General Affairs for Apple Corps Ltd.
As the 1960s drew to a close, no one had expected Apple Corps Ltd. to hit the ground running within its first two years. Although the Beatles had founded the company, they did not want to play businessmen 24/7, leaving a lot of their affairs in the hands of CEO Brian Epstein and publicist Derek Taylor, although the band did attend a number of meetings to discuss the possibility of improvements.
NEMS Enterprises, Epstein's record company, and Northern Songs Ltd., operated by Dick James, were absorbed into Apple; the latter had ownership of the Lennon/McCartney catalog, and by mid-1969, when Apple had been sorted out, Northern Songs had been absorbed into Apple.
None of that would have been possible if it weren't for the assistance of physicist/engineer Baron Richard Beeching, who was infamously known across the United Kingdom for overhauling the country's railway system in the early 1960s with the Beeching Report. Despite the infamous reputation he left behind, Lord Beeching had the power and command John Lennon liked in a businessman, but he also had the honesty Paul McCartney desired.[1]
Lennon went with Brain Epstein to meet with the former chairman of British Railways. Whilst the full details were not disclosed at the time, Lord Beeching agreed to have a hand in managing Apple Records until the end of 1975. In addition, Apple's management had brought in Lee and John Eastman - Paul's father-in-law and brother-in-law, respectively - as lawyers.
Although the idea of a boutique was deemed impractical, Epstein did not rule out the possibility of a recording studio for Apple at Savile Row. "Magic Alex" Madras had promised to build a state of the art studio in the basement after showing the Beatles and Epstein phony gadgets. But when George Martin entered the studio with the Beatles to test the new equipment in February, he was appalled by the work Madras had done; the mixing board was made from wood and an old oscilloscope, and there was no soundproofing. The one recording done on Madras' "state of the art" studio was of terrible quality, and a furious Lennon called Beeching about Madras' work, and Beeching immediately saw to it that Madras was given his pink slip.
Geoff Emerick was called in to remove Madras' "mixing console", and it was sold as scrap for a measly five pounds. George Harrison recalled that in retrospect, they should've asked Emerick from the start, feeling as though the Beatles had been cheated out of some of their money. However, the new basement studio had been completed with an eight-track recorder by the end of May, and the first recordings from the studio came from the Radha Krishna Temple, produced by Harrison.
Yellow Submarine and Alice in Wonderland were both released under the Apple Films banner, managed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who directed the latter film, though both were distributed by United Artists. Magical Mystery Tour, containing footage of the Beatles' infamous 1967 University Tour with Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, was also released under Apple Films, as were A Hard Day's Night and Help! for future releases. When asked if Apple Films was going to focus exclusively on the Beatles, Lindsay-Hogg said that "there are plans to expand our horizons in the near future. The Beatles will not be are sole focus for Apple Films, but we'd love to do more concert films."
The biggest focus, of course, was the artists of Apple Records.
The Artists of Apple Records
Beginning with their debut single "Love Me Do", the Beatles had been signed onto EMI Records; Parlophone would distribute their music for the British market, and Capitol for the American market, but beginning with "Hey Jude"/"Revolution" and Beatles '68, their singles and albums would be sold under the Apple banner, but distributed by EMI until January 1976.
Originally known as the Iveys, Pete Ham and Tom Evans would re-brand the group as Badfinger by the end of 1969, named for the working title of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Bad Finger Boogie". They were joined by Joey Molland following Ron Griffiths' departure, and their first album under Apple was Maybe Tomorrow, with Magic Christian Music to be released at the start of 1970; the name came from the fact that three tracks were featured in The Magic Christian, most notably "Come and Get It", written and produced by Paul McCartney. It was a Top 10 hit.
Other artists brought in by McCartney were Mary Hopkin with a version of the Russian ballad "Those Were the Days" and the McCartney original "Goodbye", both of which hit #1 in the United Kingdom, and James Taylor, whose biggest hit at the time was "Carolina in My Mind". By the end of 1969, Taylor had recorded his second album, tentatively titled Sweet Baby James.
