"Ding Dong, Ding Dong" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, written as a New Year's Eve singalong and released in December 1974 on his album '' Dark Horse''. It was the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

in Britain and some other European countries, and the second single, after " Dark Horse", in North America. A large-scale production, the song incorporates aspects of

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session ...

technique, particularly his Christmas recordings from 1963. In addition, some Harrison biographers view "Ding Dong" as an attempt to emulate the success of two

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

anthems from the 1973–74 holiday season: "

Merry Xmas Everybody "Merry Xmas Everybody" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released as a non-album single in 1973. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and it was produced by Chas Chandler. It was the band's sixth an ...

" by

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

, and

Wizzard Wizzard were an English rock band formed by Roy Wood, former member of the Move and co-founder of the Electric Light Orchestra. ''The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits'' states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings was Paul McCartne ...

's "

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly ...

". The song became only a minor hit in Britain and the United States, although it was a top-twenty hit elsewhere in the world. Harrison took the lyrics to "Ding Dong" from engravings he found at his nineteenth-century home,

Friar Park Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, built in 1889. It was originally owned by eccentric lawyer Sir Frank Crisp and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatle George Harrison. ...

, in Oxfordshire – a legacy of its eccentric founder,

Frank Crisp Sir Frank Crisp, 1st Baronet, (25 October 1843 – 29 April 1919) was an English lawyer and microscopist. Crisp was an enthusiastic member, and sometime officer, of the Royal Microscopical Society. He was generous in his support of the Society, ...

. The song's "Ring out the old, ring in the new" refrain has invited interpretation as Harrison distancing himself from his past as a member of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, and as the singer farewelling his first marriage, to

Pattie Boyd Patricia Anne Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harri ...

. As on much of the ''Dark Horse'' album, Harrison's vocals on the recording were hampered by a throat condition, due partly to his having overextended himself on business projects such as his recently launched record label,

Dark Horse Records Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by former Beatle George Harrison in 1974. The label's formation coincided with the winding down of the Beatles' Apple Records and allowed Harrison to continue supporting other artists' projects whil ...

. Recorded at his Friar Park studio, the track includes musical contributions from Tom Scott, Ringo Starr,

Alvin Lee Alvin Lee (born Graham Anthony Barnes; 19 December 1944 – 6 March 2013) was an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lead guitarist of the blues rock band Ten Years After. Early life He w ...

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

and

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

. On release, the song met with an unfavourable response from many music critics, while others considered its musical and lyrical simplicity to be a positive factor for a contemporary pop hit. For the first time with one of his singles, Harrison made a promotional video for "Ding Dong", which features scenes of him miming to the track at Friar Park while dressed in a variety of Beatle-themed costumes. The song still receives occasional airplay over the holiday season. The video appears on the DVD in Harrison's eight-disc '' Apple Years 1968–75'' box set, released in September 2014.

Background and composition

George Harrison purchased the 33-acre

estate, in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, in January 1970, and soon afterwards composed " Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" as a tribute to the property's original owner, an eccentric Victorian lawyer and horticulturalist named

.Olivia Harrison, p. 268. Harrison included the song on his ''

All Things Must Pass ''All Things Must Pass'' is the third studio album by English rock musician George Harrison. Released as a triple album in November 1970, it was Harrison's first solo work after the break-up of the Beatles in April that year. It includes the h ...

'' triple album, released in November 1970, by which time he had begun incorporating into his new compositions some of the homilies and aphorisms that Crisp had inscribed around the property, 70 or more years before. A four-line verse beginning "Scan not a friend with a microscopic glass" particularly resonated with Harrison, who eventually used it in his 1975 song " The Answer's at the End". It similarly took Harrison several years to turn two inspirational lines of verse from carvings in the house's drawing room into song lyrics.Madinger & Easter, p. 444. These lines provided the repeated verse in "Ding Dong, Ding Dong": "Ring out the old, ring in the new" – which he took from the carving to the left of the fireplace – and "Ring out the false, ring in the true" – from the one to the right. In his 1980 autobiography, ''

I, Me, Mine ''I, Me, Mine'' is an autobiographic memoir by the English musician George Harrison, formerly of The Beatles. It was published in 1980 as a hand-bound, limited edition book by Genesis Publications, with a mixture of printed text and multi-colour ...

