Badge

[leicester35]

Over on the nutjob thread, the subject of "Badge" has come once or twice. Great track...one of my favourites.

But I was interested to read that the guitar is all Harrison until Clapton's lead (through a Leslie rotary) comes in...

 

I was listening to the track earlier today. Any guesses which guitar Harrison was using? Apparently it was recorded in autumn 1968...so I was guessing maybe he still had his SG at that time and was using it here - but I may be wrong. It growls too much for a Fender though, and doesn't sound dense enough for a LP...

[charlie brown]

Badge with George Harrison

Posted by BeatleTracks at 7/7/2008 7:43 AM and is filed under Trivia

Badge with George Harrison

 

 

Returning a Favor, George Helped Write One of Cream's Biggest Hits.

 

 

As everyone now knows, it was Eric Clapton who played the lead guitar riff on George Harrison's masterpiece "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." *(see earlier blog called "Guitars Gently Weeping for more details). This collaboration occured in September, 1968 as the Beatles were starting to wind down the sessions for what would become the "White Album."

 

Since Eric Clapton and George Harrison were such good friends, they spoke often in those days. Incidentally, Clapton was notoriously in love with George's wife which was another good reason to keep the lines of communication open. (*again, see earlier blog "Guitars Gently Weeping" for more info on this too.) So, in the fall of 1968, based, in part, on a scathing Rolling Stone review of one of their concerts, Cream, especially Clapton, decided it was time to fold and shut down the band. The Cream members, Ginger Baker (drums), Claton and Jack Bruce (bass guitar and vocals) all agreed to write a new song apiece to add to several live tracks to fill up one last LP to be aptly called "Goodbye Cream." Eric Clapton was having trouble completing even one tune so George Harrison drove to Eric's home, also located in Surrey at the time, in October, 1968 to help construct a song. After all, Eric had done a stellar job on George's own "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" that it was only fair to return the favor. Ringo Starr also showed up. (to be further explored momentarily)

 

Words and music were being fleshed out into what was turning into a decent song. Both men were pleased with what they were coming up with. George remembers it this way, "We were working across from each other and I was writing the lyrics down and we came to the middle part so I wrote 'Bridge.' Eric read it upside down and cracked up laughing - -'What's BADGE mean?' he asked. After that Ringo walked in drunk and gave us that line about the swans living in the park."

 

So it came to pass; as a gag, they just called the song "BADGE" which of course had nothing to do whatsoever with the song itself. In actuality, the lyrics have no continuity either from verse to verse especially considering a drunk Ringo Starr gave them the final verse to the tune which, like all the other lyrics, amounted to nonsense. It didn't matter, the song remains to this day, the most well known tune on the "Goodbye Cream" album, one of Cream's most well known and well loved songs and a staple for bar bands everywhere. It was realeased in April, 1969 long after Cream broke up and reached #18 in the UK Charts by early May.

 

The Beatles didn't credit Clapton with his solo on the "White Album." Partly because of that and partly because of the then ongoing hassles with Northern Songs and all the copywrite madness going on with the Beatles, George opted to disguise himself with a pseudonym. His writing had been so elemental and strong on this song that Clapton insisted that George get a songwriting credit. So George, as L'Angelo Misterioso (mysterious angel) was given a song writing credit on this great tune.

 

Music: George played rhythm guitar on this song on the finished recording and his playing is instantly recognizable in the famous bridge: one can hear the decending arpeggio on this song that George later employed to great effect on the "Abbey Road" album on such songs as "You Never Give Me Your Money," and "Carry That Weight." In all cases, George played his guitar through a Leslie organ speaker to get that unusual sound. As a result of George doing that, may artists began copying the effect including Clapton himself, Jimmy Page (Good Times, Bad Times) and Peter Frampton (almost everything he played).

 

Cream bassist Jack Bruce: was just quoted in Classic Rock magazine (July 2008, issue #120), recalling his one and only session with George Harrison back in 1968: "I met George druing the session Cream did for "Badge" and I was very impressed with his playing. I took it for granted that people like McCartney and Lennon were brilliant but didn't really analyse it. But when you actually play with George you could see what an amazing guitar player he was, doing things that I hadn't even thought of."

 

High praise indeed from one of the greatest bassists in Rock history and about the only other bassist to rival Paul McCartney during the 1960's. As this correspondant stated in an earlier blog, George did finally start getting recognized for his guitar playing chops late in the Beatles' recording career and then well into his solo years. As it turned out, he could also write fantastic rock songs.

 

 

By John Haberstroh (Bassist for BeatleTracks)

[charlie brown]

And, another version:

 

I co-wrote Badge with Eric Clapton. The group Cream decided they weremaking one last album together and they all hadto turn up on such and such a day with a new song each.

Eric had some of the melody and I helped him finish the tune and then wrote the words.

 

While writing the words we got to the middle part which I call the 'bridge', so I put that on the paper with the words.

Eric was sitting oppositeme and he looked at the paper- upside down to him - and cracked up, he said "what's that - badge?" and I said "It's bridge". So laterEric called the song Badge.

It's funny, now he actually sings in concert at the end of the song "where is my badge?".

 

Later Ringo came in - he was absolutely plastered - and we were up to the lines

 

I told you not to drive around in the dark

I told you....

 

and Ringo said

 

...about the swans that they live in the park.

 

It's a bit silly but that's what happened folks.

 

To add here is a part of an interview about George on this recording

 

But you did play that Beatles-sounding bridge riff in "Badge" on Cream's Goodbye album, didn't you?

