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Table of Contents
About The Book
A complete and fascinating chronicle of Beatles music and history, Beatlesongs details the growth, evolution, and dissolution of the most influential group of out time.
Drawing together information from sources that include interviews, insider accounts, magazines, and news wire services, this is a complete profile of every Beatles song ever written -- from recording details such as who played which instruments and sang what harmonies to how each song fared on the charts and how other musicians and critics felt about it. Chronologically arranged by U.K. release date, Beatlesongs nails down dates, places, participants, and other intriguing facts in a truly remarkable portrait of the Liverpudlian legends.
Behind each song is a story -- like Paul's criticism of George's guitar playing during the Rubber Soul sessions, John's acid trip during the Sgt. Pepper's session, and the selection process for the Revolver album cover. And carefully examined along the way are the Beatles' evolving musical talents, their stormy private lives, and their successful -- and unsuccessful -- collaborations.
Beatlesongs is truly an inside look at the Fab Four and a treasure for all their fans.
Drawing together information from sources that include interviews, insider accounts, magazines, and news wire services, this is a complete profile of every Beatles song ever written -- from recording details such as who played which instruments and sang what harmonies to how each song fared on the charts and how other musicians and critics felt about it. Chronologically arranged by U.K. release date, Beatlesongs nails down dates, places, participants, and other intriguing facts in a truly remarkable portrait of the Liverpudlian legends.
Behind each song is a story -- like Paul's criticism of George's guitar playing during the Rubber Soul sessions, John's acid trip during the Sgt. Pepper's session, and the selection process for the Revolver album cover. And carefully examined along the way are the Beatles' evolving musical talents, their stormy private lives, and their successful -- and unsuccessful -- collaborations.
Beatlesongs is truly an inside look at the Fab Four and a treasure for all their fans.
Excerpt
PLEASE PLEASE ME
ALBUM
Though the Beatles' debut single. "Love Me Do," was a moderate success, their second release, "Please Please Me," was a huge hit. As it neared the top of the charts, the Beatles took one night off from touring to rush to London to record most of this album in one daylong session. The following night they were back on tour and performed in both Yorkshire and Lancashire. Live
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Rush-released March 22, 1963, shortly after the title song fell from its No. 1 position. The album entered the chart March 27 at No. 9 and in seven weeks was No. 1, where it stayed for twenty-nine weeks. It set a record for the longest continuous run at No. 1 in the NME (New Musical Express) album chart. Road
UNITED STATES: Capitol refused to release the album. It was released in a different form by the little Vee Jay record label as Introducing the Beatles, which failed to place in the charts. It differed from the U.K. version by not including "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why." Road
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, except for the title song and "Ask Me Why" (since both were previously released as a single) and "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" (another single), at Abbey Road. ATN: Live and Salewicz agree on date.
Sources disagree significantly on how long it took to record this album -- anywhere from 9 3/4 hours to 16 hours -- but it probably took about 13. About the only thing the sources agree on is that it required just one session to complete. various
GEORGE MARTIN, producer: "All we did really was to reproduce the Cavern performance in the comparative calm of the studio.
"At the beginning [of the Beatles' recording career], my specialty was the introductions and the endings, and any instrumental passages in the middle. I might say, for instance: "Please Please Me" only lasts a minute and 10 seconds, so you'll have to do two choruses, and in the second chorus we'll have to do such-and-such. "That was the extent of the arranging." Ears
PAUL AS THE BUDDING MUSICAL DIRECTOR
McCARTNEY: "...Then [Martin] had a lot of control -- we used to record the stuff, and leave him to mix it, pick a single, everything. After a while though, we got so into recording we'd stay behind while he mixed it, watching what he was doing." Jamming! (June 1982)
NORMAN SMITH, engineer: "[It was] nearly always Paul who was the MD, the musical director, as early as this. Obviously John would have quite a lot to say, but overall it was always Paul who was the guv'nor. Which is fair, because he was the natural musician, and even at this stage, the natural producer. On this session he was trying to figure out everything we were doing with the controls." Salewicz
A two-track tape machine was used, and the recording was entirely live. None of the vocals was overdubbed, and no more than four takes were made of any song. Salewicz
NORMAN SMITH: "I kept the sound relatively 'dry.' I hated all that echo that everyone was using back then. And I placed the singers' microphones right there with the rest of the band, although singers were usually hidden away in a separate recording booth. I thought that was a bad idea, because you lost the live feel of the session." Diary
0
At the Beatles' request, a large candy jar of cough lozenges and two new packs of Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes were placed on the piano for the session. So began a tradition that lasted for years. Salewicz
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass
LENNON: rhythm guitar
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Road
ALBUM PACKAGE
The cover photograph was taken on the staircase of EMI House in Manchester Square, London, by Angus McBean. Road McBean shot a similarly staged photo six years later, to adorn the Get Back album (which later became Let It Be). It wasn't used for that but later appeared on The Beatles 1967-1970 compilation album. A photo from the original shoot was used for the cover of The Beatles 1962-1966. Road
MISCELLANEOUS
McCartney had designed a cover for the album with the name Off the Beatle Track. The title was later used for producer George Martin's album of orchestrated Beatles hits. Road
COMMENTS BY BEATLES
LENNON: "We were just writing songs à la Everly Brothers, à la Buddy Holly, pop songs with no more thought to them than that -- to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
"I SAW HER STANDING THERE"
CHART ACTION
UNITED STATES: Released as a single January 13, 1964 (the B side of "I Want to Hold Your Hand"), this song entered the Top 40 in January 1964, hitting No. 14 during its eight-week stay. Road and Billboard
AUTHORSHIP McCartney (.8) and Lennon (.2)
LENNON: "That's Paul doing his usual good job of producing what George Martin used to call a 'potboiler.' I helped with a couple of the lyrics." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
McCartney and Lennon wrote the song in Paul's living room while playing hooky from school. Coleman
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmony vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Record; Road agrees on vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' repertoire for concerts from 1962 to 1964. Live It was one of six songs performed during the Beatles' second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 16, 1964. Forever, Live says it was also one of five on first show. It also was played at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts in February 1964 and on the 1964 North American tour (some shows). Forever
On November 28, 1974, Lennon joined Elton John on the Madison Square Garden stage and performed the song. Elton John released the recorded performance in the United States on March 1, 1975, as the B side of "Philadelphia Freedom." A-Z and Road It was the A side of a single in the United Kingdom.
McCartney performed this song at the Prince's Trust Concert (1986) with several rock luminaries. Prince's
"MISERY"
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.6) and McCartney (.4)
Written mainly by Lennon with an assist from McCartney. Road and ATN and Hit Parader (April 1972)
This was written originally for singer Helen Shapiro during the Beatles' tour of Britain with her in February and March 1963. A-Z and Road and Day; Live agrees for Shapiro. Her management, however, rejected the song. At the time Shapiro was sixteen years old and the most popular singer in Britain.
SHAPIRO: "We were leaning out of hotel windows, throwing photographs of ourselves at fans, and it was an incredible period, looking back." Coleman
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Record; Road and ATN agree on double lead vocals.
George Martin: piano
Shout
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire in 1963. Live
"ANNA (GO TO HIM)"
AUTHORSHIP Arthur Alexander (1.00)
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road ATN and Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, backing vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road says McCartney and Harrison provided harmony vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
Arthur Alexander's original recording was released as a single September 17, 1962, on Dot. It didn't crack the Top 40. Road
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live
"CHAINS"
AUTHORSHIP Gerry Goffin (.5) and Carole King (.5)
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, harmony vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, lead vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road says McCartney and Lennon contributed backing vocals; ATN says all three shared lead vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
Original recording artist: the Cookies. Their version was released October 2, 1962, and entered the Top 40 in early December. It hit No. 17 during its eight-week stay there. Lists and Road
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963, and Harrison, Lennon, and McCartney shared lead vocals live. Live
"BOYS"
AUTHORSHIP Luther Dixon (.5) and Wes Farrell (.5) Road
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road in one take Abbey
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, backing vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, backing vocal
STARR: drums, lead vocal
Record and Road
MISCELLANEOUS
Original recording artist: the Shirelles. Used as the B side of their big hit "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" which was released November 7, 1960, it entered the Top 40 in December, and held the No. 1 position for two weeks. Lists and Road
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire from 1961 to 1964 (Pete Best sang lead until he was fired in August 1962). Live It was performed during the group's 1964 North American tour. Forever
"ASK ME WHY"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Previously released as a single January 11, 1963, as the B side of "Please Please Me." Road
UNITED STATES: Capitol refused to release this, but Vee Jay did February 25, 1963, as the B side to "Please Please Me," the Beatles' first U.S. single. It was not a Top 40 hit. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.7) and McCartney (.3) Road; ATN says Lennon.
RECORDED
November 26, 1962, at Abbey Road Abbey and Day and Road and ATN
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record and Road
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live It was performed at the Parlophone Records audition in 1962. A-Z
The public first heard this song on the BBC radio program Teenager's Turn, June 11, 1962, exactly seven months before it was released as a single. Live
"PLEASE PLEASE ME"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Originally released as the Beatles' second single, January 11, 1963, it entered the chart January 30, and by February 22 was No. 1, where it stayed for two weeks. It was the group's first U.K. No. 1 record. The success of this caused the hurried recording and release of the Please Please Me album. Road
UNITED STATES: Capitol and several other U.S. record firms passed when it was originally offered to them. various It was later released as a single three times. When it was issued February 25, 1963, by Vee Jay it failed to chart. Road
Years later, star record producer Phil Spector blamed the initial commercial failure of this song not on the music, but on the backwardness of the American public. RS (November 1, 1969) The Beatles' sound had been ignored, but it was only a matter of time before the U.S. would come around.
