(John Lennon – Paul McCartney)

On October 16th, 1968, John, Paul and George Martin accessed EMI Studios with the intention of sequencing the 30 new recordings that were to encompass the group's next LP, their first double-album “The Beatles,” more commonly referred to as the “White Album.” This Beatles sequencing session became so daunting, in fact, that it actually lasted a full 24 hours, from 5 pm until 5 pm October 17th, 1968 – the longest ever Beatles session. With such a wide variety of musical styles among its numbers, it took plenty of thought as to what song would follow appropriately after the one previous to it. Assisted by engineers Ken Scott, John Smith and Dave Harries, they worked long and hard to form this plethora of material into a presentable whole.

Because the decision was made to simply title this album “The Beatles,” it might have easily been assumed by the general consumer that this LP set was a cohesive unit that had been assembled by four cooperative world-renowned musicians. As history reveals, however, this was not the case! In-house turmoil and bickering was at an all time high, resulting in both long-time engineer Geoff Emerick and even Ringo quitting their associations with the group for a time during the album's sessions.

The Beatles' cohesive illusion was maintained rather well as far as the general public was aware of. Upon listening to the two opening tracks of the album, for instance, what we hear are some stellar performances from all four members of the group working together beautifully. Or do we?

There has been much debate in the past few decades as to whether all four Beatles played on these first two tracks, “Back In The U.S.S.R.” and “Dear Prudence.” During the rehearsals for the recording of "Back In The U.S.S.R." on August 22nd, 1968, some authors propose that Ringo stormed off because of Paul's instructing him how to play drums on the track, while others state that the drummer's anger in having to wait for the other Beatles to arrive in the studio at the previous day's recording session led him to the brink, not to mention his increased paranoia about not gelling well with the other Beatles. ("I thought it was you three" they each responded when Ringo explained his paranoia to them.) Nevertheless, it has been established that Ringo quit The Beatles around August 22nd, 1968 during the recording of "Back In The U.S.S.R." and "spent a week in my garden" according to a 1972 interview. Many have said that Ringo was not involved in the recording of John's beautiful song "Dear Prudence" because of this rift within the band. Is this true?

Songwriting History

"Dear Prudence" was written sometime during March of 1968 while the group was in Rishikesh, India learning meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. While Lennon was relatively drug free in this remote location (some assert that a bit of drugs had been smuggled in), his mind flowed over with many song ideas that he worked out on the Martin acoustic guitar that he brought along with him.

British pop / folk singer Donovan (his actual name, Do​novan Leitch), who was also there on this retreat, explained his input on John's songwriting during this period. “Some afternoons we would gather at one of our pads to play the acoustic guitars we'd all brought with us. He was keen to learn the finger-style guitar I played and was a good student...John wrote 'Julia' and 'Dear Prudence' based on the picking I'd taught him." Donovan had undoubtedly learned this style of playing from guitar virtuosos like Bert Jansch or Davey Graham that required dropping the guitar's lower E-string to D when playing in D major. This newly learned guitar playing style was the first ingredient necessary to the writing of  "Dear Prudence.”

McCartney recalled that a good friend of Donovan's known as Gypsy Dave (or Gypsy Dave Mills), who had been also present at that time, could actually be credited for teaching John this fingerpicking style. “He learned to fingerpick off of Donovan or Gypsy Dave, I think John said it was Gypsy Dave but the two of them were fairly inseparable and they both would have known it, and if both of them were sitting down picking then who is to know? This was a folk picking style, and (John Lennon) was the only one in the band who could ever do that properly....Once you can do it, it was really very handy; it's a useful style.”