George Harrison had his own share of artists he signed up for Apple, such as Brute Force ("King of Fuh"), Jackie Lomax ("Sour Milk Sea", which featured both McCartney and Ringo Starr), Billy Preston ("That's the Way God Planned It"), Delaney & Bonnie (a cover of Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart"), the Radha Krishna Temple ("Hare Krishna Mantra"), and Cream ("Badge"). Despite his frustration at not having to record more material included for the Beatles' albums, at least he was kept busy producing other artists and playing with them. Another artist he brought in was Doris Troy, having not released an album since 1963.
Apart from bringing in his new wife Yoko Ono, whose first single on the label was "Remember Love"/"Don't Worry Kyoko", John Lennon had brought in reggae group Hot Chocolate, who did their own version of "Give Peace a Chance". He also signed up pianist Elton John, having offered to co-produce his first album, Empty Sky.
There were also a few bands not discovered by the Beatles themselves; their roadie Mal Evans discovered London-based group Smile, consisting of guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist/lead singer Tim Staffell, performing at a small pub in London. Their first single under Apple was "Doing All Right", which was a modest Top 40 hit in the United Kingdom. Another group, White Trash, was brought to Apple by ex-Shadows drummer Tony Meehan.
One of the most interesting inclusions to the roster was Fleetwood Mac, having formed back in 1967 by John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, Harrison's brother-in-law through Pattie Boyd's sister Jenny. Fleetwood and McVie were both in favor of signing up for Apple Records, and soon joined following their departure from Blue Horizon, where they recorded their self-titled debut and Mr. Wonderful. Their first album released under Apple was Then Play On, and also their last with Peter Green as a member. Fleetwood Mac's first singles under Apple were "Albatross", "Man of the World", and "Oh Well", all of which were in the Top 10 in the United Kingdom, with "Albatross" hitting #1.
But perhaps the biggest potential hit-making group Apple Records had brought in - apart from the Beatles themselves - was supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash. Consisting of Byrds guitarist David Crosby, Buffalo Springfield guitarist Stephen Stills, and Hollies guitarist Graham Nash, these three great musicians almost didn't get signed up when John Lennon initially dismissed them as "elevator music", but George Harrison found a loophole that got the group signed up anyway, knowing that they were hit-makers.
Harrison's judgement would prove correct when Crosby, Stills & Nash, the group's self-titled debut, hit the Top 20 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The two singles off of the album, Nash's "Marrakesh Express" and Stills' "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", were also big hits. The former was initially written for the Hollies when Nash was a member, but it was rejected for not being commercial enough, and the latter was written about Stills' girlfriend at the time, Judy Collins, his thoughts on her and their imminent breakup. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" would become the supergroup's signature song.
As the decade drew to a close, Crosby, Stills & Nash were joined by Stills' former Buffalo Springfield bandmate Neil Young for a second album due out in 1970. The group was now known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young due to the latter's joining.
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| Derek Taylor, 1969. |
NEMS Enterprises, Epstein's record company, and Northern Songs Ltd., operated by Dick James, were absorbed into Apple; the latter had ownership of the Lennon/McCartney catalog, and by mid-1969, when Apple had been sorted out, Northern Songs had been absorbed into Apple.
None of that would have been possible if it weren't for the assistance of physicist/engineer Baron Richard Beeching, who was infamously known across the United Kingdom for overhauling the country's railway system in the early 1960s with the Beeching Report. Despite the infamous reputation he left behind, Lord Beeching had the power and command John Lennon liked in a businessman, but he also had the honesty Paul McCartney desired.[1]
Lennon went with Brain Epstein to meet with the former chairman of British Railways. Whilst the full details were not disclosed at the time, Lord Beeching agreed to have a hand in managing Apple Records until the end of 1975. In addition, Apple's management had brought in Lee and John Eastman - Paul's father-in-law and brother-in-law, respectively - as lawyers.
