Free as a Bird
"Free as a Bird" | ||||
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Single by the Beatles | ||||
from the album Anthology 1 | ||||
B-side | "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" | |||
Released | 4 December 1995 | |||
Recorded | c. 1977
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Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 4:26 | |||
Label | Apple | |||
Songwriter(s) | Original composition by Lennon; the Beatles version by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey[1] | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
The Beatles singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Free as a Bird" on YouTube | ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Free as a Bird" is a single released in December 1995 by English rock band the Beatles. The song was originally written and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon. In 1995, 25 years after their break-up and 15 years after Lennon's murder, his then surviving bandmates Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr released a studio version incorporating the demo.
The single was released as part of the promotion for The Beatles Anthology video documentary and the Anthology 1 compilation album. For the Anthology project, McCartney asked Lennon's widow Yoko Ono for unreleased material by Lennon to which the three remaining ex-Beatles could contribute. "Free as a Bird" was one of three such songs (along with "Real Love" and, decades later, "Now and Then") for which McCartney, Harrison, and Starr contributed additional instrumentation, vocals, and arrangements. Jeff Lynne, who had worked with Harrison on Harrison's album Cloud Nine and as part of the Traveling Wilburys, co-produced.
The song peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also became a top-ten hit in at least 10 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Hungary and Sweden. It won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and was the Beatles' 34th top-ten single in the United States, giving the group at least one Top 40 hit in four different decades.
The accompanying music video was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka. Shot from the point of view of a bird in flight, it includes allusions to numerous Beatles songs.
Origins
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/1_West_72nd_Street_%28The_Dakota%29_by_David_Shankbone.jpg/200px-1_West_72nd_Street_%28The_Dakota%29_by_David_Shankbone.jpg)
McCartney, Harrison and Starr originally intended to record some incidental background music, as a trio, for the Anthology project, but later realised, according to Starr, that they wanted to record "new music".[2] According to Harrison, they had always agreed that if one of them was not in the band, the others would never replace him and agreed that the "only other person that could be in it was John."[3]
McCartney then asked Ono if she had any unreleased recordings by Lennon, so she sent him cassette tapes of four songs.[4] "Free as a Bird" was recorded by Lennon in 1977,[5] in his and Ono's Dakota building apartment in New York City, but was not complete. Lennon introduced the song on the cassette by imitating a New York accent and saying, "Free—as a boid" (bird).[6][7] The other songs were "Grow Old With Me", "Real Love", and "Now and Then".[8] Ono says that it was Harrison and former Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall who initially asked her about the concept of adding vocals and instrumentation to Lennon's demo tapes. Ono stated: "People have said it was all agreed when Paul came over to New York to induct John into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it was all settled before then. I just used that occasion to hand over the tapes personally to Paul."[9]
McCartney went to Ono's home after the induction ceremony at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to listen to, and receive, the Lennon demo tapes; he recalls the meeting with Ono:
She was there with Sean ... and she played us a couple of tracks. There were two newies on mono cassettes which he did at home ... [s]o I checked it out with Sean, because I didn't want him to have a problem with it. He said, "Well, it'll be weird hearing a dead guy on lead vocal. But give it a try." I said to them both, "If it doesn't work out, you can veto it." When I told George and Ringo I'd agreed to that they were going, "What? What if we love it?" It didn't come to that, luckily. I said to Yoko, "Don't impose too many conditions on us, it's really difficult to do this, spiritually. We don't know, we may hate each other after two hours in the studio and just walk out. So don't put any conditions, it's tough enough."[10]
Ono recognised that she was now in a position of bringing the band back together after previously being criticised for splitting them up.[11]
During an interview for the Anthology project, McCartney revealed that he was surprised to learn that Lennon's demos of "Grow Old With Me" and "Real Love" had already been released and were well known by Lennon fans.[6][12] Starr admitted that when he first listened to the recording he found it very emotional.[13]
Recording
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Jeff_Lynne_April_2016.jpeg/220px-Jeff_Lynne_April_2016.jpeg)
George Martin, who had produced most of the Beatles' 1960s recordings, turned down an invitation to produce "Free as a Bird" due to hearing problems (though he subsequently managed to produce and direct the Anthology series). Harrison suggested Jeff Lynne (founding member of Electric Light Orchestra and co-producer of Harrison's 1987 album, Cloud Nine) as producer, and work commenced at McCartney's studio in February 1994.[14] Harrison expressed a desire to work with Lynne or he would not involve himself in the project.[15] Geoff Emerick and Jon Jacobs were chosen to engineer the new tracks.
