Scott Freiman's first record was by the Partridge
Family. An uncle quickly rectified that, lending the 10-year-old copies
of the Beatles'
Sgt. Pepper and the White Album, and Freiman has been hooked ever since.
Working as a composer and engineer, the 49-year-old has developed a
series of well-received lectures on the music of the Beatles, including
"Deconstructing
Sgt. Pepper," "Looking Through a Glass Onion" (about the White Album) and "Tomorrow Never Knows" (on
Revolver).
It's been a lifetime of fanaticism in the making: "I mentioned what I
was doing to a high school friend, and he said, 'Oh, I always knew
you'd be doing that,'" Freiman says.
Having presented his lectures for the employees of Facebook and
Google (with Pixar upcoming), Freiman will teach a course on the music
of the Beatles at Yale, his alma mater, this fall. On June 13th he hosts
"A Trip Through Strawberry Fields" at New York's 92nd Street Y Tribeca
location.
Freiman's focus is strictly on the band's music. "If someone says, 'I
have a napkin that John Lennon once used,' that doesn't interest me,"
he says. "I'm all about the creative process." Click through for 10
things you may not have known about the Beatles' music.
By James Sullivan
Paul Played Lead Guitar on 'Ticket to Ride'
Known as a
great bass player, Paul McCartney played lead guitar on several Beatles
tracks, including "Ticket to Ride," "Taxman," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band" and "Good Morning Good Morning."
The 'Kazoos' on 'Lovely Rita' Were Played on Pocket Combs Wrapped in EMI Toilet Paper
The toilet paper was "very thin," says Freiman, "because EMI was cheap. They sent Mal Evans to the bathroom to get it."
The Bridge on 'A Day in the Life' Was Inspired By 'Hey Joe'
Paul
McCartney was a big fan of Jimi Hendrix from the guitarist's arrival in
the U.K. Hendrix's "Hey Joe" directly inspired the descending bridge on
"A Day in the Life"; Freiman identifies it as a "quadruple plagal
cadence."
The Intro to 'I Feel Fine' Was Borrowed from Bobby Parker's 'Watch Your Step'
John Lennon
was a fan of the Louisiana R&B guitarist Bobby Parker, whose hit
song 'Watch Your Step' the Beatles played on stage in 1961 and 1962. The
riff inspired "I Feel Fine." "Led Zeppelin used the riff even more
obviously, on 'Moby Dick,'" says Freiman.
'Her Majesty' Originally Appeared As Part of the 'Abbey Road' Medley
When the 23-second "Her Majesty" was excised from the medley that makes up side two of Abbey Road,
it was tacked onto the end of a tape. Hearing it pop up there, the band
members decided to leave it as a "hidden" track on the album. "It's
missing the last chord because that's the first chord to 'Polythene
Pam,'" says Freiman.
John and George Sang 'Frere Jacques' on 'Paperback Writer'
As part of the background vocals.
George Played Bass on 'She Said She Said'
It's a rare ensemble Beatles recording that Paul McCartney did not participate on.
Paul Played Drums on 'Back in the U.S.S.R.'
"Dear Prudence," too.
Good Morning Good Morning' Was Inspired By a Corn Flakes Commercial
With crowing rooster.