Another meditation student on this India trip was a nineteen-year-old Prudence Farrow, a younger sister of actress Mia Farrow. Prudence, Mia, and brother John arrived at the Maharishi's retreat many weeks before The Beatles arrived. She started her studying of Transcendental Meditation in LA's University of California in 1966 because, as she related in "Dear Prudence: The Story Behind The Song," "I needed to find peace, true peace inside myself...I had been meditating since 1966 and had been trying to get on the course in 1967, so it was like a dream come true for me. Being on that course was more important to me than anything in the world. I was quite focused on getting in as much meditation as possible so as to have enough experience to teach it myself. I knew that I must have stuck out because I would always rush straight back to my room after lectures and meals so that I could meditate. This was all so fascinating to me. John, George and Paul would all want to sit around jamming and having a good time and I'd be flying into my room...The song that John wrote was just saying, 'Come out and play with us. Come on out and have fun.'”

Her obsession with practicing deeper meditation resulted in her lapsing into what has been described as a catatonic state. American flautist Paul Horn, who was also present in India at that time, said, "She was ashen-white and didn't recognize anybody. She failed to even recognize her own brother, who was on the course with her. The only person she showed any slight recognition towards was Maharishi. We were all very concerned about her and Maharishi assigned her a full-time nurse."

Since Prudence was staying in the same building as The Beatles, they naturally were concerned. In the 2000 book "Beatles Anthology," Ringo said: "We saw her twice in the two weeks I was there. Everyone would be banging on the door: 'Are you still alive?'” Paul explained: “We all got a little bit worried about her, so we went up there and knocked, 'Hey, Prudence. We all love you. You are wonderful!' But nobody could persuade her out.” Lennon said: "They selected me and George to try and bring her out 'cause she would trust us. We got her out of the house – she'd been locked in for three weeks and wouldn't come out. She was trying to find God quicker than anyone else. That is the competition in Maharishi's camp: who was going to get cosmic first. What I did not know was that I was already cosmic (laughs)."

After being coaxed out, the Maharishi organized a discussion group that included her along with John and George. “We talked about the things we were all going through," remembered Prudence, adding, "We were questioning reality, asking questions about who we were and what was going on. I liked them and I think they liked me.” Although she had been present when The Beatles, Donovan and some others were jamming on their guitars, she apparently didn't hear anyone play the song to her at the time. “George was the one who told me about it,” she said. “At the end of the course, just as they were leaving, he mentioned that they had written a song about me but I didn't hear it until it came out on the album. I was flattered. It was a beautiful thing to have done."

Pattie Harrison's sister Jenny Boyd, who was in attendance with them in India, related these events in greater detail in her book "Jennifer Juniper." "Mia's sister, Prudence, had a room in our block, opposite my room. One evening, after George and our young meditator friend, Richard, had been chatting with her, they had noticed something was wrong. They walked her to her room but the following morning nobody could rouse her out of a trance. We knew she had been doing extensive meditations, non-stop, and wondered if she had gone too far. One by one, each of us walked into Prudence's room, trying to bring her back to normal. But she continued to sit bolt upright, cross-legged on top of her bed, and staring into oblivion. John went in with his guitar and played for her 'Dear Prudence'...I went in with the flute I'd purchased in San Francisco and made some sounds, but this was all to no avail. Prudence looked as though she was locked inside herself."

Jenny Boyd added: "Her condition got worse and the next night she completely flipped out, shouting, throwing things around, screaming. She was taken to Maharishi's bungalow and from there was moved to block one in the last row of the bungalows. A private nurse stayed with her around the clock and in the doorway stood one of their guards. We heard later that her condition was probably more to do with the psychedelic drugs she had taken before becoming a meditator, but even so, after this incident Maharishi advised all of us to take breaks in between longer meditations."

The "'White Album' 50th Anniversary" book explains: "Unlike The Beatles, Prudence completed their course to become a qualified teacher of Transcendental Meditation. In addition to teaching and academic studies - she holds BA, MA and PhD degrees - she has been involved in the production of various theatrical and film projects. In the prologue to her memoir, she advises that: 'My generation is passing the mantle. Practice meditation. Create a better, peaceful world starting with yourself.'”

