The Voice Behind the 'Ahh' in A Day in the Life - Uncovering The Mystery

[@elirosen1391]

I always thought it was John, until I heard the "ahhs" on their own in the YCUT video, and I knew it had to be Paul. Apart from the tape delay, the quality of that vocal performance is far more consistent with Paul's voice, including the overall inflection and the ease with which he seems to alide between the high notes. John could never get them that smoothly.

[@wonder6789]

The first part of the Ahh is John, very clearly from just the timbre (sound color) of the voice. The last part, with the familiar flourish, is clearly Paul. It's easy to imagine they were singing in unison, with the volume of John's voice turned up in the beginning, and Paul's up in the end. Remember, this is 1967. Even more fascinating are the stray background voices, sometimes out of tune and/or out of key, during the first part of the Ahh, which give it a magical, dream-like feel. Genius.

[@buttercup1765]

I've always thought this was the case

[@walmircastro5002]

It's Paul that went into a dream. So he is triping in that dream. Soon it's his dream's voice.

[@dimitrisilva6452]

This part is very weird, initially I always assumed it was John singing, until I listened to the isolated tracks and realized it sounded just like the beginning of "Lovely Rita", I can only hear Paul ever since.

[@riotwilliams5321]

Totally agree! Also, the isolated Paul's voice in Eleanor Rigby sounds a lot to me like this part of A Day In The Life, feels like the same tone. Great video, and good points!! No doubt it's Paul

[@RollingThunder572]

“I was really impressed when Richard did that - I thought it showed great maturity to be proactive that way. John’s vocal, after all, had such great emotion, and it also had tape echo on it. The thought of having to do it again and re-create the atmosphere was daunting…not to mention what John’s reaction would have been! Someone’s head would have been bitten off, and it most likely would have been mine. But Paul, ever professional, did heed the warning, and he made certain to end the last word distinctly in order to give Richard sufficient time to drop out before John’s vocal came back in. Listening carefully, you can actually hear Paul slightly rush the vocal; he even adds a little ‘ah’ to the end of the word ‘dream,’ giving it a very clipped ending” Nice try boys but it was John singing the ahhs by a longshot. There’s even songs from his individual albums that resemble the “ahh” part as well so…

[@lukpac]

That statement is a fantasy, created by Emerick's ghostwriter. The entire section on how ADITL was recorded is filled with major mistakes. It doesn't track with how the song was actually recorded.

[@RollingThunder572]

@@lukpac And what source do you have to back up this statement?

[@lukpac]

@@RollingThunder572 The session documentation, outtakes, and mixes. The "ahhs" were not recorded prior to Paul's vocal being recorded. That's abundantly clear in the rough mono mix with an earlier vocal from Paul.

[@joegordon2915]

it sounds like paul and it makes sense in context for it to be paul, "I went into a dream"

[@britnickmusic]

Great video! Another thing to consider is that Paul had the impressive ability to mimic John’s vocal color when he wanted to. Great example is “I don’t want to spoil the party”

[@RollingThunder572]

No he could sing in John’s range but never had John’s distinct voice even in that song

[@jamesbertisch4130]

Somebody should ask Paul, while he's still alive!

[@Bella-nt7ec]

yeah, to listen to people cursing Paul for rewriting the history

[@garettjeff]

No …the older Paul gets the more he remembers that he did everything. Love Paul …but not a fan of old Paul’s personality

[@beatle_jake]

Someone asked this question in his Reddit "Ask Me Anything" he did when promoting McCartney 3, and he responded with "I seem to remember we all sang it. But I was definitely in there"

[@pianoschool4955]

I have always thought it was Paul. Now I am convinced that it is John.

[@sampopkin]

Agreed! It’s Paul

[@rockinrocksmith]

This video is basically the same as the one I made a while ago but people thought it was still john

[@juodet]

@@rockinrocksmith Man, I just watched your video, and we share the same point of view. Your track of the voices without reverb is excellent, Paul’s voice really stands out

[@buttercup1765]

Paul

[@hypefinn]

@@rockinrocksmithI think that’s because it does kind of sound like him but I think it’s both

[@elementrypenguin3116]

I say it’s John! I’ve been thinking it’s been John since I first heard it in 1967

[@overjoyous]

I've always thought it was Paul, lol. That part is during his section of the song, after all. I don't understand how some people are dead set on believing otherwise.