Nearly a year later, on January 30, 1964, about two weeks after the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," Vee Jay released "Please Please Me" again. It entered the Top 40 February 22, hit No. 3, and spent ten weeks on the chart. Road and Billboard
Vee Jay rereleased it on August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (1.00)
LENNON: "`Please Please Me' is my song completely. It was my attempt at writing a Roy Orbison song, would you believe it? I wrote it in the bedroom in my house at Menlove Avenue, which was my auntie's place...I remember the day and the pink eyelet on the bed, and I heard Roy Orbison doing 'Only the Lonely' or something. That's where that came from. And also I was always intrigued by the words of 'Please, lend your little ears to my pleas' -- a Bing Crosby song. I was always intrigued by the double use of the word 'please.' So it was a combination of Bing Crosby and Roy Orbison." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
Lennon grew to love Bing Crosby records in the late 1970s. Coleman
RECORDED
The original, slow version was recorded September 11, 1962, at the second session for "Love Me Do." It was not released. Day and Abbey
The Beatles recorded the second, faster version on November 26, 1962, at Abbey Road. George Martin almost refused to allow them to rerecord this song because he was not happy with the first version. He recommended that they record "How Do You Do It," a song written by a professional songwriter (and later a No. 1 U.K. hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers) and make that their second single. The Beatles refused. Day; Live says Beatles recorded "How Do You Do It" September 4. Martin agreed that if they recorded "How Do You Do It" first, they could record the revamped "Please Please Me." They played "How Do You Do It" without much effort and then tore into "Please Please Me." Road
MARTIN: "I listened. It was great....I told them what beginning and what ending to put on it, and they went into No. 2 studio to record. It went beautifully. The whole session was a joy. At the end of it, I pressed the intercom button in the control room and said, 'Gentlemen, you've just made your first No. 1 record.'" Ears
After a break the band then recorded "Ask Me Why." Diary and Abbey
McCARTNEY: "George Martin's contribution was quite a big one, actually. The first time he really ever showed that he could see beyond what we were offering him was 'Please Please Me.' It was originally conceived as a Roy Orbison -- type thing, you know. George said, 'Well, we'll put the tempo up.' He lifted the tempo, and we all thought that was much better, and that was a big hit." Own Words
Lennon and McCartney sing different lyrics on one line of the last verse. This was not intended but was kept in anyway. Musician (July 1987)
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road omits harmonica; ATN says Lennon and McCartney shared lead vocal with Harrison in the background.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire from 1962 to 1964. Live It was one of six songs performed during the Beatles' second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 16, 1964. It was also performed at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts in February 1964. Forever
Song publisher Dick James was so impressed by this song that he offered Beatles manager Brian Epstein and the Beatles a deal to set up their own publishing company, Northern Songs, so they could retain control over the copyrights of their own songs. Salewicz The Beatles later sold part of the company for tax reasons and then lost control over their copyrights completely in 1969.
The "Please Please Me" single was one of the first two records Elvis Costello owned. (The other was "The Folksinger" by John Leyton.) Costello was in the Beatles fan club when he was eleven years old. RS (September 2, 1982)
GEORGE MARTIN: "...A super record, a super tune." Musician (February 1985)
"LOVE ME DO"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: The Beatles' first single on Parlophone, released October 5, 1962, this had a very erratic run on the chart. It entered the Top 30 at No. 27 on October 24, immediately dropped off, and later peaked at No. 17 on December 27. Road with Live
Brian Epstein ordered ten thousand copies for his record store, hoping that would be enough to automatically land it on the British charts. He also conducted a letter-writing campaign to Radio Luxembourg and the BBC to force more airplay. Love; Salewicz and other sources agree on ten thousand as number. Epstein always denied ordering the copies, but close business associates and friends said it was almost certain he did. Live
EMI promoted the single in the United Kingdom with a full-page ad in Record Retailer a week before release. It was the only time that year EMI did so for any artist. Live
Brian Epstein's NEMS Enterprises promoted the single with a press release that included a biography and pen portraits and suggested jokes on the Beatles' name. Live
UNITED STATES: Capitol refused to release this as a single. It was later released on Tollie April 27, 1964, after Beatlemania erupted, entered the Top 40 May 2, held the No. 1 spot for one week, and stayed in the Top 40 for eleven weeks. Vee Jay released it August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP McCartney (.7) and Lennon (.3)
McCartney played hooky from school one day in 1958 to write this song with Lennon. Day; Love says it was written in the back of a van on the way to a gig.
LENNON: "Paul wrote the main structure of this when he was sixteen, or even earlier. I think I had something to do with the middle." Hit Parader (April 1972); Road says Lennon wrote the middle-eight; Love supports sixteen.
It was extremely rare in 1962 for recording artists to write their own songs, especially their debut singles.
RECORDED
VERSION ONE: Recorded September 4, 1962, during the Beatles' first Parlophone session, at EMI's Abbey Road studio. Seventeen takes were needed before George Martin was satisfied, and even then he wanted a different drummer on the track. Road
VERSION TWO: Recorded September 11, 1962. Studio drummer Andy White replaced Starr, who played tambourine. Road and ATN; Abbey and Live agree on dates and drummers; Diary says White sat in on September 4.
Martin chose the September 4 version for the single, although later pressings substituted the Andy White version, which was also used for the album. You can tell the difference between the two versions by noting whether a tambourine is being used; their lengths also differ. Live and Abbey and Road
NORMAN SMITH: "After the first take we listened to the tape. It was horrible. Their equipment wasn't good enough. We hooked Paul's guitar up to our own bass amplifier, and we had to tie John's amplifier together because it was rattling so loud." Diary
"They were very much in awe of the studio. Also, they didn't realize the disparity between what they could play on the studio floor and how it would come out sounding in the control room. They refused to wear headphones, I remember. In fact, subsequently they hardly ever wore them." Salewicz
McCARTNEY: "I was very nervous, I remember. John was supposed to sing the lead, but they changed their minds and asked me to sing lead at the last minute, because they wanted John to play harmonica. Until then, we hadn't rehearsed with a harmonica; George Martin started arranging it on the spot. It was very nerve-wracking." Playboy (December 1984)
Harrison had a black eye at the sessions. The Beatles and Brian Epstein had been attacked at the Cavern Club by ex-Beatles drummer Pete Best's fans, angry over his firing the month before. Salewicz and Musician (November 1987)
INSTRUMENTATION
The album version:
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: harmonica, Rickenbacker Capri 325 guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: acoustic guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: tambourine Andy White: drums
Record (but omits Lennon's guitar); Road agrees on double lead vocal and Harrison's harmony but says Lennon played guitar; guitar from Guitar (November 1987)
Starr's drum kit on his first Beatles sessions was the Premier set he got at the age of nineteen as a Christmas present from his parents. It was his first drum kit. Diary
Lennon shoplifted the harmonica he played on this song in Arnheim, Holland. Love
During this period, Bruce Channel's "Hey! Baby!" -- with Delbert McClinton playing harmonica Live -- was one of the Beatles' favorite songs. On June 21, 1962, Channel and McClinton headlined a show that included the Beatles; "Hey! Baby!" had become a Top 10 hit five weeks earlier, so Lennon probably saw it performed live that night. Live A harmonica player himself, Lennon liked McClinton's style and tried to imitate it. Coleman and Shout The Beatles added Lennon's harmonica to "Love Me Do," then "Please Please Me," "From Me to You," and several other early songs until they recognized their own overenthusiasm and stopped using the harmonica altogether. December 1970; Remembers
Lennon was later kidded about this harmonica solo by Rolling Stone Brian Jones. Jones said he wondered how Lennon got such a deep bottom note from just a harmonica; Jones thought it might be a blues harp. Coleman
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live
This was one of the songs the Beatles performed during their audition with George Martin June 6, 1962. A-Z and Diary
Martin didn't like Pete Best's drumming. On August 16 Epstein told Best that Ringo Starr would replace him. Ringo's first live performance as a Beatle was August 18 at the Cavern. (On that date, the Beatles were recorded at the Cavern performing "Some Other Guy.") Day; Diary says another drummer filled in until Starr was available August 28. While all this was going on, Lennon married Cynthia Powell August 23. Diary
Martin decided to have Andy White sit in on drums.
