I've read several people saying that Giles made the "John" claim in 2017 and revoked his statement to "Paul" in 2018. 4) In "Rockband" it's John doing the aaah. - Well, it's a computer game, and they made a mistake. I know Paul is supposed to have it all "approved", but clearly he couldn't be bothered with watching every second of it. If they had played him that specific part before he would have told them they got it wrong. That's about it.

[@Aidenkong523]

Yes considering it's clearly John. I think it's Ringo.

[@misterodfox]

gutgolf74 gutgolf bruv I’m pretty sure it’s John o

[@octadge5852]

@@gutgolf74 i didnt read a single point on the john side that didnt have your own biases and conclusion jumping, youre just rambling

[@gutgolf74]

@@octadge5852 So, your point is... Are you able to provide ANY new facts or are you just rambling?

[@SethRomano]

I always thought it was John but after listening to this video carefully it sounds like Paul to me.

[@christiancamacho4535]

I want my 5 minutes back, this is obviously John. He has the most distinctive voice in the beatles

[@mokrodog]

No its a tie between paul. The only thing john could do better then paul was his stoner voice.

[@famatu]

@lol xd No it doesn't dude, honestly. It sounds so much more like John. I have a feeling the people who think it's Paul never truly listened to The Beatles, it's uncanny.

[@lindadote]

mokrodog1234 ......John was one of the few Rock vocalists to have many “voices” but whichever voice he used, John is easily recognisable.

[@SiblyIsBigly]

Totally John.

[@Saffron-sugar]

Of course it’s John. There is no mystery.

[@rebeccamaracle2878]

It's George doing his best John impression.

[@THJAFO]

Ringo doing his best impression of paul doing an impression of george doing an impression of john

[@Zezezeze69]

it's actually John doing an impression of Ringo doing an impression of Paul doing an impression of George doing an impression of Pete Best doing an impression of John.

[@michaelm4464]

He's got blisters on his....er....their vocal chords?

[@ErikaFurudo1986]

Obviously it's George Martin doing his best Ringo impression.

[@rebeccamaracle2878]

I've had another listen, and I think it's actually Billy Preston playing his organ in a way that sounds like Paul's brother.

[@davidjunto1008]

Its John on the "ahhh's" and Paul doing some "ooo's". There is no mystery here..

[@Nerkin610]

The mystery is how such a majority recognises the voiceprint as John’s when it’s clear as day that it’s Paul’s.

[@matteframe]

And the fact that THE ENGINEER THAT WAS THERE SAYS IT WAS JOHN doesn't convince you? Smh

[@Nerkin610]

mapezaid Geoff Emerick’s book “Here, There and Everywhere” was strongly questioned and criticised due to its factual inaccuracies. He just didn’t have a straight memory. He also claimed that John sang harmonies with himself on “Come Together” when in fact, Paul sang them. That says a lot. Geoff’s recollection would have convinced me more if the vocals sounded like they could be John’s. They don’t. It’s Paul’s voiceprint, technique, range and versatility all through. In spite of what Geoff claims, John simply didn’t have Paul’s voice. No matter what’s written down in any doubtful book, vocal recognition will always go first.

[@NightwingReturns]

@@Nerkin610 Since Giles has been using the master tapes for the remixes, I'd say he knows better than us.

[@WibblyWobblyBob]

@@NightwingReturns no Lord Ithokos knows better than people actually present at the sessions because he is a Lord and we are mere mortals. Btw. Definitely John, it sounds nothing like Paul.

[@voidsabre_]

It's so obviously John, but in the isolated vocal track you can hear what I think sounds like Paul making whooping sounds softly in the background

[@gutgolf74]