[@lonewave1]

When John does the first part until the strings climax going into Pauls bit, John is using quite a lot of reverb. When Paul starts his singing there's no reverb. When John starts the aaahh they're back in the reverb meaning John's part is back again. I always thought it was John's voice. Plus John kind of does the same on She's Leaving Home.

[@eliabe702]

Just for the controversy, Geoff Emerick claimed to be John bringing many details about the session, including the breath at the end of 'went into a dream': "Paul’s vocal was being dropped into the same track that contained John’s lead vocal, and there was a very tight drop-out point between the two - between Paul’s singing ‘…and I went into a dream’ and John’s ‘ahhh’ that starts the next section. Richard (Lush) was quite paranoid about it - with good reason - and I remember him asking me to get on the talkback mic to explain the situation to Paul and ask him not to deviate from the phrasing that he had used on the guide vocal. I was really impressed when Richard (Lush) did that. I thought it showed great maturity to be proactive that way. John’s vocal, after all, had such great emotion, and it also had tape echo on it. The thought of having to do it again and re-create the atmosphere was daunting…not to mention what John’s reaction would have been! Someone’s head would have been bitten off, and it most likely would have been mine. But Paul, ever professional, did heed the warning, and he made certain to end the last word distinctly in order to give Richard (Lush) sufficient time to drop out before John’s vocal came back in. Listening carefully, you can actually hear Paul slightly rush the vocal; he even adds a little ‘ah’ to the end of the word ‘dream,’ giving it a very clipped ending.”

[@juodet]

Good point. As I explained at the end, I considered these points just by listening to the track again and again. I never researched it because I wanted to make it clear that this is just my opinion. Even though it's quite a solid point, it still doesn’t answer the question of why both of their vocal tones can still be clearly heard

[@justintroyka8855]

I love Geoff Emerick's book, but I know of some instances where it isn't accurate, so take it with a grain of salt.

[@lukpac]

The section on the recording of ADITL is filled with major errors. Because it wasn't actually Emerick recalling what happened, it was his ghostwriter creating a narrative based on other sources.

[@eliabe702]

@@lukpac I understand that at that time John and George had a misconception about Emerick for his relationship with Paul, specially on Pepper when Paul and Geoff got often alone in the studio recording overdubs for hours. What I do not understand is the treatment he receives from some fans today as if he was some kind of phony, specially bc in his memoir he gives his personal and partial view on each member from his own experience and memory with them (which indeed can be inaccurate in terms of sequence of events) The funny thing is that this was a big opportunity for him once again praise McCartney for his genius adding one more magnificent overdub for Pepper and yet he credited John for this. (Plus Paul could have claimed it anytime in the past 50 years) I think one has the same right to be skeptic about the claim that a whole situation involving two people (Paul and the editor) is a fabrication of a ghost writer than one has regarding Geoff's memory in an old age. Plus if George Martin had credited Paul for this everyone would use it as an argument against Emerick, but as he credited John (according to Giles) the same old age memory and inaccuracy thing is conveniently used, which is unfair.

[@lukpac]

@@eliabe702 Also (this is more important, but I wasn't thinking about it when I wrote my initial response), the entire story is based on the idea that the "ahhs" had been recorded by John much earlier, and that Paul and the engineers were afraid of wiping the beginning of them. But that's not how the song was recorded. The "ahhs" weren't recorded until Paul recorded his final vocal in the middle section. That's abundantly clear based on the rough mix made earlier (where Paul messes up and goes "oh shit"): the "ahhs" weren't there yet. Which is to say, it's an incredibly detailed story for something that didn't happen at all.

[@thomaspappalardo7589]

That little run at the end always reminded me of Paul’s harmony at the end of I Want to Tell You. It’s absolutely Paul.

[@dianesaari3034]

It's definitely John.

[@just-so-were-crystal-clear5245]

Listen to the live version of Let me Roll it and the way he pushes the breath, and you'll hear it Paul. John doesn't breath like that.

