I'm Happy Just To Dance With You- The Beatles (Guitar Cover) ft.
I am releasing this in honor of John Lennon's 84th birthday! It's fitting because @MichaelSokil played John's guitar parts with such precision and accuracy. Thanks Michael for being an essential part of this video, I literally could'nt have done it without you
I'm Happy Just To Dance With You is my favorite song off of the 1964 album A Hard Day's Night. It was a Lennon-McCartney tune that they gave to George to sing. It was featured in the A Hard Day's Night movie, which was helpful to watch because it revealed to us John and George's fingers/chord shapes
The Beatles recorded it on March 1, 1964 at EMI Studios. The backing track was completed in just two takes, featuring the normal 1964 lineup of Ringo on drums, Paul on bass, John on rhythm guitar and George on guitar. Overdubs consisted of George's (double-tracked) vocals, John and Paul's vocals, and Ringo on an Arabian bongo drum
George played his Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar, although in the film he uses his Gibson J-160e. His playing is not very prominent on this track compared to Lennon's, as he was focused on singing. He was plugged into his Vox AC-50 amp, and his tone was very warm. He likely used the neck pickup
John's percussive rhythm playing is the real lead instrument of the song. He used his brand new 1964 Rickenbacker 325 'Miami' guitar into his Vox AC-50 amp
Both of the guitars used in this cover belong to Michael! He lent me his 2016 Gretsch Country Gent, and he's playing his 1982 Rickenbacker 320-B. The 320B model is loosely based on John's first 1958 Rickenbacker 325 model, and Michael modded it to be closer to the vintage John spec.
Here's a nice note from Michael:
"Hi guys! Mike here. For this cover, I used my 1982 Rickenbacker 320B through - amazingly - a Vox Mini. My neighbors definitely appreciate the mini vs. the 120 watt Valvetronix! I studied new isolations for this cover, which I believe is 50% more accurate than any previous version I've done. Strings are Pyramid flatwounds, a mix of .13s and .11s. Sam rocks the end."
Here is Mike's cover from his channel:
• I'm Happy Just To Dance With You - The Bea...
INTERESTING NOTES:
0:01 John strums just the C-sharp minor chords in the intro, while George plays all three chords in a more percussive style. Michael concluded that John played the C-sharp minor up on the 9th fret after seeing Lennon do this in the film
0:14 John releases the E6 chord to X77777 before settling back on the B bar chord
0:16 John does an awesome upwards glissando on E
0:30 John again does an upward glissando on E
0:43 John plays a high E6 chord
0:57 George plays an open B7 chord instead of a regular B
1:06 George plays an A7 chord instead of a regular A
1:25 George slides from the XX222X A shape to B XX4440, leaving the high E string open. This is a clustered Bsus4, technically speaking
1:31 George plays a C-sharp minor instead of E!
1:36 George might've tripped himself up with that C-sharp minor accident. He is late when playing the A and F-sharp minor chords here
1:52 John and George both end on an E6 X79999
OUR GEAR:
2016 Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman G6122-62 GE
1982 Rickenbacker 320B
Vox AC-30C2X (my amp)
Vox MINI3
#thebeatles #guitarcover #aharddaysnight