Overview

On 16 April 1969, three members of The Beatles gathered at Abbey Road Studios to record George Harrison's 'Old Brown Shoe', intended as the B-side to 'The Ballad Of John And Yoko'.

The session also marked the first studio work on Harrison's 'Something', one of his most celebrated Beatles compositions.

Afternoon Demo Session

Between 2.30pm and 5.00pm, Harrison recorded a solo demo of 'Old Brown Shoe' in a single take. This replaced an earlier demo from 25 February 1969 and was likely used as a reference for the evening session.

Recording 'Old Brown Shoe'

The main session began at 7.00pm. Despite being involved in filming The Magic Christian, Ringo Starr was present and played drums.

The Beatles recorded the backing track in four takes, with take four selected as the master. The eight-track tape included drums on track one, Harrison's guide vocal and guitar across tracks two and three, and John Lennon's piano on track four.

Overdubs followed, including Paul McCartney's bass and additional guitar from Harrison. Harrison recorded the lead vocal, with Lennon and McCartney providing backing vocals.

Notably, all vocal tracks were intentionally distorted by engineer Jeff Jarratt, giving the recording its distinctive tonal character.

Early Work on 'Something'

After completing work on 'Old Brown Shoe', The Beatles began recording 'Something'. Thirteen instrumental takes were recorded during the session.

The lineup differed from their usual roles: Harrison played rhythm guitar, McCartney was on drums, Lennon on bass, and George Martin contributed piano.

These recordings were ultimately abandoned, with a remake beginning on 2 May 1969.

Mixing

Before the session concluded at 2.45am, three stereo mixes of 'Old Brown Shoe' were created. None were used, and further overdubs were added on 18 April 1969.