Chapter 20: Bridge Over Troubled Water (May - December 1970)

26 May - 19 November 1970

Phil Spector, 1970.

Before landing themselves on the set of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, John Lennon and George Harrison were both busy putting out some tracks old and new on record with famed producer Phil Spector, known for his famous Wall of Sound for artists such as the Ronettes and the Crystals. The pair had met up with Spector at Harrison's home at Friar Park, reciting a large quantity of material to the producer. One of the tracks that ended up being co-written by Lennon and Harrison was the Bob Dylan-influenced "Apple Scruffs", a tribute to their diehard fans keeping a vigil outside of Apple Studios to see if they could come across a Beatle during the day.

PHIL SPECTOR: "John and George each had different ideas as to how they wanted to record their music; John opted for a more rough and raw approach whilst George ended up going for more bombastic and grand. Both were considering a pair of solo albums for the end of 1970, using some of Apple's finest artists and session musicians as sidemen." (1972)

JOHN LENNON: "The three musicians George and I frequently shared were Ringo, our Hamburg buddy Klaus Voormann and then-Apple artist Billy Preston - he played the grand piano in 'God' and Hammond organ in 'Instant Karma'." (1980)

RINGO STARR: "My commitments to the drums weren't really as big as they could've been; half the time, they had Alan White to fill in for me because of my work in Willy Wonka. Of course, I still contributed a cover of 'Fool to Care' with Klaus arranged and an old-fashioned country tune by Buzz Rabin." (Anthology, 1995)

George Harrison, 1970.

Whilst John largely worked with Ringo and Klaus, recording seven tracks fairly quickly ("Mother", "God", "Isolation", "Hold On", "Well Well Well", "I Found Out", and "Remember"), four others were all completely solo - "Working Class Hero", "My Mummy's Dead", "Look at Me", and "Love", the latter of which had Phil Spector on piano. With George, Ringo contributed drums to "Wah-Wah" (the first song recorded during the sessions), "My Sweet Lord", "Isn't It a Pity", "All Things Must Pass", and "Beware of Darkness". Other session musicians for George's tracks included members from Cream and Badfinger.

Production had taken a bit longer than it should've; George occasionally put recording on hold to make regular visits to Liverpool to see his mother Louise, who had been diagnosed with cancer. Lennon promised to help George with production, which was just as well given Spector's erratic behavior, and had been given notes from George as to how his tracks should sound. Louise Harrison succumbed to cancer on 7 July at the age of 59.

Lennon had more or less completed his tracks by the time that filming for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory had begun on 31 August in Germany, where he was set to portray the character of Mr. Slugworth, one of Wonka's chocolate making rivals. Although his role was not as big as Ringo's, he had more presence than George and Paul put together, who had two scenes each and both requested to have their own scenes filmed back to back. In McCartney's case, it was so he wanted to be with his wife Linda and their daughters Heather and baby Mary. Harrison soon returned to England to complete overdubs for his own tracks.

Ringo Starr as Willy Wonka on the set for the Chocolate Room in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with the leading actors for the parents and children on tour. The movie was filmed in 1970 and released June 30, 1971.

Apart from Ringo portraying the titular character himself in Willy Wonka, he was joined by an ensemble of comedians and actors such as Jack Albertson (Grandpa Joe), Leonard Stone (Mr. Beauregarde), Nora Denney (Mrs. Teavee), Ursula Reit (Mrs. Gloop), as well as a reunion with Roy Kinnear (Mr. Salt), who'd made an appearance in Help! as Algernon and How I Won the War as Clapper alongside Lennon. The child actors chosen for the film were Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop), Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregarde), Paris Themmen (Mike Teavee), and Peter Ostrum as the hero, Charlie Bucket.