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| Lord Richard Beeching during a press conference regarding Apple Corps Ltd, 1969. |
Geoff Emerick was called in to remove Madras' "mixing console", and it was sold as scrap for a measly five pounds. George Harrison recalled that in retrospect, they should've asked Emerick from the start, feeling as though the Beatles had been cheated out of some of their money. However, the new basement studio had been completed with an eight-track recorder by the end of May, and the first recordings from the studio came from the Radha Krishna Temple, produced by Harrison.
Yellow Submarine and Alice in Wonderland were both released under the Apple Films banner, managed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who directed the latter film, though both were distributed by United Artists. Magical Mystery Tour, containing footage of the Beatles' infamous 1967 University Tour with Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, was also released under Apple Films, as were A Hard Day's Night and Help! for future releases. When asked if Apple Films was going to focus exclusively on the Beatles, Lindsay-Hogg said that "there are plans to expand our horizons in the near future. The Beatles will not be are sole focus for Apple Films, but we'd love to do more concert films."
The biggest focus, of course, was the artists of Apple Records.
The Artists of Apple Records
 |
| The Beatles, April 1969. |
Originally known as the Iveys, Pete Ham and Tom Evans would re-brand the group as Badfinger by the end of 1969, named for the working title of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Bad Finger Boogie". They were joined by Joey Molland following Ron Griffiths' departure, and their first album under Apple was Maybe Tomorrow, with Magic Christian Music to be released at the start of 1970; the name came from the fact that three tracks were featured in The Magic Christian, most notably "Come and Get It", written and produced by Paul McCartney. It was a Top 10 hit.
Other artists brought in by McCartney were Mary Hopkin with a version of the Russian ballad "Those Were the Days" and the McCartney original "Goodbye", both of which hit #1 in the United Kingdom, and James Taylor, whose biggest hit at the time was "Carolina in My Mind". By the end of 1969, Taylor had recorded his second album, tentatively titled Sweet Baby James.
 |
| Billy Preston and George Harrison, 1969. |
Apart from bringing in his new wife Yoko Ono, whose first single on the label was "Remember Love"/"Don't Worry Kyoko", John Lennon had brought in reggae group Hot Chocolate, who did their own version of "Give Peace a Chance". He also signed up pianist Elton John, having offered to co-produce his first album, Empty Sky.
There were also a few bands not discovered by the Beatles themselves; their roadie Mal Evans discovered London-based group Smile, consisting of guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist/lead singer Tim Staffell, performing at a small pub in London. Their first single under Apple was "Doing All Right", which was a modest Top 40 hit in the United Kingdom. Another group, White Trash, was brought to Apple by ex-Shadows drummer Tony Meehan.
One of the most interesting inclusions to the roster was Fleetwood Mac, having formed back in 1967 by John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, Harrison's brother-in-law through Pattie Boyd's sister Jenny. Fleetwood and McVie were both in favor of signing up for Apple Records, and soon joined following their departure from Blue Horizon, where they recorded their self-titled debut and Mr. Wonderful. Their first album released under Apple was Then Play On, and also their last with Peter Green as a member. Fleetwood Mac's first singles under Apple were "Albatross", "Man of the World", and "Oh Well", all of which were in the Top 10 in the United Kingdom, with "Albatross" hitting #1.
 |
| Crosby, Stills & Nash recording at Apple Studio in the basement of 3 Savile Row, 1969. |
Harrison's judgement would prove correct when Crosby, Stills & Nash, the group's self-titled debut, hit the Top 20 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The two singles off of the album, Nash's "Marrakesh Express" and Stills' "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", were also big hits. The former was initially written for the Hollies when Nash was a member, but it was rejected for not being commercial enough, and the latter was written about Stills' girlfriend at the time, Judy Collins, his thoughts on her and their imminent breakup. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" would become the supergroup's signature song.
As the decade drew to a close, Crosby, Stills & Nash were joined by Stills' former Buffalo Springfield bandmate Neil Young for a second album due out in 1970. The group was now known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young due to the latter's joining.
