Log In
Register
4.32pm
26 January 2017
Offline
Its impossible for me to admit that John isn’t on that track. The placement of his voice is so distinct. Hear Isolation or his home demos from Tittenhurst of “Oh Yoko.” The slight gruffness, minute wavering in pitch, and the way his voice resonates. I’m with @Billy Rhythm. The reason that there is so much confusion is because both sing. That’s all I’ll say on the matter.
The following people thank sir walter raleigh for this post:
Beatlebug"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handles!"
-Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
"We could ride and surf together while our love would grow"
-Brian Wilson, Surfer Girl
4.46pm
15 November 2018
Offline 
I literally don’t even know which ahhhs you guys are talking about 
I’d listen to ADITL to find out but today is Feb. 24 so I don’t have time for such things…
The following people thank 50yearslate for this post:
BeatlebugLove one another.
- - -
(I'm Fiddy, not Walrian)
- - -
2018:
2019: 
2020:
5.10pm
6 May 2018
Offline sir walter raleigh said
Its impossible for me to admit that John isn’t on that track. The placement of his voice is so distinct. Hear Isolation or his home demos from Tittenhurst of “Oh Yoko.” The slight gruffness, minute wavering in pitch, and the way his voice resonates. I’m with @Billy Rhythm. The reason that there is so much confusion is because both sing. That’s all I’ll say on the matter.
It sounds to me that John is singing on this part as well as Paul; I think it’s mainly Paul, but John’s voice is in there too.
The following people thank Richard for this post:
BeatlebugAnd in the end
The love you take is equal to the love you make
6.54pm
Moderators
Members
Reviewers
20 August 2013
Offline Billy Rhythm said
for anyone wishing to do their own “deep analysis”:
they’re both in there… also explains why there is much confusion over who… it’s because they’re both in there…:-)
Have a listen, @50yearslate. I’d say it is John and Paul, but there is that nagging thought in the back of my mind about Paul being able to vary his voice/sound so much. So freakingly talented. But, as Billy Rhythm once said…Beatles voices together are the “closest representation of “the voice of GOD” that humans will ever know” and that ahhh part is pretty other worldly.
The following people thank Ahhh Girl for this post:
50yearslate, Richard, Paul ProleCan buy Joe love! Amazon | iTunes
Check here for "how do I do this" guide to the forum. 
(2017) 
(2018)
6.59pm
15 November 2018
Offline Well I can certainly see why it’s sparked such a debate, I always assumed it was John but now I simply have no idea :/
Love one another.
- - -
(I'm Fiddy, not Walrian)
- - -
2018: 2019: 2020:
3.09am
14 June 2016
Offline 50yearslate said
Well I can certainly see why it’s sparked such a debate, I always assumed it was John but now I simply have no idea :/
I now think it’s a bit of both. But I didn’t think Paul was involved at all in this segment until now.
1.The Beatles 2.Sgt. Pepper 3.Abbey Road 4.Magical Mystery Tour 5.Rubber Soul 6.Revolver 7.Help! 8.Let It Be
9.A Hard Day’s Night 10.Please Please Me 11.Beatles For Sale 12.With The Beatles 13.Yellow Submarine
Most Avid John Fan 2020 and 2021: 
6.16am
6 August 2015
Offline Timothy said
I now think it’s a bit of both. But I didn’t think Paul was involved at all in this segment until now.
John is in there too, that’s correct. He’s doing the very high, typically nasal “Uuuuuhs”, while George is doing some low “uuuuuhs”, both in the background, both inaudible in the main mix.
The main “aaah” is all Paul, from start to finish.
Beatle-fans, of all people, should be familiar with the sound of a “doubled” vocal, since John and Paul did it so often in their earlier years.
The main “aaah” is not the sound of a doubled voice, it’s only one main singer, and according to Giles Martin [edit: Sam Okell], that’s Paul.
I think the main reason so many people are fooled is the very first “aaah”, which sounds a bit nasal like John, since Paul obviously needed the first one to get “into it”. The rest is Paul’s typical chest vocal.
The following people thank Illgetyou for this post:
Wigwam10.10am
4 September 2009
Offline Listening to the Rock Band audio file, I solo’d the vocal track. IMO is is John singing the lead, and Paul’s voice is in the background added for an echo type effect. This is probably why this is such a hot issue.
Thant’s what it sounds like to me.
Years ago I always thought it was John, then it sounded like Paul, then John at the beginning and Paul at the end.