There's absolutely no logical or musical reason why this should be John and there's absolutely no technical reason this COULD be John! I know there's a majority among random and casual youtube-listeners who falsely claim it's John, but thankfully there actual experts who listened to all the actual tapes and studied all the actual paper work, who confirm it's Paul. Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew (from the book "Recording the Beatles", p. 444): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon." John C. Winn (from the book "That magic feeling - The Beatles' recorded legacy, p. 86): "Paul then corrected his vocal blunder by taping a new vocal on track 2, also adding some soaring "aahs" over the circle-of-fifths segment that linked back to the final verse". And of course Sam Okell, who did the Sgt. Pepper's remix and directly contradicts and debunks Giles Martin: "Paul's main vocal track is in stereo, because we gave it some spread with the Waves S1 Stereo Imaging plug-in, so it has a different sound than John's lead. We also split off two little bits to be able to pan them left and right. His fourth vocal track is the 'aaah' section, and below it is an 'Aah delay' aux track." "Inside Sgt. Pepper's": Sound On Sound. SOS Publications Group. 26 October 2021 So apart from these respected historians and the remix engineer there are some simple observations that can clear up the "question". Most of the "John" folks are simply fooled by the echo effect. While that mistake might have been a little understandable in the past, today we have the isolated vocal track. Thanks to that we can hear for a clear fact that a) there's no cut between the "dream" and the "aaah", so it still must be Paul. We can even hear him take a breath before the "aaah". b) John is VERY clearly in the background, doing his trademark NASAL high falsetto, the same he does on "Sexy Sadie". So it's impossible for him to do the lead aaah. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfXY5qOpc57hJY Apart from what we can clearly hear there's also absolutely no technical or logical reason why it should or could be John (or George). They were finished recording John's vocals long before they re-recorded the vocals for PAUL'S part on February 3rd. It's Paul's part, his dream, his voice. It's done in a smooth chest voice, which would have been too high for John. Note how even the example of "Mother" in this video is a falsetto part!! In the official video to ADITL we see only PAUL during the "aaah" part, because that's HIS part and he is singing lead on it! So, you see it is VERY obviously and undisputably Paul.

[@gutgolf74]

Oh, no comeback! 😀

[@angelonemo5551]

It's John's simply haunting melody line with Paul's unmistakeably unique ingenious conterpoint high end weaving harmony back up which demonstrates one of their trademark duet styles. They were the best at what they did and raised the bar for harmony in the world of rock.

[@gutgolf74]

LOL, if they were singing a "duet", why didn't we get to hear John's part in the final mix?? No, sorry, the lead aaah is undisputably Paul, since a) it's his part, his dream, his voice b) there's no cut between the "dream" and the "aah", so it's the same lead singer, Paul c) Paul is doing his chest voice, which would have been too high for John d) John is doing his trademark nasal, cutting, high falsetto - and he does excactly the same note like he does on "Sexy Sadie", so I don't get why some people think the high falsettos are done by Paul.. e) every serious expert confirms it's Paul - because it IS Paul. f) they weren't doing a "duet", Paul was singing lead and ALL of the others were fooling around in the background.

[@timothyseidel527]

I believe your spot on. Without a doubt its unmistakably Johns voice. And i agree with Paul contributing creating a fantastic duet.

[@gutgolf74]

@@timothyseidel527 *you're And it's Paul doing the "aaah".

[@brenthildenbrand7556]

For 50 years I just assumed it was John. It’s him no mystery to me.

[@blakejackson35]

It’s John no doubt

[@fromchomleystreet]

Matthew Ramejkis there is nothing about the lead line that sounds like Paul. Paul is doing the high harmony you hear in the isolated vocals (he’s the only one who could sing that high). The engineer who was recording him in the room at the time has stated that it’s John. It just is. No mystery. No controversy. You are simply wrong.

[@silversauceran]

no mystery to you, but still a mystery to thousands of others.

[@kevinmalone8903]

I never ever imagined it being Paul. To my ears, it's Lennon

[@kingkazoo2349]

It's paul because you can compare this vocal to the intro vocal of eleanor rigby :)

[@justinreyes5042]

I always thought it was John until "woke up got out of bed....." Then it's Paul. Then back to John

[@noriemeha]

You're right or even correct. Note that this is an American theory that requires the conspiracy ingredient. If that is not the Beatles singing their own music then I am an uncle's monkey. Who cares if it was John or Paul or John or.. I think someone is in need of subscription.

[@TonysMusic1974]

Well . . yeah . . but that's not the topic here. Clearly Paul sings the WOKE UP part. That's not the question here.

[@RobertJeffreyMiller]

"Fell" out of bed. Yes, back to John on "I read the news today, oh boy...", after Paul's dream.