Both John and Paul have concurred that the song was a full Lennon composition written entirely during the group's India outing. The picturesque lyrics fully come to life once its inspiration is known. John's encouragement to “open up your eyes” has even fuller meaning when considering the closed-eyed meditative state Prudence was heavily engaged in. The natural beauty of nature that could be enjoyed by her is expressed vividly, such as in the lines “the sun is up, the sky is blue” and “the clouds will be a daisy chain.” Even a touch of eastern spiritual beliefs are included in the line “the birds will sing that you're a part of everything.”

Recording History

"Dear Prudence was first put to tape on May 29th, 1968 as a demo recording at 'Kinfauns,' George Harrison's bungalow in Esher, Surrey. The Beatles met there on the 28th and 29th of that month for recording demos of the compositions they all had individually written during their stay in India, the purpose of these recordings being to introduce the songs to the rest of the group and give themselves a better idea of how to officially record them, the first EMI recording session for their next album being the following day, May 30th. George Harrison had an Ampex four-track machine which was utilized for these demo recordings.  

This recording of “Dear Prudence” appears to be a solo performance by John Lennon on his acoustic guitar and vocals, double-tracking his guitar as well as his vocals, although other Beatles are faintly heard vocally toward the end of the song. This demo shows that John had the bulk of the lyrics and musical arrangement thought out already, there hardly being a structural difference from the finished version as we know it. Minor differences here include the lyric “sleeping child” in the third verse instead of “little child” as in the finished version. This line also appears in the original handwritten lyric sheet, which also stipulates that this was the 13th song that he composed while in India. The demo recording also includes a repeat of the “look around, round” bridge after the third verse, a faster tempo appearing in the final verse, and a continuation of the verse guitar passage at the song's end instead of a repeat of the guitar introduction as on the released version. 

Interestingly, during John's vocal double-tracking in the final verse on this demo, he starts singing “let me see you smile” instead of “come out to play,” which was then followed with improvised vocal “whoops!” Also, during the final moments of this version, while the double-tracked guitars are continuing on, Lennon briefly explains the inspiration for the song. Among faint animal noises being heard in the background, John recalled: “Prudence was struck by notice in the middle of her mediatation course in Rishekesh, India. No one was to know that sooner or later she was to go completely berserk under the care of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. All the people 'round her were very worried about the girl 'cause she was going insane. So we sang to her. Thank you."  This demo was officially released in 2018 on various 50th Anniversary editions of the "White Album."

The Beatles didn't begin officially recording “Dear Prudence” until three months later, on August 28th, 1968. Since they had recently recorded the song “Hey Jude” on eight-track equipment at Trident Studios (EMI Studios not yet instituting eight-track capabilities at their facility), the group returned to Trident on this day around 5 pm to record Lennon's song in a similar fashion, taking advantage of this new technology and procedure. Mal Evans wrote in his diary, as stated by author Kenneth Womack, that Ringo was present in the studio on this day as the roadie loaded and delivered the band's instruments from EMI Studios to Trident for this session, the first Beatles' session to feature Ringo on drums since his temporary departure from the band the week before on August 22nd during the first "Back In The U.S.S.R." session.

On the previous day, August, 27th, 1968, Ringo played drums on the George Harrison produced EMI session for the Jackie Lomax track "You've Got Me Thinking" that eventually was released on his Apple LP "Is This What You Want?" Since this was the drummer's first return to any recording studio after nearly a week from quitting The Beatles on August 22nd, roadie Mal Evans had "smothered" his "drum kit" in flowers at this Jackie Lomax session. The next day at Trident, when Ringo actually returned to record with The Beatles, author Kenneth Womack recounted what was written in Mal Evan's diary for this day: "Ringo was there and they feted his return. Mal wrote, 'More flowers and fruit.'" So, there you go; two recording sessions with flowers (and fruit) to signal the return of The Beatles' celebrated drummer!

