The Beatles - White Album: My Dream Personnel

The Beatles recently released a reissue of their self-titled 1968 album. It just so happens to be my favorite of their albums.

 The reissue features full remixes of all the original tracks, plus extensive, mostly unreleased demo versions of each track, many with overdubs. There are also tons of outtakes and the like.

With all that in mind, I had the crazy idea to compile a list of the personnel I'd most like to see perform The Beatles given one restriction: No musician can appear on more than one track. This means that each Beatle can only play on one track of their own album. Otherwise it has to be outsiders who can really do the songs justice. Other than that, these performers can be from any time period. Some weren't alive when this album was recorded, and many were already dead. There's no possible way this album could ever be or have been made, hence the "dream" aspect.

The following is my full dream personnel for each track of this wonderful album, in order. Please enjoy reading them, and there will be a few notes after the list for the obsessives out there.

---

Side one

1. Back in the U.S.S.R.
Chuck Berry - lead vocals, lead guitar
Niki Sullivan - rhythm guitar
Bruce Johnston - backing vocals, six-string bass
Jerry Lee Lewis - backing vocals, piano
Mike Love - backing vocals, percussion
Denny Seiwell - drums, percussion

2. Dear Prudence
Siouxsie Sioux - lead vocals, tambourine
Mick Ronson - electric guitar, piano, backing vocal
Jack White - lead guitar, backing vocal
Lee Loughnane - flugelhorn, backing vocal
Roy Estrada - bass guitar
Peter Banks - rhythm guitar
Boris Williams - drums, cowbell

3. Glass Onion
David Bowie - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, piano
Charles Pitts - lead guitar
Tim Bogert - bass guitar
Brian Jones - recorder
Willie Hall - drums, tambourine
The Sid Sharp Strings - violins, violas, and cellos

4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Bob Marley - vocal, acoustic guitar, vocal percussion
Simon Katz - electric bass, piano, other percussion
Hardy Fox - backing vocals, spoken word, vocal percussion
Carlton Barrett - drums, bongos, maracas
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - horns and acoustic bass

5. Wild Honey Pie
Blondie Chaplin - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, tambourine
Gaz Coombes - backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Jimmy Carl Black - backing vocals, bass drum

6. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
Carlos Santana - acoustic guitar, backing vocal
Robert Fripp - acoustic guitar, organ, Mellotron
Yoko Ono - lead vocal, backing vocal
Les Claypool - bass guitar, backing vocal
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - lead vocal, backing vocal
Danny Goffey - drums, backing vocal

7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
George Harrison - lead vocals
Jimi Hendrix - lead guitar, backing vocal
Brian Wilson - piano, harmony vocal
Bruce Springsteen - acoustic guitar, harmony vocal
Eddie Shaw - bass guitar
Carmine Appice - drums

8. Happiness Is a Warm Gun
Gene Ween - lead vocals
Jeff Beck - electric guitar, backing vocal
Kurt Cobain - lead guitar, backing vocal
Josephine Wiggs - bass guitar, backing vocal
Phil Collins - drums, backing vocal, tambourine


Side two

9. Martha My Dear
Eric Stewart - lead vocals, piano
Dave Day - electric guitar
Jon Brion - bass, cello, trombone
Louis Armstrong - trumpet
Chuck Mangione - trumpet, flugelhorn
Steve Woolam - violin
Antonio Vivaldi - violin
Bronistaw Huberman - violin
Ivry Gitlis - violin
William Primrose - viola
Lawrence Power -v iola
Hugh McDowell - cello
Melvyn Gale - cello
Richard Dunbar -french horn
Alexander Thomas -trombone
Min Leibrook -tuba
Gary Chester - drums

10. I'm So Tired
Gruff Rhys - lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Peter Green - lead guitars, backing vocal
Billy Preston - electric piano, organ
Krist Novoselic - bass guitar
Alan White - drums

11. Blackbird
Paul McCartney - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, foot tapping

12. Piggies
Jeff Lynne - lead and harmony vocals, acoustic guitar
Andrew Weiss - bass, tape effects
Maureen Tucker - tambourine, backing vocals
Lol Creme - backing vocals
Johann Sebastian Bach - harpsichord, vocalised grunting
Anna Landberg - cello
Markus Sandlund - cello

13. Rocky Raccoon
Willie Nelson - lead vocal
The Jordanaires - backing vocals
Bob Dylan - acoustic guitar, harmonica
Charlie McCoy - six-string bass
Scott Joplin - honky-tonk piano, harmonium
Levon Helm - drums, backing vocals

14. Don't Pass Me By
Elvis Presley - vocals
Ringo Starr - drums, tack piano, sleigh bells, cowbell, maracas
Eddie Shaw - bass guitar
Hargus "Pig" Robbins - grand piano
Buddy Spicher - violin

15. Why Don't We Do It in the Road?
James Brown - lead vocal
Joey Santiago - electric guitar
Richard Manuel - piano
Carol Kaye - bass
Charlie Watts - drums

16. I Will
Paul Simon - lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Art Garfunkel - backing vocal, acoustic guitar
Bobby McFerrin - vocal bass, bongos
Georgia Hubley - cymbals