The original 1977 tape of Lennon singing the song was recorded on a mono cassette, with vocals and piano on the same track.[16] They were impossible to separate with the technology at the time, so Lynne had to produce the track with voice and piano together, but commented that it was good for the integrity of the project, as Lennon was not only singing occasional lines, but also playing on the song.[17]
Although Lennon had died in 1980, Starr said that the three remaining Beatles agreed they would pretend that Lennon had "gone for lunch", or had gone for a "cup of tea".[18] The remaining Beatles recorded a track around Lennon's basic song idea, but which had gaps they had to fill in musically.[19] Some chords were changed, and the arrangement was expanded to include breaks for McCartney and Harrison to sing extra lines. Harrison played slide guitar in the solo.[20]
The Beatles' overdubs and production were recorded between February and March 1994 in Sussex, England, at McCartney's home studio.[21] Harrison ended the song with a homage to George Formby, a Northern English comedian who the Beatles were fans of, adding a slight coda with a strummed banjo ukelele,[22] and an archive recording of John Lennon saying "turned out nice again!", Formby's catchphrase, played backwards.[23] The final result sounds like "made by John Lennon", which, according to McCartney, was unintentional and was only discovered after the surviving Beatles reviewed the final mix.[24] When Starr heard McCartney and Harrison singing the harmonies, and later the finished song, he said that it sounded just like them [the Beatles]. He explained his comment by saying that he looked at the project as "an outsider".[25] Lynne fully expected the finished track to sound like the Beatles, as that was his premise for the project, but Harrison added: "It's gonna sound like them if it is them... It sounds like them now."[26]
McCartney, Harrison and Starr all agreed that the recording process was more pleasurable than when they later recorded "Real Love" (the second song chosen for release); as the latter was almost finished, they had very little input, and felt like sidemen for Lennon.[27]
Music video
[edit]The music video for "Free as a Bird" was produced by Vincent Joliet and directed by Joe Pytka and contains, from the point of view of a bird in flight, many references to Beatles songs, such as "Penny Lane", "Paperback Writer", "A Day in the Life", "Eleanor Rigby", "Helter Skelter", "Piggies", "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Doctor Robert", and "The Fool on the Hill". It has been estimated that the video includes between 80 and 100 allusions to the Beatles' story, music and lyrics.[28] Although the bird can be heard at the beginning of the video, it is never seen. Neil Aspinall (Apple Records executive at the time) said that this was because no-one could agree on what kind of bird it should be.[29] Pytka had to send his ideas to McCartney, Harrison and Starr, as well as Ono, to make sure they all agreed before he could proceed with the filming of the video. Derek Taylor (ex-Apple Records executive) sent a two-page letter to Pytka confirming that he could proceed, and personally encouraged and supported Pytka's ideas.[30] The video was filmed in as many authentic locations as possible: Penny Lane was made by Pytka's art department to look as it was in the 1950s, and other locations filmed were The Liver Building, and Liverpool Docks (as a reference to Lennon's father Alfred Lennon).[31]
Although Pytka fixed the ideas on a storyboard, he abandoned it as soon as filming began, and followed ideas based on what angles and perspectives the Steadicam camera produced. One instance was the filming of the car crash, which Pytka filmed for hours from above, but realised that a Steadicam shot on the ground was a much better idea.[32] The inclusion of the car registration number 847 BHN on a police van in the "A Day in the Life" crash sequence alludes to John and Yoko's commitment to the case of James Hanratty, hanged in 1962 for the A6 murder (then a contentious case, but proven guilty by DNA evidence in 2002). Archiveage was used by imposing it on scenes shot by Pytka, who utilised a greenscreen stage to digitally blend it into the finished film, such as Paul's Old English Sheepdog in the graveyard, and the elephant in the ballroom procession scene.[33] The elephant was put in last, as Aspinall phoned Pytka and said that Starr liked the scene, but insisted an elephant be put in it, which Pytka later did, as he had already put a sitar in at the request of Harrison.[34] Apart from the Steadicam shots, Pytka used a Russian-made Akela-crane for sweeping overhead shots, such as the Abbey Road zebra crossing shot at the end, as well as a remote-controlled toy helicopter with a camera added to it for intricate aerial shots.[35] To make it more interesting, two Blue Meanies make cameos.