[@just-so-were-crystal-clear5245]

PAUL in the live version of Let me Roll it, had the same ah ah ah that we hear 0:40, the way he pushes the breath. Its definitely him

[@Bella-nt7ec]

right, in some songs around RAM era you can clearly hear that too

[@markheberlein1224]

It’s John. Sounds more like him.

[@fbello18]

I’ve always found it was John, but after listening those isolated tracks I changed my mind - It’s Paul ! This guy has the ability to imitate the voice of whoever he wants !

[@randallpinkfloyd]

We need more videos like this from you

[@williamcapp448]

John. No doubt.

[@steverogers2635]

Still sounds like John to me.

[@Sunjah]

I've watched live interviews with George Martin (the guy who was there and produced it) talking about how hauntingly beautiful John's voice is during this part (they played EXACTLY this part and discussed it). George clearly states it is John's voice way more than once. I will say that I never noticed all the other little minor voices before watching that Martin interview, but there is no question it is John...and that comes straight from the mouth of George Martin discussing the "Ahhh" moment of the song. Martin actually states, with a bit of envy in his voice, that anyone would love to sing as John did for this part, specifically. I don't think there's really anything wrong with any discussions, but sometimes I think some people have too much time on their hands.

[@beenakumari4590]

I always thought it was John. But now I'm even more confused.

[@Arganthonio]

I think it's John's voice

[@GuajoloteGonzales]

Agree! Otherwise, the main reason on why Paul could sound like John it's because in most of his life has been an spinto tenor, that means that he could do both lyric and dramatic parts and John being a dramatic tenor, was easy to him to imitate his voice and so it was easy to imitate George (lyric tenor) in Love You To and I Need You.

[@stickydrummer1.0]

the voice of John in the verses sound simliar to the one part of the aaaaahhh's. But it would be weird if John almost got every part except the "woke up, fell out of bed"-part (that obviously sang Paul)

[@westfield90]

Ever since Ken Scott explained it was Paul, I now only hear Paul clearly. That’s John doing the howling in the background. It’s clearly Paul’s voice. 100 percent. Sadly Giles is only a Luke warm Beatles fan. When asked who played the end drums on Dear Prudence he had zero clue of the controversy there.

[@Henry3Studios]

For whose voice it is, I’m leaning John. But style of singing, I lean Paul.

[@ronanfitzgerald1507]

Another point to think about is at this point paul was obsessed with the beach boys, and on the track surfs up there is a vocal solo very similar. I know the smile sessions were shelved but there’s a good chance he could’ve got the inspiration from there (Surfs up, around 3:09 minutes into the song )

[@handlessbeggar11]

Geoff Emerick said it was John. Giles Martin was asked the question when promoting the Sgt Pepper remix and said it's John with Paul doing the high ohs on the same mike with lots of reverb. The following video has the quote at 4:17 kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfEh5KQnNGld8U

[@lukpac]

Emerick didn't say it was John, his ghostwriter did.

[@handlessbeggar]

The job of a ghost writer is put the information provided by the source into a nice read so it would still be Emerick providing the information. Why is it people have a problem of the truth getting in the way of a conspiracy

[@SceneComparisons]

why it's a controversy?? it's clearly Paul

[@xmcddddd]

It's clearly John what are u saying?

[@lukpac]

@@xmcddddd It's not.

[@xmcddddd]

@@lukpac i think it is paul then John then George

[@maclen1210]

Ive listened to The Beatles for 40 years, and when I listen to this song, in my head it is John. As to the first point of it’s Paul singing it after he sings his verses in the song, it could just as easily be John taking a breathe, setting up to sing it. In fact it makes more sense John would come in and take over with it as Paul is just ending his part.

[@Bella-nt7ec]

One thing is sure, Paul can do everything with his voice. This said, it's highly possible that it was John though

[@TheMiguellopez75]

Since the first time I heard the song, I always ear John voice in that part.

[@matthewwalker9256]

On the anthology album, singing A Day In The Life, Paul is singing his bit and screws up just as he gets to the “ah” part and he says “oh shit” and clearly it’s his voice.

[@songlove7777]

Sounds like Paul to me. 99% certain.

[@BeatlesCentricUniverse]

Great video! But now I'm more uncertain than ever!