 

No, Eric played that! He doesn't even play on that song before that. We recorded that track in L.A,: it was Eric, plus Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, and I think the producer, Felix Pappalardi, played the piano part. I was just playing chops on the guitar chords and we went right through the second verse and into the bridge, which is where Eric comes in. Again, it sounds Beatles-ish because we ran it throught a Leslie speaker.

 

The complete interview is on Dark Horse

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Hall/3934/

 

------------------

Friar Park Studio Henley-On-Thames, the place to be;

Crackerbox Palace, the Forum to visit.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Thermionik]

This is so much better than that thread - and informative too. Just listened to the tracks, and with opened ears (thanks to you guys) you can hear the players 'as described' - and the lyrics - well, at least I know why now. Never saw the Beatles, but saw Cream rehearsing in Camden, through many gigs including the farewell at the Albert Hall (uncannily almost 40 years ago to the day.....). And Felix Papallardi was on Badge too as I recall.....

 

Never thought I would hear a new angle on such an old friend..... until your thread.

 

Nice work guys

[charlie brown]

Haven't found any specific reference to WHICH guitar George used, or Eric too, for that matter...on "Badge!"

The timing seems to suggest it would have been "Lucy" (for George)...the LP that Eric gave him, after using

it on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." But, I'll keep looking...maybe I'll find out, eventually...or, maybe some-

one else knows, for sure?

 

Just found out, on the "Where's Eric" site, that EC used his red 335, on "Badge!" But it didn't mention

what George used. I'll keep looking, though....

 

 

CB

[rjbee]

I believe George used the same pseudonym on Harry Nillsons, Nillson Schmillson.

[Nelson]

I believe George used the same pseudonym on Harry Nillsons' date=' Nillson Schmillson.[/quote']

 

He used "George Harrysong" for Harry Nillson... he used both "Jai Raj Harisein" and Hari Georgeson" on recordings with the band "Splinter" "P. Roducer for his production credits) "George O'Hara" on some Nicky Hopkins and Gary Wright stuff and he was simply "George H." on some Billy Preston recordings..."L'Angelo Misterioso" (The Mysterious Angel) was used for Badge and later used it again on the Jack Bruce song "Never Tell Your Mother She's Out Of Tune" (which is the answer to one of my trivia question).

 

The Badge sessions were in October of 1968 and he'd only had the red LP a couple of months so I'll bet that was the guitar on "Badge" Felix Pappalardi was probably one of music's great unrecognized geniuses of rock music as both the producer and sometimes fourth member of Cream and the bassist in Mountain (he used an original Gibson EB bass-a violin-shaped bass that was the inspiration for a later, more-famous violin-shaped bass made by this German company) and he died way too young.

 

and I turned around who asked "what's "Badge"" in my other post...Eric asked George "what is "Badge" not the other way around...for many years people thought it was both an acronym for the chords used or an acronym meaning something else...Cream also had "NSU" (a British car) and SWLABR (She Was Like A Bearded Rainbow-or-She Walks Like A Bearded Rainbow). It was great fun back in the days of convoluted and constricting contracts to figure out the pseudonyms these guys used.

 

Nelson

[Thermionik]

Nelson - I don't want to seem picky, but NSU was never a British car.

 

Neckarsulmer Strickmaschinefabrik, later NSU was a German company, Fiat (Italian) acquired the rights to the NSU name around 1928 and used it for cars from about 1957 as NSU Automobil AG. Around the same time, NSU Werke AG came out with the Prinz in Germany - so to avoid confusion the FIAT cars where marked NSU/FIAT and a couple of years later the NSU company was renamed to "NSU Motorenwerke AG". In the late sixties Auto-Union GmbH and NSU Motor Works AG merged, becoming AUDI NSU AUTO UNION AG. Auto Union Gmbh was partially owned by the Volkswagen AG. German again.

 

So you can see why the subject might be a little sensitive. We may have won the battle for freedom from fascist dictatorship across Europe, but Germany did somewhat better in the automotive wars.

 

And please - all that is in the past, so let us not dwell on it (like the Beatles thread, yah know.....)

[Nelson]

Nelson - I don't want to seem picky' date=' but NSU was [u']never[/u] a British car.

 

Neckarsulmer Strickmaschinefabrik, later NSU was a German company, Fiat (Italian) acquired the rights to the NSU name around 1928 and used it for cars from about 1957 as NSU Automobil AG. Around the same time, NSU Werke AG came out with the Prinz in Germany - so to avoid confusion the FIAT cars where marked NSU/FIAT and a couple of years later the NSU company was renamed to "NSU Motorenwerke AG". In the late sixties Auto-Union GmbH and NSU Motor Works AG merged, becoming AUDI NSU AUTO UNION AG. Auto Union Gmbh was partially owned by the Volkswagen AG. German again.

 

So you can see why the subject might be a little sensitive. We may have won the battle for freedom from fascist dictatorship across Europe, but Germany did somewhat better in the automotive wars.

 

And please - all that is in the past, so let us not dwell on it (like the Beatles thread, yah know.....)

 

I appreciate the correction and I apologize for any confusion or national irritation my error may have caused. Now that I see it written out there I now do remember them being German. Again, my apologizes.

 

 

Nelson

[Thermionik]

Nelson - no apology needed.....

 

.....anybody who is savvy enough to give their location as Milky Way is cool by me.

 

We are stardust

[layboomo]

Yeah this is cool stuff indeed! I have a Leslie 145 that is modified to work with any guitar head and the song Badge is the reason I got it! If you've never played guitar through a Leslie it's just a one of a kind experience and even the best chorus and modulation effects pedals pale by comparison. FWIW Harrison has always been my favorite musician of the Fab 4and it's pretty obvious he had the best taste in women! LOL! :-$/