'', Harrison credits English poet

Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

as the original source for these lines. Frank Crisp PLS

Authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter describe "Ding Dong" as the "quickest song" that Harrison ever wrote, in terms of time spent on the composition. The words for the song's

middle eight The 32- bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. ...

– "Yesterday, today was tomorrow / And tomorrow, today will be yesterday" – came from another pair of inscriptions from Crisp's time at Friar Park. Harrison found these lines in what he called "the garden building",George Harrison, p. 280. carved in stone around two matching windows. The only other lyrics in "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" are the song title, repeated four times to serve as its chorus.George Harrison, p. 279. Sung in imitation of a clock chiming,Inglis, p. 46.Allison, p. 140. the chorus lyrics, combined with the message of those of the verse, lend the composition an obvious New Year's theme.Spizer, p. 264. Harrison later described the song as "very optimistic", and suggested: "Instead of getting stuck in a rut, everybody should try ringing out the old and ringing in the new … eoplesing about it, but they never apply it to their lives." Harrison's other singles from the early 1970s – "

My Sweet Lord "My Sweet Lord" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1970 on his triple album ''All Things Must Pass''. It was also released as a single, Harrison's first as a solo artist, and topped charts worldwide; it was the ...

", "

What Is Life "What Is Life" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album ''All Things Must Pass''. In many countries, it was issued as the second single from the album, in February 1971, becoming a top-ten hit in the Unit ...

", " Bangla Desh" and " Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" – were similarly written very quickly. In the case of "Ding Dong" and other tracks from the '' Dark Horse'' album, however, author Simon Leng recognises this haste as an example of Harrison abandoning his careful approach to his own music over the 1973–74 period, while remaining a "painstaking craftsman" on his concurrent projects with

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

and the vocal duo

Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

. Preceding this change, elements of the British media had ridiculed Harrison's continued association with the

Hare Krishna movement The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...

, and some music critics had objected to the overtly spiritual content of his 1973 album ''

Living in the Material World ''Living in the Material World'' is the fourth studio album by English musician George Harrison, released in 1973 on Apple Records. As the follow-up to 1970's critically acclaimed ''All Things Must Pass'' and his pioneering charity project, th ...

''. With his marriage to

all but over by the summer of 1973, Harrison now wanted to be "one of the boys, not a spotlight-grabbing philosopher", according to Leng.

Production

Initial recording

Harrison recorded the rhythm track for "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" at his home studio, FPSHOT, in late November 1973, during the first sessions for ''Dark Horse''. Aside from himself, on acoustic guitar, the other musicians on the track were

Gary Wright Gary Malcolm Wright (born April 26, 1943) is an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs "Dream Weaver" and " Love Is Alive", and for his role in helping establish the synthesizer as a leading instrument in rock and pop ...

(piano),

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including " You're So ...

(bass), Ringo Starr and

(both on drums)Leng, p. 153. – all of whom had appeared on ''Living in the Material World'' earlier in the year.Lindsay Planer
"George Harrison 'Ding Dong, Ding Dong'"

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

(retrieved 19 July 2016). The recording engineer was Phil McDonald. The sessions coincided with a period of domestic turbulence at Friar Park, with Harrison and Boyd both involved in extramarital affairs. They saw in the 1973–74 New Year with a party at Starr's

Tittenhurst Park Tittenhurst Park is a Grade II listed early Georgian country house set in off London Road at Beggar's Bush near Ascot and over the parish border into Sunningdale, both in the English county of Berkshire. It was famously the home of musi ...

mansion – which was an "absolute dud" of a night, according to their friend Chris O'Dell, due to Harrison having openly declared his love for Starr's wife,

Maureen Starkey Maureen Starkey Tigrett (born Mary Cox; 4 August 1946 – 30 December 1994), also known as Mo Starkey, was a hairdresser from Liverpool, England, best known as the first wife of Ringo Starr, the Beatles' drummer. When she was a trainee hair ...