STARR: "I was shattered. What a drag. How phony the record business was, I thought." Compleat(b)
RINGO AS A DRUMMER
MARTIN: "[Ringo] hit good and hard, and used the tom-tom well, even though he couldn't do a roll to save his life." Shout
"...He's got tremendous feel. He always helped us to hit the right tempo for a song, and gave it that support -- that rock-solid backbeat -- that made the recording of all the Beatles' songs that much easier. He was sympathetic. His tempos used to go up and down, but up and down in the right way to help the song." Musician (July 1987)
HARRISON: "He could be the best rock 'n' roll drummer -- or at least one of the best rock 'n' roll drummers...He does fills which crack up people like Jim Keltner. He's just amazed because Ringo starts them in the wrong place and all that, but that is brilliant. That's pure feel....You know, he does everything back to front." Guitar> (November 1987)
McCARTNEY: "...Ringo is right down the center, never overplays." Musician (February 1988)
"We always gave Ringo direction -- on every single number. It was usually very controlled. Whoever had written the song, John for instance, would say, `I want this.' Obviously, a lot of the stuff came out of what Ringo was playing, but we would always control it." May 1980, Musician (August 1980)
LENNON: "Ringo's a damn good drummer. He was always a good drummer. He's not technically good, but I think Ringo's drumming is underrated the same way as Paul's bass playing is underrated." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
STARR, on getting his first drum set: "I banged me thumb the very first day. I became a drummer because it was the only thing I could do!" Compleat(b)
"But whenever I hear another drummer I know I'm no good....I'm no good on the technical things but I'm good with all the motions, swinging my head, like. That's because I love to dance but you can't do that on drums." Own Words
"...I'm your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills. The fills were funny because I'm really left-handed playing a right- handed kit....I can't roll around the drums because of that. I have to start with my left hand. If I come off the snare onto the tom-tom, I can't go on to the other tom, to the floor tom. That's why we used to call them funny fills." Big Beat
Completion of recording was celebrated by the Beatles and George Martin at Swiss Cottage, a London steak house. A-Z
The song was recorded on single-track tape, so no true stereo version exists. Road
A performance video tape aired November 7, 1962, on People and Places, a show on Granada TV in England. Day
George Martin hated the lyrics. Love
MARTIN: "That was the best of the stuff they had, and I thought it pretty poor." Coleman
Three days before the release of this single, the Beatles signed a binding five-year management contract with Epstein. Live
COMMENTS BY BEATLES
McCARTNEY: "You get to the bit where you think, if we're going to write great philosophy it isn't worth it. `Love Me Do' was our greatest philosophical song....For it to be simple, and true, means that it's incredibly simple." Own Words
Lennon later said this song was "pretty funky." December 1970, Remembers
McCARTNEY: "...In Hamburg we clicked, at the Cavern we clicked, but if you want to know when we knew we'd arrived, it was getting in the charts with `Love Me Do.' That was the one -- it gave us somewhere to go." Jamming! (June 1982)
COMMENTS BY OTHERS
Leonard Bernstein said on CBS-TV that the song included a drone effect that foretold later use of Indian ragas as source material. Compleat(b)
Recording artist Sting vividly remembers his discovery of the Beatles. He was eleven years old when "Love Me Do" -- with its vocal braids and haunting harmonica -- captured his attention. He was swimming with friends at a public pool when he heard it. The music had an overwhelming, almost spiritual impact on the boys: they were up in an instant, dancing naked and twirling and singing. It was at that moment, so moved by the Beatles' song, that Sting knew he would devote his life to music. RS (February 16, 1984)
MIMI SMITH, John's aunt, after listening to a demonstration disc of this song: "If you think you're going to make your fortune with that, you've got another think coming." She liked "Please Please Me" much more. Coleman
"P.S. I LOVE YOU"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released originally as a single, the B side to "Love Me Do," on October 5, 1962. Road
UNITED STATES: Released as a single April 27, 1964, on Tollie. It entered the Top 40 May 16, climbed to No. 10, and stayed in the Top 40 for seven weeks. Road and Billboard Vee Jay released it August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP McCartney (.8) and Lennon (.2) Road
The song was written in Hamburg during May 1962.
Day; A-Z says McCartney wrote it like a letter first and then put music to it, but McCartney quote in Playboy (December 1984) contradicts that.
RECORDED
September 11, 1962, at Abbey Road Day and Road and Live It was the Beatles' second recording of the song. It was recorded the week before, on September 4, with Starr on drums, but George Martin found it unsatisfactory. Road; Live doesn't mention it for September 4.
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: acoustic guitar (electrified Gibson J-160E), lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar (electrified Gibson J-160E)
STARR: maracas Andy White: drums
Record (except vocals); Road provides vocals; Record and ATN say McCartney and Lennon both sing lead vocals; guitars from Guitar (November 1987).
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live
This song was performed at the audition for Parlophone Records on June 6, 1962, at Abbey Road. Diary
MARTIN: "Frankly, the material didn't impress me, least of all their own songs. I felt that I was going to have to find suitable material for them, and was quite certain that their songwriting ability had no saleable future!" Ears
NORMAN SMITH: "Their sound didn't impress me much. Actually they were pretty bad. We even had to adjust their amplifiers for them! They played for about twenty minutes, songs like 'Besame Mucho.' But afterwards they came into the control booth and we got to talking with them -- and really, that was fascinating. I really think the Beatles got their recording contract because of that conversation. Let's be honest: they got that contract because of their enthusiasm, their presence, not because of their music. During that one conversation, we realized that they were something special." Diary
MARTIN, to the band during the recording session: "...If there's anything you don't like, tell me, and we'll try and do something about it."
HARRISON: "Well, for a start, I don't like your tie." Ears
"BABY IT'S YOU"
AUTHORSHIP Hal David (.33), Barney Williams (.33), and Burt Bacharach (.33) Compleat(b); Road and Live say Mack David instead of Hal David.
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, backing vocal
STARR: drums George Martin: piano
Record; Road omits piano; ATN agrees with Martin piano.
MISCELLANEOUS
Original recording artist: the Shirelles. Their version was released December 4, 1961, on the Scepter label. Lists and Road It was very successful, hitting No. 8 and staying in the Top 40 for eleven weeks, beginning in early January 1962. Billboard
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live
"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET"
CHART ACTION
UNITED STATES: Also issued as a single more than a year after it was recorded, during the frenzied days of Beatlemania in the United States. The song, on Vee Jay, entered the Top 40 in mid- April 1964, hitting No. 2 during its nine-week run. Vee Jay rereleased it August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (1.00)
Lennon got the idea for the song from a Walt Disney film, probably the song "Wishing Well" in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
A-Z and Own Words and Coleman and Compleat(b); Road says either Cinderella or Fantasia; Love says title was from a line Lennon remembered Jiminy Cricket asking Pinocchio in Pinocchio.
LENNON: "[My mother] used to do this little tune when I was just a one-or two-year-old....The tune was from the Disney movie....So, I had this sort of thing in my head and I wrote it and just gave it to George to sing." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
Harrison said this song (or its recording) was inspired, to some extent, by "I Really Love You," a rhythm and blues hit for the Stereos in 1961. Musician (November 1987)
RECORDED February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Road and Abbey
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, backing vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, lead vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road agrees on vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963. Live
Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, also managed by Brian Epstein, recorded a version of this song. It was released in Britain on April 26, 1963 (backed with a McCartney song, "I'll Be on My Way"), and was a big hit: No. 1 for two weeks. Although it bombed in the United States, Kramer's U.K. success proved for the first time that Lennon-McCartney songs could be hits for other artists. That began a long and fruitful career for the pair as songwriters for other artists. Road
Lennon, solo on acoustic guitar, recorded the demo of this song for Billy J. Kramer in a lavatory. The toilet was flushed at the end of the tape. Lennon told Kramer that the lavatory was the quietest place he could find to make the recording. Coleman; supported by RS (August 25, 1988).
"A TASTE OF HONEY"
AUTHORSHIP Ric Marlow (.5) and Bobby Scott (.5) for the play A Taste of Honey (1960). Road
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road; some sources say March.
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal (double-tracked)
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmony vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road and Shout contribute double-tracking; ATN says McCartney sang lead vocal.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' repertoire for concerts in 1962 and 1963. Live The studio version is similar to the Beatles' live rendition, as Live at the Star-Club shows.
The original recording artist was Bobby Scott and Combo, whose 1960 version appeared on the soundtrack album of the movie of the same name. Lists Other versions were also recorded before the Beatles': the Victor Feldman Quartet (released June 4, 1962) and Martin Denny (June 18, 1962) versions were instrumentals. Lenny Welch released the first vocal version September 17, 1962. Road
"THERE'S A PLACE"
CHART ACTION
UNITED STATES: Released by Vee Jay August 10, 1964, but it didn't crack the Top 40. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (1.00)
LENNON: "`There's a Place' was my attempt at a sort of Motown, black thing." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Record; Road and ATN say Lennon and McCartney shared lead vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963. Live
"TWIST AND SHOUT"
CHART ACTION
UNITED STATES: Also released as a single, March 2, 1964, on the Tollie label. Entered the Top 40 March 21 and during its nine weeks there rose to No. 2 for four weeks. Road with Billboard Vee Jay released it again August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Bert Berns (1.00) under the pseudonym "Medley/Russell" Road
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Road and Abbey
The Beatles were tired by the time they recorded this, the last song of the long album session. One more song was needed, so the Beatles and George Martin chose this. Lennon's voice was almost gone and his throat was sore. Two takes were recorded but the first was used. Abbey and Compleat; Road and Salewicz say one take was recorded.
