Episode 4: Michelle

Stroll Down Penny Lane

Episode 4 Michelle – where voodoo meets the devil!

In this chapter in our podcast series we explore the creation story for this song, Michelle. We also uncover how Paul McCartney’s bass playing was transformed by his experience in the recording of Michelle. Finally, in this episode we will explore an unusual subject – the voodoo and the devil in this song, Michelle.

So settle in for a story that will knock your socks off!

Songs

Michelle, Lennon and McCartney; performed by Stroll Down Penny Lane (Joe Anastasi, Mike Sugar, Winter, Mark Abbott)

Twenty Flight Rock, Eddie Cochran, performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

Getting Closer, Paul McCartney; performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

La Mer, Charles Trenet, Albert Lasry; performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

La belle Vie; Sacha Distel, with French lyrics by Jean Broussolle; performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

That’s Amore; Harry Warren and Jack Brooks; performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

Money Honey, Jesse Stone; performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

Jailhouse Rock, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller; performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

La Vie En Rose, Édith Piaf (lyrics), Louiguy and Marguerite Monnot;; performed by Stroll Down Penny Lane (Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar)

Purple Haze, Jimmy Hendrix; performed by Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

Till There Was You, Meredith Wilson; performed by Stroll Down Penny Lane (Joe Anastasi, Mike Sugar, Winter, Mark Abbott)

I Put a Spell on You; Screamin’ Jay Hawkins; performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

Another Day, Paul McCartney; performed by Stroll Down Penny Lane (Joe Anastasi, Mike Sugar, Winter, Mark Abbott)

Patience, Guns N’ Roses; performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

Moment of Truth, Bill Conti, Dennis Lambert & Peter Beckett; performed by Joe Anastasi and Mike Sugar, of Stroll Down Penny Lane

Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Richard Wagner

Tristan und Isolde, Richard Wagner; Conductor: Wilhelm Furtwangler; Philharmonia Orchestra

The End, Lennon and McCartney; performed by Stroll Down Penny Lane (Joe Anastasi, Mike Sugar, Winter, Mark Abbott, Matt Twain)

Sources:

Recording the Beatles; Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew; Curvebender; 2006.

Beatlesongs; William J. Dowling; Simon & Shuster, New York, 1989.

Here, There and Everywhere, Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey; Gotham Books; New York; 2006

Paul McCartney, Many Years from Now; Barry Miles; Secker &Warburg; 1997

McCartney, Christopher Sandford; Carroll and Graf Publishers; 2006

Paul McCartney, the Life, Philip Norman; Little Brown and Company; 2016

Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles, Dominic Pedler; Omnibus Press; 2003

The Beatles; Hunter Davis; McGraw-Hill; 1968

The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions; Mark Lewisohn; Hamlyn (a division of the Octopus Publishing Group); 1988

All You Need Is Ears, George Martin, with Jeremy Hornsby; St. Martin's Griffin; 1979

This is Your Brain on Music, The Science of a Human Obsession; Daniel J. Levitin; Plume; 2007

Paul McCartney After the Beatles; Understanding Michelle; Adrian Allan; 2020

Michelle History; Beatlesbooks.com

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, Peter Guralnick, Little Brown, 1994

Careless Love, the unmaking of Elvis Presley, Peter Guralnick, Little Brown, 1999

Music Historian Peter Guralnick — Serious Jibber-Jabber with Conan O'Brien; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZY7L0p2Gj0

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins; Songfacts

I Put a Spell on You, Wikipedia.

Dominant seventh sharp ninth chord, Wikipedia.

What is the ‘Hendrix Chord’? Fender; articles, tech-talk; Purple Reign: the ‘Hendrix Chord’

McCartney: Yesterday … and Today, Ray Coleman; Boxtree Ltd; 1998.

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