The Making of “Tomorrow Never Knows” by the Beatles (Video)

Earlier this week the TV series Mad Men allegedly paid a quarter of a bajillion dollars to use this song as part of the soundtrack to the latest episode.

It’s a fantastic piece of music, and one of my favorite Beatles songs, no question.

This article in Slate explains it best:

The track changed the rules of pop in several ways. It uses just one chord and a single drum beat throughout. The recording features such heavy studio processing, experimentation, and random interference that it could not, at the time, be played live—and, according to George Martin, it could never be recorded in the same way again.

 

The Making of “Tomorrow Never Knows” by the Beatles

 

Love how George describes the group as “just a little dancehall band.”

Also love how he looks like he’s sat in the Palace of Versailles circa-Marie Antoinette. Is that really a sculpted brass eagle to his right and a giant golden fish-shaped umbrella stand to his left?