Lady Madonna 2243623 226100605 2008-07-16T20:44:49Z Thijs!bot 1392310 robot Adding: [[it:Lady Madonna]] {{otheruses3|Madonna}} {{Infobox Single | Name = Lady Madonna | Cover = 10_ladymadonna.jpg | Artist = [[The Beatles]] | B-side = "[[The Inner Light (song)|The Inner Light]]" | Released = [[15 March]] [[1968]] ([[United Kingdom|UK]])<br/>[[18 March]] [[1968]] ([[United States|US]]) | Format = [[gramophone record|7" single]] | Recorded = [[Abbey Road Studios]], <br />[[3 February]]-[[6 February]] [[1968]] | Genre = [[Rock and roll]] | Length = 2:16 | Writer = [[Lennon/McCartney]] | Label = [[Parlophone]] ([[United Kingdom|UK]])<br/>[[Capitol Records]] ([[United States|US]]) | Producer = [[George Martin]] | Chart position = * #1 <small>([[UK Singles Chart]])</small> * #1 <small>(CAN [[CHUM Chart]])</small> * #4 <small>(US [[Billboard Hot 100]])</small> | Last single = "[[Hello, Goodbye]]"<br>(1967) | This single = "Lady Madonna"<br>(1968) | Next single = "[[Hey Jude]]"<br>(1968) }} "'''Lady Madonna'''" is a song by [[The Beatles]], written mostly by [[Paul McCartney]] and credited to [[Lennon/McCartney]]. In March 1968 it was released as a [[single (music)|single]], backed by "[[The Inner Light (song)|The Inner Light]]". The song was recorded at [[Abbey Road Studios]] during sessions on [[3 February]] and [[6 February]] [[1968]] before the Beatles left for [[India]]. This single was the last release by the band on [[Parlophone]] in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], where it reached #1, and [[Capitol Records]] in the [[United States|U.S.]], where it reached #4. All subsequent releases, starting with "[[Hey Jude]]" in August of 1968, were released on their own label [[Apple Records]], under [[EMI]] distribution, until the late 1970s, when Capitol and Parlophone re-released old material. ==Inspiration== The piano playing on this song was inspired by 1950s rock/blues pianist, [[Fats Domino]]. McCartney recalled in 1994, "'Lady Madonna' was me sitting down at the piano trying to write a bluesy boogie-woogie thing ... It reminded me of Fats Domino for some reason, so I started singing a Fats Domino impression. It took my voice to a very odd place."<ref name="miles1p449-450">{{cite book |first=Barry |last=Miles |authorlink=Barry Miles |title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now |year=1997 |pages=449-450 |publisher=Henry Holt & Company |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-5249-6}}</ref> Domino himself would cover the song later in 1968, and it would become his most recent U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]] hit (peaking at exactly #100). The song and in particular the [[Introduction (music)|introduction]] are similar to [[Humphrey Lyttelton]]'s "[[Bad Penny Blues]]" from 1956.<ref name="lewisohn1p132">{{cite book |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |authorlink=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=132 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0-517-57066-1}}</ref> [[John Lennon]] helped write the lyrics.<ref name="sheff1p201">{{cite book |first=David |last=Sheff |title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono |year=2000 |pages=201 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=0-312-25464-4}}</ref> The line "see how they run" was included after his suggestion (and was a theme that had been used in the previous year's "[[I Am the Walrus]]"). ==Saxophone solo== {{Disputed-section|date=April 2008}} The [[saxophone]] solo was played by British jazz musician and club owner [[Ronnie Scott]]. The mix used in the single had much of Scott's saxophone removed, but the versions on [[Anthology 2]] and [[LOVE (The Beatles album)|Love]] feature a more prominent use of Ronnie's solo, at the end of the song. In a recent [[BBC]] documentary, Timewatch, McCartney explained the decision behind this saying that at the time, Scott had not been impressed that his music had been hidden behind other instruments, so McCartney had decided to fix it with the most recent