Skip to content
Curated playlist

The Beatles and India

  • Magical Mystery TourThe Beatles had six songs and no format that fit them. So they invented Britain's first double EP in 1967.
  • Revolver (Beatles album)The Beatles vetoed a 1966 film and used the free months to make Revolver. They recorded for over 220 hours.
  • Love You ToWho really played the sitar on the Beatles song "Love You To"? Tabla player Anil Bhagwat said George Harrison did.
  • Maharishi Mahesh YogiMaharishi Mahesh Yogi arrived in Hawaii in 1959 with no money and nothing to carry.
  • The Beatles (album)Ringo Starr walked out of a Beatles recording session on the 22nd of August 1968. He felt sidelined.
  • The Beatles in IndiaThe Beatles' 1968 stay at an ashram in India produced a burst of new songs. Eighteen ended up on the White Album.
  • Help!The Beatles tried to spell HELP in semaphore on an album cover, but the letters looked wrong.
  • Help! (film)A 1965 Beatles film was nearly called Eight Arms to Hold You. Ringo Starr proposed that title.
  • Strawberry Fields ForeverTwo different recordings of "Strawberry Fields Forever" were spliced into one with scissors and tape machines.
  • Tomorrow Never KnowsJohn Lennon took the words of "Tomorrow Never Knows" almost directly from a 1964 book.
  • Within You Without YouGeorge Harrison added crowd laughter to "Within You Without You" over his producer's objection.
  • Ravi ShankarRavi Shankar was horrified when Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire. The sitar master saw instruments as part of God.
  • Baby, You're a Rich ManGeorge Harrison played "Baby, You're a Rich Man" in a San Francisco park and a crowd followed him.
  • Dear PrudenceJohn Lennon wrote "Dear Prudence" to coax a meditating woman out of her bungalow. Prudence Farrow refused to leave.
  • Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)John Lennon wrote Norwegian Wood as a veiled account of an affair he was having in London.
  • Rain (Beatles song)Did John Lennon or George Martin discover the backwards vocals on the Beatles' "Rain"? Each man claimed the discovery.
  • Sexy SadieThe Beatles song "Sexy Sadie" began life as "Maharishi." John Lennon wrote it in India in 1968, angry at a guru.
  • The Inner Light (song)A Beatles B-side was recorded in Bombay with Indian musicians. Harrison's "The Inner Light" used words by Lao-Tzu.

Queue