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Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

February 13, 2024

"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written and composed primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney.[5][6]

"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"
Sheet music cover
Song by the Beatles
from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Released
  • 26 May 1967 (1967-05-26) [1]
Recorded17, 20 February, 28, 29, 31 March 1967
StudioEMI, London
Genre
Length2:37
Label
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin
Audio sample

Most of the lyrics came from a 19th-century circus poster for Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal appearance at Rochdale. It was one of three songs from the Sgt. Pepper album that was banned from playing on the BBC, supposedly because the phrase "Henry the Horse" combined two words that were individually known as slang for heroin.[7][8] Lennon denied that the song had anything to do with heroin.[9]

Background edit

 
The circus poster from 1843 that inspired John Lennon to write "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite".

The inspiration to write the song was a 19th-century circus poster for Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal appearance at Rochdale. Lennon purchased the poster on 31 January 1967 at a Sevenoaks antiques shop while the Beatles were filming promotional films for "Strawberry Fields Forever" in Sevenoaks, Kent.[10] Lennon claimed years later to still have the poster in his home.[11] "Everything from the song is from that poster," he explained, "except the horse wasn't called Henry."[12] (The poster identifies the horse as "Zanthus".)

The song's lyrics (based on the original poster) detail the evening's program, which was to occur at Bishopsgate in the following sequence: On Saturday at 5:50 pm the band was to begin playing while Mr. Kite would perform, flying "through the ring." Meanwhile, Mr. Henderson would execute ten somersaults, and then perform on the trampoline, "over men and horses, through hoops and over garters,"[a] and "lastly through a hogshead of real fire." This act would be followed by the Hendersons dancing and singing. Finally, Henry the Horse would dance the waltz.

Mr. Kite is believed to be William Kite, who worked for Pablo Fanque from 1843 to 1845. "Mr. J. Henderson" was John Henderson, a wire-walker, equestrian, trampoline artist, and clown. While the poster made no mention of "Hendersons" plural, as Lennon sings, John Henderson did perform with his wife Agnes, the daughter of circus owner Henry Hengler. The Hendersons performed throughout Europe and Russia during the 1840s and 1850s. [14]

"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is credited to Lennon–McCartney, but Lennon said he had written it entirely himself.[11] In 1977, when shown a list of songs Lennon claimed writing on (including "Mr. Kite"), McCartney disputed only "In My Life".[11] In his 1997 memoir, he claimed to have also co-written "Mr. Kite".[5] In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he recalled spending an afternoon with Lennon writing the song based on the poster, and said that "the song just wrote itself".[6]

Recording edit

One of the most musically complex songs on Sgt. Pepper, it was recorded by the Beatles on 17 February 1967 with overdubs on 20 February (organ sound effects), 28 March (harmonica, organ, guitar), 29 March (more organ effects) and 31 March.[15] Lennon wanted the track to have a "carnival atmosphere", and told producer George Martin that he wanted "to smell the sawdust on the floor".[16] In the middle eight bars, multiple recordings of fairground organs and calliope music were spliced together to attempt to satisfy this request. In a 1968 interview, Martin recalled that he achieved this "by playing the Hammond organ myself and speeding it up".[17] In addition to the Hammond organ, an attempt was made to find a 19th-century steam organ for hire in London, to enhance the carnival atmosphere effect, but to no avail.[18] After a great deal of unsuccessful experimentation, Martin instructed recording engineer Geoff Emerick to chop the tape into pieces with scissors, throw them up in the air, and re-assemble them at random.[16]

Before the start of the first take, Lennon sings the words "For the benefit of Mr. Kite!" in a joke accent, then Emerick announces, "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite! This is take 1." Lennon immediately responds, "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", reinforcing his title preference from a phrase lifted intact from the original Pablo Fanque poster. The exchange is recorded in The Beatles Recording Sessions[10] and audible on track 8 of disc 2 of Anthology 2. The original recording can also be heard during the loading screen for the song if it is downloaded in the 2009 video game The Beatles: Rock Band.

Although Lennon once said of the song that he "wasn't proud of that" and "I was just going through the motions",[19] in 1980 he described it as "pure, like a painting, a pure watercolour".[12] AllMusic stated that "the Beatles and Martin pulled out all the stops to make a layer of sound that was only possible to create in the recording studio [...] resulting in a sound both redolent of the circuses of bygone days, and as avant-garde as anything in rock music."[3]

Personnel edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ According to a catalogue of Britishisms found in Beatles lyrics, "'hoops' are probably the staves used to reinforce a hogshead or barrel; used in this sense, 'garter' may also be a circlet of some material through which a performer jumps."[13]

