100 DAYS OF THE BEATLES – TOP 100 SONGS — 86

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NUMBER 86: "Lady Madonna" (McCartney – March 18, 1968)
Single – Side B: "The Inner Light"

 YouTube Video

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (sans footnotes/references) –

"Lady Madonna" is a song by the Beatles, primarily written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney). In March 1968, it was released as a single, backed with "The Inner Light." The song was recorded on 3 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, where it reached #1, and Capitol Records in the United States, where it reached #4. All subsequent releases, starting with "Hey Jude" in August 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." Domino himself covered the song later in 1968 and it became a US Hot 100 hit (peaking at exactly #100). The song, and in particular the introduction, are similar to Humphrey Lyttelton's "Bad Penny Blues" from 1956.

John Lennon helped write the lyrics, which give an account of an overworked, exhausted (possibly single) mother, facing a new problem each day of the week. McCartney explained the song by saying: "'Lady Madonna' started off as the Virgin Mary, then it was a working-class woman, of which obviously there's millions in Liverpool. There are a lot of Catholics in Liverpool because of the Irish connection."  The lyrics miss Saturday and in a 1992 interview, McCartney, who only realized the omission many years later, half-jokingly suggested that, given the difficulties of the other six days, the woman in the song likely went out and had a good time that night.

Saxophone Solo 

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 playing removed, but the versions on Anthology 2 and Love feature a more prominent use of Ronnie's solo, at the end of the song. In a 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". McCartney also performed it during various concert tours. As a result, live versions appear on Wings over America, Paul Is Live, and the two 2002 tour albums, Back in the U.S. (released in North America) and Back in the World (released in other countries).

"Lady Madonna" has been a regular staple on various compilation albums released by Apple Records:

Hey Jude, 1970 

1967–1970, 1973 

20 Greatest Hits, 1982 Past Masters, Volume Two, 1988 
Anthology 2, 1996 (takes 3 and 4) 
1, 2000 
Love, 2006 

Love Version 

A remixed version of this song was featured in the Cirque du Soleil show Love. In this form, the saxophone solo is played almost un-accompanied at the very beginning of the song. The drum intro to "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" can be heard at the beginning and vocal percussion from "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" can be heard during the song. After the first two verses, it changes to the riff from "Hey Bulldog" in A minor, with a remixed version of Billy Preston's Hammond organ solo from "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and parts of Eric Clapton's guitar solo from "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." It then returns to the original form of the song, and at the very end the final Ronnie Scott saxophone solo (not heard on the final master) is played. 

Promotional Films 

Two promotional films were made for "Lady Madonna", which were syndicated to television broadcasting companies. The material was shot on 11 February 1968 in Abbey Road Studios and was distributed by NEMS Enterprises to US and UK TV stations. The films were directed by Tony Bramwell. 

The footage consisted of the Beatles recording in the studio. The song they were working on at the time was "Hey Bulldog." In 1999, the material was re-edited by Apple to create a new promo for "Hey Bulldog."

A cut of the film on The Beatles Anthology includes not only footage of the "Hey Bulldog" session but also a session from roughly five months later where the band rehearsed "Hey Jude" during the White Album sessions. Visible differences in lighting, clothing and hair (both head and facial) indicate the difference in time between the shoots. Some footage of McCartney's session with Cilla Black for the song "Step Inside Love" is also included.

Personnel 

Paul McCartney – vocal, piano, bass, handclaps 

John Lennon – backing vocal, rhythm guitar, handclaps 

George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar, handclaps Ringo Starr – drums, handclaps 
Ronnie Scott – tenor saxophone 
Bill Povey – tenor saxophone 
Harry Klein – baritone saxophone 
Bill Jackman – baritone saxophone 
George Martin – Producer 
Ken Scott – Engineer 
Geoff Emerick – Engineer