MARTIN: "...There was one number which always caused a furor in the Cavern -- 'Twist and Shout.' John absolutely screamed it. God alone knows what he did to his larynx each time he performed it, because he made a sound rather like tearing flesh. That had to be right on the first take, because I knew perfectly well that if we had to do it a second time it would never be as good." Ears
Lennon later agreed that he was only screaming the lyrics. December 1970, Remembers
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, backing vocal
STARR: drums
Record; ATN agrees on vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
Original recording artist: the Isley Brothers. Their version, released May 7, 1962, was their first Top 40 hit in the United States, entering the charts in June 1962 and hitting No. 17 during its eleven-week run. Road and Billboard
This song was a perennial favorite in concert. The Beatles performed it regularly from 1962 to 1965, as the closing number for a long time and then as the opener in many 1964 performances when McCartney's showcase, "Long Tall Sally," got the final spot. Live and Forever It was one of five songs performed during the famous London Palladium show (which revealed Beatlemania for the first time to millions across the United Kingdom and from which the term "Beatlemania" was coined) on October 13, 1963, and one of four songs at the Royal Command performance, November 4. Live One of six songs played during the Beatles' second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 16, 1964, it was also performed at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts in February 1964 and during the 1964 North American tour, 1964 London Christmas concerts, 1965 European tour, and the 1965 North American tour. Forever
LENNON, circa 1964: "I hate singing "Twist and Shout' when there's a colored artist on the bill. It doesn't seem right, you know. It seems to be their music, and I feel sort of embarrassed. Makes me curl up....They can do these songs much better than us." Coleman
LENNON: "...The more interesting [songs] to me were the black ones because they were more simple. They sort of said shake your arse, or your prick, which was an innovation really....The blacks were singing directly and immediately about their pain and also about sex, which is why I like it." Red Mole (March 8-22, 1971) via Companion
The Beatles' recording was used in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off and charted again. Capitol
McCARTNEY: "...I saw 'Twist and Shout' in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which I liked as a film, but they'd overdubbed some lousy brass on the stuff! If it had needed brass, we'd have stuck it on it ourselves." Musician (February 1988)
"FROM ME TO YOU"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released on April 11, 1963, as the A side of the Beatles' third single. It entered the pop chart one week later at No. 6 and a week later was at No. 1, where it stayed for five more weeks. Road
UNITED STATES: Released as a single May 27, 1963, on Vee Jay. It failed to break into the Top 40. Vee Jay released it again August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.5) and McCartney (.5)
Lennon and McCartney wrote this together on February 28, 1963, while on a bus traveling from York to Shrewsbury during a tour with headliner Helen Shapiro.
Day and Diary and Love and others agree; Live says February 27 and agrees on bus and route (they played York on February 27 and Shrewsbury on February 28); Forever says in back of "their van on the way to work"; Shotton says in a van; Lennon quote in Own Words says he and McCartney wrote this together on tour.
LENNON: "...I think the first line was mine. I mean, I know it was mine. And then after that we took it from there. It was far bluesier than that when we wrote it." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
The title of the song was taken from a letters column called "From You to Us" in the New Musical Express. Road and Diary; A-Z and Compleat(b) say "From Us to You."
RECORDED
March 5, 1963, at Abbey Road Live and Abbey; Day and Diary say March 4.
LENNON: "We nearly didn't record it because we thought it was too bluesy at first, but when we'd finished it and George Martin had scored it with harmonica, it was alright." Own Words
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record and Road
Lennon told singer Helen Shapiro that he sang the high falsetto part on this song and that "I can do the high stuff better than Paul." Coleman He apparently changed his opinion in the next year. (See: "A Hard Day's Night.")
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963 and 1964. It was one of four songs performed at the Royal Command performance, November 4, 1963. Live It was also one of six songs performed during the Beatles' second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 16, 1964, and one of twelve performed at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts the same month. Forever
This song introduced a Beatle trademark -- a falsetto "whoooooo." It was so successful that it was used liberally in the next single, "She Loves You." Forever
The harmonica beginning of the British single differs from the opening of all other versions. A-Z
This song was used as the theme song for a radio series in England called From Us to You that starred the Beatles and consisted of five two-hour programs, from December 1963 through June 1965. For the program, the Beatles performed "From Me to You" but changed the lyrics to "From us to you." A-Z
Del Shannon recorded this song, releasing it as a single in the United States on June 3, 1963, about a week after the Beatles' version was released there. Shannon's version did not break into the Top 40. Shannon had performed on the same bill as the Beatles earlier in the year in Britain and undoubtedly heard the song in performance. A-Z and Day
Three days before this song was released in the United Kingdom, John's son Julian Lennon was born, April 8, 1963. Day; Salewicz says four days before "it went into the shops."
"THANK YOU GIRL"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released as a single April 11, 1963, the B side to "From Me to You." Road
UNITED STATES: Released as a single three times on Vee Jay. The first time, May 27, 1963, it was the B side to "From Me to You" and failed to chart. The second time, March 23, 1964, it backed "Do You Want to Know a Secret" and became a moderate hit. It entered the Top 40 April 25, hit No. 35, and charted for three weeks. Road with Billboard Vee Jay released it again August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.5) and McCartney (.5)
LENNON: "[This was written by] Paul and me. This was just a silly song we knocked off." Hit Parader (April 1972)
RECORDED
March 5, 1963, at Abbey Road, with harmonica overdubbed on March 13 Abbey; Day and Diary say it was recorded March 4.
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: acoustic guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Record and Road; ATN omits harmonica.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire in 1963. Live
COMMENTS BY BEATLES
LENNON: "'Thank You Girl' was one of our efforts at writing a single that didn't work. So it became a B side." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
"SHE LOVES YOU"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released as a single August 23, 1963. The Beatles' fourth single entered the pop chart at No. 2 five days after release and by September 4 was No. 1, where it stayed for four weeks. Seven weeks after relinquishing the top spot, it returned to No. 1 on November 20 and stayed there for two more weeks. The single sold 1.3 million copies in Great Britain by the end of the year, making it the year's best-selling single. It remained the biggest seller in the United Kingdom until McCartney and Wings' "Mull of Kintyre" in 1978. Road
UNITED STATES: Not only did Capitol Records refuse to release this as a single, but even Vee Jay passed on it, after the failure of the previous two singles. Brian Epstein was finally able to talk the small Swan label into releasing it Stateside. Record2
Released as a single September 16, 1963. It was not an immediate hit but sold heavily once "I Want to Hold Your Hand" ushered Beatlemania into the United States. It entered the Top 40 February 1, 1964, and rose quickly to No. 1, where it stayed for two weeks. It spent fourteen weeks in the Top 40. Road
The week "She Loves You" hit No. 1, the Beatles had five songs in the Billboard Top 20. The others were: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (No. 2), "Please Please Me" (No. 3), "Twist and Shout" (No. 7), and "I Saw Her Standing There" (No. 14). Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.5) and McCartney (.5)
Lennon and McCartney wrote this song together in a Newcastle hotel room after performing June 26, 1963.
Live; Road and Day say it was written on tour with headliner Helen Shapiro (February 2 to March 3); Playboy Interviews says in a van en route to Newcastle; Love says lyrics were written in a hotel room three nights before it was recorded.
LENNON: "It was written together...I remember it was Paul's idea: Instead of singing 'I love you' again, we'd have a third party." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
RECORDED
July 1, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Road and Abbey and Live; Diary says both July 1 and July 29 and 30.
McCARTNEY: "Occasionally, we'd overrule [George Martin], like on 'She Loves You,' we end on a 6th chord, a very jazzy sort of thing, and he said, 'Oh! You can't do that! A 6th chord? It's too jazzy.' We just said, 'No, it's a great hook, we've got to do it.'" Jamming! (June 1982)
McCartney credited Harrison with the idea for the jazzy chord. Compleat(b)
GEORGE MARTIN: "Glenn Miller was doing it twenty years ago." But he liked it and let the Beatles have their way. Compleat(b)
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar (Gretsch Country Gentleman, model PX6122)
STARR: drums
Record; Road agrees with double lead vocals but says Harrison provided harmony vocal; guitar from Guitar (November 1987); ATN omits Harrison vocal.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963 and 1964. It was one of four songs performed at the Royal Command performance, November 4, 1963. A film clip of the Beatles performing the song was aired in the United States on NBC's Jack Paar, Show, January 3, 1964. Live; Compleat(b) agrees on Paar. This was the only song to be played by the Beatles during both of their appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9 and 16, 1964. Forever, Live says two others were also performed on both: "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand." It was also performed at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts in February 1964 and at some shows during the Beatles' 1964 North American tour. Forever
A German version -- "Sie Liebt Dich" -- was recorded January 29, 1964, in the Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris. Road and Live and Abbey, Diary says January 18. (See: "I Want to Hold Your Hand.") The German version was also released as a single in the United States on Swan May 21, 1964. It hit No. 97. Road
THE "WOO WOO" AND THE "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH"
The "yeah, yeah, yeah" phrase that is featured so prominently in this song quickly became one of the Beatles' trademarks. In fact, in Southeast Asia, the Beatles' music was known as "yeah, yeah, yeah music" in government decrees. Forever McCartney's father had suggested using "yes, yes, yes" instead because it was more dignified. A-Z
KENNY LYNCH, singer who toured with the Beatles and Helen Shapiro in early 1963: "I remember John and Paul saying they were thinking of running up to the microphone together and shaking their heads and singing, 'whoooooooo.' It later became a very important, terrifically popular part of their act when they sand 'She Loves You.' But at the time they were planning it, even before the song was written, I remember everybody on the coach fell about laughing. I said, 'You can't do that. They'll think you're a bunch of poofs.' I remember John saying to me he thought it sounded great and they were having it in their act." Coleman
LENNON: "The 'woo woo' was taken from the Isley Brothers' 'Twist and Shout,' which we stuck into everything -- 'From Me to You,' 'She Loves You,' they all had that 'woo woo,'" September 1980, Playboy Interviews
COMMENTS BY BEATLES
McCARTNEY: "Nearly everything I've ever done or been involved in has received some negative critical reaction. You'd think the response to something like 'She Loves You' with the Beatles would have been pretty positive. It wasn't. The very first week that came out it was supposed to be the worst song the Beatles had ever thought of." Musician (August 1980)
"I'LL GET YOU"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released as a single August 23, 1963, the B side to "She Loves You." Road
UNITED STATES: Released as a single September 16, 1963, on the Swan label. It was not a hit. It was rereleased May 21, 1964, and again was not a hit. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.5) and McCartney (.5)
RECORDED
July 1, 1963, at Abbey Road
Day and Abbey and Live; Road says both July 1 and July 7; Diary says both July 1 and July 29 and 30.