Documentation on this day's tape box indicates that just one take was recorded at this time, but “The Beatles Recording Sessions” relates that there was much more to their recording process on this day than usual. “The eight-track facility meant that it could be recorded track by track, each one of the tracks perfected over a number of times while simultaneously wiping previous attempts. This working method makes the 'take one' statistic look distinctly silly for, although it was just one take, it (amounted to) innumerable recordings.” What is thought to have been recorded at this session was a basic track of John on his electric Epiphone Casino (track 8), playing the distinctive finger-picking rhythm we hear throughout the song, Harrison playing a distorted lead guitar part on his Gibson SG Standard (track 7), and Ringo on drums (track 6). As heard in a "Sessions" disc in the "'White Album' 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe" set, John filled various tracks of the tape with his finger-picking guitar, these being 'bounced' together onto track 8 sometime on this day. 

Since the session didn't end until 7 am the following morning, it appears that each of these elements took quite a few tries before being perfected to everyone's satisfaction. This session at Trident Studios ended up costing EMI a total of 431 pounds for studio time, engineer's overtime and blank tape, a cost that would have been just an in-house accounting procedure had they recorded at EMI on this day as they usually did, and something they were to soon to resume.

The next day (or should we say, later that day), August 29th, 1968, they returned to Trident Studios at 7 pm to perform more overdubs on the song. Paul recorded his bass along with John on tambourine (track 5), and John recorded the lead vocal, then manually double-tracking them afterwards (track 3). After this, the band recruited others present on this day, namely Mal Evans, Paul's visiting cousin John McCartney, and Jackie Lomax, to help out in recording backing vocals along with Paul, John, George and Ringo (tracks 1 and 2). "Clapping and chorus singing by all four Beatles," Mal Evans wrote in the November 1968 "Beatles Monthly" issue, suggesting that Ringo cooperated in the vocals of the song, this being especially noteworthy in the "round round round" segment of the song. Jackie Lomax has stipulated in an interview that he sang "the low harmony" in the "round round round" section. Mal Evans was even involved in providing a bit of tambourine shaking that made it onto the finished product. All participants in the backing vocals and handclaps then broke out in applause during the final moments of the song, although this was eventually faded out of both the mono and stereo mixes. By 6 am the following morning, the session was finally complete.

Regarding the unique sound of the bass overdub done on this day, Paul stated in his Hulu series "McCartney 3,2,1" that it has "an interesting tone 'cause of the treble...I liked to do that, you know. We used a pick and you get that very treble end, but then you get the bass as well." And regarding the long held harmonies heard in the song that were recorded during this session, Paul added, "I think that was like a challenge, if you could hold the note that long. Yeah, it was just, you know, it's like you wanted it to go right through. We could have stopped it halfway, taken a breath, but it was like, mischief, y'know. 'Let's see if we can try and hold it.' That high note is me. Yeah, I remember that we would do that, and it would be like, 'It's so long, that.' 'Yeah, but you can do it.' 'No we can't, it's too long.' 'Let's try it' and, y'know, you were playing around...so you were pushing yourself."

The following evening (or later that evening), August 30th, 1968, which just happened to be the same day as the UK release of their single “Hey Jude,” The Beatles once again returned to Trident Studios to put the finishing touches on “Dear Prudence.” Onto the sole remaining track (track 4), George played another guitar part, including a segment in the last verse that copied his previous part but in a higher octave. This final track also contained Paul on piano and, undoubtedly because the instrument happened to be lying around in the studio, a brief snippet of flugelhorn during the bridge of the song, this also performed by Paul when he wasn't on the piano. Ringo's intricate drum part during the last verse of the song is said to have been performed on this day, but this may have been performed during the previous two sessions for the song. This session was done by 11 pm, and so was the recording of “Dear Prudence.”

The first mono mix of the song was done at Trident Studios on October 5th, 1968, by producer George Martin with engineer Barry Sheffield, the “Honey Pie” and “Martha My Dear” mixes also being done at this at this time, these songs all being fully recorded at Trident. This "Dear Prudence" mix was created, no doubt, because the song's master tape was still held at Trident. However, this early mix was never released and was improved once the master tape was later handed over to EMI Studios.

