Song: “I’ll Be on My Way”
Album: (Not Released on LP)
“I’ll Be on My Way” was likely the first single that Lennon
and McCartney “gave away.”The song,
which John credited to Paul, was first recorded and released by Billy J. Kramer
(another act managed by Epstein and produced by Martin) in April of 1963,
B-sided by another Lennon-McCartney composition, “Do You Want to Know a
Secret.”The Kramer version reached
number two in the UK charts (beat out by the Beatles “From Me to You,” which
occupied the number one spot.
The Beatles also recorded their own version of the song that
April. It was broadcast on the BBC’s Side
by Side in June 1963, and it’s their only known recording of the song.
Song: “Please Please Me”
Album: Please Please Me (1963)
Lennon’s “Please Please
Me” was the title track to the Beatles’ first LP and their second UK single
(first in the United States).Originally
B-sided by “Ask Me Why,” the song was not particularly successful, but it was
re-released in January 1964, this time coupled with “From Me to You,” and it
rose to number three on the US Hot 100.
Despite the success of
“Love Me Do,” the Beatles weren’t widely known outside of Liverpool and
Hamburg. In fact, they were still obliged to perform their last stint in
Germany when “Love Me Do” entered the British charts, preventing them from
actively promoting the tune elsewhere.But Producer George Martin saw enough promise in them to record a second
single. He did not, however, have a lot of faith in “Please Please Me.” He
considered it slow and rather unremarkable (Lennon originally conceived of it
as a slow, bluesy song a la Roy Orbison’s “Only the Lonely”), and he would have
preferred that they release their earlier recording of Mitch Murray’s “How do You Do It?”
as their next single.But he was swayed
by their insistence that they record their own material and by, in Martin’s mind, a much-improved livelier version of
“Please Please Me” they later played for him. Instead of being Orbison-influenced, this
version borrowed more from the Everly Brothers, with John’s harmonica skills featured prominently and Paul’s high note held over the cascading melody.
“The
Long and Winding Road” was the Beatles’ 20th (and final) number one
song in the United States and the last single released by the band while all
members were still alive.While immensely
popular upon its release, Paul (the song’s primary composer) was enormously
displeased with Phil Spector’s production of it—so much so that he cited
Spector’s treatment of the song as one of six reasons for the legal split of
the Beatles.
Paul wrote the song at his farm in Scotland during a time of
growing tension in the band (providing its metaphorical heft), but the “long
and winding road” is also said to be a physical reference to the B842 road
running along the east coast of Kintyre into Cambeltown in Scotland.
Paul cut an early demo of the tune in September 1968 during The Beatles (The White Album) sessions. The final recording was cut on January 26 and
31, 1969, just days before and a day after the legendary rooftop concert. In
early 1970, Spector was presented with the tapes from the Get Back sessions to remix the songs for an album. He gave
particular attention to “The Long and Winding Road.” Citing John’s poor bass
performance on the track, he remixed it with an orchestration that included 18
violins, 4 violas, 3 cellos, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 2 guitars, and achoir of
14 women, which was arguably a bit overkill for a seemingly minor problem (and
certainly in direct opposition to the Beatles’ stated “back to basics” intent
for the album).
A simpler mix was released with the Beatles Anthology in 1996. And in 2003, The Beatles and Yoko Ono
release Let It Be…Naked, which
contains “stripped down” cuts of all of the album tracks, including (and
probably, especially) “The Long and
Winding Road.” This version of the album contained no strings or other
instrumentation that wasn’t played in the studio during the original
recordings, which brought the album in line with (or, at least, much closer to)
its intended form.
Ringo, who never had any problem with the sting arrangment
Spector added (beyond Spector’s odd, eccentric behavior during the mixing
process), liked the Naked version of
the tune, saying that it’d been over thirty years since he’d heard it without
all of the added instrumentation, and it blew him away. Spector has criticized
Paul for being so overly sensitive about the original album version, citing
that McCartney had no problem accepting the Oscar for the Let It Be soundtrack or adopting some of Spector’s arrangement when
performing the song on tour in the years since.
The closing lyrics in the single version of the song include
Paul’s refrain, “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” fittingly harkening back to the Beatles’
early hits as they played off into the sunset.