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road omits Harrison vocal; ATN omits Harrison vocal and harmonica.
Copyright © 1989 by William J. Dowlding
ALBUM
Though the Beatles' debut single. "Love Me Do," was a moderate success, their second release, "Please Please Me," was a huge hit. As it neared the top of the charts, the Beatles took one night off from touring to rush to London to record most of this album in one daylong session. The following night they were back on tour and performed in both Yorkshire and Lancashire. Live
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Rush-released March 22, 1963, shortly after the title song fell from its No. 1 position. The album entered the chart March 27 at No. 9 and in seven weeks was No. 1, where it stayed for twenty-nine weeks. It set a record for the longest continuous run at No. 1 in the NME (New Musical Express) album chart. Road
UNITED STATES: Capitol refused to release the album. It was released in a different form by the little Vee Jay record label as Introducing the Beatles, which failed to place in the charts. It differed from the U.K. version by not including "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why." Road
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, except for the title song and "Ask Me Why" (since both were previously released as a single) and "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" (another single), at Abbey Road. ATN: Live and Salewicz agree on date.
Sources disagree significantly on how long it took to record this album -- anywhere from 9 3/4 hours to 16 hours -- but it probably took about 13. About the only thing the sources agree on is that it required just one session to complete. various
GEORGE MARTIN, producer: "All we did really was to reproduce the Cavern performance in the comparative calm of the studio.
"At the beginning [of the Beatles' recording career], my specialty was the introductions and the endings, and any instrumental passages in the middle. I might say, for instance: "Please Please Me" only lasts a minute and 10 seconds, so you'll have to do two choruses, and in the second chorus we'll have to do such-and-such. "That was the extent of the arranging." Ears
PAUL AS THE BUDDING MUSICAL DIRECTOR
McCARTNEY: "...Then [Martin] had a lot of control -- we used to record the stuff, and leave him to mix it, pick a single, everything. After a while though, we got so into recording we'd stay behind while he mixed it, watching what he was doing." Jamming! (June 1982)
NORMAN SMITH, engineer: "[It was] nearly always Paul who was the MD, the musical director, as early as this. Obviously John would have quite a lot to say, but overall it was always Paul who was the guv'nor. Which is fair, because he was the natural musician, and even at this stage, the natural producer. On this session he was trying to figure out everything we were doing with the controls." Salewicz
A two-track tape machine was used, and the recording was entirely live. None of the vocals was overdubbed, and no more than four takes were made of any song. Salewicz
NORMAN SMITH: "I kept the sound relatively 'dry.' I hated all that echo that everyone was using back then. And I placed the singers' microphones right there with the rest of the band, although singers were usually hidden away in a separate recording booth. I thought that was a bad idea, because you lost the live feel of the session." Diary
0
At the Beatles' request, a large candy jar of cough lozenges and two new packs of Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes were placed on the piano for the session. So began a tradition that lasted for years. Salewicz
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass
LENNON: rhythm guitar
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Road
ALBUM PACKAGE
The cover photograph was taken on the staircase of EMI House in Manchester Square, London, by Angus McBean. Road McBean shot a similarly staged photo six years later, to adorn the Get Back album (which later became Let It Be). It wasn't used for that but later appeared on The Beatles 1967-1970 compilation album. A photo from the original shoot was used for the cover of The Beatles 1962-1966. Road
MISCELLANEOUS
McCartney had designed a cover for the album with the name Off the Beatle Track. The title was later used for producer George Martin's album of orchestrated Beatles hits. Road
COMMENTS BY BEATLES
LENNON: "We were just writing songs à la Everly Brothers, à la Buddy Holly, pop songs with no more thought to them than that -- to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
"I SAW HER STANDING THERE"
CHART ACTION
UNITED STATES: Released as a single January 13, 1964 (the B side of "I Want to Hold Your Hand"), this song entered the Top 40 in January 1964, hitting No. 14 during its eight-week stay. Road and Billboard
AUTHORSHIP McCartney (.8) and Lennon (.2)
LENNON: "That's Paul doing his usual good job of producing what George Martin used to call a 'potboiler.' I helped with a couple of the lyrics." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
McCartney and Lennon wrote the song in Paul's living room while playing hooky from school. Coleman
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmony vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Record; Road agrees on vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' repertoire for concerts from 1962 to 1964. Live It was one of six songs performed during the Beatles' second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 16, 1964. Forever, Live says it was also one of five on first show. It also was played at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts in February 1964 and on the 1964 North American tour (some shows). Forever
On November 28, 1974, Lennon joined Elton John on the Madison Square Garden stage and performed the song. Elton John released the recorded performance in the United States on March 1, 1975, as the B side of "Philadelphia Freedom." A-Z and Road It was the A side of a single in the United Kingdom.
McCartney performed this song at the Prince's Trust Concert (1986) with several rock luminaries. Prince's
"MISERY"
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.6) and McCartney (.4)
Written mainly by Lennon with an assist from McCartney. Road and ATN and Hit Parader (April 1972)
This was written originally for singer Helen Shapiro during the Beatles' tour of Britain with her in February and March 1963. A-Z and Road and Day; Live agrees for Shapiro. Her management, however, rejected the song. At the time Shapiro was sixteen years old and the most popular singer in Britain.
SHAPIRO: "We were leaning out of hotel windows, throwing photographs of ourselves at fans, and it was an incredible period, looking back." Coleman
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Record; Road and ATN agree on double lead vocals.
George Martin: piano
Shout
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire in 1963. Live
"ANNA (GO TO HIM)"
AUTHORSHIP Arthur Alexander (1.00)
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road ATN and Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, backing vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road says McCartney and Harrison provided harmony vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
Arthur Alexander's original recording was released as a single September 17, 1962, on Dot. It didn't crack the Top 40. Road
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live
"CHAINS"
AUTHORSHIP Gerry Goffin (.5) and Carole King (.5)
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, harmony vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, lead vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road says McCartney and Lennon contributed backing vocals; ATN says all three shared lead vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
Original recording artist: the Cookies. Their version was released October 2, 1962, and entered the Top 40 in early December. It hit No. 17 during its eight-week stay there. Lists and Road
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963, and Harrison, Lennon, and McCartney shared lead vocals live. Live
"BOYS"
AUTHORSHIP Luther Dixon (.5) and Wes Farrell (.5) Road
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road in one take Abbey
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, backing vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, backing vocal
STARR: drums, lead vocal
Record and Road
MISCELLANEOUS
Original recording artist: the Shirelles. Used as the B side of their big hit "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" which was released November 7, 1960, it entered the Top 40 in December, and held the No. 1 position for two weeks. Lists and Road
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire from 1961 to 1964 (Pete Best sang lead until he was fired in August 1962). Live It was performed during the group's 1964 North American tour. Forever
"ASK ME WHY"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Previously released as a single January 11, 1963, as the B side of "Please Please Me." Road
UNITED STATES: Capitol refused to release this, but Vee Jay did February 25, 1963, as the B side to "Please Please Me," the Beatles' first U.S. single. It was not a Top 40 hit. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.7) and McCartney (.3) Road; ATN says Lennon.
RECORDED
November 26, 1962, at Abbey Road Abbey and Day and Road and ATN
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record and Road
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live It was performed at the Parlophone Records audition in 1962. A-Z
The public first heard this song on the BBC radio program Teenager's Turn, June 11, 1962, exactly seven months before it was released as a single. Live
"PLEASE PLEASE ME"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Originally released as the Beatles' second single, January 11, 1963, it entered the chart January 30, and by February 22 was No. 1, where it stayed for two weeks. It was the group's first U.K. No. 1 record. The success of this caused the hurried recording and release of the Please Please Me album. Road
UNITED STATES: Capitol and several other U.S. record firms passed when it was originally offered to them. various It was later released as a single three times. When it was issued February 25, 1963, by Vee Jay it failed to chart. Road
Years later, star record producer Phil Spector blamed the initial commercial failure of this song not on the music, but on the backwardness of the American public. RS (November 1, 1969) The Beatles' sound had been ignored, but it was only a matter of time before the U.S. would come around.