The song was touched on once again briefly on October 7th, 1968, in EMI Studio Two in a 16 1/2 hour session used primarily for recording George's song "Long Long Long." As outlined in Mark Lewisohn's 1988 book "The Beatles Recording Sessions," George appeared to be "in a happy mood throughout, laughing, joking and bursting into busked versions of other songs, including (John's) 'Dear Prudence.'" This was never released, but is evidence that the recording of the "White Album" wasn't all tension and arguments like many believe.

The master tape was received at EMI Studios as of October 13th, 1968, this session being when both the released stereo and mono mixes of “Dear Prudence” were formulated by George Martin and engineers Ken Scott and John Smith in the control room of EMI Studio Two. They only needed one try to get the stereo mix, which was done first, but then had a substantially harder time in perfecting the mono mix, five attempts being made, presumably the fifth attempt being the keeper. The stereo mix has slightly more treble than on the mono mix, and also fades to a lower volume during the song's conclusion.

Interestingly, the group did run through a rough version of “Dear Prudence" on January 10th, 1969, during their filmed rehearsals at Twickenham Film Studios for what became their film “Let It Be.” Needless to say, this version was never officially released in any way, shape or form.

Sometime between 2004 and 2006, George Martin and his son Giles Martin returned to the original tapes of “Dear Prudence” to capture elements of the recording for creating a track entitled “Come Together/Dear Prudence/Cry Baby Cry (Transition),” this compilation being included on the highly successful album “Love.” During the conclusion of the song “Come Together,” the team superimposed the lead vocal-less final verse of “Dear Prudence” which appears to fit perfectly given its similar tempo and key. The team also incorporated a bit of Paul's high piano tinkling from "Dear Prudence" within their track "The Fool On The Hill," this song only available as a bonus track on the iTunes edition of the "Love" LP.

Also, sometime in 2018, Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell went back to the original tapes of "Dear Prudence" to create a new stereo mix of the song for the various 50th Anniversary editions of the "White Album." The vibrant and engaging new mix of the song, with Paul's bass booming out like never before, was also accompanied by two new "Dear Prudence" mixes for official release. The Esher demo from May 29th, 1968 was painstakingly mixed, as was a version from the Trident master tape that combined only the tracks that contained John's guitars (track 8) and vocals (track 3) and Ringo's excellent drums (track 6). A faint detection of Paul on piano and George on guitar (track 4) is also witnessed during the final verse, as is an overlapping guitar part from Lennon at the song's conclusion, which undoubtedly was also contained on track 4 of the master tape. This mix concludes with John inquiring to George Martin, "Could I just do the last verse?"

Song Structure and Style

One can hardly expect a simpler structure for a Beatles song, this one featuring a 'verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse/ verse' format (or aabaa) with an intro and conclusion thrown in that are nearly identical. What gives this song its awe-inspiring complexity is its hypnotically meadering finger-picking rhythm guitar which propels the song in a lazy direction while allowing the listener to comfortably enjoy the picturesque landscape of a spring day.

After all our senses have been bombarded by the heart-thumping rock and roll of “Back In The U.S.S.R.,” the deafening screeching of a landing plane fades to reveal John's descending fingerpicking guitar work, urging us to relax for a pleasant leisurely ride. Slowly fading up in volume, the guitar moves from single-tracked to double-tracked as it approaches the key instrumental phrase that repeats throughout most of the verse. This descending guitar intro is six measures in length but the screeching plane obscures the first measure and segues without the listener noticing into the first verse, which parses out to be fourteen measures in length.