Written
by Lennon, “Tell Me Why” was recorded in eight takes in February 1964. The
video below was filmed the next month at the Scala Theatre in London and can be
seen during the studio performance portion of A Hard Day’s Night. The lyrics are far more biting than the
harmonies and doo-wop structure suggest, and Paul later reflected that this,
like many of Lennon’s songs, was likely drawn from personal experiences, but
neither McCartney, Starr, or Harrison realized it at the time.
Written by McCartney and Lennon (and considered one of their
most collaborative efforts), “From Me to You” was released as a single in 1963
and became the first number one hit on some of the British charts (second on
others).But it was not an immediate hit
in the U.S. In fact, it took Del Shannon’s cover version a year later to put
the song in the American pop charts (making it the first song written by Lennon
and McCartney to enter the U.S. charts). It was one of the last Beatles tunes
attributed to McCartney-Lennon (before taking on the Lennon-McCartney label for
good).
Inspired by some of the letters featured in New Musical Express, Paul and John began
writing “From Me to You” during a ride to Shrewsbury for a show. Performer
Kenny Lynch, who was on the same coach, apparently considered himself something
of a songwriter and tried to “help” the two before exasperatedly proclaiming
the song “bloody rubbish” by “idiots” who “don’t know music from their
backsides.”
But Paul has said that it was a “pivotal” song for the
group, marking innovation in their song structure and chord use. And the
opening “da da da da da dum dum da,” which was suggested by George Martin (and
the band at first thought unusual), proved successful, indicating to the group Martin’s
musical savvy—and perhaps cementing their trust in him.
McCartney has pointed
out that this tune—like many of their early numbers—uses “I” or “me” or “you”
as a way of connecting directly to the listener. But although this particular
song uses first person pronouns, it has no lead singer.
Paul claims he first realized the impact the Beatles had
on the musical world when he heard a milkman whistling "From Me to You."
“I’ll Cry Instead” is a Lennon tune
recorded for the A Hard Day’s Night
soundtrack.Although director Richard
Lester ultimately decided to use “Can’t Buy Me Love” in the sequence, John wrote “I’ll Cry
Instead” for the band’s breakout scene in the film. And while it wasn’t used
in the original film, the 45 release was listed as “From the United
Artists Picture, A Hard Day’s Night.” Plus Walter Shenson’s 1981 re-release of the film includes the tune over a
redone opening sequence that includes a retro-style photo collage (see the promo for the film below).
Cynthia Lennon—John’s first wife—has
said that the song reflects Lennon’s frustration during that period, gaining
tremendous fame but losing the freedom of his youth.
Written primarily by McCartney (from an idea mostly
conceived by McCartney), “Magical Mystery Tour” is the title song to the double
EP and TV film, but it was never released as a single like the themes to other Beatles’
films.“Mystery Tours” were common and
popular in Britain when the Beatles were young, and the “Magical Mystery Tour”
takes the concept a step further, adding a magical, surreal (likely drug-influenced)
dimension to it.
The song was recorded in April and May 1967, just days after
the final sessions for Sgt. Pepper’s.
The song wasn’t even complete when their new session began so much of the early
time in the studio was spent hashing out the rest of it.
While never released on an LP in the U.K.,
the EP was stretched to LP-length in the U.S.
by adding five previously released singles (including both “Penny
Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” from the
double A-side).The LP version was later
released in both the U.S.
and U.K. on CD.
The original six-song double EP (released in the U.K.)
was received much better than the film was, but most critics consider the “Magical
Mystery Tour” song itself a pleasant but inconsequential entry in the Beatles
canon.
Recorded during
the Sgt. Pepper sessions, McCartney’s
“Penny Lane,” along with “Strawberry Fields Forever,” was part of a double
A-side single released in February 1967. Lennon and McCartney used to catch
buses for Liverpool’s city center at the Penny Lane junction—such a common
terminus at the time that many of the buses roaming the city displayed PENNY
LANE. Smithdown Place (near the bus terminus) was a popular attraction for
Beatles’ fans making a pilgrimage to Liverpool, and city officials had to
replace stolen street signs displaying “Penny Lane” constantly until they
decided to paint street names on neighborhood buildings. Ultimately, more
“theft-resistant” signs were installed in 2007.
