"Saint Paul"
In early 1969 Knight secured a producer's contract with Capitol Records which also allowed him to release his own songs as a solo artist. He wrote and recorded a single, "Saint Paul" which contributed to the "Paul is dead" hoax that erupted later in the year. The cryptic lyrics of the song are generally thought to allude to Knight's failed relationship with McCartney and his apparent belief that The Beatles would soon break up. The lyrics do not refer to death but were interpreted by some fans as containing clues. The ending repeats the phrase "hey Paul" in an arrangement that sounds very similar to The Beatles' song Hey Jude. There are also 2 different stereo mixes of the song in circulation. The longer 5 minute version also contains a high pitched voice singing lines from other Beatles songs, including, "Hello, Goodbye", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "She Loves You." Initial copies of the single listed Terry Knight's company, Storybook Music, as the publisher of "Saint Paul." After Capitol received a cease and desist letter from The Beatles' music publisher Maclen Music (the U.S. division of Northern Songs) the record was pulled from distribution.
A deal was apparently worked out between Knight and Maclen Music. About a month later in May 1969 "Saint Paul" was re-issued with a publishing credit by Maclen. The second pressing of the record also contains a note on the label which states that "Hey Jude" is used by permission. The shorter 4 minute mix of the song does not contain the additional sung Beatles song excerpts. The re-assignment of publishing rights made Knights' song the only non Lennon–McCartney tune owned by Maclen. "Saint Paul" reached the top 40 in a few cities in the upper Midwest region but failed to make the national Billboard Hot 100 chart. The fact that "Saint Paul" was re-published by Maclen was incorrectly seen by some Beatle fans as evidence of a conspiracy involving Knight and The Beatles and the "Paul is dead" rumors.
"Saint Paul" was later re-recorded in 1969 by New Zealand singer Shane in a sound-alike version and became one of the best-selling singles of the 1960s in his native country. In the early 1990s author Andru Reeve repeatedly tried to interview Knight while writing a book about the "Paul is dead" hoax. However Reeve was unable to get Knight to talk about the song.
Read more about this topic: Terry Knight
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