[@Reclaimer-eo1tl]

Justin Reyes the “aaahhhh” part is the one in debate, which is the transition from Paul back to John, which is why there’s the confusion. It could either be Paul’s final vocal on the song or John taking the mic back

[@justinreyes5042]

Reclaimer 0101 I know what your saying. I stand by what I said

[@pejelagarto8251]

Why is this even a debate? Is definitely Pete Best

[@tubes-lut]

Its Pauls replacement

[@pastamanofficial]

i was about to like this then i realized it had 69 likes

[@snakemanpete55]

I didn't even eat the salmon mousse

[@RockinEd]

Horst Fashcer

[@ghirardelli8]

zippo this actually made me laugh

[@johnheart6890]

It’s john, but when you played the isolated track it sounded like Paul was ALSO harmonizing with John.

[@gutgolf74]

From the book "Recording the Beatles" (Kevin Ryan, Brian Kehew): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon." (Recording the Beatles, pg. 444) And without the effect it sounds even more like Paul: clyp.it/npqcuc22?token=1861b0fbf5cc893c3956bbc124eb6654 Anyone with ears and a brain can tell that is Paul doing the "aaah" and John with his trademark falsetto in the background. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfXY5qOpc57hJY

[@johnheart6890]

@@gutgolf74 well, you have presented some evidence to back up your claim, but I still don't agree. I think John is the lead vocal and that the long ahs match the vocal perfectly. So I guess we will just have to disagree. But I did learn something. Until this discussion I had assumed it was ONLY john. And at least we can all agree that John and Paul were singing together. I didnt know that. In a way the musical moment of the song that we are discussing reminds me a bit of some of the things they did in You Know My Name (Look Up The Number). Paul and John's voices (even George a bit) blended so well together that sometimes it is really hard to tell them apart. Well, that is that!

[@gutgolf74]

@@johnheart6890 Thank you for your friendly reply - since you have proven your open mind, here's the rest of the evidence: 1) It's still Paul's part, it's his dream. Why would John sing lead here? 2) It's Paul's voice, unmistakebly. Paul is doing his normal chest voice. His timbre and the way he bends the notes going up and down are very telling too. The way his voice breaks at the very end is another definite tell. You're simply fooled because of the slap back echo that's on his voice. 3) John didn't sing this part when he recorded HIS vocals (Anthology version). Paul said "Oh shit" when he did HIS part and missed the cue for doing the "aaaah". 4) In fact, the Beatles re-recorded the vocals for the bridge AND the transition on February 3rd, so Paul could correct his blunder and "added some soaring aaahs" (John C. Winn, "That magic feeling"). They recorded the bridge and the transition in one take, so if you agree that Paul sings lead on the "Woke up..." part, you HAVE to agree he still sings lead on the transition! There's no audible cut at all (in contrast to the one at the very end of the section), and you can even hear how Paul takes a breath after "dream" before going into the "aaah" part. 5) While the very first of the "aaahs" does sound a BIT like John (because of said echo), ALL the high falsetto "uuuuhs" in the background sound VERY much like John! In fact, John does the excact same note in the excact same sound in "Sexy Sadie" (2.13). kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfXY5qOpc57hJY How Giles Martin could seriously mistake THAT for Paul is beyond me, and it did cost him all respect I had for him. 6) Thankfully his mixer, Sam Okell, has better ears and confirmed several times it's Paul, explaining in detail how the "aaah" and the delay is one of Paul's vocal tracks. www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band 7) There are even PICTURES of their actual protools mixer where you can see the tracks marked as "Paul's vocals". 8) About Emericks detailed story: Did any of the "John"-believers ever read Emerick's interview from 1979 where he didn't even remember who played the piano on ADITL? He thought it was possibly John! [Q: "A day in the life - what do you recall recording that? - “Mainly the orchestral crescendo.” (…) Q: "Was John playing the piano or Paul, do you remember?" - “Sorry, no. Haven’t a clue. It was basically John’s song, so it might have been him. I don’t remember.” ] After reading this, do you SERIOUSLY believe that the SAME man could have remembered such detailed situations and conversations 27 years LATER? This is just ANOTHER blatant example of mistakes, lies and made up stories from his infamous book, famously called out by fellow Beatle-engineer Ken Scott. So although Emerick was there, he doesn't remember anything from the actual sessions (as he admitted himself in 1979), he only quotes from the book. 9) Richard Lush, in contrast to what Howard Massey wrote in "Emerick's" book, confirmed to a fan who reached out to him on something like twitter, it was Paul.