Citations edit

  1. ^ Everett 1999, p. 123. "In the United Kingdom Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...was rush-released six days ahead of its official date, June 1."
  2. ^ Wybenga, Eric (2011). Dead to the Core: An Almanack of the Grateful Dead. Random House.
  3. ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! - The Beatles - Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  4. ^ McIver, Joel (2015). "The Kinks - "Sunny Afternoon". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 174.
  5. ^ a b Miles 1997, pp. 318.
  6. ^ a b Vozick-Levinson, Simon (25 July 2013). "Q&A: Paul McCartney Looks Back on His Latest Magical Mystery Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  7. ^ Kenneally, Tim. "The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band': 50 Things You Probably Didn’t Know: From producer George Martin’s biggest regret to a masked, X-rated message, an exhaustive look at the Beatles’ 1967 classic," The Wrap (June 1, 2017).
  8. ^ James. "10 Things You Didn't Know About... Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," HMV (25 May 2017).
  9. ^ Goodden, Joe. Riding So High: The Beatles and Drugs (Joe Goodden, 2017).
  10. ^ a b Lewisohn 1988, p. 98.
  11. ^ a b c "Lennon–McCartney Songalog: Who Wrote What" (PDF). Hit Parader. Vol. Winter 1977 [reprint of April 1972], no. 101. pp. 38–41. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  12. ^ a b Sheff 2000, p. 183.
  13. ^ Somers, Harold. "BRITGUIDE---an introduction to Britishisms in the Beatles' Lyrics" (July 1, 1993).
  14. ^ Turner, Steve (2005). A Hard Day's Write. United Kingdom: Carlton Books. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-06-084409-7.
  15. ^ Lewisohn 1988, pp. 98, 99, 105–106.
  16. ^ a b Lewisohn 1988, p. 99.
  17. ^ a b Gilliland 1969, show 45, track 3, 6:22.
  18. ^ Emerick 2006.
  19. ^ The Beatles 2000, p. 243.
  20. ^ a b c Howlett, Kevin (2017). Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (50th Anniversary Deluxe Version) (book). The Beatles. Apple Records.

Sources edit

External links edit

  • Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"
  • Discussion of the original poster
  • A short film with close-up shots of the original poster as well as its history, including replications
  • Comparisons of modern reproductions of the poster with the original