But the end of the day, it’s just a song full of awesomeness from “Sugarplum Fairy” all the way to hearing Ringo’s chair squeak and Paul going, “Shh” (or was it John?).
The following people thank c64wood for this post:
Ahhh Girl, RichardLook Up The Number
5.44pm
6 August 2015
Offline I also put this in the first comment to point out my mistake:
I’m sorry for the inconvenience but I have to apologize: I misread the interview, maybe understandably, because it’s very long and keeps changing between Giles and Sam Okell, something I realized too late.
So the statement I’m referring to is made by Sam Okell, NOT by Giles Martin. He’s on record (watch his “How to play ADITL on guitar” on youtube”) with saying it’s John doing the aaah and Paul doing the high falsettos. Some people say he changed his mind but they might be even referring to this thread, who knows…
For me this is very disappointing and I’m sorry for all the praise I put upon him in this thread – but he’s only human after all… I asked Sam Okell if he ever discussed this with Giles and how he feels about this mistake. I’ll come back if I get an answer! 😉
In the meantime I discovered several other HEATED discussions about this topic, especially on the Steve Hoffmann forums, where you can find even TWO threads about this topic going for over 50 pages, the second one being mostly people asking “Why are we going over this AGAIN?!” – so that sounded familiar! 😉
In both threads the conclusion made by many, even most people is that there is more prove for Paul doing the aaahs (a new one for me was Richard Lush himself answering the question and confirming it was Paul) and the discussion was considered to be over – but, not unlike here in the infamous thread, again and again people popped up with new comments who didn’t read the discussion so everything was discussed AGAIN and in the end the threads were closed and many people STILL felt frustrated because they REALLY believed it’s John and “How is this even a discussion?!”
I have asked myself this question very often, too, but obviously it will REMAIN a discussion until finally someone will ask Paul the question! (Even that won’t silence some people, count on it!)
Happy Easter, everyone!
6.27pm
4 September 2019
Offline Sounds like John doing the aahs to me, rather plainly. Sounds like Paul in the background, doing the oohs and whatnot. George might be in there doing some of the deeper stuff, I don’t know.
It sounds like John’s distinctive nasally voice, I can’t think of an example where Paul sounded like that.
8.58pm
9 February 2012
Offline I think we can easily clear up the whole misunderstanding of who sang the ahhhhh…!
It was Giles Martin.
The following people thank Elmore James for this post:
Beatlebug"'I Dig a Pygmy', by Charles Hawtrey and the Deaf Aids... Phase One, in which Doris gets her oats!"
4.23pm
4 February 2021
Offline
Unless Paul McCartney knocks on my door I am unlikely to be impressed.
2.45pm
26 January 2017
Offline Funny enough when I heard this song the other day at the end of Pepper, (admittedly I was drunk) I found myself saying “yep it’s definitely Paul,” normally I hear more of John. Still throws me for such a loop because of this forum.
The following people thank sir walter raleigh for this post:
kelicopter"The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handles!"
-Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
"We could ride and surf together while our love would grow"
-Brian Wilson, Surfer Girl
8.41am
6 August 2015
Offline Ron Nasty said
Any chance of translating the article, @AppleScruffJunior?
Here finally is a full englisch version.
https://www.soundonsound.com/t…..-club-band
As Joe pointed out in the original thread, Paul FINALLY has been asked the question on a reddit AMA a few months ago – and sadly he blew the chance of giving a definitive answer. He said “I seem to remember we all did it” – which could be used by both sides as confirmation.
It is correct though, there are four voices: Paul’s lead aaah, John’s unmistakable high, nasal falsetto, George doing some lower falsetto and even Ringo with a low octave to the lead aah.
Another gem I found over at the discussions in the Steve Hoffman forum:
Since many people are lead into believing it’s John by the echo-effect, some guy tried to erase most of the effect – and while it’s not completely gone this has helped quite a lot of people to finally hear the truth, it’s Paul!
8.49am
6 August 2015
Offline c64wood said
Listening to the Rock Band audio file, I solo’d the vocal track. IMO is is John singing the lead, and Paul’s voice is in the background added for an echo type effect. This is probably why this is such a hot issue.
That’s one of the major points of the “John”-folks: “He’s singing the part in Rock Band, and that was fact-checked!”
While Paul sadly didn’t give a clear answer in his reddit AMA there was a fascinating story from one of the main fact-checkers who worked on Rock Band – he believed it was Paul but didn’t get his say!