Harrison played the ukulele in the studio for the song, and asked to appear as the Formby-style ukulele player seen only from behind at the very end of the video. Pytka resisted this, as he felt it would be wrong for any contemporary members of the Beatles to appear on screen. Pytka later stated that it was "heartbreaking" that Harrison had not played the role, particularly after Harrison's death in 2001 and upon discovering that the ukulele was not a sample as Pytka had assumed.[36] The video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 1997.[37]
2015 mix
[edit]On 6 November 2015, Apple Records released a new deluxe version of the 1 album in different editions and variations (known as 1+). Most of the tracks on 1 have been remixed from the original multi-track masters by Giles Martin. Giles Martin, with Jeff Lynne, also remixed "Free as a Bird" to accompany the music video for the DVD and Blu-ray releases. The remix of "Free as a Bird" cleans up Lennon's vocal further, and uses a different take of Harrison's vocal phrase, replacing the lyric "whatever happened to the life that we once knew" with "whatever happened to the love that we once knew". The clip of Lennon saying "turned out nice again" was switched to play forward. McCartney's lead vocal, buried in the original mix to serve as a double-track for Lennon's own vocal, can now be heard more prominently in the second verse.
Critical reception
[edit]"Free as a Bird" marked the first time a single containing new material had been released under the Beatles' name since "The Long and Winding Road" in the United States in 1970.[6][7] The promotional video was broadcast during episode one of The Beatles Anthology that aired on ITV in the UK and ABC in the US.[38][39]
"Free as a Bird" was greeted with mixed reviews. Its release was criticised by Caroline Sullivan in The Guardian as a publicity gimmick, exploiting the Beatles brand, and owing less to the Beatles than to Lynne.[40] Andy Gill in The Independent called the song "disappointingly low-key. ... George's guitar weeps gently enough when required, but the overall effect is of a dirge."[41] Ben Willmott from NME viewed it as "a mournful dirge of a tune, overlaid with a grimly slick guitar on loan from Dire Straits and with Macca wanting to know Can we really live without each other?".[42] Ian MacDonald, writer of Revolution in the Head, declared it to be a "dreary song" that stood no comparison with the Beatles' sixties music.[14] Chris Carter, host of Breakfast with the Beatles, commented: "I would value any song (especially if it was great) performed by John, Paul, George and Ringo, no matter how (or when) it was recorded."[43] "Free as a Bird" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1997.[44]
Release and chart performance
[edit]"Free as a Bird" was premiered on BBC Radio 1 in the early hours of 20 November 1995 and was sent to US contemporary hit radio stations the following day.[45][46] It was released as a single on CD, cassette, and 7-inch vinyl in the UK on 4 December 1995,[47] two weeks after its appearance on the Anthology 1 album. The single sold 120,000 copies in its first week, entering the UK Singles Chart at No. 2. It remained on the chart for eight weeks.[48] In the US, the song was released on 12 December 1995 and reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the Beatles' 34th Top 10 single in America.[49][7][50] It was the group's first Top 10 song in the U.S. since 1976, and also their first new single since their final number one hit on that chart in 1970.
The CD and vinyl cover art is by John Lennon, taken from his 1964 book In His Own Write.[51]
Formats and track listings
[edit]All songs written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, except where noted.