February 13, 2024
being, benefit, kite, song, recorded, english, rock, band, beatles, their, 1967, album, pepper, lonely, hearts, club, band, written, composed, primarily, john, lennon, credited, lennon, mccartney, sheet, music, coversong, beatlesfrom, album, pepper, lonely, he. Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album Sgt Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band It was written and composed primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon McCartney 5 6 Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite Sheet music coverSong by the Beatlesfrom the album Sgt Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club BandReleased26 May 1967 1967 05 26 1 Recorded17 20 February 28 29 31 March 1967StudioEMI LondonGenrePsychedelia 2 circus music 3 music hall 4 Length2 37LabelParlophone UK Capitol US Songwriter s Lennon McCartneyProducer s George MartinAudio sample source source filehelpMost of the lyrics came from a 19th century circus poster for Pablo Fanque s Circus Royal appearance at Rochdale It was one of three songs from the Sgt Pepper album that was banned from playing on the BBC supposedly because the phrase Henry the Horse combined two words that were individually known as slang for heroin 7 8 Lennon denied that the song had anything to do with heroin 9 Contents 1 Background 2 Recording 3 Personnel 4 Notes 5 Citations 6 Sources 7 External linksBackground edit nbsp The circus poster from 1843 that inspired John Lennon to write Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite The inspiration to write the song was a 19th century circus poster for Pablo Fanque s Circus Royal appearance at Rochdale Lennon purchased the poster on 31 January 1967 at a Sevenoaks antiques shop while the Beatles were filming promotional films for Strawberry Fields Forever in Sevenoaks Kent 10 Lennon claimed years later to still have the poster in his home 11 Everything from the song is from that poster he explained except the horse wasn t called Henry 12 The poster identifies the horse as Zanthus The song s lyrics based on the original poster detail the evening s program which was to occur at Bishopsgate in the following sequence On Saturday at 5 50 pm the band was to begin playing while Mr Kite would perform flying through the ring Meanwhile Mr Henderson would execute ten somersaults and then perform on the trampoline over men and horses through hoops and over garters a and lastly through a hogshead of real fire This act would be followed by the Hendersons dancing and singing Finally Henry the Horse would dance the waltz Mr Kite is believed to be William Kite who worked for Pablo Fanque from 1843 to 1845 Mr J Henderson was John Henderson a wire walker equestrian trampoline artist and clown While the poster made no mention of Hendersons plural as Lennon sings John Henderson did perform with his wife Agnes the daughter of circus owner Henry Hengler The Hendersons performed throughout Europe and Russia during the 1840s and 1850s 14 Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite is credited to Lennon McCartney but Lennon said he had written it entirely himself 11 In 1977 when shown a list of songs Lennon claimed writing on including Mr Kite McCartney disputed only In My Life 11 In his 1997 memoir he claimed to have also co written Mr Kite 5 In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone magazine he recalled spending an afternoon with Lennon writing the song based on the poster and said that the song just wrote itself 6 Recording editOne of the most musically complex songs on Sgt Pepper it was recorded by the Beatles on 17 February 1967 with overdubs on 20 February organ sound effects 28 March harmonica organ guitar 29 March more organ effects and 31 March 15 Lennon wanted the track to have a carnival atmosphere and told producer George Martin that he wanted to smell the sawdust on the floor 16 In the middle eight bars multiple recordings of fairground organs and calliope music were spliced together to attempt to satisfy this request In a 1968 interview Martin recalled that he achieved this by playing the Hammond organ myself and speeding it up 17 In addition to the Hammond organ an attempt was made to find a 19th century steam organ for hire in London to enhance the carnival atmosphere effect but to no avail 18 After a great deal of unsuccessful experimentation Martin instructed recording engineer Geoff Emerick to chop the tape into pieces with scissors throw them up in the air and re assemble them at random 16 Before the start of the first take Lennon sings the words For the benefit of Mr Kite in a joke accent then Emerick announces For the Benefit of Mr Kite This is take 1 Lennon immediately responds Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite reinforcing his title preference from a phrase lifted intact from the original Pablo Fanque poster The exchange is recorded in The Beatles Recording Sessions 10 and audible on track 8 of disc 2 of Anthology 2 The original recording can also be heard during the loading screen for the song if it is downloaded in the 2009 video game The Beatles Rock Band Although Lennon once said of the song that he wasn t proud of that and I was just going through the motions 19 in 1980 he described it as pure like a painting a pure watercolour 12 AllMusic stated that the Beatles and Martin pulled out all the stops to make a layer of sound that was only possible to create in the recording studio resulting in a sound both redolent of the circuses of bygone days and as avant garde as anything in rock music 3 Personnel editJohn Lennon double tracked lead vocals 20 Hammond organ tape loops and harmonica Paul McCartney bass guitar lead guitar George Harrison harmonica tambourine 20 harmony vocal shaker Ringo Starr drums tambourine George Martin piano harmonium Lowrey organ Wurlitzer organ Mellotron 20 Hammond organ glockenspiel tape loops 17 Mal Evans bass harmonica Neil Aspinall harmonica Geoff Emerick tape loopsNotes edit According to a catalogue of Britishisms found in Beatles lyrics hoops are probably the staves used to reinforce a hogshead or barrel used in this sense garter may also be a circlet of some material through which a performer jumps 13 Citations edit Everett 1999 p 123 In the United Kingdom Sgt Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band was rush released six days ahead of its official date June 1 Wybenga Eric 2011 Dead to the Core An Almanack of the Grateful Dead Random House a b Unterberger Richie Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite The Beatles Song Info AllMusic Retrieved 6 December 2021 McIver Joel 2015 The Kinks Sunny Afternoon In Dimery Robert ed 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die New York Universe p 174 a b Miles 1997 pp 318 a b Vozick Levinson Simon 25 July 2013 Q amp A Paul McCartney Looks Back on His Latest Magical Mystery Tour Rolling Stone Retrieved 27 July 2013 Kenneally Tim The Beatles Sgt Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band 50 Things You Probably Didn t Know From producer George Martin s biggest regret to a masked X rated message an exhaustive look at the Beatles 1967 classic The Wrap June 1 2017 James 10 Things You Didn t Know About Sgt Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band HMV 25 May 2017 Goodden Joe Riding So High The Beatles and Drugs Joe Goodden 2017 a b Lewisohn 1988 p 98 a b c Lennon McCartney Songalog Who Wrote What PDF Hit Parader Vol Winter 1977 reprint of April 1972 no 101 pp 38 41 Retrieved 6 June 2017 a b Sheff 2000 p 183 Somers Harold BRITGUIDE an introduction to Britishisms in the Beatles Lyrics July 1 1993 Turner Steve 2005 A Hard Day s Write United Kingdom Carlton Books p 128 ISBN 978 0 06 084409 7 Lewisohn 1988 pp 98 99 105 106 a b Lewisohn 1988 p 99 a b Gilliland 1969 show 45 track 3 6 22 Emerick 2006 The Beatles 2000 p 243 a b c Howlett Kevin 2017 Sgt Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band 50th Anniversary Deluxe Version book The Beatles Apple Records Sources editThe Beatles 2000 The Beatles Anthology San Francisco Chronicle Books ISBN 0 8118 2684 8 Emerick Geoff 2006 Here there and everywhere my life recording the music of the Beatles New York Penguin ISBN 978 1 59240 179 6 Everett Walter 1999 The Beatles as Musicians Revolver Through the Anthology Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 512941 0 Gilliland John 1969 Sergeant Pepper at the Summit The very best of a very good year audio Pop Chronicles University of North Texas Libraries Lewisohn Mark 1988 The Beatles Recording Sessions New York Harmony Books ISBN 0 517 57066 1 Miles Barry 1997 Paul McCartney Many Years From Now New York Henry Holt and Company ISBN 0 8050 5249 6 Sheff David 2000 All We Are Saying The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono New York St Martin s Press ISBN 0 312 25464 4 External links editAlan W Pollack s Notes on Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite Discussion of the original poster A short film with close up shots of the original poster as well as its history including replications Comparisons of modern reproductions of the poster with the original Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite amp oldid 1194681784, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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