Neither song was released on a British LP
by the group, but they were both included in the U.K.’s double EP soundtrack
“Magical Mystery Tour” and on the U.S. LP of the same name. George Martin said
that he believed pairing “Penny Lane” with “Strawberry Fields Forever” resulted
in the greatest single ever released by the Beatles.
“Penny Lane” was recorded during December
1966 and January 1967 at Abbey Road. David Mason’s piccolo trumpet solo, for
which he was paid about 27 pounds, was done in a mock-Baroque style. The
original US single mix of the song had an additional trumpet flourish, but was
quickly replaced by a version omitting it. The few copies that had already been
sent to radio stations (with the additional trumpet passage) are among the most valuable
Beatles collectibles.
While in Paris for a series of concerts at the Olympia
Theater in January 1964, the Beatles booked studio time to record (reluctantly)
new German-language versions of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and “She Loves
You,” having been told that their records would never sell in large numbers in
Germany if they were in English. They had extra time in the Paris studio after
these tracks were recorded so the band also worked on McCartney’s new tune,
“Can’t Buy Me Love,” making it the only Beatles’ English-language song recorded
outside the U.K. Paul’s final vocal, however,
was overdubbed in February at Abbey Road, and the backing vocals
were removed, making it the first Beatles’ single without their characteristic
harmonies (and their sixth single overall, B-sided by “You Can’t Do That”).
Paul was often asked about the song, finally
pressed by journalists in 1966 to reveal its “true” meaning.He said that you can interpret it in almost any way you want, but he insisted
it was not about prostitution.
The clip below is from the Beatles Shea Stadium
performance.“Everybody clap your hands
and sing along.”
“You Can’t Do That” is a John tune through and through—he
even recorded the guitar solo. It’s perhaps sexist and paranoid, but it’s also
personal, and it reflects John’s love for R&B. Written for A Hard Day’s Night, the song was cut
from the film but included on the album. It was also considered for A-side
release until Paul wrote “Can’t Buy Me Love” (for which it ultimately became
the B-side).
The song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in February 1964.
It was the first recording released in which George used his Rickenbacker 360
Deluxe electric 12-string guitar (only the second one ever made), which had
been presented to him in New York while the band was there for The Ed Sullivan Show. The guitar was his go-to instrument on A Hard Day’s Night, and its signature chiming
sound influenced musicians like Roger McGuinn, who would later form The Byrds.
Released in October 1962 (B-sided by
“P.S. I Love You”), “Love Me Do” was the first Beatles single, peaking at
number 17 in the U.K. and number 1 in the U.S. (but not until 1964). It’s a
song that fits the model of early Beatles lore well: McCartney wrote it while
skipping school at 16 (John contributed the middle eight) probably putting it
down in a notebook with “Another Lennon-McCartney Original” scrawled atop the
page (as was their practice at the time). It was originally envisioned as an
Everly Brothers-style harmonizing piece. And they do harmonize on “please,” but
because John couldn’t sing and play
the harmonica (a major fixture in many of their early tunes), Paul took the
solo “love me do.” The harmonica was originally overdubbed (so John could sing
the line, too), but it was too loud and overpowering in the final recording so
John instead played it while Paul sang.
The song was first recorded in June of
1962 with Pete Best on drums. It was recorded again in September with Ringo, as
producer George Martin did not like Best’s drumming. But Martin wasn’t happy
with Starr’s drumming either, and the Beatles recorded the song a third time
(again in September) with session drummer Andy White (with Starr playing the
tambourine—so the Ringo and White versions can be easily distinguished by the
presence or absence of a tambourine). The Starr version was the one first
issued as a single, but the White version was used for Please Please Me and most other releases of the song. The Pete Best
version was not released until 1995’s Anthology
1 volume.
Aside from just
his pickiness about the drumming, Martin was not yet impressed with the
songwriting prowess of the newly signed Beatles (who were picked up primarily for
their charisma). He selected this as their first single because he didn’t feel
they had any better material at the time. But the band really wanted to record
their own song for their first single, which was unusual at the time, especially
for a new artist. And Martin probably deserves the credit for giving them a
shot.
The original
master of “Love Me Do” from the first September session (with Ringo as drummer)
no longer exists. Two-track session tapes for singles were often erased after
being mixed down to a master so its no surprise the original tapes are gone, but
the master was lost at some point, too. EMI probably wasn’t too concerned about
it as the later recording (with White) was the master used for most releases of
the song. But in the early 1980’s, a new master was struck from a mint 45 from
a private record collection and has been the “official” master ever since.