ROY KINNEAR: "When I heard that Ringo was in the film, I thought to myself, 'That's the third time I've played alongside a Beatle or all of them. I can't seem to get away from them!'" (1983)

JULIE DAWN COLE: "None of us [Michael, Denise, Paris, Peter, herself] had any idea about starring alongside Ringo. Off camera, we were kind of anxious around him and John. Peter, meanwhile, had at least one scene with George and Paul each, meaning he was around all four of them, but individually. I never blamed him, to be honest. The Beatles are and always will be respected musicians." (2001)

RINGO STARR: "All five of them were good kids, even Paris [Themmen] despite the trouble he sometimes caused on set. To break the ice with them, John recited some of his writings from In His Own Write and I played drums as the soundtrack to his ramblings. It all worked out in the end." (Anthology, 1995)

JOHN LENNON: "Ringo might be what many consider cuddly, but he's not so different to me, Paul and George when you get to know him; he can be witty and savvy when he wishes to be. He improvised quite a bit of his dialogue and actions to make himself appear unpredictable. When Ringo [as Wonka] first turns up, he appears to be a cripple, but then he does a quick little dance as he approaches the gates. You never knew if he was lying or being honest." (1981)

Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson) and Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) during the "I've Got a Golden Ticket" sequence in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 1971.

The principal photography primarily took place in Munich, Bavaria in West Germany due to production costs, with external shots of Wonka's chocolate factory being filmed at the gasworks of Stadtwerke München. Outside of Bavaria, some comedic scenes related to the Wonka Bar hysteria were filmed, one of them being an English explorer climbing a mountain to ask a guru for the meaning of life and hands him a Wonka Bar. No golden ticket is found, to which the guru remarks, "Life is a disappointment."[1]

Although director Mel Stuart found the scene hilarious, few didn't understand the joke, and even a test screening with a psychologist wasn't any better. Lennon, however, thought the scene was funny as well and insisted that he keep it in the film, to which Stuart did.

13 November 1970

John Lennon, 1970.

As production for Willy Wonka was wrapping up, Lennon soon returned to England to quickly record a track he had called "Instant Karma". Phil Spector was once again in the producer's seat, and George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voormann, and Billy Preston were all in the studio with Lennon. After the recording was done, Lennon wanted to release it as a single, but not under the Beatles banner.

GEORGE HARRISON: "Under Spector's suggestion, we ended up putting both of our albums together and made it a double album; ten songs by John, nine by me, and two by Ringo. Shortly after we did 'Instant Karma', we had a jam session in the studio that made up the third disc, even recovering a jam Ringo did in Nashville back in June. I think we should've stuck to our guns and made two solo albums. I mean, 'My Sweet Lord' and 'God' being on the same album is just plain ridiculous." (1990)

JOHN LENNON: "We called ourselves The Ladders. By then, George and I were just getting fed up with Paul being pushy, telling us what we can and can't do. And we thought, 'Fuck it. We can talk about whatever the hell we want.' Religion, politics, that sort of thing. He was holding us back." (1985)

23-24 November 1970

Linda and Paul McCartney, 1970.

PAUL McCARTNEY: "I was eager to get back into the studio with the lads when I suddenly came across a review for a single under Apple called 'Instant Karma' by The Ladders. I was surprised; I'd never heard of such a group before and thought that they were a group signed onto Apple whilst we did Willy Wonka in Germany. I went to the record store, bought the single and then I played it on my record player. After those two piano chords began playing, I heard what I thought was a voice that sounded like John Lennon. Scratch that; it was John Lennon. I then played the B-side, 'Beware of Darkness' - nice little contrast, by the way - and it was George who was singing it. And Ringo was playing the drums on both tracks and none of them informed me about this. I was indignant, to say the least, and went to complain to them about this the next day." (2007)

GEORGE HARRISON: "Paul called us into a meeting the day after 'Instant Karma' hit the stores demanding for an explanation as to why we released a single under a different banner without his acknowledgement. John and I were anticipating this, and so I was the one who spoke up about our plans. 'Look, Paul,' I said, 'it's nothing personal, but you've been holding me and John back from saying what we want to, and you've given me the short stick. John recognizes my talent as a singer and songwriter, but you've been overlooking that in favor what you and you only want to perform. We've made this record and, well, we're splitting from you. We're not the same people we were in 1962 or even 1969. We're putting the new album out next month and wish you the best. Peace and Hare Krishna.' And then one by one, we all left, leaving Paul alone." (1988)

