54 Years of Abbey Road

This week is the anniversary of "Abbey Road", so let's check out some fun facts about the album's creation, behind the scenes drama, song inspiration and more! Enjoy.

1. It was techinically the band's last album

"Abbey Road" is the eleventh studio album by the band, although "Let It Be" was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970.

Check out my piece on "Let it Be" here: https://www.thehotchildinthecity.com/post/let-it-be

2. 'Come Together' had a copyright infringement lawsuit

In late 1969, 'Come Together' was the subject of a copyright infringement claim brought against Lennon by Big Seven Music, the publisher of Chuck Berry's 'You Can't Catch Me'.

The band had wanted to pay homage to Berry so Lennon and McCartney deliberately slowed the song down and added a heavy bass riff in order to make the song more original.

The case was settled out of court in 1973.

3. John had basically quit the band by this point

John Lennon did not perform on several tracks.

By the time the album was released Lennon had left the group

Publicly Paul McCartney became the first to quit. Possibly out of spite?

4. George Harrison was inspired by James Taylor

Harrison was inspired to write 'Something' during sessions for the White Album by listening to label-mate James Taylor's 'Something in the Way She Moves' from his album James Taylor.

5. Frank Sinatra considered 'Something' “the greatest love song ever written”

Although he said it was his favorite Lennon–McCartney composition...yikes.

6. Ringo and friends

'Octopus’ Garden' was inspired by a trip Ringo took with his family to Sardinia aboard Peter Sellers's yacht after Starr left the band for two weeks during the sessions for the White Album.

Harrison helped write the melodic structure although Ringo was given full songwriting credit. The pair would later collaborate as writers on Starr's solo singles 'It Don't Come Easy', 'Back Off Boogaloo' and 'Photograph'.

7. 'Here Comes the Sun' is the most streamed Beatles song on Spotify

'Here Comes the Sun' was written by Harrison in Eric Clapton's garden in Surrey during a break from stressful band business meetings.

"'Here Comes the Sun' was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: 'Sign this' and 'sign that.' Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever, by the time spring comes you really deserve it. So one day I decided I was going to sag off Apple and I went over to Eric Clapton's house. The relief of not having to go see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric's acoustic guitars and wrote 'Here Comes the Sun' - George Harrison

8. 'Because' was inspired by Beethoven

“I was lying on the sofa in our house, listening to Yoko play ... Suddenly, I said, 'Can you play those chords backward?' She did, and I wrote 'Because' around them. - John Lennon

9. Fleetwood Mac Inspiration

"At the time, 'Albatross' (by Fleetwood Mac) was out, with all the reverb on guitar. So we said, 'Let's be Fleetwood Mac doing Albatross, just to get going.' It never really sounded like Fleetwood Mac... but that was the point of origin." - George

And the foreign parts are nonsense.

"We just started joking, you know, singing 'cuando para mucho.' So we just made up... Paul knew a few Spanish words from school, you know. So we just strung any Spanish words that sounded vaguely like something. And of course we got 'chicka ferdy' in. That's a Liverpool expression. Just like sort – it doesn't mean anything to me but (childish taunting) 'na-na, na-na-na" - John Lennon

And The working title was 'Here Comes the Sun King', but was shortened to 'Sun King' to avoid confusion with Harrison's 'Here Comes the Sun'.

10. 'Polythene Pam' was a real person

The name 'Polythene Pam' came from the nickname of an early Beatles fan from the Cavern Club days, named Pat Hodgett, who would often eat polythene. She became known as "Polythene Pat". She said in an interview, "I used to eat polythene all the time. I'd tie it in knots and then eat it.”

11. 'She Came in Through the Bathroom' window is based on fans sneaking into McCartney’s house

McCartney said the song was inspired by a fan, Diane Ashley, who hung around outside and later broke into McCartney's St John's Wood home. “We were bored, he was out and so we decided to pay him a visit. We found a ladder in his garden and stuck it up at the bathroom window which he'd left slightly open. I was the one who climbed up and got in.” - Diane Ashley

12. And finally Golden Slumbers is based on a poem

It was based on Thomas Dekker's 17th-century poem of the same name set to new music. Dekker was an English Elizabethan dramatist and pamphleteer.

McCartney uses the first stanza of the original poem, with minor word changes

“Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,

Smiles awake you when you rise;

Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry,

And I will sing a lullaby”

And here I am on Abbey Road in 2021