All You Need Is Love

"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon (with contributions from Paul McCartney) and first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first ever live global television link. Broadcast to 26 countries and watched by 350 million people, the program was broadcast via satellite on June 25 1967. The BBC had commissioned The Beatles to write a song for the UK's contribution to the program and this was the result. It is among the most famous and significant songs written by The Beatles.

Release

Asked to come up with a song containing a simple message that would be understood by viewers of all nationalities, John's "All You Need is Love" extended the message that he had first tried to put across in "The Word." "It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the world a message," said Brian Epstein. "The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything." John was fascinated by the power of slogans to unite people and was never afraid to create art out of propaganda. When asked in 1971 whether songs like "Give Peace a Chance" and "Power to the People" were propaganda songs, he answered, "Sure. So was 'All You Need Is Love.' I'm a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change."

The song was so well-received that the band decided it should be their next single. Released in the UK on July 7th, it went straight to No. 1 and remained there for three weeks. It was similarly successful in the USA (also appearing on the American LP version of Magical Mystery Tour in December).

It was also the last song both recorded and released by the band before the tragic and untimely death of their manager, Brian Epstein, on August 27, 1967, little more than a month after the song was released. Arguably, because Epstein was such a driving force behind the group's success and often gave them constructive criticism, as well as helping considerably to form the uniform look and feel of the group, it could be seen as the pivotal event that led to the group's individual careers and the eventual breakup of The Beatles. John Lennon himself referred to this in an interview in 1970: "When Brian died I knew that was it. I knew we'd had it." Indeed, his absence is particularly felt in the ill-fated movie Magical Mystery Tour which followed four months after his death.

Live broadcast

For the live broadcast, The Beatles were (except for Ringo) seated on stools, and accompanied by a small studio orchestra. They were surrounded by many friends and acquaintances (seated on the floor), who sang along with the refrain during the fade-out. Mick Jagger is visible towards the latter part of the performance. Lennon, despite affecting indifference, was said to be quite nervous about the broadcast, given the potential size of the international TV audience. Somewhat dissatisfied with his vocal performance, he subsequently re-recorded the solo verses in the studio for use on the single release.

All You Need Is Love (Video)

Structure

Because of the setting of a worldwide satellite broadcast, the song was deliberately given an international feel, opening with the French anthem "La Marseillaise," and including snatches of several other pieces during the long fade-out, including "2-part Invention #8 in F" by Johann Sebastian Bach (transposed to G and played on 2 piccolo trumpets), "Greensleeves" (played by the strings), Glenn Miller's "In The Mood" (played on a saxophone), and one of The Beatles' seminal hits, "She Loves You" (spontaneously ad-libbed by John and Paul). (Many sources, including Beatles' producer George Martin, have misremembered or misidentified the Bach quote as being from the "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2.")

The structure of the song is somewhat complex. It begins with background vocals repeatedly singing "Love, love, love", over the top of which enter Lennon's enigmatic lyrics in 7/4 time:

By contrast, the chorus, in 4/4 time is pure simplicity: "All you need is love", repeated against various backgrounds.

Covers

The song was later used in the series finale of the science fiction television series, The Prisoner. The song is used in an ironic context when the lead character leads a bloody attack on the Village while the song is played.

Elvis Costello sang it with the aid of just one guitar at the Wembley leg of Live Aid. It was also used to herald the entrance of Queen Elizabeth II into the Millennium Dome during the United Kingdom's millennial celebrations on 31 December 1999, having been voted the nations favorite song. A part of the song is also used in the movie Moulin Rouge!. The song appeared again in the wedding scene in the movie Love Actually. The britpop band Oasis has performed this song live. It was also parodied by The Rutles in their film All You Need is Cash as "Love Life". The band Nada Surf also recorded a cover of the song.

As of June 2006, the song is also being used in a U.S. television advert for the Chase Bankcard. (Which, if you think about it, is horribly ironic considering the song's message.)

References

Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 006095065X
MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, Great Britain: 1994, ISBN 0805027807

External links