Nearly a year later, on January 30, 1964, about two weeks after the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," Vee Jay released "Please Please Me" again. It entered the Top 40 February 22, hit No. 3, and spent ten weeks on the chart. Road and Billboard
Vee Jay rereleased it on August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (1.00)
LENNON: "`Please Please Me' is my song completely. It was my attempt at writing a Roy Orbison song, would you believe it? I wrote it in the bedroom in my house at Menlove Avenue, which was my auntie's place...I remember the day and the pink eyelet on the bed, and I heard Roy Orbison doing 'Only the Lonely' or something. That's where that came from. And also I was always intrigued by the words of 'Please, lend your little ears to my pleas' -- a Bing Crosby song. I was always intrigued by the double use of the word 'please.' So it was a combination of Bing Crosby and Roy Orbison." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
Lennon grew to love Bing Crosby records in the late 1970s. Coleman
RECORDED
The original, slow version was recorded September 11, 1962, at the second session for "Love Me Do." It was not released. Day and Abbey
The Beatles recorded the second, faster version on November 26, 1962, at Abbey Road. George Martin almost refused to allow them to rerecord this song because he was not happy with the first version. He recommended that they record "How Do You Do It," a song written by a professional songwriter (and later a No. 1 U.K. hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers) and make that their second single. The Beatles refused. Day; Live says Beatles recorded "How Do You Do It" September 4. Martin agreed that if they recorded "How Do You Do It" first, they could record the revamped "Please Please Me." They played "How Do You Do It" without much effort and then tore into "Please Please Me." Road
MARTIN: "I listened. It was great....I told them what beginning and what ending to put on it, and they went into No. 2 studio to record. It went beautifully. The whole session was a joy. At the end of it, I pressed the intercom button in the control room and said, 'Gentlemen, you've just made your first No. 1 record.'" Ears
After a break the band then recorded "Ask Me Why." Diary and Abbey
McCARTNEY: "George Martin's contribution was quite a big one, actually. The first time he really ever showed that he could see beyond what we were offering him was 'Please Please Me.' It was originally conceived as a Roy Orbison -- type thing, you know. George said, 'Well, we'll put the tempo up.' He lifted the tempo, and we all thought that was much better, and that was a big hit." Own Words
Lennon and McCartney sing different lyrics on one line of the last verse. This was not intended but was kept in anyway. Musician (July 1987)
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road omits harmonica; ATN says Lennon and McCartney shared lead vocal with Harrison in the background.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire from 1962 to 1964. Live It was one of six songs performed during the Beatles' second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 16, 1964. It was also performed at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts in February 1964. Forever
Song publisher Dick James was so impressed by this song that he offered Beatles manager Brian Epstein and the Beatles a deal to set up their own publishing company, Northern Songs, so they could retain control over the copyrights of their own songs. Salewicz The Beatles later sold part of the company for tax reasons and then lost control over their copyrights completely in 1969.
The "Please Please Me" single was one of the first two records Elvis Costello owned. (The other was "The Folksinger" by John Leyton.) Costello was in the Beatles fan club when he was eleven years old. RS (September 2, 1982)
GEORGE MARTIN: "...A super record, a super tune." Musician (February 1985)
"LOVE ME DO"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: The Beatles' first single on Parlophone, released October 5, 1962, this had a very erratic run on the chart. It entered the Top 30 at No. 27 on October 24, immediately dropped off, and later peaked at No. 17 on December 27. Road with Live
Brian Epstein ordered ten thousand copies for his record store, hoping that would be enough to automatically land it on the British charts. He also conducted a letter-writing campaign to Radio Luxembourg and the BBC to force more airplay. Love; Salewicz and other sources agree on ten thousand as number. Epstein always denied ordering the copies, but close business associates and friends said it was almost certain he did. Live
EMI promoted the single in the United Kingdom with a full-page ad in Record Retailer a week before release. It was the only time that year EMI did so for any artist. Live
Brian Epstein's NEMS Enterprises promoted the single with a press release that included a biography and pen portraits and suggested jokes on the Beatles' name. Live
UNITED STATES: Capitol refused to release this as a single. It was later released on Tollie April 27, 1964, after Beatlemania erupted, entered the Top 40 May 2, held the No. 1 spot for one week, and stayed in the Top 40 for eleven weeks. Vee Jay released it August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP McCartney (.7) and Lennon (.3)
McCartney played hooky from school one day in 1958 to write this song with Lennon. Day; Love says it was written in the back of a van on the way to a gig.
LENNON: "Paul wrote the main structure of this when he was sixteen, or even earlier. I think I had something to do with the middle." Hit Parader (April 1972); Road says Lennon wrote the middle-eight; Love supports sixteen.
It was extremely rare in 1962 for recording artists to write their own songs, especially their debut singles.
RECORDED
VERSION ONE: Recorded September 4, 1962, during the Beatles' first Parlophone session, at EMI's Abbey Road studio. Seventeen takes were needed before George Martin was satisfied, and even then he wanted a different drummer on the track. Road
VERSION TWO: Recorded September 11, 1962. Studio drummer Andy White replaced Starr, who played tambourine. Road and ATN; Abbey and Live agree on dates and drummers; Diary says White sat in on September 4.
Martin chose the September 4 version for the single, although later pressings substituted the Andy White version, which was also used for the album. You can tell the difference between the two versions by noting whether a tambourine is being used; their lengths also differ. Live and Abbey and Road
NORMAN SMITH: "After the first take we listened to the tape. It was horrible. Their equipment wasn't good enough. We hooked Paul's guitar up to our own bass amplifier, and we had to tie John's amplifier together because it was rattling so loud." Diary
"They were very much in awe of the studio. Also, they didn't realize the disparity between what they could play on the studio floor and how it would come out sounding in the control room. They refused to wear headphones, I remember. In fact, subsequently they hardly ever wore them." Salewicz
McCARTNEY: "I was very nervous, I remember. John was supposed to sing the lead, but they changed their minds and asked me to sing lead at the last minute, because they wanted John to play harmonica. Until then, we hadn't rehearsed with a harmonica; George Martin started arranging it on the spot. It was very nerve-wracking." Playboy (December 1984)
Harrison had a black eye at the sessions. The Beatles and Brian Epstein had been attacked at the Cavern Club by ex-Beatles drummer Pete Best's fans, angry over his firing the month before. Salewicz and Musician (November 1987)
INSTRUMENTATION
The album version:
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: harmonica, Rickenbacker Capri 325 guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: acoustic guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: tambourine Andy White: drums
Record (but omits Lennon's guitar); Road agrees on double lead vocal and Harrison's harmony but says Lennon played guitar; guitar from Guitar (November 1987)
Starr's drum kit on his first Beatles sessions was the Premier set he got at the age of nineteen as a Christmas present from his parents. It was his first drum kit. Diary
Lennon shoplifted the harmonica he played on this song in Arnheim, Holland. Love
During this period, Bruce Channel's "Hey! Baby!" -- with Delbert McClinton playing harmonica Live -- was one of the Beatles' favorite songs. On June 21, 1962, Channel and McClinton headlined a show that included the Beatles; "Hey! Baby!" had become a Top 10 hit five weeks earlier, so Lennon probably saw it performed live that night. Live A harmonica player himself, Lennon liked McClinton's style and tried to imitate it. Coleman and Shout The Beatles added Lennon's harmonica to "Love Me Do," then "Please Please Me," "From Me to You," and several other early songs until they recognized their own overenthusiasm and stopped using the harmonica altogether. December 1970; Remembers
Lennon was later kidded about this harmonica solo by Rolling Stone Brian Jones. Jones said he wondered how Lennon got such a deep bottom note from just a harmonica; Jones thought it might be a blues harp. Coleman
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live
This was one of the songs the Beatles performed during their audition with George Martin June 6, 1962. A-Z and Diary
Martin didn't like Pete Best's drumming. On August 16 Epstein told Best that Ringo Starr would replace him. Ringo's first live performance as a Beatle was August 18 at the Cavern. (On that date, the Beatles were recorded at the Cavern performing "Some Other Guy.") Day; Diary says another drummer filled in until Starr was available August 28. While all this was going on, Lennon married Cynthia Powell August 23. Diary
Martin decided to have Andy White sit in on drums.
STARR: "I was shattered. What a drag. How phony the record business was, I thought." Compleat(b)
RINGO AS A DRUMMER
MARTIN: "[Ringo] hit good and hard, and used the tom-tom well, even though he couldn't do a roll to save his life." Shout
"...He's got tremendous feel. He always helped us to hit the right tempo for a song, and gave it that support -- that rock-solid backbeat -- that made the recording of all the Beatles' songs that much easier. He was sympathetic. His tempos used to go up and down, but up and down in the right way to help the song." Musician (July 1987)
HARRISON: "He could be the best rock 'n' roll drummer -- or at least one of the best rock 'n' roll drummers...He does fills which crack up people like Jim Keltner. He's just amazed because Ringo starts them in the wrong place and all that, but that is brilliant. That's pure feel....You know, he does everything back to front." Guitar> (November 1987)
McCARTNEY: "...Ringo is right down the center, never overplays." Musician (February 1988)
"We always gave Ringo direction -- on every single number. It was usually very controlled. Whoever had written the song, John for instance, would say, `I want this.' Obviously, a lot of the stuff came out of what Ringo was playing, but we would always control it." May 1980, Musician (August 1980)
LENNON: "Ringo's a damn good drummer. He was always a good drummer. He's not technically good, but I think Ringo's drumming is underrated the same way as Paul's bass playing is underrated." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
STARR, on getting his first drum set: "I banged me thumb the very first day. I became a drummer because it was the only thing I could do!" Compleat(b)
"But whenever I hear another drummer I know I'm no good....I'm no good on the technical things but I'm good with all the motions, swinging my head, like. That's because I love to dance but you can't do that on drums." Own Words
"...I'm your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills. The fills were funny because I'm really left-handed playing a right- handed kit....I can't roll around the drums because of that. I have to start with my left hand. If I come off the snare onto the tom-tom, I can't go on to the other tom, to the floor tom. That's why we used to call them funny fills." Big Beat
Completion of recording was celebrated by the Beatles and George Martin at Swiss Cottage, a London steak house. A-Z
The song was recorded on single-track tape, so no true stereo version exists. Road
A performance video tape aired November 7, 1962, on People and Places, a show on Granada TV in England. Day
George Martin hated the lyrics. Love
MARTIN: "That was the best of the stuff they had, and I thought it pretty poor." Coleman
Three days before the release of this single, the Beatles signed a binding five-year management contract with Epstein. Live
COMMENTS BY BEATLES
McCARTNEY: "You get to the bit where you think, if we're going to write great philosophy it isn't worth it. `Love Me Do' was our greatest philosophical song....For it to be simple, and true, means that it's incredibly simple." Own Words
Lennon later said this song was "pretty funky." December 1970, Remembers
McCARTNEY: "...In Hamburg we clicked, at the Cavern we clicked, but if you want to know when we knew we'd arrived, it was getting in the charts with `Love Me Do.' That was the one -- it gave us somewhere to go." Jamming! (June 1982)
COMMENTS BY OTHERS
Leonard Bernstein said on CBS-TV that the song included a drone effect that foretold later use of Indian ragas as source material. Compleat(b)
Recording artist Sting vividly remembers his discovery of the Beatles. He was eleven years old when "Love Me Do" -- with its vocal braids and haunting harmonica -- captured his attention. He was swimming with friends at a public pool when he heard it. The music had an overwhelming, almost spiritual impact on the boys: they were up in an instant, dancing naked and twirling and singing. It was at that moment, so moved by the Beatles' song, that Sting knew he would devote his life to music. RS (February 16, 1984)
MIMI SMITH, John's aunt, after listening to a demonstration disc of this song: "If you think you're going to make your fortune with that, you've got another think coming." She liked "Please Please Me" much more. Coleman
"P.S. I LOVE YOU"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released originally as a single, the B side to "Love Me Do," on October 5, 1962. Road
UNITED STATES: Released as a single April 27, 1964, on Tollie. It entered the Top 40 May 16, climbed to No. 10, and stayed in the Top 40 for seven weeks. Road and Billboard Vee Jay released it August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP McCartney (.8) and Lennon (.2) Road
The song was written in Hamburg during May 1962.