"Let It Be" was written by
McCartney during a tumultuous period while recording The Beatles (The White Album),
following a dream Paul had about his mother (who died of cancer when he was
fourteen). The Mother Mary line in the song refers to her (Mary McCartney),
and he’s said that she told him, in the dream, “It will be all right, just let
it be.”
The song was
not recorded, though, until January of 1969, during the even more tumultuous Get Back sessions.“Let it
Be” was the final single released by the Beatles (in March 1970) before
McCartney announced his split from the group.An alternative mix also appeared as the title track on the Let it Be album (renamed from Get Back), which was released later in
1970, after the Beatles had parted ways.
George
overdubbed two guitar solos--recorded April 1969 and January 1970--for the song, which were
added to the original January 1969 take. The intention was that they’d both be
used in the final track, but instead, the first was used for the single
release, and the second was used in the original album release. Backing vocals
were added in January 1970, including those sung by Linda McCarney, which is her only known contribution to a Beatles song.
Phil Spector
remixed the song in March 1970 for what would become the Let It Be album, augmenting some of Ringo’s drumming (including
adding a delay to the high hat), stripping out the backing vocals (except on
the first chorus), and adding a more prominent orchestral arrangement. In
short, he overdid it. It was remixed again for the 2003 release of Let It Be…Naked, in which much of Spector’s excess is removed,
especially (to Ringo’s satisfaction) the delayed drumming effects, leaving
Starr’s more natural, stripped-down drumming.
“Let it Be” was well-received critically,
and is frequently cited as a fan favorite. Additionally, it won both an Academy
Award (for Best Original Song Score) and a Grammy (for Best Original
Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special) for the Let It Be film in 1971.
One of my all time favorites, “Nowhere Man,” which is notable both for being one of the first
Beatles’ songs to have nothing to do with romance and for being an early example of John’s philosophically-influenced
songwriting, was recorded in October 1965 and appeared on 1965’s Rubber Soul LP,
as a U.S. single in 1966, and in 1968’s Yellow
Submarine film.
George and John played identical “sonic blue” Fender
Stratocaster guitars (John on the verses and George on the solo) on the tune,
and Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison all shared the three-part vocal harmony.
Many, including Lennon himself, believed the song was about
John—either feeling lost about what song to write next for Rubber Soul, or feeling generally out of
place in the universe.Dr. Who fanatics, on the other hand,
have a different theory, suggesting the song is about the series’ title
character—a human-disguised alien that travels through space and time, heading
nowhere in particular, always trying to save the universe.
The video below is from a performance of the tune in Japan.
Lennon’s
“Rain,” which B-sided 1966’s “Paperback Writer,” was recorded during the Revolver sessions. It’s widely
considered the Beatles’ finest B-side. The song was written following a
particularly rainy stint the band had in Australia. John said it was “about
people moaning about the weather all the time.” It’s musically simple, but
technically impressive and highly experimental, containing a slowed down rhythm
track and backward-played vocals, which foreshadowed things to come on Revolver (released later the same year).
Also notable on the track is Paul’s complex basssline and Ringo’s drumming,
which Starr himself (as well as many critics) consider his finest recorded
performance. The performances and the technical effects pioneered in this song
cannot be overstated. And the three promotional films shot for "Rain" (one of which can be seen below) marked another way in which the Beatles influenced
the emergence of the music video (again, well over a decade before MTV was
launched).
As the story goes, McCartney (literally) dreamed the melody of “Yesterday,” and rushed to a piano upon waking to play it out before forgetting the tune. Because it came to him so clearly and completely, he was worried that his subconscious was plagiarizing someone else’s song while he slept. So he played it for numerous people, figuring if no one claimed to have heard it before, he'd probably be safe in continuing to work on it. But he agonized over it, kicking the song around for quite some time before recording it. Actually, it was quite a while before it even had a title. As John and Paul often did when working out a new song, McCartney used nonsense “working lyrics”: “Scrambled Eggs/Oh, my baby how I love your legs.”