, a few days before. Boyd recalls that Harrison told her at the party: "Let's have a divorce this year."

Overdubbing

Harrison included a rough mix of "Ding Dong" on a tape he sent to

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/Asylu ...

boss David Geffen in January 1974, shortly before travelling to India to visit Shankar and escape his unhappy domestic situation with Boyd. The purpose of the tape was to find a distributor for albums by Harrison's future

acts – '' Shankar Family & Friends'' by Shankar, and Splinter's '' The Place I Love'' – both of which had started off as Harrison productions for

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

record label. He added two songs of his own on the tape, with introductory comments about "Ding Dong".Leng, p. 154. As outlined to Geffen, Harrison went on to adopt the

production technique of his former collaborator, American producer

, in his subsequent work on the track.Leng, pp. 153–54. Harrison's musical arrangement reflects the influence of the 1963 album '' A Christmas Gift for You'', which contained Spector-produced songs by

the Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. ...

the Crystals The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including "There's No Other (Like My Baby)", " ...

and

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

, while more recently Spector had co-produced the Apple Records single "

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reach ...

" single, by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

. Some authors claim that with "Ding Dong", Harrison set out to create a seasonal "classic", in an attempt to match the British chart success of "Happy Xmas" and particularly of

's "

"Clayson, p. 343. and

's "

" – two

singles that were major UK hits over the winter of 1973–74. Leng cites the inclusion on the finished version of "Ding Dong" of

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

and distorted electric guitars, similar to the Slade hit, while Harrison's use of baritone saxophones, two drummers and

tubular bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

, together with a female choir, matched the arrangement on "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", which was heavily influenced by Spector's sound. Having incorporated aspects of Spector's technique on ''Material World'',Stephen Holden
"George Harrison, ''Living in the Material World''"
, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', 19 July 1973, p. 54 (retrieved 18 July 2016). Harrison's aim with "Ding Dong, Ding Dong", according to Leng, was an update of the Wall of Sound that reflected "the glam rock mood of the day". Harrison

overdubbed Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

call-and-response guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

s by

and

onto the 1973 rhythm track, as well as his own slide guitars. Further overdubs included baritone and

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

saxophone parts by Tom Scott,Michael Gross, "George Harrison: How ''Dark Horse'' Whipped Up a Winning Tour", '' Circus Raves'', March 1975; available a
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required). and a second acoustic guitar, played by Mick Jones. Harrison also contributed on organ, clavinet and percussion,"George's original nnersleeve design for the album ''Dark Horse''" (sample album credits), ''Dark Horse'' CD booklet (

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Ma ...

, 2014; produced by George Harrison), p. 8. the last of which included tubular bells (or chimes),

sleigh bell A jingle bell or sleigh bell is a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers. They find use in many areas as a percussion instrument, including the classic sleigh bell sound and morris dancing. The ...

s and

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

. Harrison's workload ensured that he was rushing to finish ''Dark Horse'' in October 1974 before beginning his North American tour with Shankar on 2 November.Madinger & Easter, pp. 442–43. Described by Leng as "growled", Harrison's rough-sounding singing on "Ding Dong" shows the effects of a long-standing throat problem. Due to a combination of overexertion and abuse, this condition worsened,David Cavanagh, "George Harrison: The Dark Horse", ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'', August 2008, pp. 43–44. leading to him contracting laryngitis as he simultaneously completed his vocals for the album in Los Angeles and rehearsed for the tour. The female backing singers on the track remain uncredited.

