Mr. Moonlight Lyrics

Written by: Johnson Recorded: 14 August; 18 October 1964 Producer: George Martin Engineer: Norman Smith A staple of The Beatles' live act for some years, Mr Moonlight was recorded by the group during sessions for their fourth LP, Beatles For Sale. The song was written by Roy Lee Johnson. The first known recording was by blues pianist Piano Red, recording as Dr Feelgood and the Interns. It was released as the b-side of Dr Feelgood, a minor R&B hit in 1962. In the studio The Beatles attempted the song twice in the studio in 1964. The first time was on 14 August, when they recorded four takes - the last of these was for a time considered the best. Anthology 1 contains takes one and four. The first broke down almost immediately; take four was complete, and featured a frantic slide guitar solo by George Harrison. The Beatles re-made the song on 18 October. Again they recorded four takes, the last two of which featured McCartney's somewhat gaudy Hammond organ solo. Despite a blistering vocal from John Lennon, Mr Moonlight is held by many Beatles fans as one of the least successful songs in their catalogue. Released: 4 December 1964 (UK), 15 December 1964 (US) John Lennon: vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar Paul McCartney: harmony vocals, bass, Hammond organ George Harrison: harmony vocals, lead guitar, African drum Ringo Starr: percussion Available on: Beatles For Sale Anthology 1