Day; A-Z says McCartney wrote it like a letter first and then put music to it, but McCartney quote in Playboy (December 1984) contradicts that.
RECORDED
September 11, 1962, at Abbey Road Day and Road and Live It was the Beatles' second recording of the song. It was recorded the week before, on September 4, with Starr on drums, but George Martin found it unsatisfactory. Road; Live doesn't mention it for September 4.
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: acoustic guitar (electrified Gibson J-160E), lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar (electrified Gibson J-160E)
STARR: maracas Andy White: drums
Record (except vocals); Road provides vocals; Record and ATN say McCartney and Lennon both sing lead vocals; guitars from Guitar (November 1987).
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live
This song was performed at the audition for Parlophone Records on June 6, 1962, at Abbey Road. Diary
MARTIN: "Frankly, the material didn't impress me, least of all their own songs. I felt that I was going to have to find suitable material for them, and was quite certain that their songwriting ability had no saleable future!" Ears
NORMAN SMITH: "Their sound didn't impress me much. Actually they were pretty bad. We even had to adjust their amplifiers for them! They played for about twenty minutes, songs like 'Besame Mucho.' But afterwards they came into the control booth and we got to talking with them -- and really, that was fascinating. I really think the Beatles got their recording contract because of that conversation. Let's be honest: they got that contract because of their enthusiasm, their presence, not because of their music. During that one conversation, we realized that they were something special." Diary
MARTIN, to the band during the recording session: "...If there's anything you don't like, tell me, and we'll try and do something about it."
HARRISON: "Well, for a start, I don't like your tie." Ears
"BABY IT'S YOU"
AUTHORSHIP Hal David (.33), Barney Williams (.33), and Burt Bacharach (.33) Compleat(b); Road and Live say Mack David instead of Hal David.
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, backing vocal
STARR: drums George Martin: piano
Record; Road omits piano; ATN agrees with Martin piano.
MISCELLANEOUS
Original recording artist: the Shirelles. Their version was released December 4, 1961, on the Scepter label. Lists and Road It was very successful, hitting No. 8 and staying in the Top 40 for eleven weeks, beginning in early January 1962. Billboard
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1962 and 1963. Live
"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET"
CHART ACTION
UNITED STATES: Also issued as a single more than a year after it was recorded, during the frenzied days of Beatlemania in the United States. The song, on Vee Jay, entered the Top 40 in mid- April 1964, hitting No. 2 during its nine-week run. Vee Jay rereleased it August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (1.00)
Lennon got the idea for the song from a Walt Disney film, probably the song "Wishing Well" in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
A-Z and Own Words and Coleman and Compleat(b); Road says either Cinderella or Fantasia; Love says title was from a line Lennon remembered Jiminy Cricket asking Pinocchio in Pinocchio.
LENNON: "[My mother] used to do this little tune when I was just a one-or two-year-old....The tune was from the Disney movie....So, I had this sort of thing in my head and I wrote it and just gave it to George to sing." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
Harrison said this song (or its recording) was inspired, to some extent, by "I Really Love You," a rhythm and blues hit for the Stereos in 1961. Musician (November 1987)
RECORDED February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Road and Abbey
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, backing vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, lead vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road agrees on vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963. Live
Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, also managed by Brian Epstein, recorded a version of this song. It was released in Britain on April 26, 1963 (backed with a McCartney song, "I'll Be on My Way"), and was a big hit: No. 1 for two weeks. Although it bombed in the United States, Kramer's U.K. success proved for the first time that Lennon-McCartney songs could be hits for other artists. That began a long and fruitful career for the pair as songwriters for other artists. Road
Lennon, solo on acoustic guitar, recorded the demo of this song for Billy J. Kramer in a lavatory. The toilet was flushed at the end of the tape. Lennon told Kramer that the lavatory was the quietest place he could find to make the recording. Coleman; supported by RS (August 25, 1988).
"A TASTE OF HONEY"
AUTHORSHIP Ric Marlow (.5) and Bobby Scott (.5) for the play A Taste of Honey (1960). Road
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road; some sources say March.
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal (double-tracked)
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmony vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road and Shout contribute double-tracking; ATN says McCartney sang lead vocal.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' repertoire for concerts in 1962 and 1963. Live The studio version is similar to the Beatles' live rendition, as Live at the Star-Club shows.
The original recording artist was Bobby Scott and Combo, whose 1960 version appeared on the soundtrack album of the movie of the same name. Lists Other versions were also recorded before the Beatles': the Victor Feldman Quartet (released June 4, 1962) and Martin Denny (June 18, 1962) versions were instrumentals. Lenny Welch released the first vocal version September 17, 1962. Road
"THERE'S A PLACE"
CHART ACTION
UNITED STATES: Released by Vee Jay August 10, 1964, but it didn't crack the Top 40. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (1.00)
LENNON: "`There's a Place' was my attempt at a sort of Motown, black thing." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Abbey and Road
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Record; Road and ATN say Lennon and McCartney shared lead vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963. Live
"TWIST AND SHOUT"
CHART ACTION
UNITED STATES: Also released as a single, March 2, 1964, on the Tollie label. Entered the Top 40 March 21 and during its nine weeks there rose to No. 2 for four weeks. Road with Billboard Vee Jay released it again August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Bert Berns (1.00) under the pseudonym "Medley/Russell" Road
RECORDED
February 11, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Road and Abbey
The Beatles were tired by the time they recorded this, the last song of the long album session. One more song was needed, so the Beatles and George Martin chose this. Lennon's voice was almost gone and his throat was sore. Two takes were recorded but the first was used. Abbey and Compleat; Road and Salewicz say one take was recorded.
MARTIN: "...There was one number which always caused a furor in the Cavern -- 'Twist and Shout.' John absolutely screamed it. God alone knows what he did to his larynx each time he performed it, because he made a sound rather like tearing flesh. That had to be right on the first take, because I knew perfectly well that if we had to do it a second time it would never be as good." Ears
Lennon later agreed that he was only screaming the lyrics. December 1970, Remembers
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, backing vocal
STARR: drums
Record; ATN agrees on vocals.
MISCELLANEOUS
Original recording artist: the Isley Brothers. Their version, released May 7, 1962, was their first Top 40 hit in the United States, entering the charts in June 1962 and hitting No. 17 during its eleven-week run. Road and Billboard
This song was a perennial favorite in concert. The Beatles performed it regularly from 1962 to 1965, as the closing number for a long time and then as the opener in many 1964 performances when McCartney's showcase, "Long Tall Sally," got the final spot. Live and Forever It was one of five songs performed during the famous London Palladium show (which revealed Beatlemania for the first time to millions across the United Kingdom and from which the term "Beatlemania" was coined) on October 13, 1963, and one of four songs at the Royal Command performance, November 4. Live One of six songs played during the Beatles' second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 16, 1964, it was also performed at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts in February 1964 and during the 1964 North American tour, 1964 London Christmas concerts, 1965 European tour, and the 1965 North American tour. Forever
LENNON, circa 1964: "I hate singing "Twist and Shout' when there's a colored artist on the bill. It doesn't seem right, you know. It seems to be their music, and I feel sort of embarrassed. Makes me curl up....They can do these songs much better than us." Coleman
LENNON: "...The more interesting [songs] to me were the black ones because they were more simple. They sort of said shake your arse, or your prick, which was an innovation really....The blacks were singing directly and immediately about their pain and also about sex, which is why I like it." Red Mole (March 8-22, 1971) via Companion
The Beatles' recording was used in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off and charted again. Capitol
McCARTNEY: "...I saw 'Twist and Shout' in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which I liked as a film, but they'd overdubbed some lousy brass on the stuff! If it had needed brass, we'd have stuck it on it ourselves." Musician (February 1988)
"FROM ME TO YOU"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released on April 11, 1963, as the A side of the Beatles' third single. It entered the pop chart one week later at No. 6 and a week later was at No. 1, where it stayed for five more weeks. Road
UNITED STATES: Released as a single May 27, 1963, on Vee Jay. It failed to break into the Top 40. Vee Jay released it again August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.5) and McCartney (.5)
Lennon and McCartney wrote this together on February 28, 1963, while on a bus traveling from York to Shrewsbury during a tour with headliner Helen Shapiro.