[@sumtin05698]

@@gutgolf74 damn that’s some evidence

[@gutgolf74]

@@sumtin05698 Not enough to convince the hardcore-doubters, I'm afraid. But those even wouldn't believe Paul.

[@premanadi]

It's absolutely John's vocal tone. And Paul has said that they were ALL singing here, which you can clearly hear on the isolated track (just as Gilles Martin says). John is on the main line, Paul is way up on the upper notes, and George on the lower backing line. If that were Paul on the main line, the upper backing line would have to be multi-tracked (no other Beatle could have sung that high).

[@gutgolf74]

Bullsh!t, it's Paul on the lead "aaah", it's still his part, his dream, there's no cut between the "dream" and the "aaah", and John couldn't do a smooth chest voice that high. Most serious experts confirm it's Paul, including Sam Okell who did the remix. These high NASAL falsettos could only be done by John, no one else had this cutting sound. And OF COURSE he could do these high falsettos, he does the VERY SAME notes on "Sexy Sadie"! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfXY5qOpc57hJY

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

That's what I, and some others, hear. I think the background "Ahhs" are George and the "OOhs" which are initially low but go high towards the end are Paul. He often took the high road on backing vocals. Although the background lines do weave around each other. It sounds to me like they were kind of messing about, which they did a lot on some tracks. For Instance the backing on Yellow Submarine. They were guys in their twenties with a sense of humour. If you've seen their interviews and the Get Back movie you can see this. Lennon was a fan of the Goon Show (a sureal British comedy radio show) and he 'does' them sometimes.

[@premanadi]

@@littlefluffybushbaby7256 Which is exactly what Giles Martin says.

[@littlefluffybushbaby7256]

@@premanadi Because I paid him to say it. 🤣 Not really. 😀 I guess there's always room for doubt, even with eye-witnesses (should that be ear-witnesses?). So we'll never be 100% sure.

[@helterskelter2927]

It sounds like John at the beginning of the 'Ahhs', which then mixes into Paul.

[@theceo1]

Very good opinion. Thought of that too.

[@theceo1]

Very good opinion. Thought of that too.

[@YouCantUnhearThis]

An interesting possibility!

[@bethvalletta2277]

Simply_Beatles that’s exactly what I thought.

[@rootbeer5356]

Totally

[@lvkenny420man]

The best way to find out would be simple ask Sir Paul himself?

[@andyjones2712]

Sir Paul's response would definitely be relevant, but still not entirely conclusive. He and John have disagreed over who wrote what, etc., and there are points in the Anthology, for example, in which George (Harrison), Paul, and George Martin are listening to tapes trying to remember who played what on certain tracks. They just recorded and wrote so many songs together.

[@pteparts181]

Yeah literally

[@Diddyp125]

valejenni ask Ringo then

[@mazasan]

@Concerned4 USA don't you daré saying Paul is a lier jajaja. Seriously, Paul is not that Man you describe. Of course human mind is selective and our memory fails or change the facts but precisely John was the one Who used to give differents answers to the same question depending on his state of mind or how much angry he was at the moment.

[@chuckjordan6455]

@@mazasan Regarding different answers. They appear different, but they lead to the same truth. The walrus was Paul. Ahhh! Ahhhh! O, untimely death!. I know thee well: a serviceable villain; As duteous to the vices of thy mistress As badness would desire.

[@SpaceTravel1776]

Hilarious how the narrator says Geoff Emerick and Giles Martin "claim" it's John. They don't claim, they know for 100% certainty it's John. Stop it with the click bait.

[@SpaceTravel1776]

Rain sure he did. And then he said, that’s weird, I didn’t see Paul in the room when I recorded this. He must have been hiding somewhere with a microphone! Paul was always doing this, hiding from me during the Pepper sessions in little pillow forts he made (the pillows were gifts from the Maharishi) and recording secret tracks!

[@LawofAttractionSolutions]

I have always thought it was John.

[@gutgolf74]

You always thought wrong.

[@jimpatrick5918]

That’s John. I’ve never ever considered that to be Paul.

[@Therworldtube]

What about George?

[@executionsquad3926]

Look at the pic 0:05 They are all laughing but not George. You clearly can see him thinking: "I did the famous aaahhhsss!!!"

[@Therworldtube]

@@executionsquad3926 And then Paul said this music writing wasn't that good. *Cough* Taxman *Cough* Sweeping guitar

[@edge7375]

Same here. All I heard was John. No question in my mind.

