The Beatles Begin Recording ‘Getting Better’ for Sgt Pepper – 9 March 1967

March 9, 2026

9 March 1967: The Beatles Begin Recording 'Getting Better' for Sgt Pepper

On 9 March 1967, The Beatles began work on the song 'Getting Better' during the recording sessions for their landmark album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The session took place in Studio Two at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, with producer George Martin overseeing the recording. Engineering duties were handled by Malcolm Addey and Ken Townsend, temporarily replacing the usual balance engineer Geoff Emerick, who had been given the evening off after an intense run of late-night sessions.

Recording the Rhythm Track

The Beatles focused first on recording the rhythm track for 'Getting Better'. Seven takes were recorded during the session.

The track layout on the four-track tape machine was organised as follows:

Track 1: Paul McCartney – rhythm guitar and Ringo Starr – drums
Track 2: McCartney – guide vocal
Track 3: George Martin – electric pianette
Track 4: Additional drums from Starr

The electric pianette played by Martin added a distinctive percussive texture to the arrangement.

Reduction Mix

After completing the rhythm track recordings, the tape was subjected to a reduction mix, a standard technique used by The Beatles during the Sgt Pepper sessions to free additional space on the limited four-track tape machines.

Five reduction mixes were attempted, numbered takes 8 to 12, with the guide vocals omitted from the final composite track. This process allowed further overdubs to be added during later sessions.

A Late-Night Sgt Pepper Session

Unlike many earlier Beatles recordings, the session did not begin immediately after the scheduled studio booking.

Engineer Malcolm Addey later recalled that although the session was booked to begin at 7pm, the band did not arrive until much later.

According to Addey:

“The session was booked to begin at 7pm but there was barely a Beatle in sight before midnight… Ringo came in about 11 and ordered fish and chips. The others arrived later… they finally started work at about one in the morning.”

The recording session eventually concluded at 3:30am on 10 March 1967.

Completing 'Getting Better'

Work on 'Getting Better' continued during several additional sessions in March 1967:

10 March 1967 – further overdubs
21 March 1967 – mixing and editing work
23 March 1967 – final mixing

The completed song became one of the standout tracks on Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, released later that year on 26 May 1967 in the UK.

'Getting Better' and the Sgt Pepper Sessions

'Getting Better' reflects the increasingly sophisticated studio techniques used by The Beatles during the Sgt Pepper era.

The album's recording sessions, which took place primarily between December 1966 and April 1967, involved extensive experimentation with:

multi-track recording
reduction mixes
innovative studio instrumentation

These sessions helped redefine what was possible within the recording studio and contributed to the album's reputation as one of the most influential records in popular music history.

Beatles History: 9 March 1967

The recording of 'Getting Better' forms part of the remarkable creative period during which The Beatles were transforming pop music through studio experimentation.

Within a few months the group would complete Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, an album widely regarded as a landmark in the history of recorded music.