Frank Ocean cites The Beatles, Beach Boys as inspirations for his third album
MTV speaks to Frank Ocean on the red carpet at the Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City (YouTube).
At the 2013 Time 100 Gala, an MTV News reporter asked Frank Ocean about his creative process and his next music project. Ocean revealed that he’s listening to the 1960s bands The Beatles and The Beach Boys while working on the follow-up to his 2012 album, Channel Orange, saying:
When I was making the first [studio album], there were a group of artists that I listened to, just for inspiration and to absorb the energies. It was a lot of Stevie Wonder, and this time it’s a lot of Beach Boys and Beatles and whatnot, so we’ll see how it trickles into the music and the final product. I can’t say much other than that.
Ocean also says he has “a couple” other artistic projects currently in development.
Time invited Ocean to the event after naming him as one of the world’s most influential people in its annual Time 100 list, which came as a result of his critically acclaimed debut studio record. Read more about the Time 100 list here, or check out photos from the gala here.
Update 2016-08-20:
One day after releasing his visual album Endless, Frank Ocean released his fourth album and third studio project, Blonde, featuring an interpolation of The Beatles’ 1966 song “Here, There and Everywhere.” Ocean borrowed from Paul McCartney in the chorus of his track “White Ferrari,” singing:
Spending each day of the year
White Ferrari, good times
“Here, There and Everywhere” by The Beatles at 0:12 (Revolver, 1966).
“White Ferrari” by Frank Ocean at 1:45 (Blonde, 2016).
The lyrics published in Ocean’s companion magazine, Boys Don’t Cry, contain an additional line taken from the same Beatles song:
Running my hands through your hair
White Ferrari had a good time
With the interpolation, John Lennon and Paul McCartney are listed as co-writers of “White Ferrari,” alongside Ocean, Kanye West, and Malay.
Interestingly, Ocean also recorded much of Blonde at Abbey Road Studios in London, England, a facility made famous by The Beatles.
Update 2017-05-15:
During episode 006 of his Apple Music online radio program, Blonded Radio, Frank Ocean introduced the song “Here, There and Everywhere” by thanking the Fab Four for their inspiration during the songwriting sessions of his 2016 albums, Endless and Blonde, stating:
I want to thank The Beatles for almost single-handedly getting me out of writer’s block.
Update 2022-09-01:
A series of production notes for Frank Ocean’s Blonde reveal a potentially omitted feature from Brian Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys. Previously, Wilson teased his own collaboration with Ocean for his 2015 album, No Pier Pressure, but the track did not make the final cut.
One of three leaked emails, dated January 27, 2014, mentions Wilson potentially writing a bridge for Ocean’s song “California,” likely “Feel California,” which he performed on his 2013 You’re Not Dead tour. Whether or not the collab actually happened is unclear, as the track was not released on Endless or Blonde in 2016. Read more here.
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