[@amerocker]

I've always _known_ that it was Lennon singing that part. It sounds _nothing_ like McCartney.

[@ElRolty]

You are wrong, it's Paul

[@ElRolty]

You are wrong, it's Paul

[@amerocker]

@@ElRolty Butt Paul is DEAD!!!! ☺😀😁😂

[@mookielagaras9195]

“Somebody spoke and I fell into a dream.” I always assumed the “ahhs” were the dream, and it always somehow made more sense that John was singing in Paul’s dream.

[@raymofarrell19]

On the isolated vocals, I definitely think it's John singing the "aaaahhh" and Paul doing the "oooohhh" in the background

[@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand]

I think it's just John hitting an unusually fantastic note.

[@gutgolf74]

1) From the book "Recording the Beatles" (Kevin Ryan, Brian Kehew): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon." (pg. 444) 2) It's still Paul's part, it's his dream. Why would John (or freaking George?!) sing lead here? 3) It's Paul's voice, unmistakebly. Paul is doing his normal chest voice. His timbre and the way he bends the notes going up and down are very telling too. The way his voice breaks at the very end is another definite tell. You're simply fooled because of the slap back echo that's on his voice. Here's the part WITHOUT the reverb - sounds even more like Paul! clyp.it/npqcuc22?token=1861b0fbf5cc893c3956bbc124eb6654 4) John didn't sing this part when he recorded HIS vocals (Anthology version). Paul unfortunately didn't get to sing it at the first try, when he said "Oh shit" after messing up the lyrics before. 5) In fact, the Beatles re-recorded the vocals for the bridge AND the transition on February 3rd, so Paul could correct his blunder and "added some soaring aaahs" (John C. Winn, "That magic feeling"). They recorded the bridge and the transition in one take, so if you agree that Paul sings lead on the "Woke up..." part, you HAVE to agree he still sings lead on the transition! There's no audible cut at all (in contrast to the one at the very end of the section), and you can even hear how Paul takes a breath after "dream" before going into the "aaah" part. 6) While the very first of the "aaahs" does sound a BIT like John (because of said echo), ALL the high falsetto "uuuuhs" in the background sound VERY much like John! In fact, John does the excact same note in the excact same sound in "Sexy Sadie" (2.13). kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfXY5qOpc57hJY How Giles Martin could seriously mistake THAT for Paul is beyond me, and it did cost him all respect I had for him. 7) Thankfully his mixer, Sam Okell, has better ears and confirmed several times it's Paul, explaining in detail how the "aaah" and the delay is one of Paul's vocal tracks. www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band 8) There are even PICTURES of their actual protools mixer where you can see the tracks marked as "Paul's vocals". 9) About Emericks detailed story: Did any of the "John"-believers ever read Emerick's interview from 1979 where he didn't even remember who played the piano on ADITL? He thought it was possibly John! [Q: "A day in the life - what do you recall recording that? - “Mainly the orchestral crescendo.” (…) Q: "Was John playing the piano or Paul, do you remember?" - “Sorry, no. Haven’t a clue. It was basically John’s song, so it might have been him. I don’t remember.” ] After reading this, do you SERIOUSLY believe that the SAME man could have remembered such detailed situations and conversations 27 years LATER? This is just ANOTHER blatant example of mistakes, lies and made up stories from his infamous book, famously called out by fellow Beatle-engineer Ken Scott. So although Emerick was there, he doesn't remember anything from the actual sessions (as he admitted himself in 1979), he only quotes from the book. 10) Richard Lush, in contrast to what Howard Massey wrote in "Emerick's" book, confirmed to a fan who reached out to him on something like twitter, it was Paul. 11) While Paul didn't give a specific answer when asked about this vocal part on a reddit AMA, there was this very interesting story in another comment: maclaine "Hopefully he comes back and answers this, but just in case he doesn't, I'll throw in my two cents. I work in the video game industry, and my first job was working on The Beatles: Rock Band. Part of my job was going through all the songs in the game and using as much reference as possible to figure out who was playing/singing which parts, what instruments they were using during that time period, what amps, etc. I and another Beatle nut were meticulous about this because a) working on the game meant the world to us, and b) our research would be reflected by the art and animation in the game forever, so we wanted to get it exactly right. One of the things we had access to was the multitrack audio for the songs. Most of that stuff has leaked out on the internet over the years, but the mixes in game are a bit more condensed than what we had access to because of the nature of how Rock Band works. When I got to A Day In The Life and this part, it was a big bone of contention between me and some of the game leads. I'm 100% sure it's Paul and to me it's crystal clear when you hear the isolated vocal track. There's also a passage in Mark Lewisohn's book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions where he says the same thing, even addressing the confusion that it might be John. I made my case as strongly as I could for as long as I could, but at that stage of the game's development, the animation department had already done the facial animation for John and wouldn't be able to change it in time, so it shipped with the incorrect Beatle "singing" the part. It's one of my greatest professional regrets, honestly, but I'll die on that hill that it's Paul singing that part."