mix. ==Other releases== A variation of this song can be heard on McCartney's ''[[Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road]]'' [[DVD]] (PBS Great Performances). McCartney calls it "An Old Lady in New Clothes". "Lady Madonna" has been a regular staple on various [[compilation album]]s released by [[Apple Records]]: *''[[Hey Jude (album)|Hey Jude]]'', 1970 *''[[1967-1970]]'', 1973 *''[[20 Greatest Hits]]'', 1982 *''[[Past Masters, Volume Two]]'', 1988 *''[[Anthology 2]]'', 1996 (takes 3 and 4) *''[[1 (The Beatles album)|1]]'', 2000 *''[[Love (The Beatles album)|Love]]'', 2006 ==''LOVE'' version== A remixed version of this song was featured in the [[Cirque de Soleil]] show ''LOVE''. In this form, the saxophone solo is played almost un-accompanied at the very beginning of the song. After the first two verses, it changes to the riff fron "[[Hey Bulldog]]" in A minor, with a remixed version of the [[Hammond Organ]] solo from "[[I Want You (She's So Heavy)]]". It then returns to the original form of the song, and at the very end a saxophone solo outro is played. ==Cover versions== *[[Fats Domino]] [[cover version|covered]] the song in 1968. McCartney says he may have told [[record producer]] [[Richard Perry]] that it was "based on Fats," leading to Domino's version.<ref name="miles1p449-450"/> *"Lady Madonna" was performed by [[Romania]]n band [[Transsylvania Phoenix|Phoenix]] on their first EP, ''Vremuri'' ("Old times", 1968). The [[Electrecord]] studios didn't trust the sales success of the band's own songs ("Vremuri" and "Canarul"). This was a common practice in [[communist countries]] and the predominant way [[Western world#Cold war|western]] music was reaching there officially. *A song titled "Lady Madonna" appears on [[Japan]]ese band [[Love Psychedelico]]'s debut album, although it is not a cover of the Beatles song. *"Lady Madonna" was covered twice by Norwegian musician [[Øystein Sunde]], including a bluegrass instrumental version. *[[The Punkles]] did a Punk cover of this song on their second album "Punk!". *[[Aretha Franklin]] covered the song, and her version served as the theme song to ''[[Grace Under Fire]]'' from 1993-1997. *[[Beatallica]] has a mashed song named "Leper Madonna" which is a combination between "Lady Madonna" and [[Metallica]]'s "Leper Messiah". It's included on their album [[Beatallica (album)|Beatallica]], also known as "''The Grey Album''". *Covered by Finnish a capella band Rajaton. ==Cultural references== {{Trivia|date=June 2008}} * This song can be heard in the [[arcade game]] ''[[Bomb Jack]]'', at its second stage. * It was used as the opening theme song on the [[television show]] ''[[Grace Under Fire]]'' for several seasons. {{start box}} {{succession box | before = "[[The Legend of Xanadu]]"<br>by [[Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich]] | title = [[List of number-one singles (UK)|UK number one single]] | years = [[March 27]] [[1968]]<br>(2 weeks) | after = "[[Congratulations (song)|Congratulations]]" by [[Cliff Richard]] }} {{succession box | before= "[[(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay]]" by [[Otis Redding]] | title = United World Chart [[Number-one hits of 1968 (World)|number one single]] | years = [[April 13]] [[1968]] - [[May 25]] [[1968]] | after = "[[Delilah (1968 song)|Delilah]]" by [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] }} {{end box}} ==Notes== <references/> == External links == *[http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/lm.html Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Lady Madonna"] {{The Beatles singles}} {{The Beatles}} [[Category:The Beatles songs]] [[Category:1968 songs]] [[Category:1968 singles]] [[Category:Parlophone singles]] [[Category:Fats Domino songs]] [[Category:Number-one singles in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Number-one singles in Switzerland]] [[Category:Songs produced by George Martin]] [[de:Lady Madonna]] [[es:Lady Madonna]] [[fr:Lady Madonna]] [[it:Lady Madonna]] [[ja:レディ・マドンナ]] [[pt:Lady Madonna]]