The song was a point of contention in the group, because the other Beatles were annoyed with Paul’s incessant fiddling with and chattering about the song. It probably could have been included on either A Hard Day’s Night or Beatles for Sale, but disagreements about the arrangement (or whether or not the song was even appropriate for a Beatles’ album) delayed its release. After Paul was comfortable with a completed version of the song, it was actually initially offered to musician Chris Farlowe (probably because it didn’t sound like a Beatles tune), but Farlowe turned it down because it was “too soft.” Paul finally recorded it in June 1965 (four days after his 23rd birthday). A string arrangement was later added to the track, but none of the other Beatles were included in the final recording. George Martin apparently had a conversation with Brian Epstein about this, suggesting that maybe they should just release it as a Paul McCartney song, as the rest of the band had little to do with it (and it sounded unlike anything else they’d recorded). But Epstein was adamant that they not split up the Beatles. The song was ultimately included on the Beatles 1965 Help!
The rest, as they say, is history. “Yesterday” went on to become one of the Beatles’ most popular songs. It’s still popular today, and has been covered more than 2,000 times.
Song: “Do You
Want to Know a Secret”
Album: Please Please Me (1963)
“Do You Want
to Know a Secret” was written primarily by Lennon and was recorded during an
epic nine-song session in February 1963. It was released on the Please Please Me LP in March 1963 and as
a single (B-sided by “Thank You Girl”) in March 1964. John and Paul composed
the tune for Harrison to sing, whose voice range—at least by Lennon’s
estimation—was limited at the time. (John later said George’s voice improved
significantly with time). In 1964, it became the first George-sung tune to
crack the top ten of the Billboard Top 100, peaking at #2, just behind “Can’t
Buy Me Love.”
The lyrics
were inspired by the song “I’m Wishing,” which was featured in Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Apparently Lennon’s mom Julia would sing it to him as a child. In fact, the
first lines from the Snow White tune—“Want
to know a secret? Promise not to tell?”—are used almost verbatim as the third
and fourth lines of the Beatles’ track.
Although not released as a single, “All My Loving” was
immensely popular and enjoyed significant radio play after its release on the
group’s 1963 U.K. LP With the Beatles.
So much, in fact, that EMI later issued it as the title track to an EP. It was
also the opening number for the Beatles’ first performance on the Ed Sullivan
Show in February 1964, and it was later used in the background during scenes in
both A Hard Day’s Night and (as an
instrumental piece) Magical Mystery Tour.
It was a solid earlyPaul
song. For many, it was the track that made people realize McCartney could write
just as well as John. In fact, many critics consider it the best non-single
Beatles’ track before 1964.
Even John spoke fondly about the tune, joking with
interviewers that he wished he’d been the one to write it. And legend has it
(or, at least, TV producer Alan Weiss—who was at Roosevelt Hospital when Lennon
was brought in—claims that) “All My Loving" was playing in the emergency room when
was Lennon was pronounced dead.
Recorded in eight takes (with no overdubs) in August 1964—on
the same day as “Mr. Moonlight” and “Leave My Kitten Alone”—John’s “I’m a
Loser” was originally considered for release as a single (until John composed
“I Feel Fine,” which was selected over it).The tune instead appeared on Beatles
for Sale (Beatles ’65 in the
U.S.) and was regularly played while touring.
Both its overall sound and its lyrical content were
influenced by country music (as well as by folk, especially Bob Dylan). The
song, in part, marked the beginning of rock and folk coming together in a
meaningful way, as well as the shifting of the Beatles into darker musical and
lyrical territory. Not a happy track (as its title clearly indicates), “I’m a
Loser” was among the first of the Beatles’ grown
up love songs, dwelling on the despondency of a tough breakup instead of
the euphoria of new love. Fitting nicely with the character of the song, Lennon
even dips to a low G during the verses, something he rarely did (as it was a
note typically hit only by Baritones or Bass—and Lennon was a Tenor).
An interesting tidbit: the original pressing of Beatles for Sale (in the U.K.) misprinted
the title as “I’m a Losser."
Paul wrote “Helter Skelter” in an effort to make the
loudest, dirtiest sounding song he could, apparently in response to a 1967 Guitar Player interview in which Who
guitarist Pete Townshend described their single, “I Can See for Miles,” as the
loudest, rawest song they’d ever recorded. Many critics credit “Helter Skelter”
as a forerunner of heavy metal.