[@johnyberra5328]

i am 61 now and I have always believed its johns voice without question .

[@gutgolf74]

​@@johnyberra5328Then it's definitely time for you to wisen up and actually inform yourself - I provided every evidence you need!

[@diorsse]

@@gutgolf74 i'm 15 and it's definitely john. it's so nasally sounding i don't understand how it could be paul

[@gutgolf74]

@@diorsse See, that's the first step: Noticing that you don't understand something! I'm happy to help you out, because this is a common mistake, although it's literally impossible to be John. Why it shouldn't be John: It's Paul's part, end of story. No need for John to sing lead on Paul's part in Paul's dream. That's also why we only see PAUL during this part in the official video to ADITL. No John AT ALL - but he returns right when HIS part, the last verse, starts. They were finished recording John's vocals for ADITL 2 weeks before and just returned for recording Paul's part on February 3rd. John NEVER sang this part when he had the chance to. Also, note the position of the voices in the stereo-picture: John is on the right, Paul on the left. The "aaah" start on Paul's side and move over to cue John's return. Why it couldn't be John: Since -- in contrast to Emerick's fairy-tale - there is absolutely no cut between the "dream" and the "aaah", it must be still the same lead singer, Paul. You can even hear him take a breath between the "dream" and the "aaah" on the isolated vocal track. Since John is doing his trademark NASAL high falsetto in the background AT THE SAME TIME it's impossible for him to also do the lead aaah. Also, the lead aaah doesn't sound like John AT ALL. It's a chest voice that would have been too high for him to do. Please name a single example where John sings like that - I bet you can't! Even the example from this video, "Mother", is a FALSETTO part!! :-D That only proves it's Paul doing the "aaah" With Paul you only have to go as far as "Lovely Rita" to find a very similar example. There are many experts who very thoroughly listened to all the actual reels and went through all the paperwork and wrote very highly praised books, like Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew (from the book "Recording the Beatles", p. 444): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon." Or John C. Winn, who actually pointed out all the little differences between every single mix ever made of any Beatles song: (from the book "That magic feeling - The Beatles' recorded legacy, p. 86): "Paul then corrected his vocal blunder by taping a new vocal on track 2, also adding some soaring "aahs" over the circle-of-fifths segment that linked back to the final verse". And of course Sam Okell, who did the freaking Sgt. Pepper's REMIX: "Paul's main vocal track is in stereo, because we gave it some spread with the Waves S1 Stereo Imaging plug-in, so it has a different sound than John's lead. We also split off two little bits to be able to pan them left and right. His fourth vocal track is the 'aaah' section, and below it is an 'Aah delay' aux track." "Inside Sgt. Pepper's": Sound On Sound. SOS Publications Group. 26 October 2021

[@ghabrielmelooliveira1426]

It's clearly Paul.

[@The34gl3]

No doubt in my mind: It's John.

[@gutgolf74]