This first verse contains John's hypnotic double-tracked guitar passages throughout along with his double-tracked lead vocals. Paul adds simple one note bass notes on the three beat of each of the first eight measures, the tambourine also chiming in with an accompanying beat in the first and fifth measures as if to highlight whenever the word “Prudence” is sung. When John begins to double-up his vocal melody line in the ninth measure, Ringo's drums appear for the first time with heavy emphasis on his riding hi-hat along with a rising and falling bass guitar part. The tambourine plays a beat in the gaps left in John's lyrics for the ninth and tenth measures (“the sun is up” beat “the sky is blue” beat...etc.) and then putting in a seemingly random beat in the eleventh measure just after the word “Prudence” is sung. Then in the thirteenth measure, all of these elements suddenly disappear to reveal only Lennon's double-tracked fingerpicking as heard before. Describing the added elements to John's simple guitar finger-picking ballad, Paul stated in his "McCartney 3,2,1" documentary, "It's that juxtaposition thing again. It's really a little folk song."

Verse two is also fourteen measures long and is melodically the same as the first, but with a variety of different elements added in. A simple 4/4 drum beat without a ride cymbal for the first through eighth measures along with the same rising and falling bass pattern witnessed in the first verse. A tambourine beat is heard on the three beat of measures one and five as in the first verse, once again highlighting the word “Prudence.” The same hi-hat heavy drum beat is played once again in measures nine through twelve while the rising and falling bass continues as well. The tambourine displays syncopated quarter-note beats during measures nine and ten, once again adding a single beat after the word “Prudence” in the eleventh measure. Another additional element displayed is the falsetto harmonies that go from the seventh measure (directly after the lyric “sunny sky-ha-hi-hyyyy”) into the eleventh measure where they finally fall down and fade away. The falsetto harmonies reappear in the twelfth measure as a backdrop to the lyric “open up your eyes,” afterward fading away in the thirteenth measure along with the bass guitar and drums. The twelfth and thirteenth measures also premier Paul's piano overdub, playing three drawn out chords to accent the chord changes. George appears for the first time in the final two measures of this verse with a see-saw-like lower note guitar pattern as the backdrop to John's changing fingerpicking rhythm work.

This moves nicely into the eight-measure bridge, which features a continuation of John's fingerpicking, George's lower note guitar pattern which is mimicked by Paul on bass, Harrison's overdubbed lead guitar passages in the first four measures, a basic cymbal-less drum beat from Ringo, simple one-note toots on flugelhorn by Paul, and a rhythmic tambourine overdub. Two sets of harmonies are heard here, one set featuring a low monotone group of voices repeating the phrase “round, round, round...” (undoubtedly including the voices of Mal Evans, John McCartney and Jackie Lomax) and a set that specifically harmonizes along with Lennon's “round, round” in the first measure and “round, round, round” in the third measure. Then the harmonies extend the word “round” with a rising and falling melody in the fifth through seventh measures. Of note here is the sixth measure, which is the only measure of the entire song that is in 2/4 instead of 4/4. The seventh and eighth measures are identical to the final two measures of the first verse, as only John's double-tracked fingerpicking is heard.

The third verse that follows is very similar to the second verse but with the addition of lead guitar work by George that worms it way around John's vocal melody line, filling in the open gaps as he goes. Also noticeable here is the addition of handclaps, these being heard periodically throughout the verse. In the twelfth measure, we hear in the deep background what appear to be arpeggio-like chords from Paul on piano during the lyrics "won't you let me see you smile." The final two measures, however, change things up dramatically as John temporarily abandons his finger-picking and strums the chords in a more energetic fashion without raising the tempo (as he did in the demo). Ringo begins to play a freeform interesting random pattern on the drums for these final measures as well.

The fourth verse is lyrically a repeat of verse one but is quite different musically and actually parses out to be fifteen measures in length this time around. Ringo plays what results in a eight-measure drum solo while George double-tracks an intricately worked-out ascending lead guitar part, one guitar playing an octave above the other, this lead guitar work stretching through the fourteenth measure. Their tambourine and handclapping are going strong throughout the first fourteen measures as well, a high tinkling piano coming in at the third measure and continuing on through to the eighth measure where Paul performs a climactic glissando down to the ninth measure.

