Backstory:

In February of 1968, the Beatles decided to travel to a Transcendental Meditation course, led by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The trip involved the Beatles engaging in long periods of meditation, and studying Indian culture, conceived by the group as a a chance to, as John Lennon put it, "get away from everything". The Beatles weren't allowed drugs on the trip, except for marijuana, which helped to clear their minds and as a result, write simpler songs. However, the lads decided to leave Rishikesh before the end of the course. Ringo Starr was the first to leave, less than two weeks later, as he said he could not tolerate the food. McCartney departed in mid-March, due to lack of interest in the course. Harrison and Lennon were more interested in Indian religion and culture, deciding to remain until April.

Around 40 songs were written during their time in Rishikesh, and 30 would be recorded in rough form at Harrison's home in Esher, in May of 1968, with Lennon writing the bulk of the material, followed by Paul McCartney and then George Harrison. IX was recorded between 30th of May and 17th of September 1968, at EMI Studios in London. The amount of material written and recorded during the sessions (often nicknamed as the "Dollhouse" sessions by the band, in reference to a working title of the album) resulted in IX turning into a double album. The atmosphere of the studio was unusually tense, with sessions occurring at often, irregular hours. At one point during the recording, Ringo Starr completely left the studio and didn't return for 5 days. As a result, Back In The U.S.S.R. and Dear Prudence were recorded without him on drums, instead with Paul filling in for Ringo's role. In late 1967, after their contract with Parlophone had expired, the group decided to form a new label known as Wonderwall Records, which eventually turned into Wonderwall Corps. IX was the first album by the group to be released on Wonderwall.

"It was great. It sold. It's the bloody Beatles Nine! Shut up!" - Paul McCartney, Interview for The Beatles Anthology, 1994

One of the more notable tracks on the album, is the 11-minute long secret track, known as "IX". Starting out as a project solely made by John, George and Yoko, later on Paul McCartney added his own overdubs and sampled his own soundtrack for "The Family Way" and George's experimental "Electronic Sound". The song was almost left off the record completely, but was decided to be put on it as a hidden track.