History Music / TheWhiteAlbum

* CreatorProvincialism: Why exactly would the subject of "Back in the USSR", a Soviet patriot, fly from Miami Beach on BOAC, a British airline?

* RecordProducer: George Martin.

* SelfBackingVocalist: Paul on "I Will" and "Wild Honey Pie". John, who usually didn't do this, had a duet with himself (interpolating lines) on "Julia".

* {{Feelies}}: The album is packaged with four photos of the individual Beatles and a poster that includes lyrics, credits and a collage of more photos.

!! '''"Trope-La-Di, Trope-La-Da, Life goes on, brah"''':

** Many of the album's more acoustic-based songs seem to draw from [[FolkMusic Folk Rock]].
** "Rocky Raccoon," more or less an explicit semi-AffectionateParody of cowboy ballads and CountryMusic.
** "Honey Pie" is a direct homage to the British music hall style and has a 1920's/1930's nostalgic feel to it.
** "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is {{Ska}}
** "Helter Skelter" is incredibly heavy, and has been rather inaccurately called one of the first HeavyMetal songs by some people. It's definitely a headbanger.

** "Yer Blues" is moaned and played as a traditional {{Blues}} song.
** "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" is more or less a Music/LittleRichard tribute. The band was inspired to go back to their collective love for RockAndRoll after they had watched a broadcast of ''Film/TheGirlCantHelpIt'' on TV earlier that night.

''The White Album'' became the Beatles' first and only[[note]]not counting their compilation albums[[/note]] double album. The songs feature a lot of variation [[GenreRoulette in style]] and [[MoodWhiplash mood]]. Overall the record sounds almost like a compilation record featuring the band members as solo artists instead of a unified work. The atmosphere at the sessions got so bad that the famously chill Music/RingoStarr grew frustrated and briefly quit the band (Music/PaulMcCartney took over on drums for "Back in the USSR" and "Dear Prudence", and Music/JohnLennon and Music/GeorgeHarrison also contributed to the "USSR" drum track). From this album on Music/YokoOno made herself present next to John in the studio and this certainly caused even more tensions, seeing that the band had always recorded with them four alone.

Though not as popular as other Beatle records like ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' or ''Music/AbbeyRoad'', this album still a huge inspiration for numerous rock bands. When something gets compared to the White Album, it's almost invariably a shorthand way of saying "long album with huge variety of styles, inevitably will attract complaints about AlbumFiller". But everyone agrees it is an important and influential record. It generated hits such as "Back in the USSR", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", and "Revolution" (though the single version is a totally different arrangement). "Dear Prudence", "Helter Skelter", "Happiness Is a Warm Gun", "Don't Pass Me By", "Sexy Sadie", and "Blackbird" have become fan favourites, while "Revolution #9" is perhaps the most notorious and audacious track: exciting for AvantGardeMusic fans and AlbumFiller to most other people.

Also got some notoriety because UsefulNotes/CharlesManson misinterpreted some lyrics from the songs "Piggies", "Revolution 9" and "Helter Skelter" to order his followers to go on a murdering spree.

** "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" was inspired by a title in a rifle magazine. Unbeknownst to Lennon the title itself was an IncrediblyLamePun on the phrase "Happiness Is a Warm Puppy" from the ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' franchise.

* TheWalrusWasPaul: TropeNamer, sung in "Glass Onion".
-->''And here's another clue for you all: the walrus was Paul.''

''The Beatles'' is the [[SelfTitledAlbum self-titled]] tenth studio album by Music/TheBeatles, released in 1968. It was given the unofficial monkier of "The White Album", owed to its [[MinimalisticCoverArt completely white album cover]]. Nowadays, most people -- including [[AscendedFanon the band themselves]] -- refer to this nickname rather than the official title, both because of the iconic nature of the cover and to distinguish it in discussions not only from the band themselves, but also the two self-titled [[GreatestHitsAlbum compilation albums]] released in 1973 (which themselves are respectively known as "the Red Album" and "the Blue album").

* LongTitle: "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey"

* AlbumFiller: A subject of debate even before the album was released. George Martin asked the Beatles to trim it down to one album since he felt there was too much filler, but the band didn't listen, being eager to fulfil their album commitment to the EMI record label as quickly as possible, and being unable to agree which songs to remove (Harrison noted that by that point there was "too much ego" involved). Every listener will have his or her own list of which songs on this album are filler, and there have even been bootleg editions of this record where the set list has been rearranged and songs that are considered filler have been removed. Music/PaulMcCartney for his part liked the album just as it was. (See the page quote.)