[@pabloferrerf]

Para mim, com certeza é o John, ele usa o mesmo floreio em Rain. Nessa região Paul não tem essa rispidez na voz, a voz de John quando vai para tons um pouco mais elevados do que o normal fica arranhada, meio rouca. E , mesmo que se explique o excesso de reverb por conta do lersonagem da canção ter entrado em um sonho, essa reverberação soa muito mais Lennon que Mccartney. Na parte de Paul a voz é seca, enquanto em quase toda música a voz do John tem essa reverberação.

[@juodet]

Sure, but in Rain, those flourishes are part of the song; they repeat over and over. In A Day in the Life, they seem to be completely improvised, and it’s not very typical of John to improvise those kinds of flourishes

[@numerousattention103]

At 1:08 the person going "yeah" (possibly John?) joined in the ghostly backing vocal but idk...

[@lexmark2951]

Totally agree. It really sounds like Paul. It's Paul.

[@jloobie5207]

Its John, Boneheads

[@scuffedcovers]

you should go on gear, there and everywhere

[@atroyz]

Paul is a great chameleon and could sound like anything or anyone. But has nobody ever asked him if it’s his voice or not? Seems like there should be someone who can definitively answer this. Paul is still alive and his memory is not quite (but almost!) full.

[@scuffedcovers]

In a way, to me, sometimes they all sound alike (except Ringo). For example, I used to think "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" was sung by John, but it turned out to be George instead.

[@azloii9781]

It could be both of them double tracked. If it’s not I think it would’ve sounded cooler if they did

[@lukpac]

No, it's on a single track.

[@jckistan]

Certainly Paul. The second half's start (as you indicated) sounds like John (maybe similar to when he sings "love you every day girl, always on my mind" in 8DAW?). I think this vocal solo is just too melodic for John, he'd be perfectly capable of doing this, but would he? This topic has been debated for years. I'm surprised Paul's never even dropped a "yeah, that was me" in an interview. A Day In The Life is a huge Beatles number and one of their most iconic

[@sbbinahee]

Its Lennon

[@Smitoons]

It’s

[@sbbinahee]

@@Smitoonsyous hurted me feelinz so badder

[@bobtausworthe]

Geoff Emerick says its John. I have no reason to doubt him. Also just because Paul "takes a breath" after his last line doesn't mean it was to start singing the ahhs. First, the two voices are very differently mic'd so paul wouldn't have simply gone from "went into a dream" into "ah". They are two takes each with different mic setups. Geoff backs this up. He talks about mixing Paul's verses and John's "ahhs"

[@Smitoons]

GE is not a good source of info. Have you read his book? Lots of George hate, and a suspiciously detailed memory of Geoff being responsible for way too much.

[@lukpac]

Emerick didn't say it was John, his ghostwriter did. Emerick didn't remember much, so the narrative was created by his ghostwriter based on various other sources. And it was filled with errors.

[@avYhz5536]

The people shall band together and create a petition for JuoDet to be on GTE!

[@thomaspappalardo7589]

Also, StuSutcliffe

[@juodet]

As much as I would like to be part of it, I speak Spanish:(

[@britnickmusic]

@@juodet de dónde eres Juo Det? Deberíamos considerar hacer un podcast en español 😎

[@juodet]

@@britnickmusic Soy de México jaja, aunque me encanta la idea no me considero lo suficientemente documentado (en cuanto a saber informacion oficial jajaj) para hacer un podcast de varias horas . Quizá en algun momento podamos hacer otro proyecto:). Y por cierto quiero decirte que me vi una y otra vez tu cover de Free As A Bird para hacer el mio

[@britnickmusic]

@@juodet un placer que te haya servido mi cover para hacer el tuyo. Ya sabes que estoy a disposición! Excelentes todos tus videos. Un abrazo desde Argentina

[@robbob35]

It's John. Geoff Emerick confirms, and Richard Lush reconfirms. Not a controversy at all if you look into it at all. It's John.

[@juodet]

Maybe that's true, but John's vocal tone never sounded like Paul's in any other song. However, Paul's often does sound like John's

[@justintroyka8855]

I love Geoff Emerick's book, but I know of some instances where it isn't accurate, so take it with a grain of salt.

