Scott Freiman, Beatles expert, wows packed crowd at Greenwich Library

Last Thursday, more than 250 people attended a fascinating lecture given by Scott Freiman, the esteemed Beatles luminary and expert as well as composer, on the history and stories behind the legendary Beatles 1967 hit song, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ presented by the Friends of Greenwich Library at its expansive Berkley Theater.

Aptly titled ‘A Trip Through Strawberry Fields,’ this multimedia lecture given by Freiman, a Westchester County resident who is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Qwire Inc. and had taught at Yale University about this topic, involved the use of rare audio and video to explain the intricacies of how this legendary group came to create the iconic 20th-century song ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.’

“I love to talk about the creative process of the Beatles. Strawberry Fields is a great song and moving song and it definitely has a mood to it that touches you,” said Freiman, who is also creator of ‘Deconstructing the Beatles,’ a series of multimedia presentations on the composition and production techniques of the Beatles that premiered on Maryland Public Television last February. “I always have an emotional reaction to this song.”

Those in attendance certainly seemed to have an emotional reaction to the impact of this presentation as well.

“It was amazing. To have an opportunity like this here in our hometown has been terrific and we’re so grateful to those who run the Greenwich Library for hosting this event,” said Anna Marrone of Cos Cob, who was attending the event with Tony, her husband.

The Beatles, who were extraordinary performers, were a unique act in that, aside from having Ringo Starr as an ideal drummer for their group, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison wrote all of their songs and lyrics.

In 1962, the Beatles soared to the top of the charts with their first single, ‘Love Me Do’ and began their massive U.S. tour in which they famously had performed on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ and then followed up with scores of other television and radio appearances, as well as live concerts and guest spots all around the country.

During this time, the Beatles churned out the hit after hit as they continued to become further evolved with their songwriting and singing.

By 1966, having grown tired of the touring and traveling, the Beatles made the decision to stop doing live appearances and to instead, write and record their songs in the studio from that point on.

In the fall of 1966, John Lennon, who was at that point, spending time in Almeria, Spain, had written the first version of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ with a demo titled ‘It’s Not Too Bad’ in which he sings about Strawberry Fields, a Salvation Army-run girls orphanage in Liverpool that was located near his aunt’s house where he spent much of his time growing up.

“He would hear the kids playing and having a great time,” said Freiman, whose wife, Allison Fine, is an award-winning author and President of every.org and with whom they have three children, Maxwell, Zachary and Jackson. “John Lennon sees the time he remembers at Strawberry Fields as fun with no pressure.”

Meanwhile, when Lennon had gone back to London that November and introduced the song to everyone at the EMI Records Ltd. studio, including his fellow band members as well as George Martin, the group’s legendary producer and arranger and Geoff Emerick, their Sound Engineer, the whole contingent loved it.

With the first take of the song being recorded on November 26th, 1966 and the final one, Take 26, being laid down on December 21st of that year, this talented and dedicated contingent collectively corroborated to make this song the cultural and musical force it has since gone on to become in the world.

“It’s a very different edit working with [all the tape] and it sounds like it’s all meant to be,” said Freiman. “It is amazing job done by George Martin, Geoff Emerick and the Beatles.” (Martin and Emerick worked with EMI Records Ltd., a British multinational record label that is known as one of the most culturally significant popular music labels that is owned by Universal Music Group.)

Freiman further elaborated on the talents and skills of Martin and Emerick.

“The reason these recordings sound so good years later is because of these two guys,” said Freiman of Martin and Emerick. “The great thing about George Martin was that he was willing to experiment, like the Beatles.”

In January 1967, the Beatles made a video (then called a ‘promotional film’) of the song in which they all can be seen walking through a field together along with a sweet Old English Sheepdog, who which, most likely, belonged to one of the musicians, producers or crew at that time.

“The Beatles were one of the first bands to use videos as a promotional tool,” said Freiman, adding that the video premiered on Dick Clark’s iconic 20th century musical television show, ‘American Bandstand’ in March 1967. “The Beatles helped lead the way with ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.”

