Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Written by: John Lennon (100%)(credited to Lennon-McCartney)
Recorded: February 17, 20, and 28; March 29 and 31, 1967 (Studio 2, Abbey Road Studios, London, England)
Mixed: March 31 and April 7, 1967
Length: 2:36
Takes: 9
Musicians:
John Lennon: lead vocals, harmony vocals, organs (Hammond RT-3, Lowrey)
Paul McCartney: harmony vocals, bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1), acoustic guitar (1964 Gibson J160E)
George Harrison: bass harmonica (Hohner)
Ringo Starr: drums (Ludwig), shaker bells, bass harmonica (Hohner)
George Martin: harmonium (Mannborg), piano (1905 Steinway Vertegrand "Mrs. Mills"), organ (Hammond RT-3), tape loops
Neil Aspinall, Mal Evans: bass harmonica (Hohner)
Available on: (CDs in bold)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (UK: Parlophone PMC 7027, PCS 7027; Capitol (S)MAS 2653; Parlophone CDP 7 46442 2)
History:
- This, one of the more colorful and flamboyant pieces on Sgt. Pepper, was famously inspired by a circus poster John purchased on January 31, 1967, in Sevenoaks, Kent, England, where the band was camped out in order to shoot a promotional video for "Strawberry Fields Forever." In fact, John wrote the song in the presence of longtime friend Pete Shotton, peering at the florid language on the poster and instantly transforming it into a song at the piano.
- Although John later claimed he used almost all of the words on the poster, merely changing "Zanthus" the horse's name to the more alliterative name "Henry," Lennon actually took a bit of creative license in making the words scan and rhyme. Although he refers to "The Hendersons," the poster only mentions one, an all-around acrobat named John; however, he often performed with his wife, Agnes, although Lennon would have had no way of knowing that. In fact, it was John Henderson who performed most of the feats attributed to Mr. Kite in the song -- using a trampoline (at that time, a springboard) to jump "over men and horses hoops and garters and lastly through a hogshead of real fire," much as it says on the poster. Mr. Henderson is also the one who "challenge(s) the world" in being the best at his stunts, undertaking 21 (not ten, as John sings) "somersets" on "solid ground" (we now call these acrobatic tricks "somersaults"). Mr. Kite was a wire-walker who did not "fly through the ring" at any time, and the celebrated horse obviously did not dance a waltz -- this was merely a trick devised by Lennon to introduce the dreamy calliope swirl of the song's midsection, which was in 3/4 time. Finally, the circus in question took place on a Tuesday in Rochdale, a suburb of Manchester, not on a Saturday in Bishopsgate, which is a part of London.
- The recording of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" -- Lennon insisted the title retain its exact wording from the poster -- began on February 17, with a basic track of bass and drums, with special attention given the hi-hat, for more of a circus feel. George Martin held down the chords with a harmonium while John sang a guide vocal. Three days later, John recorded his lead vocal, with double-tracking in spots, and upon his instruction that he wanted to "smell the sawdust," George Martin searched for carnival sounds from Abbey Road's vast sound-effects library. Several snippets of calliopes were found.
- On the 28th, after working on "Good Morning Good Morning," Lennon added a Hammond organ part while Martin added another harmonium track. Two bass harmonicas were discovered in the studio, and they were played by Ringo and George, then roadies Mal Evans and Neil Aspinall, in order to thicken the opening fanfare, which also appears at the end of each verse. The song's celebrated middle section needed to be beefed up even further, however, so on March 29, after completing "Good Morning," Lennon and Martin added still more organ parts, while Paul came up with an acoustic guitar melody to guide the bridge.
- On the 30th, the calliope and fairground organ sounds were added in; however, John couldn't decide what order the nineteen different samples should be in, so Martin (also famously) decided to cut them up into little pieces, have engineer Geoff Emerick throw them up in the air, and then pick them up wherever they fell and tape them together randomly. Unfortunately, doing so resulted in much the same pattern as before, so the snippets were assembled by hand anyway. The next day, Martin added more organ and some glockenspiel, and the song was done.
Trivia:
- Although John was originally dismissive of the song, written quickly in order to fill a hole in the album, he later came to appreciate the avant-garde aspects of turning a poster into a song, calling it "cosmically beautiful" and a "pure watercolour."
- "Kite" was originally slotted to be the third song in the lineup on Sgt. Pepper, coming just after the opening "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help from My Friends" medley and taking the place of "Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds," which was to be the fifth song, after "Fixing a Hole." Although its carnival atmosphere fit in well with the original theme of the album, it was decided that "Lucy" was the stronger song, and so "Kite" was instead chosen to end Side 1.
- Lennon tried scatting a melody in the bridge, but this was edited out in favor of Paul's nearly-unrecognizable distorted acoustic guitar track. During Take 2, Paul coached John to sing more like a carnival barker, to sing "like you know that show." John's vocal was recorded slightly slower than normal, perhaps in order to make singing all those words easier!
- On the mono mix, more calliope loops can be heard in the bridge.
- The harmonium is an air organ that must be pumped via a foot pedal in order to be played; Martin, then 41, spent an arduous four hours huffing and puffing over the instrument before a take suitable to John was laid down. As for the calliope, Martin actually searched for a real one to transport into Abbey Road, but to no avail.
- A persistent rumor that "Henry the Horse" was a heroin reference resulted in the song being banned from the BBC for a time. Lennon denied any such connection, and, indeed, hadn't been introduced to the substance yet.
Covered by: Bee Gees, Cheap Trick, The Residents, The String Cheese Incident, Greg Hawkes, Billy Connolly, Eddie Izzard, Eric McFadden, Easy Star All-Stars, Električni Orgazam, Jeff Decker, Les Misérables Brass Band, Linda Arnold, Frank Sidebottom, Paul Schwartz, The Spongetones, Smitty