17. Julia
John Lennon - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, humming

Side three

1. Birthday
Gerry Roslie - lead vocal
David Johansen - lead and backing vocals
Scott Gorham - lead guitar
Gary Moore - lead guitar
Kim Deal - bass, backing vocal
Marky Ramone - drums

2. Yer Blues
Charles Bradley - lead vocal
Tom Petty - electric guitar, backing vocal, yelling
Vic Briggs - lead guitar
John Bonham - drums

3. Mother Nature's Son
Harry Nilsson - vocals, acoustic guitar
Aimee Mann - acoustic guitar
Hal Blaine - timpani, bass drum
Chet Baker - trumpet
Punch Miller - trumpet
Patti LuPone - tuba

4. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
Lou Reed - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Jimi Hendrix - lead guitar, backing vocals
Fats Domino - backing vocals, percussion
Black Francis - backing vocals, percussion
Jaco Pastorius - bass guitar
Roger Johnston - drums, bell

5. Sexy Sadie
Thom Yorke - lead vocal, rhythm guitar
Johnny Marr - lead guitar, backing vocals
Ollie Halsall - bass guitar, backing vocals
James Murphy - Hammond organ, backing vocals
Franz Liszt - piano
Buddy Rich - drums, tambourine

6. Helter Skelter
Ronnie James Dio - lead vocal
Tony Iommi - electric guitar
Eddie Van Halen - electric guitar, backing vocal
Eric Clapton - electric slide guitar, backing vocal
John Entwhistle - six-string bass
Keith Emerson - piano, backing vocal
Miles Davis - trumpet
Neil Peart - drums, vocal shout

7. Long, Long, Long
Damon Albarn - lead vocal, piano
Donovan - acoustic guitar, harmony vocal
Karen Carpenter - drums, harmony vocal
Ray Manzarek - Hammond organ
Colin Greenwood - bass guitar

Side four

8. Revolution 1
Emitt Rhodes - vocals, piano
Woody Guthrie - acoustic guitar
Prince - lead guitars, backing vocals
Flo & Eddie - backing vocals
Ricky Fataar - drums, backing vocals
John Dalton - bass guitar, backing vocals
Ron Mael - organ
Dizzy Gillespie - trumpet
Maynard Ferguson - trumpet
David Baker - trombone
Papa Bue - trombone
Jeb Bishop - trombone

9. Honey Pie
Bill Kenny - vocal
Nokie Edwards - lead guitar
Jerry Martini - saxophone
Steve Gregory - saxophone
Harold McNair - saxophone

10. Savoy Truffle
Freddie Mercury - lead vocal
Toni Tenille - harmony vocal, Hammond organ
Dean Ween - lead guitar
Trey Anastasio - rhythm guitar
Keith Moon - drums
Kenny G - tenor saxophone
Bill Clinton - tenor saxophone

11. Cry Baby Cry
John Linnell - lead vocal, harmonium
John Cale - lead guitar, organ, harmony vocal
Geoff Downes - piano

11 1/2. Can You Take Me Back?
Daniel Johnston - lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Ryan Rabin - percussion, maracas
Chano Pozo - bongos

12. Revolution 9
John Cage - tape loops, sound effects, piano
Yamantaka Eye - tape loops, sound effects
Larry LaLonde - electric guitar
Koji Kondo - mellotron, sound effects
Charles Manson - screaming, mumbling
Christopher Lee - spoken vocals
Anthony Hopkins - spoken vocals
Allen Ginsberg - spoken vocals
Bjork - spoken vocals

13. Good Night 
Frank Sinatra - lead vocal
Rita Streich - backing vocal
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf - backing vocal
Tarja Turunen - backing vocal
Robin Goldwasser - backing vocal
Andrew Gold - backing vocal, flute
Paul Horn - flute
Jim Horn - flute
Vi Petty - celesta
Woody Herman - clarinet
Willie Dixon - double bass
Mildred Dilling - harp

---

Additional Notes:

On arrangements:
In the liner notes for The Beatles, George Martin is given credit for arranging most of the orchestral parts separately from any writing credit that might incur. For this hypothetical album, Martin would still be used as arranger for all relevant songs. However, I did not list him as a credit here because I consider personnel lists as lists of the musicians who can be heard on each track, and because having him listed on so many tracks would break my self-imposed rule about having each artist only appear on a single song.

On handclaps:
Also in the liner notes are many credits for "handclaps", usually given to all of The Beatles who played on the relevant song. For the purposes of the list, I left out the handclap credit entirely as I decided it was too minor and that it can be assumed that all personnel on a given song who were able to clap would do so at the appropriate point. Original personnel lists with said credits can be found on The Beatles Bible and elsewhere online.

General notes:
My idea for this album was that each performer could bring something of themselves to the part, changing the feel of the track just a little. The paradox is that I can't think of any way these tracks could sound any better, but compiling this list gave me hope for such a prospect. Of course, songs like "Julia" and "Blackbird" were too intimate and personnel for me to bear considering anyone else beside John and Paul on said tracks. With George and Ringo I was a bit more lenient, and those two seem more willing to cede time and attention to other musicians, in any case. I wouldn't want this album to sound like a tribute album, but if it had to, I'd hope it'd be a good one. 

Also, big props to people who actually read this thing. You're the REAL Beatles fans (No true Beatles fan fallacy :))