Day and Diary and Love and others agree; Live says February 27 and agrees on bus and route (they played York on February 27 and Shrewsbury on February 28); Forever says in back of "their van on the way to work"; Shotton says in a van; Lennon quote in Own Words says he and McCartney wrote this together on tour.
LENNON: "...I think the first line was mine. I mean, I know it was mine. And then after that we took it from there. It was far bluesier than that when we wrote it." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
The title of the song was taken from a letters column called "From You to Us" in the New Musical Express. Road and Diary; A-Z and Compleat(b) say "From Us to You."
RECORDED
March 5, 1963, at Abbey Road Live and Abbey; Day and Diary say March 4.
LENNON: "We nearly didn't record it because we thought it was too bluesy at first, but when we'd finished it and George Martin had scored it with harmonica, it was alright." Own Words
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record and Road
Lennon told singer Helen Shapiro that he sang the high falsetto part on this song and that "I can do the high stuff better than Paul." Coleman He apparently changed his opinion in the next year. (See: "A Hard Day's Night.")
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963 and 1964. It was one of four songs performed at the Royal Command performance, November 4, 1963. Live It was also one of six songs performed during the Beatles' second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 16, 1964, and one of twelve performed at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts the same month. Forever
This song introduced a Beatle trademark -- a falsetto "whoooooo." It was so successful that it was used liberally in the next single, "She Loves You." Forever
The harmonica beginning of the British single differs from the opening of all other versions. A-Z
This song was used as the theme song for a radio series in England called From Us to You that starred the Beatles and consisted of five two-hour programs, from December 1963 through June 1965. For the program, the Beatles performed "From Me to You" but changed the lyrics to "From us to you." A-Z
Del Shannon recorded this song, releasing it as a single in the United States on June 3, 1963, about a week after the Beatles' version was released there. Shannon's version did not break into the Top 40. Shannon had performed on the same bill as the Beatles earlier in the year in Britain and undoubtedly heard the song in performance. A-Z and Day
Three days before this song was released in the United Kingdom, John's son Julian Lennon was born, April 8, 1963. Day; Salewicz says four days before "it went into the shops."
"THANK YOU GIRL"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released as a single April 11, 1963, the B side to "From Me to You." Road
UNITED STATES: Released as a single three times on Vee Jay. The first time, May 27, 1963, it was the B side to "From Me to You" and failed to chart. The second time, March 23, 1964, it backed "Do You Want to Know a Secret" and became a moderate hit. It entered the Top 40 April 25, hit No. 35, and charted for three weeks. Road with Billboard Vee Jay released it again August 10, 1964, but it didn't chart. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.5) and McCartney (.5)
LENNON: "[This was written by] Paul and me. This was just a silly song we knocked off." Hit Parader (April 1972)
RECORDED
March 5, 1963, at Abbey Road, with harmonica overdubbed on March 13 Abbey; Day and Diary say it was recorded March 4.
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: acoustic guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums
Record and Road; ATN omits harmonica.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' live repertoire in 1963. Live
COMMENTS BY BEATLES
LENNON: "'Thank You Girl' was one of our efforts at writing a single that didn't work. So it became a B side." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
"SHE LOVES YOU"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released as a single August 23, 1963. The Beatles' fourth single entered the pop chart at No. 2 five days after release and by September 4 was No. 1, where it stayed for four weeks. Seven weeks after relinquishing the top spot, it returned to No. 1 on November 20 and stayed there for two more weeks. The single sold 1.3 million copies in Great Britain by the end of the year, making it the year's best-selling single. It remained the biggest seller in the United Kingdom until McCartney and Wings' "Mull of Kintyre" in 1978. Road
UNITED STATES: Not only did Capitol Records refuse to release this as a single, but even Vee Jay passed on it, after the failure of the previous two singles. Brian Epstein was finally able to talk the small Swan label into releasing it Stateside. Record2
Released as a single September 16, 1963. It was not an immediate hit but sold heavily once "I Want to Hold Your Hand" ushered Beatlemania into the United States. It entered the Top 40 February 1, 1964, and rose quickly to No. 1, where it stayed for two weeks. It spent fourteen weeks in the Top 40. Road
The week "She Loves You" hit No. 1, the Beatles had five songs in the Billboard Top 20. The others were: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (No. 2), "Please Please Me" (No. 3), "Twist and Shout" (No. 7), and "I Saw Her Standing There" (No. 14). Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.5) and McCartney (.5)
Lennon and McCartney wrote this song together in a Newcastle hotel room after performing June 26, 1963.
Live; Road and Day say it was written on tour with headliner Helen Shapiro (February 2 to March 3); Playboy Interviews says in a van en route to Newcastle; Love says lyrics were written in a hotel room three nights before it was recorded.
LENNON: "It was written together...I remember it was Paul's idea: Instead of singing 'I love you' again, we'd have a third party." September 1980, Playboy Interviews
RECORDED
July 1, 1963, at Abbey Road Day and Road and Abbey and Live; Diary says both July 1 and July 29 and 30.
McCARTNEY: "Occasionally, we'd overrule [George Martin], like on 'She Loves You,' we end on a 6th chord, a very jazzy sort of thing, and he said, 'Oh! You can't do that! A 6th chord? It's too jazzy.' We just said, 'No, it's a great hook, we've got to do it.'" Jamming! (June 1982)
McCartney credited Harrison with the idea for the jazzy chord. Compleat(b)
GEORGE MARTIN: "Glenn Miller was doing it twenty years ago." But he liked it and let the Beatles have their way. Compleat(b)
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar (Gretsch Country Gentleman, model PX6122)
STARR: drums
Record; Road agrees with double lead vocals but says Harrison provided harmony vocal; guitar from Guitar (November 1987); ATN omits Harrison vocal.
MISCELLANEOUS
This song was part of the Beatles' concert repertoire in 1963 and 1964. It was one of four songs performed at the Royal Command performance, November 4, 1963. A film clip of the Beatles performing the song was aired in the United States on NBC's Jack Paar, Show, January 3, 1964. Live; Compleat(b) agrees on Paar. This was the only song to be played by the Beatles during both of their appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9 and 16, 1964. Forever, Live says two others were also performed on both: "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand." It was also performed at the Washington Coliseum and Carnegie Hall concerts in February 1964 and at some shows during the Beatles' 1964 North American tour. Forever
A German version -- "Sie Liebt Dich" -- was recorded January 29, 1964, in the Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris. Road and Live and Abbey, Diary says January 18. (See: "I Want to Hold Your Hand.") The German version was also released as a single in the United States on Swan May 21, 1964. It hit No. 97. Road
THE "WOO WOO" AND THE "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH"
The "yeah, yeah, yeah" phrase that is featured so prominently in this song quickly became one of the Beatles' trademarks. In fact, in Southeast Asia, the Beatles' music was known as "yeah, yeah, yeah music" in government decrees. Forever McCartney's father had suggested using "yes, yes, yes" instead because it was more dignified. A-Z
KENNY LYNCH, singer who toured with the Beatles and Helen Shapiro in early 1963: "I remember John and Paul saying they were thinking of running up to the microphone together and shaking their heads and singing, 'whoooooooo.' It later became a very important, terrifically popular part of their act when they sand 'She Loves You.' But at the time they were planning it, even before the song was written, I remember everybody on the coach fell about laughing. I said, 'You can't do that. They'll think you're a bunch of poofs.' I remember John saying to me he thought it sounded great and they were having it in their act." Coleman
LENNON: "The 'woo woo' was taken from the Isley Brothers' 'Twist and Shout,' which we stuck into everything -- 'From Me to You,' 'She Loves You,' they all had that 'woo woo,'" September 1980, Playboy Interviews
COMMENTS BY BEATLES
McCARTNEY: "Nearly everything I've ever done or been involved in has received some negative critical reaction. You'd think the response to something like 'She Loves You' with the Beatles would have been pretty positive. It wasn't. The very first week that came out it was supposed to be the worst song the Beatles had ever thought of." Musician (August 1980)
"I'LL GET YOU"
CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released as a single August 23, 1963, the B side to "She Loves You." Road
UNITED STATES: Released as a single September 16, 1963, on the Swan label. It was not a hit. It was rereleased May 21, 1964, and again was not a hit. Road
AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.5) and McCartney (.5)
RECORDED
July 1, 1963, at Abbey Road
Day and Abbey and Live; Road says both July 1 and July 7; Diary says both July 1 and July 29 and 30.
INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, harmony vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar, harmony vocal
STARR: drums
Record; Road omits Harrison vocal; ATN omits Harrison vocal and harmonica.
Copyright © 1989 by William J. Dowlding
Product Details
- Publisher: Touchstone (September 29, 2009)
- Length: 448 pages
- ISBN13: 9781439147191
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