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    Did Paul McCartney really appear on Mello Yellow?

    NOT SUCH A BAD BOY
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    • R
      rich n last edited by

      All these years I presumed this to be factual common knowledge - but Donovan claims it's a false rumor based on the fact that they were in the same studio on the same day and left together. Has Paul himself ever commented on it?

      The Willow turns his back on inclement weather

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      • SusyLuvsPaul
        SusyLuvsPaul last edited by

        I've read this before, too. Can't recall where or what exactly was said or who said it, other than that he sang background on this.

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        • A
          admin last edited by

          I can't remember details, but I once did research into the subject, and to my knowledge Paul did NOT perform on the track

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          • Nancy R
            Nancy R last edited by

            We all know Wikipedia is notoriously wrong, and of course in this they say that Paul sang in the background. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellow_Yellow

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            • beatlesfanrandy
              beatlesfanrandy last edited by

              I know Donovan was friends with all The Beatles, so I would not be surprised if this were true. However, I have never heard or read this anywhere else.

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              • Nancy R
                Nancy R last edited by

                beatlesfanrandy:

                I know Donovan was friends with all The Beatles, so I would not be surprised if this were true. However, I have never heard or read this anywhere else.

                Yeah, Donovon was in India with them, but I'd never heard that rumor before either. Hey, somebody should submit that as a question to Paul (You Gave Me The Answer)

                Omni, Atlanta, GA May 18, 1976, Feb. 17, 1990

                GA Dome, Atlanta, GA May 1, 1993

                Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA May 12, 2002

                FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN May 26, 2013

                Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA Oct. 15, 2014

                Infinite Energy Center, Duluth, GA July 13, 2017

                Bon Secours Arena, Greenville, SC May 30, 2019

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                • Erik in NJ
                  Erik in NJ last edited by

                  Donovan taught John & Paul how to do Travis-style guitar finger picking while on that India trip which was used on several songs on the White Album (Julia, Blackbird, etc.). I suppose it's possible that Paul appeared on that single as an uncredited artist though I know little about it. Record company contractual obligations made things complicated regarding guest appearances and often the artist simple appeared as a guest and was uncredited to avoid the legal hassles. This is the reason why Eric Clapton is largely uncredited for his work on All Things Must Pass.

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                  • Nancy R
                    Nancy R last edited by

                    My understanding was that Donovan taught John the guitar picking that he used in Julia. Paul already knew finger picking (e.g. Yesterday) Can someone else verify this for me? ETA: You know what, I was misinformed. I had always heard that it was just John, but Donovan's Wikipedia page says he taught both. Interesting! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donovan

                    Omni, Atlanta, GA May 18, 1976, Feb. 17, 1990

                    GA Dome, Atlanta, GA May 1, 1993

                    Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA May 12, 2002

                    FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN May 26, 2013

                    Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA Oct. 15, 2014

                    Infinite Energy Center, Duluth, GA July 13, 2017

                    Bon Secours Arena, Greenville, SC May 30, 2019

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                    • A
                      admin last edited by

                      OK, I'm gonna quote the best expert in that matter, Mr. Kristofer Engelhardt, the author of "The Beatles Undercover", a guide to Beatles collaborations on other artists' records: Paul McCartney: dialogue on LP Troubadour The Definite Collection/1964-1976 (released 1992). I don't have that LP, but I have the recording "Mellow Yellow" on which there is no McCartney dialogue. Apparently, the dialogue must merely precede or follow the track (but is NOT part of it) on that 1992 album. The musicians on "Mellow Yellow" are: Donovan Leitch (lead vocals and acoustic gtr); John Paul Jones (bass gtr); Bobby Or (drums); Danny Moss (horns); Ronnie Ross (horns) Then, Paul does appear on some other Donovan tracks, which come from an unauthorised release by Vigotone in 1993 "No. 3 Abbey Road NW 8" which quotes Paul as the producer. Paul plays guitar and does some vocals on two songs: "Good Morning Mister Wind", and "Lalena". I guess the tracks from the above mentioned boot come from exactly the same session (late 1968/early 1969) during which Paul and Donovan recorded among other tracks

                      , heavily bootlegged for Beatles fans. ---------------------------------------------- I've bumped into another McCartney/Donovan track
                      . You can actually hear other Beatles on it too, I can clearly hear George's voice.

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                      • A
                        admin last edited by

                        I think Paul is simply part of the party noises you hear in the record "Mellow Yellow" but not singing. Some of the "whoops" sound like Paul. On Donovan's "Atlantis" I hear Paul singing "she may, she may."

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                        • Beatles4Ever
                          Beatles4Ever last edited by

                          Nancy R:

                          We all know Wikipedia is notoriously wrong, and of course in this they say that Paul sang in the background. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellow_Yellow

                          I would say that if he sang in "the background", he was doing so somewhere in the parking lot. I mean, there's the background and then there's THE BACKGROUND!!

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