The Little Girl I Once Knew

[mikeyj]

I was just wondering if someone could help me by telling me where this John Lennon quote comes from?

Taken from page 218 of Inside The Music Of Brian Wilson:

"This is the greatest! Turn it up, turn it right up. It's GOT to be a hit. It's the greatest record I've heard for weeks. It's fantastic. I hope it will be a hit. It's all Brian Wilson. He just uses the voices as instruments. He never tours or does anything. He just sits at home thinking up fantastic arrangements out of his head. Doesn't even read music. You keep waiting for the fabulous breaks. Great arrangement. It goes on and on with all different things. I hope it's a hit so I can hear it all the time."

[MBE]

Hmm I haven't read the book all the way through yet. Interesting quote but something like that should have a source.

[mikeyj]

Hmm I haven't read the book all the way through yet. Interesting quote but something like that should have a source.

Yeah I hate when people just use quotes and don't reference it. That's the biggest problem with a book like "In Their Own Words"... I mean they use 'that' quote from Mike: "Don't f*** with formula" but when has that ever been proven to have been said? Of course I'm not doubting that Lennon said this but it'd be nice to know where it was taken from.

[John]

Sounds like an NME (or Melody Maker, I forget which) "Blind Date" article. They'd get someone famous in and play them some records without telling them who they're by and get them to review it.

 Or maybe it's just a feature where someone famous reviews the records anyway with foreknowledge. But it's one of them.

[mjd180]

Yeah, this is a tough/unfamiliar one for me. I would also guess it's from 'Blind Date'. Lennon loved odd time signatures in songs, so I'm not surprised to see him gush over TLGIOK (even though it was just before 'Pet Sounds'/when it was "cool" for rock "aristocracy" to praise Brian to the high heavens)...

[Jon Stebbins]

I was just wondering if someone could help me by telling me where this John Lennon quote comes from?

Taken from page 218 of Inside The Music Of Brian Wilson:

"This is the greatest! Turn it up, turn it right up. It's GOT to be a hit. It's the greatest record I've heard for weeks. It's fantastic. I hope it will be a hit. It's all Brian Wilson. He just uses the voices as instruments. He never tours or does anything. He just sits at home thinking up fantastic arrangements out of his head. Doesn't even read music. You keep waiting for the fabulous breaks. Great arrangement. It goes on and on with all different things. I hope it's a hit so I can hear it all the time."

This comes from Lennon's appearance on one of those UK "rate a record" TV shows in '65...They played new releases and had celebs "grade" them...I think it was Juke Box Jury.

[Shady]

Nice to know Lennon liked this track!

[mjd180]

I was just wondering if someone could help me by telling me where this John Lennon quote comes from?

Taken from page 218 of Inside The Music Of Brian Wilson:

"This is the greatest! Turn it up, turn it right up. It's GOT to be a hit. It's the greatest record I've heard for weeks. It's fantastic. I hope it will be a hit. It's all Brian Wilson. He just uses the voices as instruments. He never tours or does anything. He just sits at home thinking up fantastic arrangements out of his head. Doesn't even read music. You keep waiting for the fabulous breaks. Great arrangement. It goes on and on with all different things. I hope it's a hit so I can hear it all the time."

This comes from Lennon's appearance on one of those UK "rate a record" TV shows in '65...They played new releases and had celebs "grade" them...I think it was Juke Box Jury.

Are you sure about this? All the Beatle books I have say their last appearance on JBJ was summer '64...

[Andrew G. Doe]

That passage is also quoted in a 2001 book, The Beatles As Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul by Walter Everett - there is a note, but the online version on Googlebooks omits that page of notes. Naturally.

For them as needs to know, it's note 2 on page 276.

[gxios]

The Lennon quote originally (as far back as I can trace it) comes from the "Beatles 1965 Christmas Extra" a magazine size publication put out in '65 and '66 by the Beatles Monthly which had an annual roundup of Beatle news and a few quotes and color photos not otherwise published during the year.  The 1966 issue has comments about Pet Sounds.

[Shady]

Has anyone ever heard Lennon's version of 'Lonely Sea'

It's on a bootleg dated round the 'let it be' sessions.

Would be very interesting to hear.

[Surfer Joe]

It's very much disputed that Lennon is singing "Lonely Sea".

[Andrew G. Doe]

Has anyone ever heard Lennon's version of 'Lonely Sea'

It's on a bootleg dated round the 'let it be' sessions.

Would be very interesting to hear.

I've heard it - it's not "TLS", it's a standard chord progression that could be any one of a gazillion songs. All Lennon is doing is noodling on the guitar.