Ranking The Beatles - #77 - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds with Jason Kruppa

#77 - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds with Jason Kruppa

Explicit content warning

02/06/25 • 77 min

Ranking The Beatles

Did you guys know the Beatles did drugs? IT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE TITLE, MAN, LSDDDDDDDD! Inspired by a drawing done by his son Julian, John's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is arguably the most psychedelic of Beatles psychedelic songs. But that trippiness overshadows brilliantly musical performances and inventive production. It's one of the high points of The Beatles and George Martin (and his team) being on the same wavelength, all pulling in the same direction. Lucy (and her parent album) may have lost a touch of its' shine among the common listener, but listen with fresh ears and be blown away all over again.

Joining us this week is the always fantastic Jason Kruppa, host of the Producing the Beatles podcast, co-author of All Things Must Pass Away: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs. He was supposed to join us via Zoom a couple of weeks ago (during the now famous New Orleans snow storm) but the recording set up at RTB HQ couldn't handle the cold and died on us. So we had to reschedule once we got back up and running, so we were able to connect in person, which was much better! We chat with Jason about the brilliance of the Beatles' vocals, isolation videos, Crocs, the importance of the drummer, and so much. more!

All isolations in this episode provided by Jason. Be sure to subscribe to Producing the Beatles!

All isolations in this episode provided by Jason. Be sure to subscribe to Producing the Beatles!

Previous Episode

#78 - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) with author Sara Schmidt

**Disclaimer: First show of the new year, and yeah, I know, I blew it, but I own up to it! The integrity of the list remains!**

The fabs sure loved writing songs about their relationships on vacation. As we discussed one of Paul's recently ("For No One"), now it's John's turn. John's ode to infidelity and arson turned into one of the most sublime sonic moments in their catalogue, as well as one of the most influential. George's now iconic sitar part influenced so many other bands of the time to start experimenting with Indian music (The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" maybe most famously), and marked the beginning of his and the band's bringing Eastern music to popular Western culture. It's a defining sound of the 60s, and this song may be well the defining song of the Rubber Soul album.

Joining us this week is Beatles author and all around lovely person Sara Schmidt! She's the author Dear Beatle People: The Story of the Beatles North American Fan Club and Happiness is Seeing the Beatles: Beatlemania in St. Louis . She's also the brains behind meetthebeatlesforreal.com where she's been archiving Beatles photos and fan stories since 2007. While Apple and so many are telling the history of the band, this is the other side of the coin, the thing that made it work, the fans, and it's a fantastic archive of stories and interactions with the band. Check out the website and Sara's books at meetthebeatlesforreal.com, and if you have a story to share with her, send it over!

Next Episode

#76 - Slow Down with guests Blotto Beatles

Maybe it's just me, but I've got a real sweet spot for when, in the midst of all the chaos of exploding into the world's biggest band and becoming the greatest songwriters alive, the Beatles blow off steam by pulling out a song from their garage band days. "Slow Down," written by New Orleanian Larry Williams (protege to Little Richard and Lloyd Price) was recorded during the sessions for the A Hard Day's Night album, when John's early rock and roll voice is arguably at it's peak. Those screams...good lawdy, indeed ! It feels carefree and joyous, they're not fretting over if this new song is going to be the next big hit, they're just hitting the release valve and letting go all that pressure, just playing rock and roll for the fun of it. I love those moments.

Bad news, folks: Julia's not with us today. Good news, folks: our podpals from Blotto Beatles are! We love any chance to catch up with our Blotto bros, and this time was no exception (well, except for Julia's absence). We talk about the trouble with Larrys, Beatle footware, covers, the Fest for Beatle Fans, and so much more! If you're not listening to Blotto Beatles, you should be, so check it out!