For more information on Freiman or to purchase one of his ‘Deconstructing the Beatles’ DVDs, please look into his website: scott@deconstructingthebeatles.com

“A Hard Day’s Night” – The Beatles in 1964

The year was 1963, and British rock and roll was booming. Cliff Richard. The Rolling Stones. Frank Ifield. Gerry and the Pacemakers. And, of course, The Beatles….

But not in America.

Despite the best efforts of U.K. labels, managers, and promoters, British artists were largely ignored by their American counterparts. Capitol Records, one of the largest and most successful American labels, was owned by British label EMI, and therefore got first crack at releasing music from their parent label. Although EMI released all of Capitol’s recordings, Capitol refused to return the favor.

The primary culprit in Capitol’s refusal to issue EMI music was Dave Dexter, chief of A&R for Capitol Records. Dexter came from the world of jazz, and he didn’t care much for rock and roll music – especially from Great Britain. When he first heard the Beatles, he couldn’t stand them. In particular, Dexter found John Lennon’s harmonica on “Love Me Do” cringeworthy.  With Capitol choosing to ignore the Beatles, EMI was forced into releasing Beatles music in America on smaller independent labels like Vee-Jay and Swan.

Thus begins the story told in Deconstructing A Hard Day’s Night – the extraordinary period in Beatles history spanning from the end of 1963 to the summer of 1964. During these eight months, the group launched the British Invasion that would include not only The Beatles, but The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Who, The Kinks, and so many more great bands. It was during this same period that The Beatles revolutionized movie musicals by creating one of the most celebrated films of all time, A Hard Day’s Night.

Although conquering America was always on the Beatles’ wish list, it was hard to imagine how it might happen. After all, not even British hitmaker Cliff Richard had success in the States. A spark was lit by a teenage girl who saw a news story making fun of The Beatles and a Washington DJ who managed to sneak a copy of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” on the air in December of 1963.  The fire was fed by the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, who managed to book the band on The Ed Sullivan Show – a deal he made over a handshake. Eventually, Capitol Records capitulated, agreeing to release “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and their first American album, Meet the Beatles. Ultimately, it was the Beatles’ music and personalities that won over the American audience and led to American Beatlemania.

By April of 1964, The Beatles occupied the top five positions of the Billboard Hot 100 with seven more of their songs in the top 100 (as well as several Beatles-related novelty records by other artists). The song at number one was “Can’t Buy Me Love,” a Lennon-McCartney, blues-inspired rocker with a hooky chorus that begins the song – a suggestion from Beatles producer, George Martin.

“Can’t Buy Me Love” would play during a pivotal moment in their new film A Hard Day’s Night where the Beatles, having burst out of the confined spaces in which they have found themselves during the first half of the film, celebrate their newfound freedom by goofing around in an open field. Dick Lester’s direction, featuring long helicopter shots and handheld close-ups, helped Beatles fans share in the Beatles’ ebullience.

“Can’t Buy Me Love” is one of seven new songs featured in the film, including “I Should Have Known Better,” “And I Love Her,” and the title track. A Hard Day’s Night was the first example of a jukebox musical with all the songs written by two of their stars (and a score written by their producer). Even more remarkable, Lennon and McCartney wrote another six songs to fill out the B-side of their next album, including such classics as “Things We Said Today,” “You Can’t Do That,” and “I’ll Be Back.”

When A Hard Day’s Night was released in July of that year, along with the companion album, The Beatles achieved international super-stardom at a level that had never been seen before. They had conquered America and the silver screen. Their music was being celebrated by fans and critics alike. But there was more to come. Before the year was out, they would write and record “I Feel Fine,” their next #1 single, release a second #1 album, Beatles for Sale, and lay the plans for their second feature film, Help!