[@indigohammer5732]

Emerick said he remembers "Blackbird" being recorded outdoors at EMI Abbey Road.

[@songlove7777]

​@@indigohammer5732 With real Blackbirds chirping in the background. 🤦

[@guillermofuentes1556]

Good argument!

[@petejp1]

I think it's both of them

[@miketherock]

Very interesting 👍🏻

[@joeywisedrums]

Nah, there’s a lot of opinion here which contradicts facts in session notes. It’s John. Paul doesn’t open his mouth to sing like that. There’s far more nasal and E tone in the ah’s. Paul was a throat singer, John was a mouth singer. (Watch get back where Paul tries to get John to sing a high harmony on “I’ve got a feeling”) Meaning Paul would open the back of his throat to achieve Ah’s, John would force them through his mouth and nose with little support

[@joeywisedrums]

Listening to it isolated myself, it’s John. Paul and John overdubbed themselves making strange oos and ahs in the background, but the lead vocal is John. (You can tell because the short breath right before it isn’t coming from the same channel as Paul’s voice, meaning it was a different channel, meaning a different vocalist.)

[@AlejandroJuarez-gg4lw]

Es john.😊

[@comedyriff5231]

The lead vocal is clearly John. You hear it in the nasality and the crackle. The reasoning that Paul 'could' sound like John, so even when John sings, it could be Paul. That is the least probable explanation. The most probable explanation is it is John when it sounds like John. Just like it´s probably Paul when it sounds like Paul, even though no one seems to dispute that... Hopefully these kind of questions can be determined with AI, because this kind of history revisionism that always tries to elevate Paul is getting tiresome. If the studio technician claims it was John, and it sounds like John. It probably isn´t Paul trying to sound like John.

[@heathcandy]

Haha! i’ve said it’s paul for so long after listening to so many of his songs.

[@rainpain3655]

Giles Martin and his mixer have said that it's Paul, this whole debate would be over if someone could just put the ahhhs into a vocal analyzer and compare it to other Paul vocals

[@paulbadoo9326]

I always knew it was Paul, and I was surprised to see anyone say otherwise. John sings the verses, Paul the bridge, including the ahh. The confusion comes probably because the ahhs have tape delay as John''s parts, whereas Paul''s sang part does not.

[@Cenk_Mazibasi]

This is exactly John's a little dirty throat. Paul is on backvocal and you can hear him clean throat.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Sounds like Paul to me - with a lot of echo on his voice, he can sound a lot like John - check out his vocal on Let Me Roll It for a similar effect - on that one he was deliberately trying to sound like John.

[@svjim1]

Someone should ask Paul.

[@mcarp555]

It's always clearly John. No doubts whatsoever.

[@just-so-were-crystal-clear5245]

Maybe listen to the live version of Let me Roll it and you'll it's Paul

[@mcarp555]

@@just-so-were-crystal-clear5245 _Let Me Roll It_ (both live and studio versions) use the same echo John preferred, but I've never heard anything in either recording that sounds even vaguely like John. I stand by my original statement.

[@just-so-were-crystal-clear5245]

@mcarp555 I'm not talking about echo or tone, though both are obviously similar, I'm talking about how the breath is partitioned and pushed for the notes, like 0:40 here and in some places in the live version of Let me Roll it. How people breath and use breath support is distinct. John doesn't breath like that. Besides which, John has sung that high for maybe 1 second, but he's never held a phrase for that long in general, much less at that high pitch. Obviously, you will hear what you hear, so we'll have to disagree, but to my ears it's clearly Paul.

[@lowaura]

Definitely sounds like paul the more you listen tonit

[@alphadogstudio]

Sounds pretty obvious that it's John to me. Paul sounds like he's singing the weird background vocals. At best, Paul is singing with John and it's a blend of the two. IMHO

[@Belabartok-lt8pv]

I always thought it was both of them..they sang alot together up to this point but less afterwards. I used to be guitar transcriber by the the way.

[@mecetnoca]

Come together is john but his voice is so like paul sing in coming up...

[@fetormephitis3040]

Interesting. After listening closely, to me it sounds like I have always thought. It's John and to me more obvious when compared to the Paul "examples".