''The Beatles'' is the [[SelfTitledAlbum self-titled]] tenth studio album by Music/TheBeatles, released in 1968. "The White Album" is the unofficial moniker for the album, owing to its [[MinimalisticCoverArt completely white album cover]]. Nowadays, most people -- including [[AscendedFanon the band themselves]] -- refer to this nickname rather than the official title, both because of the iconic nature of the cover and to distinguish it in discussions not only from the band themselves, but also the two self-titled [[GreatestHitsAlbum compilation albums]] released in 1973 (which themselves are respectively known as "the Red Album" and "the Blue album").

''The Beatles'' is the tenth studio album by Music/TheBeatles, released in 1968. "The White Album" is the unofficial moniker for the album, owing to its [[MinimalisticCoverArt completely white album cover]]. Nowadays, most people -- including [[AscendedFanon the band themselves]] -- refer to this nickname rather than the official title, both because of the iconic nature of the cover and to distinguish it in discussions not only from the band themselves, but also the two self-titled [[GreatestHitsAlbum compilation albums]] released in 1973 (which themselves are respectively known as "the Red Album" and "the Blue album").

* Music/GeorgeHarrison - guitar, backing and lead vocals, bass, organ, drums, percussion, tambourine, sound effects
* Music/JohnLennon - lead vocals, guitar, bass, piano, organ, harmonium, mellotron, harmonica, saxophone, sound effects
* Music/PaulMcCartney - lead vocals, bass, guitar, keyboard, piano, organ, percussion, timpani, tambourine, cowbell, bell, drums, recorder, flugelhorn
* Music/RingoStarr - drums, backing and lead vocals, piano, jingle bell, percussion, tambourine, bongos, cymbals, maracas

* AbortedArc: Despite being called "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" the song just ends and isn't referred to anywhere else on the album. This may have been done intentionally, as the song starts InMediasRes, has NoEnding, and seems to be an AffectionateParody of old radio serials and other pop culture artefacts (there's also a reference to ComicBook/CaptainMarvel, though which incarnation is unclear).

* ChekhovsGun: At the start of "Rocky Raccoon", Rocky checks into a hotel room and finds a Gideons' Bible. Other stuff happens, and then at the end he leaves, taking the Bible with him and apparently undergoing a religious conversion. (Another interpretation would be that Rocky is dying, but either way the Gideon Bible helps him find Jesus.)

** "Rocky Raccoon" is a [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] MurderBallad. Rocky intends to murder his rival Dan, but is actually shot himself, and the final verse indicates that he recovered and found God.

* AvantGardeMusic: "Revolution #9", inspired by the work of composers such as Music/JohnCage, as well as Music/FrankZappa: ''Music/FreakOut'', by Zappa's band The Mothers of Invention, had already been a major influence on ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' and features some wacky abstract goings-on in its final track "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet".

* TheWalrusWasPaul: TropeNamer, sung in ''Glass Onion''.

** GenreMotif/{{Country}} fan Ringo brought in a Nashville fiddler for "Don't Pass Me By", his first solo song-writing credit.

** "Helter Skelter" is incredibly heavy, and has been called one of the first HeavyMetal songs on occasion. It's a headbanger.

** "Helter Skelter" is basically a proto-ThrashMetal song (the earlier, slower outtake is a bit closer to proto-DoomMetal).

* AvantGardeMusic: The infamous "Revolution #9", an apparent attempt at replicating Music/FrankZappa's "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" (note that ''Music/FreakOut'' had already been a major influence on ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'').

* {{Sampling}}: "[[MindScrew Revolution 9]]". The "number nine, number nine, number nine" is an old recording of an EMI technician testing the acoustics at Abbey Road Studios. There are also snippets of classical music and an Creator/ElektraRecords sound effects album (the source of the "block that kick" chant at the end, recorded at a UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball game).

* SweetTooth: "You'll have to have them all pulled out after the 'Savoy Truffle'!" (allegedly inspired by Eric Clapton's fondness of chocolate.)