'Oh Darling'—Malibu Celebrates Abbey Road's 50th Anniversary

Famed “Beatleologist” Scott Freiman

'Oh Darling'—Malibu Celebrates Abbey Road's 50th Anniversary

A full house at City Hall remembers and learns the secrets of Abbey Road from speaker series presenter Scott Freiman.

It was a joy to see Malibu City Hall packed with 200 people for an event unrelated to the Woolsey Fire. The Malibu Speaker Series presentation,“Deconstructing Abbey Road,” last Wednesday evening didn’t have an open seat. The crowd was thirsty for details regarding the iconic Beatles album Abbey Road, the last recorded by the foursome, which is celebrating its 50-year anniversary release this month. 

Guest speaker Scott Freiman called himself the world’s third-foremost Beatles expert. (Only Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr could possibly beat him in trivia.) And the evening did start with this trivia question/riddle: How is it that the Beatles never recorded one song at the famous Abbey Road studio? More on that later.

Freiman—who donated half his speaking fee to Armory of Harmony, a nonprofit that collects guns and melts them down into instruments—called Abbey Road an album of contradictions since there was much collaboration among the Liverpool lads even though John Lennon was absent for most of the sessions. 

“It’s filled with great emotions for me,” the Beatleologist declared. “It’s got the sadness of the times and with the impending Beatles breakup. It’s got humor with ‘Octopus’ Garden’ and great optimism with ‘Here Comes the Sun.’” He called it “an exquisite album from top to bottom.”

The audience definitely agreed. Freiman carefully deconstructed each song.

While breaking down the George Harrison-penned “Something,” the audience was spellbound. Not a peep, whisper or rustle of noise was made when the gorgeously produced classic recording describing a new love was played over loudspeakers. The audience was simply mesmerized. The first line of the song was borrowed from an early song by James Taylor, who was then signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records label. Freiman noted Taylor was unconcerned about the purloined lyrics, since his song itself ended with the Beatles refrain “I feel fine.” “Something” is one of the most covered songs in the Beatles canon.

While breaking down McCartney’s shouter “Oh! Darling,” Freiman detailed its doo-wop origins while taking cues from Fats Domino and a nonsubtle vocal tribute to Paul favorite Little Richard.

“Because” came about after Lennon heard his wife Yoko Ono playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata on the piano, turning it sideways with iconic three-part harmony (itself tripled with overdubs) to craft another enduring classic. For real Beatles nerds, Freiman spent much time playing rarely heard audio of in-studio chatter and isolated tracks. The crowd got an insider’s taste of what is must have been like to be in the studio with the legendary band, including a snippet of Harrison asking the other Beatles for help with lyrics to “Something.” The audience giggled when hearing Lennon’s voice suggest “attracts me like a cauliflower.” 

The iconic cover for the album was also discussed. There was talk of calling the platter “Everest” after a cigarette brand and taking a photo of the group on the world’s highest peak. Ringo Starr nixed that and suggested simply taking a picture right outside the studio on Abbey Road. They had only 10 minutes in which street traffic was stopped to get the shot. Freiman noted the poignancy of the photo of Harrison, McCartney, Starr and Lennon walking across Abbey Road as the band finished recording for the final time as a group—walking away from the studio where the magic happened. 

Luis Lopez, another Beatles expert in the audience who produces KLOS’s Breakfast with the Beatles, commented, “The music is so accessible. They deal with themes everybody goes through. It’s a packed house tonight for an album that came out 50 years ago. How many other bands will that happen to?”

The second half of Abbey Road concludes with the famous medley of songs and fragments woven together by McCartney and the group’s legendary producer George Martin. 

Abbey Road, of course, concludes with the famous couplet, “And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make”—or, almost concludes, with “Her Majesty” bursting through after the medley’s end. 

Oh, and that riddle. The Beatles made their recordings at EMI studios on Abbey Road. The name was later changed to Abbey Road Studios to honor its fabled history.

Editor's note: The print version misspells Scott Freiman's last name. It has been corrected for this online version.