“Hopefully he comes back and answers this, but just in case he doesn’t, I’ll throw in my two cents. I work in the video game industry, and my first job was working on The Beatles: Rock Band. Part of my job was going through all the songs in the game and using as much reference as possible to figure out who was playing/singing which parts, what instruments they were using during that time period, what amps, etc. I and another Beatle nut were meticulous about this because a) working on the game meant the world to us, and b) our research would be reflected by the art and animation in the game forever, so we wanted to get it exactly right. One of the things we had access to was the multitrack audio for the songs. Most of that stuff has leaked out on the internet over the years, but the mixes in game are a bit more condensed than what we had access to because of the nature of how Rock Band works. When I got to A Day In The Life and this part, it was a big bone of contention between me and some of the game leads. I’m 100% sure it’s Paul and to me it’s crystal clear when you hear the isolated vocal track. There’s also a passage in Mark Lewisohn’s book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions where he says the same thing, even addressing the confusion that it might be John. I made my case as strongly as I could for as long as I could, but at that stage of the game’s development, the animation department had already done the facial animation for John and wouldn’t be able to change it in time, so it shipped with the incorrect Beatle “singing” the part. It’s one of my greatest professional regrets, honestly, but I’ll die on that hill that it’s Paul singing that part.”
So obviously even among the Rock Band staff there was confusion about who did the part…
9.00am
6 August 2015
Offline Dark Overlord said
Great interview but i trust Geoff Emmerick since he was the only eyewitness to make a comment on the matter.Is there any other information worth discussing in that interview besides the Ahhhs.
Emerick is one of my true Beatle-heroes, but unfortunately he spread a LOT of false informations with his book “Here, There And Everywhere ” which consists mostly of completely made up situations and conversations. Howard Massey wrote most of the book, not Emerick.
Ken Scott called him out on it and listed some examples.
His detailed story about how he and Richard Lush had to make that difficult punch-in after Paul’s “dream” is obviously complete BS since that cut is just not there, as you can clearly hear on the isolated vocal track.
And of course Emerick HIMSELF declared himself an unreliable witness back in 1979 where he admitted in an interview he hardly remembered ANYTHING.
Unfortunately the link to that interview is no longer working, and in hindsight I can’t understand why I didn’t copy and save the pictures of the magazine-pages on my pc.
But at least I wrote part of it down to use it for quotes.
Here’s what I wrote down verbatim from that interview – after reading that, do you seriously believe he remembered detailed conversations almost 30 years later?? There are youtube-clips with later interviews with Emerick talking about this situation – but what he admitted in 1979 proves that he’s only quoting from the BOOK, not his actual memories, because these don’t exist.
“But no, I don’t recall actually meeting them. I just have sort of images in my mind of certain sessions, like “She loves you”. Just images, really.” (…)
(What do you recall about the session for “Tomorrow Never Knows ”?)
“Hm, again, that’s really going back quite a few years. It’s a bit difficult to recall, actually. (…)
“As I say, it’s hard to recall anything specific. The only thing I can recall is that we used tape loops. (…) And that’s about it! It’s been many years!” (…)
“It’s difficult to recall details of specific sessions so many years on. They kind of blur together.” (…)
(Any memories of Eleanor Rigby ?) “Not particularly. I mean, it was just Paul with his acoustic guitar. Well no, that’s not quite right, is it? Eleanor Rigby was with the string quartet, right?”
(Any memories of Taxman or For No One ?) “No, sorry.”
(Yellow submarine?) “I don’t really remember much about the actual recording of the track.” (…)
“I remember one session – I can’t remember which song it was, but it was something from Pepper.” (…)
(What instrument is that in the intro of Lucy in the sky?) “Hm, it’s been a while since I actually listened to it. How does it start? Oh yeah, I don’t really know, to be quite honest. It might have been guitar that we treated in some way.” [It’s a Lowry ORGAN]
“Two-track was used at least through Help !” [FALSE]
(A Day In The Life – what do you recall recording that?) “Mainly the orchestral crescendo.” (…)
(Was John playing the piano or Paul, do you remember?) “Sorry, no. Haven’t a clue. It was basically John’s song, so it might have been him. [it was PAUL]. I don’t remember.” (…)
(Do you remember those sessions [for Magical Mystery Tour ]? ) “All I recall is that I didn’t think it was a good idea.”
(Do you remember the sessions for I Am The Walrus ?) “Not particulary, no.”
The following people thank Illgetyou for this post:
Richard, ewe2 1 Guest(s)