#the white album
“Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Live it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I’ve taken for granted.” - Sylvia Plath
Women in the Literary Scene.
The Beatles, White Album, John Lennon, Apple Records, 1968. Included photograph by John Kelly.
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I went down a bit of a rabbit hole tracking down some old Francie Shwartz interviews. I am fascinated by whatever toxic concoction of bad vibes was going on in Summer 1968 Beatledom, and while I’m very aware Francie is an unreliable source, I’m insatiably curious. It was hard to find this stuff so I’m posting some links here in case it helps people who want to read it, too. I feel like she consistently gets close to saying things but then kind of veers around saying anything substantive. There are also points in interviews where it reads like she is very informed by other people’s writings on the band and general received wisdom. This got very long, read more under the cut.
The Beatles recording Revolution No. 1 during the White Album sessions circa May 31, 1968 at Abbey Road Studio Three. Photography by Tony Bramwell ©(http://www.thebeatles.com/).
The Beatles recording “Revolution #1” at Abbey Road Studio No. 3, during the White Album sessions, circa June 4, 1968. Also pictured are George Martin, Mal Evans, and Francie Schwartz amongst others in the studio that day. Photography by Leslie Bryce © Beatles Book Photo Library (http://www.beatlesbookphotolibrary.com/)
Joan Didion
Joan Didion with daughter, Quintana
George Harrison Invited Me To Live With Him
NOTE: This is a great video where Kevin Harrington, now famously known as the guy with ginger hair in Get Back, describes what it was like living in Friar Park when George and Pattie first moved there.
“George was a humanitarian. He was lovely – he really was lovely. I felt an affection for George mainly because when I first started with them on the double White Album, I sort of walked in [and] my second night – the first night I was invited in just by Mal [Evans] because I’d done this shopping thing. So the night I actually did start with them, I’m like hiding – sort of standing by this box on a stand which I now know is called the monitor, and George is just sitting on the floor playing the guitar or whatever. Everybody’s sort of getting their stuff together, and he just said, ‘Kevin, come over. Sit down, tell me all about yourself.’ That chilled me out a lot.” - Kevin Harrington
