Here Comes the Sun

Album: Abbey Road

Year: 1969

Written by: George Harrison

Anyone who's been to Noble on a Saturday morning knows this song well. My mom used to sing it to me when I didn't feel like getting out of bed, so I always think of it a great morning song. It's also one of my favorite George Harrison tunes. Here's what George had to say about writing this beautiful Beatles classic:

"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 sings lead and plays all the guitars and the Moog synthesizer on this track. The video above was made by a fan and features photos of George throughout his days with the Beatles. Look how much he changed from the early days of the band until the time they broke up, not long after this song was written.

I Feel Fine

Album: Not included on an original Beatles album; released as the A-side of a single

Year: 1964

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

That electronic sound you hear at the beginning of this classic Beatles tune is the first time that feedback was included on a rock record. John had accidentally created some feedback in the studio and he liked the way it sounded. "John figured out how to do it. You hit the A (string) and get it buzzing by the amp," George said. Because the Beatles always liked to try new things, they decided to put this cool sound on the record.

I Feel Fine is a riff-based pop song. John plays the riff on an acoustic Gibson guitar, which is amplified to make it sound electric. George mirrors John's riff on his Gretsch Tennessean. John sings lead vocal, with Paul and George joining him in some of the smoothest, most beautiful, and most classic Beatles harmonies ever.

I Feel Fine was the sixth Beatles single in a row to hit #1 on the American charts in 1964 – quite a phenomenal achievement. It is also a great rock song. Enjoy!

Eight Days a Week

Album: Beatles for Sale

Year: 1964

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

Everyone knows that there are only seven days in a week, but have you ever been so tired that you felt like you have been working eight days a week? That feeling inspired the title of this fun and bouncy song. One day, as Paul was driving to John's house to write some new songs, he asked the chauffeur how he was doing. "Oh, working hard," replied the driver named Alf, "working eight days a week." Paul thought that would be a great title for a song, so he and John began composing it.

Eight Days a Week is the first time that John and Paul finished writing a song after they got into the studio. The practice of bringing partially-written tunes into the studio later became very common for the band. An interesting musical feature is the fade-in that opens the song. John sings a great lead vocal, with Paul doing the backing vocals. All four Beatles do the handclaps.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Album: Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Year: 1967

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

Picking up his young son Julian from pre-school one afternoon, John was impressed with a picture he had drawn. "Wow, that's really beautiful!" remarked John. "Who is that in the picture?"

"It's Lucy in the sky with diamonds," was the boy's response. Lucy was a friend of his from pre-school, and he had drawn her floating in the sky with diamonds, stars, and musical notes.

John loved the picture and he thought that the title was also beautiful, so he decided to write a song. Inspired by the word play and vivid images in Lewis Carroll's writings, especially Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, John created a very dreamy and imaginative song, with beautiful images of "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes."

John sings a double-tracked vocal, and Paul adds some harmony in the song's chorus. George plays two Indian instruments on this track–the sitar and the tambura. The very colorful video above features scenes from The Beatles' 1968 animated movie Yellow Submarine.