Apple Records discography, August 1968 - December 1969
Albums
- Yellow Submarine by The Beatles - 2 August 1968 (#3 UK, #1 US) [EMI]
- Wheels of Fire by Cream - 9 August 1968 (#3 UK, #1 US)
- Beatles '68 by The Beatles - 22 November 1968 (#1 UK and US) [EMI]
- James Taylor by James Taylor - 6 December 1968 (#6 UK, #2 US)
- Under the Jasmin Tree by The Modern Jazz Quartet - 6 December 1968
- Alice in Wonderland by The Beatles - 31 January 1969 (#1 UK and US) [EMI]
- Postcard by Mary Hopkin - 21 February 1969 (#3 UK, #20 US)
- Is This What You Want? by Jackie Lomax - 21 March 1969 (#4 UK, #18 US)
- Home by Delaney & Bonnie - 1 May 1969
- Crosby, Stills & Nash by Crosby, Stills & Nash - 29 May 1969 (#14 UK, #5 US)
- Empty Sky by Elton John - 6 June 1969 (#6 US)
- Maybe Tomorrow by Badfinger (as The Iveys) - 4 July 1969 (#30 UK, #23 US)
- Back in Your Safely Beds by The Beatles - 7 July 1969 (#2 UK, #14 US) [EMI]
- The Original Delaney & Bonnie by Delaney & Bonnie - 7 July 1969 (#40 US)
- Blind Faith by Cream - 28 July 1969 (#1 UK and US)
- That's the Way God Planned It by Billy Preston - 22 August 1969 (#3 UK, #10 US)
- Then Play On by Fleetwood Mac - 19 September 1969 (#6 UK)
- Get Back by The Beatles - 26 September 1969 (#1 UK and US) [EMI]
- Space by The Modern Jazz Quartet - 24 October 1969
- "Hey Jude" / "Revolution" by The Beatles - 26 August 1968 (#1 UK and US) [EMI]
- "Those Were the Days" / "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by Mary Hopkin - 26 August 1968 (#1 UK, #2 US)
- "Sour Milk Sea" / "The Eagle Laughs at You" by Jackie Lomax - 26 August 1968 (#6 UK, #19 US)
- "White Room" / "Those Were the Days" by Cream - 20 September 1968 (#28 UK, #6 US)
- "Maybe Tomorrow" / "And Her Daddy's a Millionaire" by Badfinger (as The Iveys) - 15 November 1968 (#22 UK, #40 US)
- "Albatross" / "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues" by Fleetwood Mac - 22 November 1968 (#1 UK)
- "Carolina in My Mind" / "Taking It In" by James Taylor - 14 February 1969 (#14 UK, #8 US)
- "Badge" / "Well All Right" by Cream - 21 March 1969 (#18 UK, #13 US)
- "Goodbye" / "Sparrow" by Mary Hopkin - 28 March 1969 (#2 UK, #13 US)
- "Man of the World" / "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonite" by Fleetwood Mac - 3 April 1969 (#2 UK)
- "The Ballad of John and Yoko" / "Two of Us" by The Beatles - 25 April 1969 (#1 UK, #8 US) [EMI]
- "New Day" / "Fall Inside Your Eyes" by Jackie Lomax - 9 May 1969
- "King of Fuh" / "Nobody Knows" by Brute Force - 16 May 1969
- "That's the Way God Planned It" / "What About You?" by Billy Preston - 27 June 1969 (#7 UK, #38 US)
- "Marrakesh Express" / "Helplessly Hoping" by Crosby, Stills & Nash - 11 July 1969 (#20 UK, #12 US)
- "Doin' All Right" / "April Lady" by Smile - 11 August 1969 (#35 UK)
- "Get Back" / "Don't Let Me Down" by The Beatles - 25 August 1969 (#1 UK and US) [EMI]
- "Hare Krishna Mantra" / "Prayer to the Spiritual Masters" by Radha Krishna Temple - 29 August 1969
- "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" / "Long Time Gone" by Crosby, Stills & Nash - 5 September 1969 (#11 UK, #5 US)
- "Oh Well Part 1" / "Oh Well Part 2" by Fleetwood Mac - 26 September 1969 (#2 UK)
- "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" / "Trash Can" by White Trash - 26 September 1969 (#28 UK)
- "Come Together" / "Old Brown Shoe" by The Beatles - 6 October 1969 (#4 UK, #1 US) [EMI]
- "Give Peace a Chance" / "Living Without Tomorrow" by Hot Chocolate Band - 10 October 1969