The ninth through twelfth measures feature Lennon spacing out his lyrics into half time “the sun is up.......the sky is blue......” while the drums resort to a simple drum pattern accenting the snare on every quarter-note and the piano plods on rhythmically along with them. The fourteenth measure dramatically displays the exit of the majority of the elements of the song, revealing only Lennon's fingerpicking guitar and lead vocals along with Harrison's highest lead guitar harmony notes ringing out. One can also faintly hear an electric rhythm guitar part played by George from the original rhythm track finishing its final notes while one of his lead guitars fades away with him manually playing with the tone switch of the guitar.

As everything falls away, a reprise of John's subtle descending fingerpicking introduction is then heard as the song's conclusion, this single-tracked guitar motif fading away as it descends the scale. After the dramatic climax of the final verse, this makes for a soft and satisfying landing. The listener is left off in the same condition he started from, as if floating away on the identical cloud he originally arrived on.

John must have known that he had something of great potential with “Dear Prudence” by insisting on recording the song at Trident with their eight-track capabilities in order to stimulate them to a perfect arrangement and performance. All of the group were on top of their game, John Lennon's excellently performed and newly perfected guitar chops being put to good use. His vocal work was also convincingly delivered, his concern for the subject matter coming through nicely along with his spot-on sketch of the beauty of nature. Paul, as usual, was up to the challenge of adding as many elements as possible to give the track the attention it deserved. George didn't shy away from working hard at perfecting his craft, undoubtedly recognizing the song's potential and giving it his all. Ringo was, as usual, in top form in delivering an incredible performance, including his amazing drum work during the final verse.

American Releases

"Dear Prudence" earned its place in the hearts of Beatles' fans as a highly respected album track on their double LP "The Beatles," popularly known as the "White Album," which was released in the US on November 25th, 1968. It was released on CD for the first time on August 24th, 1987, then was re-released as a 30th Anniversary limited edition on November 23rd, 1998, then as a remastered CD on September 9th, 2009. Its original vinyl release in 1968 was only in stereo because mono albums had been phased out in the US by that time. However, the vinyl album did finally get an individual mono vinyl album release in America on September 9th, 2014, this set achieving a five star review in Rolling Stone magazine just after its release. An excellent new stereo mix made by Giles Martin and Sam Okell was released on vinyl on November 9th, 2018.

Sometime in 1969, Capitol released the "White Album" on the new but short-lived format "Playtapes." These tape cartridges did not have the capability of including entire albums, so five volumes of "Playtapes" were released so that the majority of the tracks from this double-album would be available in this latest portable format that they thought would be the wave of the future. "Dear Prudence" was included on their "Playtape" entitled "The Beatles Vol. III." These "Playtapes" are quite the collector's items these days.

An interesting American vinyl edition of the “White Album” was released on January 7th, 1982 that was made by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in Chatsworth, California in the new "Original Master Recording" series. Their goal was to prepare a new master using half-speed mastering technology with original master tapes, in this case using the leased sub-master from Capitol. This release, which sounded superior to all previous UK and US pressings, was packaged with a non-embossed unnumbered cover that didn't include the usual poster/lyric sheet or individual Beatles portraits as contained in standard releases. This edition of the album was only available for a short time and is quite collectible today.

On November 20th, 2006, the compilation LP “Love” was released which featured a small section of “Dear Prudence” on the track called “Come Together / Dear Prudence / Cry Baby Cry (Transition)” as described above.

The entire mono Beatles catalog came out on September 9th, 2009 in the CD box set called “The Beatles In Mono,” which included the first official US release of the mono “White Album,” “Dear Prudence” being included therein. The vinyl edition of this box set was released on September 9th, 2014.