Release

In the United Kingdom, "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" was released as the

from ''Dark Horse'' on 6 December 1974 (as Apple R 6002).Castleman & Podrazik, p. 144. The B-side was "

I Don't Care Anymore "I Don't Care Anymore" is a song written, performed, and produced by English drummer Phil Collins (with co-production by Hugh Padgham). It was the second US single from Collins' second solo album, '' Hello, I Must Be Going!'' (1982). It did no ...

", a non-album track that Harrison recorded in a single take, specifically for the single.Timothy White, "George Harrison: Reconsidered", '' Musician'', November 1987, p. 65. In the United States, where " Dark Horse" had already been issued in advance of the album, "Ding Dong" was coupled with the instrumental " Hari's on Tour (Express)" and released two days before Christmas (as Apple 1879). Apple issued

white label A white label record is a vinyl record with white labels attached. There are several variations each with a different purpose. Variations include test pressings, white label promos, and plain white labels. Test pressings Test pressings, usua ...

promotional discs to US radio stations, containing a 3:12 edit of the song.Spizer, p. 269. The single was available in a picture sleeve consisting of the song lyrics printed on an off-white background, with stamped Om symbols and the FPSHOT logo. The record's A-side face label included a photo of Harrison's new girlfriend, Olivia Arias, above the song information, whereas the UK single had Harrison's face on both sides. On the ''Dark Horse'' LP, the two face labels similarly alternated between a picture of Harrison and one of Arias.Spizer, p. 265. Combined with the positioning of "Ding Dong" as the opening track on side two, this detail gave the impression that the song represented Harrison's ushering-in of his future wife and a farewell to Boyd. In the album's inner-sleeve credits, Harrison listed one of the guitarists on the track as "Ron Would if you let him", a reference to Wood's brief affair with Boyd before she took up with Eric Clapton.Rodriguez, p. 142. He also acknowledged Frank Crisp for having provided "spirit" on the recording. In another farewell to the past, Harrison signed the so-called "Beatles Agreement" papers in New York on 19 December, further severing the four former bandmates from the group's legal identity. Rather than the smash hit that Harrison had hoped for, "Ding Dong" was only moderately successful. The single peaked at number 38 in Britain and number 36 on America's ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Madinger and Easter write that the single did "remarkably well", however, given that it was issued too late to take advantage of holiday-season programming. Harrison's single enjoyed more success internationally, climbing to number 10 in the Netherlands and number 12 in Belgium. Despite "Ding Dong" having had what author

Bruce Spizer David "Bruce" Spizer (born July 2, 1955) is a tax attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana, who is also recognized as an expert on the Beatles. He has published thirteen books, and is frequently quoted as an authority on the history of the band an ...

terms a "respectable" chart run in America, Apple distributor Capitol Records omitted the song from its 1976 compilation ''

The Best of George Harrison ''The Best of George Harrison'' is a 1976 compilation album by English musician George Harrison, released following the expiration of his EMI-affiliated Apple Records contract. Uniquely among all of the four Beatles' solo releases, apart from p ...

'', which the company issued after Harrison had moved on to Dark Horse Records. Following ''Dark Horse''s CD release in 1992, the song was unavailable in newly

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

form until the '' Apple Years'' Harrison reissues, released in September 2014.Joe Marchese
"Review: The George Harrison Remasters – 'The Apple Years 1968–1975'"
''The Second Disc'', 23 September 2014 (retrieved 28 September 2014).

Critical reception

Contemporary reviews

The majority of music critics were unimpressed with "Ding Dong, Ding Dong",Peter Doggett, "George Harrison: The Apple Years", ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'', April 2001, p. 39. and its release came in the wake of unfavourable reviews for the North American tour. In keeping with the song's message, Harrison refused to celebrate the past in his concerts by pandering to nostalgia for the Beatles, and many in the mainstream music press criticised the poor state of his voice and his decision to feature Ravi Shankar so heavily in the program. In the UK,

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...

Background and composition

Production

Initial recording

Overdubbing

Release

Critical reception

Contemporary reviews

Retrospective assessments and legacy

Promo clip

Personnel

Chart positions

Notes

References

Sources

External links