11 December 1970

The Ladders - Shine On

Released: 11 December 1970

Recorded: 26 May - 13 November 1970

Producer: Phil Spector

Track listing[2]

Side A

Instant Karma
My Sweet Lord
I Found Out
Working Class Hero
I'd Have You Anytime

Side B
I'm a Fool to Care
Love
Look at Me
Behind That Locked Door
Isolation
Isn't It a Pity

Side C

Wah-Wah
Mother
Hold On
Beaucoups of Blues
Apple Scruffs
Awaiting on You All

Side D
Remember
Let It Down
God
All Things Must Pass
It's Johnny's Birthday [hidden track]

Side E

Plug Me In
Nashville

Side F
Baby Please Don't Go
Thanks for the Pepperoni
My Mummy's Dead

The sudden announcement that John, George and Ringo were parting ways with Paul to form a new group had shaken the world of rock and roll to the core when a press release from Apple came out two weeks before the release of The Ladders' Shine On. At the time, it was believed that the Beatles would be splitting up due to creative differences; rumors had circulated as early as 1966 following the "bigger than Jesus" controversy in America, but now they seemed to come true.

GEORGE MARTIN: "It was absolutely heartbreaking when the story came out. I thought I'd never get a chance to work with them ever again. I had tons of great memories working with the lads; I knew that in my mind, regardless if they were Quarrymen, Moondogs or Ladders, they were, and always will be, Beatles." (Anthology, 1995)

George and Pattie Harrison at Friar Park, 1970.

Shine On was released as a triple album, with two discs featuring conventional music and the third being what was dubbed Apple Jam. Despite the hefty price tag, it still managed to reach #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Critical reception was mixed; the detractors commented on the lack of focus and consistency ("God" and "My Sweet Lord" on the same album was a point of contention) and the bad quality of the jam disc. On the other hand, the positive reviews pointed out to the highlights throughout the album.

However one would've thought about the album back then, it was clear that John Lennon and George Harrison were revealing their hidden feelings and personal desires through their music, and had allowed each other to make room for their creativity. Even Ringo had a chance to showcase his love for old jazz standards and country music.

The first single, "Instant Karma", topped the charts in the United Kingdom, keeping the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" from reaching that spot, and reached #3 in the United States. Despite the positive message of the single, its contrasting B-side, "Beware of Darkness", was a warning against allowing illusion to get in the way of one's true purpose. The next single, "My Sweet Lord" with "Well Well Well" as its B-side, would be released in January 1971. The most significant song off of Shine On was "God" with the lyrics "I don't believe in Beatles" and "The dream is over".

The 60s dream was indeed over. It was now the beginning of the less idealistic 70s.

END OF PHASE ONE

Footnotes

1. Such a scene was actually filmed for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but it has never been released to the public.
2. All of George's tracks are taken from All Things Must Pass; "Isn't It a Pity" is the shorter version known as "Version Two". John's tracks are sourced from John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band with "Mother" being the single edit found on Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon; "Instant Karma" can also be found on Lennon Legend, and "Baby Please Don't Go" is sourced from John Lennon Anthology. "I'm a Fool to Care" is from Sentimental Journey and the title track and "Nashville Jam" are both from Beaucoups of Blues.

Author's Comments

And so we're finally here; the very last chapter to Phase One. It's been a long journey getting to this point, but we're now about to enter the next phase of the Strawberry Peppers universe, which will take us from 1971 to 1976. There, we'll get even more shocking twists in music history, as well as outside culture such as politics, movies and television.

For now, I've a few questions for you all; did you expect some of the twists I made in history? Have you got any favorite albums I've made? What do you think I could've focused on that I didn't? (One idea that I've got is an alternate Self Portrait.) Feel free to leave your comments below so I can take suggestions to enhance the story, as well as make Phase Two possibly better than Phase One. A full timeline will be made available on Google Docs so you can all access it.

Next post will be what I've got planned for Phase Two.