On November 9th, 2018, various 50th Anniversary editions of their "White Album" came out, the "Deluxe" 3CD and limited edition 4LP sets including the Esher demo made on May 29th, 1968. Their new "Super Deluxe" 6CD + 1Blu-ray edition also included the "Vocal, guitar & drums" mix detailed above, which was created from the Trident master tape.

A 50th Anniversay edition of the compilation set "The Beatles / 1967 - 1970" ("The Blue Album") came out on November 10th, 2023. This expanded release included 12 additional songs for a total of 38 tracks, including the Giles Martin mix of "Dear Prudence" as we have detailed above but featured here without the airplane sound effects trailing off from "Back In The U.S.S.R." as on the "White Album." This edition of "The Blue Album" became available as a double CD and as a triple vinyl release on both black and blue vinyl.

Live Performances

Unfortunately, neither The Beatles nor any individual group member has ventured to perform “Dear Prudence” on a live stage. However, just for fun, you might want to check out the animated video prepared for the song in the game “Rock Band,” which simulates what it would be like to watch The Beatles record the song in the studio, interspersed with scenes of the group performing the song in a flowering meadow. Notice here, however, that the makers of this video went back to the original master tapes to put this together, Lennon's countdown introduction and non-faded conclusion presented intact. That's probably the closest we're going to get to experiencing a live performance of “Dear Prudence.”

^Conclusion

"That's what it's like in life,” Paul explained. “You go through life and you never stop to say: 'Hey, y'know what? I think you're great.' You don't always tell your favorite drummer that he's your favorite. Ringo felt insecure and he left, so we told him, 'look, man, you are the best drummer in the world for us.' I still think that. He said 'thank you,' and I think he was pleased to hear that. We ordered millions of flowers and there was a big celebration for welcoming him back to the studio.”

Ringo remembered: “I got a telegram saying, 'You're the best rock'n'roll drummer in the world. Come on home, we love you.' So I came back. We all needed that little shake-up. When I got back into the studio (on August 27th, 1968 for the Jackie Lomax session at EMI) I found George had had it decked out with flowers – there were flowers everywhere. I felt good about myself again. We'd got through that little crisis and it was great. And then the 'White Album'' really took off.” 

It was approximately three months into recording the “White Album” when this episode of Ringo quitting The Beatles had occurred, and only about half of the album was completed at that point. After Ringo's six day absence from the group transpired, they had less than two months to fully finish the album in order to get it out onto the market before Christmas. They all worked hard and fast to get the project done. “While we were recording the 'White Album,'” Ringo stated, “we ended up being more of a band again, and that is what I always love. I love being in a band.”

^{Song Summary}

^{“Dear Prudence”}

^{Written by: John Lennon / Paul McCartney}

• ^{Song Written: March, 1968}
• ^{Song Recorded: August 28, 29 and 30, 1968}
• ^{First US Release Date: November 25, 1968}
• ^{First US Album Release: Apple #SWBO-101 “The Beatles”}
• ^{US Single Release: n/a}
• ^{Highest Chart Position: n/a}
• ^{British Album Release: Apple #PCS 7067-7068 “The Beatles”}
• ^{Length: 4:00}
• ^{Key: D mixolydian major}
• ^{Producer: George Martin}
• ^{Engineer: Barry Sheffield}

^{Instrumentation (most likely):}

• ^{John Lennon - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (1965 Epiphone ES-230TD Casino), backing vocals, tambourine, handclaps}
• ^{Paul McCartney - Bass (1964 Rickenbacker 4001 S), Piano (Bechstein Grand #44064), Flugelhorn, handclaps, backing vocals}
• ^{George Harrison - Lead Guitar (1964 Gibson SG Standard), backing vocals, handclaps}
• ^{Ringo Starr - Drums (1964 Ludwig Super Classic Black Oyster Pearl), backing vocals, handclaps}
• ^{Mal Evans - Backing vocals, tambourine, handclaps}
• ^{John McCartney - Backing vocals, handclaps}
• ^{Jackie Lomax - Backing vocals, handclaps}

"Clarity" by Dave Rybs

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