- 7-inch UK: R6422 / USA: NR-58497
- "Free as a Bird" – 2:42
- "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" – 3:02
- Music recorded 28 November 1967 at EMI Studios, London; Christmas greetings recorded 6 December 1966 at EMI Studios, London; originally released on the Beatles' 1967 fan club Christmas record, Christmas Time Is Here Again!
- CD UK: CDR6422 / USA: CDP 58497
- "Free as a Bird" – 4:26
- "I Saw Her Standing There" (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:51
- Recorded 11 February 1963 at EMI Studios, London
- Produced by George Martin
- This version (take 9) was recorded after the version released on the album Please Please Me (take 1). The introductory count-in from take 9 was edited onto the start of take 1 for the album.
- "This Boy" (Lennon–McCartney) – 3:17
- Recorded 17 October 1963 at EMI Studios, London
- Produced by George Martin
- Two incomplete versions (takes 12 and 13), which both break down into laughter.
- "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" – 3:02
Personnel
[edit]According to Ian MacDonald:[52]
- John Lennon – lead vocals, piano
- Paul McCartney – lead and harmony vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, piano
- George Harrison – lead and harmony vocals, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, ukulele
- Ringo Starr – backing vocals, drums
Charts
[edit] Weekly charts[edit] | Year-end charts[edit]
|
Certifications
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI)[85] | Silver | 200,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[86] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
[edit]Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | 21 November 1995 | Contemporary hit radio | [46] | |
United Kingdom | 4 December 1995 |
| Apple | [47] |
United States | 12 December 1995 |
| [49] | |
Japan | 1 January 1996 | CD | [87] |
References
[edit]- ^ Anthology 1 (Media notes). The Beatles. Apple Records. 1995. CDP 7243 8 34445 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:00:50–0:01:04) Starr talking about the idea of recording incidental music for the Anthology project.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:01:25–0:01:46) Harrison talking about their agreement that if one of them wasn't there, they could be not replaced, and that only Lennon could be the fourth Beatle. There was some consideration however to having comedian Lee Hurst on lead vocals but Hurst was too busy with his television career to accept the offer.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:02:07-0:02:17) Starr talking about McCartney asking Ono for unreleased songs by Lennon.
- ^ "Bands tempted by reunion lucre". BBC News. 20 December 2001. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ a b c Corliss, Richard (24 June 2001). "Free as a Beatle". Time. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- ^ a b c "The Beatles' biography". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
- ^ Everett 1999, p. 8
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 346
- ^ Du Noyer, Paul, "They Were the Most Brilliant, Powerful, Lovable Pop Group on the Planet ... But Now They're Really Important", Q Magazine, December 1995, in Sawyers 2006, p. 179
- ^ Norman, Philip. Paul McCartney: The Life (2016)
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:02:17–0:02:28) McCartney talking about how Lennon versions of "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" were released and heard by fans even before the surviving ex-Beatles had heard them.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:02:28–0:03:10) Starr talking about how emotional the recordings were.
- ^ a b MacDonald 1997, p. 331.
- ^ Doggett, Peter (2011). You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup. New York, NY: It Books.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:03:10–0:03:32) McCartney talking about the quality of Lennon's demo cassette.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:03:33–0:04:00) Lynne talking about the quality of, and working with Lennon's demo cassette.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:02:28–0:03:10) Starr talking about the absence of Lennon during the recordings.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:03:33) Starr talking about the musical gaps in the song.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:03:50) Harrison talking about changing chords and arrangement in the song.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:06:47) McCartney talking about recording and finishing the song.
- ^ Pytka, Joe (September 2020). "Free as a Bird". Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ Montagne's, Renee (26 November 2002). "Paul McCartney Gets Back to The Beatles". NPR. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
- ^ O'Hagan, Sean (18 September 2005). "Macca beyond". The Observer. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:06:26) Starr talking about how the finished song sounded "just like them".
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:06:47) Lynne and Harrison talking about how the finished song sounded "just like them" (the Beatles).
