The Beatles built their entire career on their ability to sound like no one else, but the album opener that Paul McCartney used to emulate American rock ‘n’ roller Jimi Hendrix is one notable exception. The Fab Four’s short-lived career was a fascinating master class in establishing one’s footing in an already popular genre, like their early 1960s pop days, and then using that celebrity and success to maintain breathing room to experiment, like their trippy, psychedelic, and Eastern fusions of the late 1960s.
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When the time came to record their 1966 album Revolver, McCartney looked across the pond for inspiration. The results were highly effective, even if they came at the chagrin of songwriter and bandmate George Harrison.
Paul McCartney Tried Emulating Jimi Hendrix On This Beatles Song
While we often associate the Beatles with their main instrument, each of the Fab Four were talented multi-instrumentalists. In fact, Paul McCartney didn’t even consider his signature Höfner bass to be his first instrument. McCartney thought of himself as a guitarist, first and foremost, who was fulfilling a necessary role as bassist for the sake of the band. But when the band went into the studio to record George Harrison’s “Taxman,” McCartney was able to take on a role that felt more natural to him.
“I got the guitar and was playing around in the studio with the feedback and stuff,” McCartney recalled to Guitar Player. “And I said to George, ‘Maybe you could play it like this.’ I can’t quite remember how it happened that I played it, but it was probably one of those times when somebody says, ‘Well, why don’t you do it then?’ rather than spending the time to get the idea over. I don’t think George was too miffed. But when people say, ‘Great solo on “Taxman,”’ I don’t think he’s too pleased to have to say, “Well, that was Paul, actually.’ I didn’t really do much like that. Just once or twice.”
Contributing to a song is infinitely easier when you like the track to begin with, as McCartney did with Harrison’s anti-tax song. The rock ‘n’ roll attitude inspired McCartney to conjure visions of American rock ‘n’ roller Jimi Hendrix on what Macca called his “first voyage into feedback.” Interestingly, McCartney’s fascination with this screeching guitar technique eventually led to the band adopting guitars they would become known for in the final years of their short-lived tenure together.
How “Taxman” Led To The Fab Four Adopting Epiphone Casinos
As was often the case with the Beatles, the stars seemed to align just right around 1966. George Harrison brought “Taxman” to his band, and unlike so many other times, they accepted the song, even using it as the opening track for their 1966 album Revolver. Meanwhile, Paul McCartney was watching American guitarists like Jimi Hendrix use feedback to create a wilder, more interesting soundscape in live performances and on records. Finally, McCartney just so happened to be hanging out with fellow guitarist John Mayall of the Bluesbreakers, who gave him invaluable guitar advice.
Mayall suggested McCartney buy an Epiphone Casino, a thinline hollow body electric guitar. The guitar’s open body chamber and two f-holes create more opportunity for sound waves to resonate and, if left to their own devices, feed back. For a musician looking to incorporate more feedback into their music on purpose, a hollow body guitar is a great starting point. McCartney and Mayall weren’t the only ones who thought so, either.
After speaking with Mayall, McCartney said, “I went and bought an Epiphone. So, then I could wind up with the Vox amp and get some nice feedback. It was just before George was into that. In fact, I don’t really think George did get too heavily into that kind of thing. George was generally a little more restrained in his guitar playing. He wasn’t into heavy feedback.”
Regardless, McCartney’s Epiphone Casino intrigued John Lennon and Harrison, who later started playing the same model. Lennon used the Casino exclusively in his final years with the Beatles, replacing his signature Rickenbacker 325.
Photo by Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images
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