The Ballad of John and Yoko

The Ballad of John and Yoko is a single on Parlophone (catalogue R 5786), released 30 May 1969. Cut by John & Paul alone (Ringo on tour, George abroad).

Recorded during the band's Get Back / Rooftop (Jan 1969) period, produced by George Martin with Glyn Johns, Alan Parsons (2nd) engineering. The tracks were committed at Apple Studios rooftop, 3 Savile Row, London on Apple's mobile 8-track to studio downstairs via the Hand-built Apple desk.

The Ballad of John and Yoko is a Beatles single issued in the United Kingdom on 30 May 1969 by Parlophone under catalogue number R 5786. It sits in the band's Get Back / Rooftop (Jan 1969) period. The release arrived 133 days after the parent LP Yellow Submarine, placing it firmly within that album's commercial window.

Sessions were produced by George Martin with Glyn Johns, Alan Parsons (2nd) engineering, working at Apple Studios rooftop, 3 Savile Row, London. The signal chain ran through the Apple's mobile 8-track to studio downstairs • Hand-built Apple desk, with vocals captured on AKG D19 (Ringo kick), STC 4038, U47 (vocals). This combination of room, tape format and outboard chain is the same one heard across the band's other releases from the era — meaning the release shares its sonic identity with its parent LP rather than departing from it.

The release features The Ballad of John and Yoko.

Documented alternate masters and remaster passes can be found via the linked entries above; the editorial position throughout Beatles Answers is that the original UK mono master is the canonical point of reference for any single from this era, with the 2009 and 50th-anniversary stereo remasters treated as documented variations rather than replacements. Catalogue numbers, label copy and matrix data are taken from EMI/Parlophone primary documentation and cross-checked against Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (1988).

Each track on this single carries its own session history on the dedicated entry. The summary below pulls the most distinctive editorial detail from each:

• The Ballad of John and Yoko — Recorded on 14 April 1969 with minimal personnel: only John and Paul participated, with Ringo absent on tour and George abroad. George Martin oversaw production while Geoff Emerick engineered.

• UK Singles Chart peak: #1 (Wikipedia, citing the relevant chart publication)
• US Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (Wikipedia)
• RIAA certification: Gold (Recording Industry Association of America)

Chart positions and certifications sourced from the relevant Wikipedia article infoboxes and citation footnotes.

• Get Back / Don't Let Me Down
• Something / Come Together