- "Remember Love" / "Don't Worry Kyoko" by Yoko Ono - 20 October 1969
- "Come and Get It" / "Rock of All Ages" by Badfinger - 5 December 1969 (#1 UK, #5 US)
- Badfinger
- The Beatles
- Cream
- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
- Delaney & Bonnie
- Fleetwood Mac
- Mary Hopkin
- Elton John
- Jackie Lomax
- Yoko Ono
- Billy Preston
- Smile
- James Taylor
- Doris Troy
Departed Apple Artists
- Brute Force
- Hot Chocolate
- Radha Krishna Temple
- White Trash
Various Artists - The Best of Apple Records Vol. 1: 1968-1969
Released: 22 August 2008
Recorded: June 1968 - September 1969
Producer: Various
Track listing
Hey Jude [The Beatles]
Those Were the Days [Mary Hopkin]
Sour Milk Sea [Jackie Lomax]
Albatross [Fleetwood Mac]
Carolina in My Mind [James Taylor]
Badge [Cream]
King of Fuh [Brute Force]
Piece of My Heart [Delaney & Bonnie]
Those Were the Days [Mary Hopkin]
Sour Milk Sea [Jackie Lomax]
Albatross [Fleetwood Mac]
Carolina in My Mind [James Taylor]
Badge [Cream]
King of Fuh [Brute Force]
Piece of My Heart [Delaney & Bonnie]
That's the Way God Planned It [Billy Preston]
Doin' All Right [Smile]
Hare Krishna Mantra [Radha Krishna Temple]
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes [Crosby, Stills & Nash]
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight [White Trash]
Give Peace a Chance [Hot Chocolate]
Remember Love [Yoko Ono]
Come and Get It [Badfinger]
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes [Crosby, Stills & Nash]
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight [White Trash]
Give Peace a Chance [Hot Chocolate]
Remember Love [Yoko Ono]
Come and Get It [Badfinger]
In 2008, to celebrate Apple's 40th anniversary, the first compilation album celebrating the best of the label's recording artists during the 1960s was released. This was to be the first of a planned series of twelve compilation albums celebrating the history of Apple Records from its founding in 1968 all the way to 2007. Although some fans questioned some the choices for the album - for example, choosing "Those Were the Days" over "Goodbye" - the compilation was still a commercial success, topping the charts in the United Kingdom but stalling at #2 in the United States.
Footnotes
- Lord Beeching was originally considered to assist the Beatles with their financial affairs after Brian Epstein's death, but he was rejected in favor of Allen Klein.
Author's Comments
Not really a lot I can talk about here. For the Apple discography, the album portion is complete, but the singles portion is not. This is intentional because not every single released under the Apple banner will reach the Top 40. Think of the singles portion as the sort of cream of the crop. Chapters like these will showcase how Apple is developing, as well as showcase any changes made to the roster since its founding in 1968. As for the first Best of Apple volume, I didn't list the sources for each song cause hey, it's a compilation album. Some of them can be found on Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records, though, which inspired this series of twelve.
This looks like a real nice ending to Phase 1. Can't wait to see what will happen next!
ReplyDeleteIt's not the end of Phase One; there's still five chapters to go.
DeleteOops. Apologies. It just looked like an ending because you've reached the end of the 60's and this was more of a summarising post of previous information rather than new albums. Sorry.
DeleteIt's fine; a real summary will come up after chapter 20, taking us to the end of 1970.
Delete