: Lennon even tried singing into a microphone wrapped in a condom and submerged in water to get an "underwater" sound, though they eventually used a guitar amplifier to achieve the effect.
The story of "Yellow Submarine" began not in a recording studio, but in the "twilight moment" before sleep. One evening in 1966, Paul McCartney was lying in bed when a silly idea popped into his head about a yellow submarine. He envisioned it as a perfect vehicle for Ringo Starr , whose "knockabout uncle" persona made him the ideal choice to deliver a children's story. The Beatles - Yellow Submarine
: To create the nautical atmosphere, the band used a tin bath filled with water to simulate waves and John Lennon blew bubbles through a straw. : Lennon even tried singing into a microphone
While the song was a #1 hit, its legacy was cemented by the 1968 animated film . Interestingly, the movie was born out of a contractual obligation ; the Beatles owed United Artists a third film but didn't want to spend time filming in person. He envisioned it as a perfect vehicle for
The resulting movie followed the band (voiced by actors) as they traveled to Pepperland to save its music-loving inhabitants from the Blue Meanies . With its revolutionary "Pop Art" style directed by Heinz Edelmann , the film is now credited with helping to establish animation as a serious art form for adults rather than just a medium for children.
: Friends and studio staff were invited to join in, clinking glasses and shouting to create the rowdy "party" atmosphere heard during the song's bridge. From Song to Cinematic Landmark
Despite McCartney's insistence that it was just a children's story, the song was quickly adopted by 1960s counterculture : The most unusual recording session of all time