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Recording Free as a Bird and Real Love – 0:08:09) McCartney talking about recording "Real Love".
- ^ Ingham, Chris (2003). The Rough Guide To the Beatles. Rough Guides. p. 93. ISBN 1-84353-140-2.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video – 0:00:17) Pytka and Aspinall talking about the idea of a bird and song titles on the "Free as a Bird" video.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video – 0:01:06) Pytka talking about the agreement for his ideas.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video – 0:02:01) Pytka talking about the locations.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video – 0:04:44) Pytka talking about the storyboard. The video alludes to Lennon and Yoko's involvement in the campaign for James Hanratty, hanged in 1962, by using the murder car's registration for a police van in the A Day in the Life crash scene – 847BHN.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video – 0:05:50) Pytka talking about the greenscreen.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video – 0:07:06) Pytka talking about the elephant and the sitar.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video – 0:07:38) Pytka talking about the Akela crane and the remote-controlled toy helicopter.
- ^ The Beatles Anthology DVD 2003 (Special Features: Making the Free as a Bird video – 0:10:16) Pytka talking about Harrison and the ukulele player.
- ^ "Awards Winners & Nominees: Best Short Form Video". Official Grammys Website. 31 August 2023.
- ^ Gilmore, Mikal (5 December 2005). "Lennon Lives Forever". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- ^ "Sir Paul McCartney – Singer/Songwriter". BBC h2g2. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (21 November 1995). "Do they believe in yesterday?". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
- ^ Gill, Andy (22 November 1995). "Money can buy you love". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 June 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
- ^ Willmott, Ben (25 November 1995). "Singles". NME. p. 40. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ Rense, Rip (21 August 2005). "One More Beatles Song, or Should They Just Let It Be?". The Rip Post. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
- ^ "Awards Winners & Nominees: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal". Official Grammys Website. 31 August 2023.
- ^ Ingham, Chris (2003). The Rough Guide to the Beatles. Rough Guides. p. 92. ISBN 1-84353-140-2.
- ^ a b "Selected New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1121. 17 November 1995. p. 37. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ a b "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 2 December 1995. p. 48. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ British Hit Singles and Albums. Guinness World Records. 2006. p. 49. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b Rosen, Craig (16 December 1995). "More Beatles Product Promised in Wake of 'Anthology' Series" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 50. p. 116. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Free as a Bird chart position". Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
- ^ "John Lennon book art, poems going to auction". USA Today. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ MacDonald 1997, p. 330.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2864." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2859." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 1. 6 January 1996. p. 11. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 1. 6 January 1996. p. 9. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "The Beatles: Free as a Bird" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 5. 3 February 1996. p. 13. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (9.12. '95 – 15.12. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 9 December 1995. p. 58. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Free as a Bird". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 51, 1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird". VG-lista. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles – Free as a Bird". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "The Beatles Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ "The Beatles Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
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- ^ "The Beatles Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ "Årslista Singlar, 1995" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
- ^ "RPM Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "RPM Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
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- ^ "American single certifications – The Beatles – Free as a Bird". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
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Bibliography
[edit]- The Beatles (2003). The Beatles Anthology (DVD). Apple Records. ASIN B00008GKEG.
- The Beatles (2002). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-3636-4.
- Everett, Walter (1999). The Beatles As Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512941-0.
- Harry, Bill (2000a). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated. London: Virgin. ISBN 978-0-7535-0481-9.
- Harry, Bill (2000b). The John Lennon Encyclopedia. London: Virgin. ISBN 978-0-7535-0404-8.
- Harry, Bill (2002). The Paul McCartney Encyclopedia. London: Virgin. ISBN 978-0-7535-0716-2.
- MacDonald, Ian (1997). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties. Pimlico / Random House. ISBN 978-0-7126-6697-8.
- Sawyers, June Skinner, ed. (2006). Read the Beatles: Classic and New Writings on the Beatles, Their Legacy, and Why They Still Matter. USA: Penguin (Non-Classics). ISBN 978-0-14-303732-3.