Sorry, it's Paul. 1) From the book "Recording the Beatles" (Kevin Ryan, Brian Kehew): "Though many have understandably attributed this vocal to John Lennon in the past, isolation of the vocal reveals it to be Paul. As the part progresses, his voice takes on a more nasal tone; this, in combination with an application of Repeat Echo similar to that already applied to John's, does much to give an impression of it being Lennon." (pg. 444) 2) It's still Paul's part, it's his dream. Why would John (or freaking George?!) sing lead here? 3) It's Paul's voice, unmistakebly. Paul is doing his normal chest voice. His timbre and the way he bends the notes going up and down are very telling too. The way his voice breaks at the very end is another definite tell. You're simply fooled because of the slap back echo that's on his voice. Here's the part WITHOUT the reverb - sounds even more like Paul! clyp.it/npqcuc22?token=1861b0fbf5cc893c3956bbc124eb6654 4) John didn't sing this part when he recorded HIS vocals (Anthology version). Paul unfortunately didn't get to sing it at the first try, when he said "Oh shit" after messing up the lyrics before. 5) In fact, the Beatles re-recorded the vocals for the bridge AND the transition on February 3rd, so Paul could correct his blunder and "added some soaring aaahs" (John C. Winn, "That magic feeling"). They recorded the bridge and the transition in one take, so if you agree that Paul sings lead on the "Woke up..." part, you HAVE to agree he still sings lead on the transition! There's no audible cut at all (in contrast to the one at the very end of the section), and you can even hear how Paul takes a breath after "dream" before going into the "aaah" part. 6) While the very first of the "aaahs" does sound a BIT like John (because of said echo), ALL the high falsetto "uuuuhs" in the background sound VERY much like John! In fact, John does the excact same note in the excact same sound in "Sexy Sadie" (2.13). kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfXY5qOpc57hJY How Giles Martin could seriously mistake THAT for Paul is beyond me, and it did cost him all respect I had for him. 7) Thankfully his mixer, Sam Okell, has better ears and confirmed several times it's Paul, explaining in detail how the "aaah" and the delay is one of Paul's vocal tracks. www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band 8) There are even PICTURES of their actual protools mixer where you can see the tracks marked as "Paul's vocals". 9) About Emericks detailed story: Did any of the "John"-believers ever read Emerick's interview from 1979 where he didn't even remember who played the piano on ADITL? He thought it was possibly John! [Q: "A day in the life - what do you recall recording that? - “Mainly the orchestral crescendo.” (…) Q: "Was John playing the piano or Paul, do you remember?" - “Sorry, no. Haven’t a clue. It was basically John’s song, so it might have been him. I don’t remember.” ] After reading this, do you SERIOUSLY believe that the SAME man could have remembered such detailed situations and conversations 27 years LATER? This is just ANOTHER blatant example of mistakes, lies and made up stories from his infamous book, famously called out by fellow Beatle-engineer Ken Scott. So although Emerick was there, he doesn't remember anything from the actual sessions (as he admitted himself in 1979), he only quotes from the book. 10) Richard Lush, in contrast to what Howard Massey wrote in "Emerick's" book, confirmed to a fan who reached out to him on something like twitter, it was Paul. 11) While Paul didn't give a specific answer when asked about this vocal part on a reddit AMA, there was this very interesting story in another comment: maclaine "Hopefully he comes back and answers this, but just in case he doesn't, I'll throw in my two cents. I work in the video game industry, and my first job was working on The Beatles: Rock Band. Part of my job was going through all the songs in the game and using as much reference as possible to figure out who was playing/singing which parts, what instruments they were using during that time period, what amps, etc. I and another Beatle nut were meticulous about this because a) working on the game meant the world to us, and b) our research would be reflected by the art and animation in the game forever, so we wanted to get it exactly right. One of the things we had access to was the multitrack audio for the songs. Most of that stuff has leaked out on the internet over the years, but the mixes in game are a bit more condensed than what we had access to because of the nature of how Rock Band works. When I got to A Day In The Life and this part, it was a big bone of contention between me and some of the game leads. I'm 100% sure it's Paul and to me it's crystal clear when you hear the isolated vocal track. There's also a passage in Mark Lewisohn's book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions where he says the same thing, even addressing the confusion that it might be John. I made my case as strongly as I could for as long as I could, but at that stage of the game's development, the animation department had already done the facial animation for John and wouldn't be able to change it in time, so it shipped with the incorrect Beatle "singing" the part. It's one of my greatest professional regrets, honestly, but I'll die on that hill that it's Paul singing that part."

[@The34gl3]

@@gutgolf74 Well, you seem to know a lot about this one topic.

[@gutgolf74]

@@The34gl3 Thanks - yeah, it's a kind of hobby for me since I stumbled into this debate, completely taken by surprise that anyone shouldn't be able to tell it's Paul! Parts of that list I took from the Steve Hoffmann forum - and it's been the same over there: SOME people talk in a sensible and logical way and list evidence why it must be Paul, then DOZENS of people show up, ignore all the evidence and claim "It's obviously John! How is this a debate?!" :-D