3 Facts About “Tomorrow Never Knows” That Show How The Beatles Transformed the Recording Studio

In 1966, The Beatles’ studio experiments unwittingly changed rock history. They challenged the limits of the recording studio but also reimagined pop and rock music as a higher art. Revolver became a landmark album, and its closing track, “Tomorrow Never Knows”, set new standards for studio production. Here are three facts that show how they did it.

John Lennon Wanted to Sound Like the Dalai Lama Chanting From a Hilltop

To further the song’s spiritual and psychedelic nature, John Lennon explained to producer George Martin how he wanted his voice to sound on the track. “He wanted his voice to sound like the Dalai Lama chanting from a hilltop,” Martin said. Martin thought a trip to Tibet would be too expensive, so instead, Lennon’s vocal was sent through a rotating speaker in the studio, which created the swirling modulation heard on “Tomorrow Never Knows”. It was one of many groundbreaking techniques The Beatles discovered while recording Revolver.

That you may see the meaning of within,
It is being, it is being,
That love is all and love is everyone,
It is knowing, it is knowing.

Seagulls and Tape Loops

Paul McCartney had been experimenting with his reel-to-reel machine. Then his home experiments became a crucial part of “Tomorrow Never Knows”. “People tend to credit John with the backwards recordings, the loops and the weird sound effects, but the tape loops were my thing,” McCartney said. The band created original loops using a combination of planned arrangements and random moves with the console faders. “I always think of seagulls when I hear it. I used to get a lot of seagulls in my loops,” he said.

Distorted Drums and the Power of Ringo Starr

Lennon’s swirling voice and McCartney’s hodgepodge tape loops give the song a sense of chaos. However, Ringo Starr’s relentless drum groove steadies the track. Engineer Geoff Emerick moved the microphones closer to the drum kit, which most engineers avoided at the time. The signal was then sent to Fairchild compressors, smashing and distorting the signal. A process that’s now industry standard. Moreover, Starr’s swinging beat not only propels The Beatles’ psychedelia. It forever changed the sound of rock music.

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