Willie Nelson

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“All You Need Is Love” is a song written by John Lennon with contributions from Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first ever live global television link.

Broadcast to 26 countries and watched by 350 million people, the programme was broadcast via satellite on June 25, 1967. The BBC had commissioned the Beatles to write a song for the UK’s contribution and this was the result. It is among the most famous and significant songs performed by the group.

Asked to come up with a song containing a simple message that would be understood by viewers of all nationalities, Lennon’s “All You Need is Love” extended the message that he had first tried to put across in “The Word”, from their 1965 album Rubber Soul. “It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the world a message,” said Brian Epstein. “The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything.”

Lennon was fascinated by the power of slogans to unite people and was never afraid to create art out of propaganda. When asked in 1971 whether songs like “Give Peace a Chance” and “Power to the People” were propaganda songs, he answered, “Sure. So was ‘All You Need Is Love’. I’m a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change.”

For the live broadcast, the Beatles were (except for Ringo) seated on stools, and accompanied by a small studio orchestra. They were surrounded by many friends and acquaintances (seated on the floor), who sang along with the refrain during the fade-out, including Mick Jagger and Kim McLagan.

Because of the setting of a worldwide satellite broadcast, the song was deliberately given an international feel, opening with the French anthem “La Marseillaise”, and including snatches of several other pieces during the long fade-out, including “2-part Invention #8 in F” by Johann Sebastian Bach (transposed to G and played on 2 piccolo trumpets), “Greensleeves” (played by the strings), Glenn Miller’s “In The Mood” (played on a saxophone), one of the Beatles’ seminal hits (particularly in Great Britain and the United States), “She Loves You” (spontaneously ad-libbed by John and Paul), and Jeremiah Clarke’s “Prince of Denmark’s March” lilting off at the end.

[From Wikipedia.org]

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