The airplane sound that nearly got edited off a number one hit
In short: In 1967, a studio producer insisted on keeping a library-sourced jet engine noise on a pop record. His boss hated it, calling for its removal. The producer refused to budge, and the resulting track became an international smash that defined a generation of rock and roll.
Wayne Carson composed 'The Letter' based on his father's phrase, 'Give me a ticket for an aeroplane.' After receiving the demo at Memphis' American Sound Studio, producer Dan Penn gathered several novice players—among them 16-year-old Alex Chilton—to capture the track with minimal practice. To achieve the desired sound, Penn coached Chilton on his delivery, instructing him to adopt a 'gruff' vocal style and specific pronunciations.
The production was a masterclass in studio layering. While the band provided the core rhythm, Mike Leech contributed the first string arrangement of his career because he was the only one who could read music notation. To enhance the recording, Penn utilised a special effects disc from a nearby library to layer in the noise of a departing aircraft. This 'sampling' of overhead jet noise was later noted by critics as a notable flirtation with musique concrète in pop music.
The inclusion of the plane sound became a point of contention. When Penn played the finished track for studio owner Chips Moman, Moman explicitly told him to take the airplane off. Penn countered that if the record were to be released, it had to keep the noise. Moman eventually relented, allowing the 'Letter' to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1967. The track sold over one million copies and remains a landmark of the era.
The song's legacy was cemented through various interpretations. Joe Cocker’s 1970 rendition, described as an 'extended, weighted rendering,' brought an underground-blues spice to the original teen material. Other notable versions included a semi-psychedelic take by The Arbors in 1969 and a country version by Sammi Smith in 1979.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Letter (Box Tops song)
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