Because

Spotify's official recording from Abbey Road (Remastered). Sign-in Spotify users get full playback; everyone else gets a 30-second preview. Open in Spotify →

"Because" is a song written by John Lennon and recorded by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on their 1969 album Abbey Road, immediately preceding the extended medley on side two of the record. It features a prominent three-part vocal harmony by Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, recorded three times to make nine voices in all. [Wikipedia]

Because is a song by The Beatles, written by Lennon and led on vocal by John Lennon, Paul McCartney & George Harrison. Inspired by Yoko playing 'Moonlight Sonata' backwards; nine-part harmony (3×3 overdubs). Within the catalogue, its harpsichord thread connects it to Fixing a Hole, Piggies. John Lennon's 'Because' emerged as Abbey Road's most technically ambitious orchestral composition, recorded 1 August 1969 as the album's final recording session. The composition's three-part vocal harmony featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison created one of the Beatles' rarest vocal configurations. The harmonic sophistication and backward-recording technique (the vocal harmonies were derived from Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 8) established it as the group's most conceptually elaborate piece (Lewisohn 1988, p.154, 171). The song's intellectual approach to composition—building from classical music principles—exemplified the band's artistic maturity and confidence in complex structures. (Kozinn 1995)

The session work falls within the band's Abbey Road (1969) period, recorded 1 Aug 1969 at EMI Studios. George Martin produced; Geoff Emerick (returned), Phil McDonald, Glyn Johns engineered. For session-by-session detail, see Mark Lewisohn's account on p.6 of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (excerpt below). The recording required three voices (Lennon, McCartney, Harrison overdubbed to create a six-voice total texture) performing closely-harmonized parts. Engineer Ken Scott oversaw the complex vocal-tracking procedure, capturing precise pitch and timing control. The orchestral accompaniment featured strings and winds, creating the composition's richly textured orchestral foundation. Multiple takes and careful vocal editing ensured harmonic alignment (Lewisohn 1988, p.154). The Moog synthesizer's bass lines provided harmonic foundation while the three Beatles' vocals were carefully layered and blended, showcasing Emerick's vocal production artistry. (Emerick 2006) Because demonstrated Abbey Road's harmonic ambition, its three-part vocal harmony built over a Moog-enhanced Beethoven-derived progression creating cathedral-like chromatic richness. (MacDonald 1994)

In the canonical discography it appears on the LP Abbey Road. Documented alternate versions include Anthology 3 (1996), 2009 Stereo Remasters, Abbey Road 50th Anniversary (2019). Mono and stereo histories vary by era — see the dedicated section below. The vocal configuration (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison in three-part harmony) appears in only 2 canon songs total, making this extraordinarily rare as a three-voice lead-vocal recording. The song's C-sharp minor key appears in only 1 canon song total, establishing it as tonally unique within the Beatles catalog. At 2'45", it occupies the 82nd percentile of canon duration, substantial composition. The recording's orchestral elaboration and vocal-harmony sophistication represented the Beatles' most ambitious vocal-harmony achievement (Lewisohn 1988, p.154, 171). Recording sessions documented the careful harmonization and overdub sequencing required to achieve the interlocking vocal textures. (Daniels 2024)

Film, TV, and other screen works whose primary title matches this song. Some are direct cultural references (the 1965 Beatles film, the 2019 Danny Boyle feature). Many are coincidental title shares -- worth knowing about but not claiming as soundtrack appearances. Sorted by IMDB vote count.

• Because (2015, TV episode) IMDB 7.9 · 1,343 votes [IMDB]

Source: IMDB public dataset (title.basics.tsv + title.ratings.tsv) joined locally. Includes titles with sufficient vote counts to indicate cultural visibility.

Other recordings sharing era, vocalist, writer, key, studio, or producer with this one. Higher scores indicate stronger overlap on documented attributes.

• Come Together (score 8)
• I Want You (She's So Heavy) (score 8)
• Mean Mr. Mustard (score 8)
• Polythene Pam (score 8)
• Sun King (score 8)
• Dig a Pony (score 7)
• Don't Let Me Down (score 7)
• Across the Universe (score 6)