Hans Hot 100 Beatles Songs: #79: ‘ Baby, You’re A Rich Man’

The Countdown so far- 100-‘Any Time At All’/ 99- ‘No Reply’ / 98- ‘You Know My Name [Look Up The Number]/ 97- ‘The Inner Light’ / 96- ‘ You Won’t See Me’ / 95- ‘Baby’s In Black’/ 94- ‘Sexy Sadie’ / 93- ‘I Need You’ / 92- ‘Love Me Do’/ 91- ‘Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey’/ 90- ‘Doctor Robert’/ 89- ‘There’s A Place’/ 88- ‘Good Day Sunshine’ 87- ‘It’s Only Love’ 86- ‘I Want You [She’s So Heavy] 85-‘Yer Blues’ / 84- ‘From Me To You’/ 83-‘She’s Leaving Home’/ 82-‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite’/ 81-‘I’m So Tired’/ 80-‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’ 79- ‘Baby, You’re A Rich Man’

Hans Hot 100 Beatles Songs: #79: ‘Baby, You’re A Rich Man’- first released in the summer of 1967 as the b-side to the #1 hit ‘All You Need Is Love’- ‘Baby, You’re A Rich Man’ -was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. At one point it was an unfinished song that John was calling “One Of The Beautiful People.’ Paul McCartney added a chorus. The part of the song that musically sticks with me is John’s use of the clavioline which created a sound like the Indian shehnai. The lyrics are about the hippie movement- and when George Harrison made his famous trip to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury in 1967 he sang the song for the hippies. There is also speculation that some of the lyrics may have been aimed at Beatles manager Brian Epstein.