[@thewhaleking]

Yess Juo!! Get it ❤

[@xmcddddd]

I think we Beatles fans should try to get pauls attention and ask him 😂

[@jg8678]

Very much seems Paul

[@JuanEsteban-t3y]

well, I always have been though that maybe were they both, more inclinated to Paul than John (talking about the highest notes), btw, i think it was an overdub, cause if you listen the anthology one, They/he didnt sing in that part

[@dmajestic80]

It’s 100% and only can be Paul. To be honest, especially isolated it actually sounds nothing like John. Also I’ve never understood why people think the high harmony in “Rain” is Paul. It’s clear as day John overdubbing his lead vocal.

[@graniterhythm53]

John is dominant in the mix over Paul - like in 8 Days A Week! Clearly Paul is the high harmony in Rain, he usually was! As someone once said - it's easy!

[@dmajestic80]

@@graniterhythm53 But you’re wrong, Paul is NOT the high harmony in Rain. Do some research.

[@graniterhythm53]

@@dmajestic80 There does not seem to be a consensus on this! It still sounds to me like Paul is high harmony with his trademark 'flourishes' with John also singing, for him, a 'lower' high harmony! The mimed B&W promo does show John relaxed in the chorus whilst Paul seems to be reaching for the notes by throwing his head back! If it is indeed John, would it be the only time he did take the highest harmony?

[@dmajestic80]

@@graniterhythm53 Yes, one of the only times but it’s clearly evident if you listen to the isolated vocal tracks. Let me make clear that I am only talking about the section of “Rain” where they sing the long drawn out “Raaaaaaiiiiin…I don’t mind/the weather’s fine” Go listen with headphones to the isolated vocal, plenty on KZbin. It is unmistakably John who takes the high part overdub just on that section. I once was a skeptic when I was first told about it.

[@DolphinGuitar28]

Always thought it was Paul

[@bendak]

MY GOD

[@dementeedd]

me personally i thought it was paul

[@Tom-hk6ub]

Who plays the Hey Bulldog guitar leadbreak ???

[@isaiah.fabela]

I KNEW IT

[@alexm8312]

It's definitely paul.

[@santiagomolina781]

it was Paul

[@oaquelemusicista9336]

But I didn’t understand why you used "Eight Days a Week" as an example of John's vocal flourish. You could have chosen "Happiness is a Warm Gun," where there’s a much more evident flourish. This way, it feels more like making a decision.

[@miloss.aligrudic1228]

Hey guys, I have a suggestion. Why don't we simply ask Paul about it. Prolly he can still remember... He's alive and kicking thank God, and he would certainly give us an answer to this curiosity of ours...

[@Brunoburningbright]

At 1:39 you say "then you hear John". So it's both? I swear I hear John's nasal tone in there somewhere.

[@liro6]

Its a great ahh song.

[@Cali559]

McCartney, no doubt.

[@joelthornhill8300]

I thought it was Ringo

[@monovision566]

It’s definitely Paul, but the thing about Paul was he spent a lot of years singing unison with John, and as a gifted mimic, he often timbre matched John’s tone and style. He may have done that a bit in this song. But he also does eastern-style vocal trills when he gets into the upper register-like he does in I Want to Tell You. It’s Paul.

[@arnesaknussemm2427]

Penny Lane is another track in which it is difficult to tell them apart. If you listen to the line at 1 39 into the track the phrase ‘in summer’ sounds like John although Paul is clearly singing the rest of the chorus up to that point. Did they drop John’s voice into these few bars or is it just Paul sounding like him?

[@MyMaria43]

Yes the man with 1000 voices could easily "do John"

[@TyroneEpps]

Paul

[@rhye999]

You'll need to check your ears. It's clearly Ringo

[@Michaelmclachlan66]

Does it matter

[@donaldlococo954]

It’s both

[@diogo_barros]

It's not Paul. He died in 1966. It can be Billie or John.

[@Bella-nt7ec]

the nicest one

[@ZenArcher9091]

vari-speed.

[@markstevens1729]

Sounds like John, but who GAF? It’s the Beatles for Christ’s sake!

[@Gorilla7738]

John's voice is scratchier, definitely Paul

[@cilonvaldezferreiraperusat9703]

It is Paul, end of discussion