Paul said he used the “symbol of helter skelter as a ride
from the top to the bottom; the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.” Charles
Manson, however, infamously cited several The
Beatles (The White Album) songs
as a coded prophecy for an apocalyptic vision of white people killing each
other off with Manson and his followers emerging as the rulers of the remaining
black people, or some such ridiculousness.Manson referred to the prophetic course of events as helter
skelter.
The song was recorded several times during sessions
in July 1968, including 12 and 27 minute versions, and apparently all acted
quite zany during the recording. It’s rumored that George even ran around the
study with a flaming ashtray held above his head while Paul recorded his
vocals.
Song: "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You"
Album: Hard Day's Night (1964)
Written before Harrison composed his own material, Paul and
John penned “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You” specifically for him to perform.
It was recorded in March of 1964 for the Hard
Day’s Night soundtrack, and the clip from the film below marked the first
commercial video piece in which George sang lead.
Lennon and McCartney considered it a formula song, but
there’s a few interesting bits about its structure nonetheless. The Beatles
often used unique and unpredictable chords, and in this song they augmented the
B7th chord on “dance,” adding a hint
of dissonance to a crucial point of the chorus. Also, the opening of the song
is taken from the last four bars of the bridge instead of from the verse or
chorus (which was standard for most pop tunes at the time).
According
to Yoko, George had, at some point, presented her with the idea of adding vocals and instrumentation
to demos Lennon had recorded prior to his death.Paul later visited her at her home in New York, following the
ceremony inducting John into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and she gave him four
tapes of unreleased material. The surviving Beatles selected and contributed to two, which were both then released as a promotion for The Beatles Anthology in 1995.
John’s
performance in “Free as a Bird” comes from the demo he recorded at his apartment
in 1977.Jeff Lynne (of
E.L.O. and The Traveling Wilburys) co-produced the final record to which Paul,
George, and Ringo added tracks. The
overdubs and production took place in February and March of 1994 at McCartey’s
home studio in Sussex. Since the lead vocals and piano were recorded together on
a cassette tape, they couldn’t be separated, and aside from breaking apart the
song to move its pieces around, or adding the occasional space for Paul and
George to add lead vocals, they had to follow the original structure of the
song fairly closely. So they agreed to treat the project as such: John wrote
and recorded his bit then stepped out of the studio for lunch (or perhaps tea).
They also all agreed the recording for "Free as Bird" was more pleasant than it was for the second song
selected for Anthology, “Real
Love.” It was like they were simply “filling in” an almost completed
Lennon tune.
“Get Back” was
written by Paul and recorded in January 1969 during the “Get Back” sessions. It
was released as a single in April, 1969 (and on the Let It Be LP in May 1970, shortly after the Beatles went their separate ways).
An earlier
version of the song was more racially charged, addressing immigration in the
United States and Great Britain, and “get back” could be read as a cry for
immigrants to leave.Obviously, the
final version is less complicated and controversial.
Billy Preston
was brought in by Harrison and recorded keyboards for the track on January 22.
His presence was also likely meant to ease tension within the group, which was plagued by infighting throughout the session.The song was ultimately credited to “The
Beatles with Billy Preston” and was the only single for which they requested
another artist be credited with them.
“Get Back” was
performed three times during “The Beatles Rooftop Performance” on the roof of
Apple Studios in January of 1969. The third play was the final song of the
performance and was interrupted by the police.
“Twist and Shout” (originally titled “Shake It Up, Baby”)
was written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell and performed by both the Top Notes
and The Isley Brothers before it appeared on the Beatles Please Please Me in 1963. It was the last of eleven songs recorded
during an epic 10-hour session on February 11, 1963. George Martin knew
Lennon’s voice would take a hit from the performance so he waited until the
last 15 minutes of the session to record it. Lennon was even fighting a cold at
the time, producing a rasp that is evident on the record (and giving him only
enough oomph for one take of the song).
But it is John’s vocal that makes it one
of the finest examples of early British rock, and the song is (at least)
partially credited with the dawn of Beatlemania, as their energetic live performance of the song was popularized during widely-viewed performances on Sunday Night at the
London Palladium (1963), The Royal
Variety Show (1963), and the Ed
Sullivan Show (1964).
The song continued to be a fixture at the
Beatles’ live shows until 1965, and they recorded it nine times for BBC
television and radio. In 1986, following the release of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (in which “Twist and Shout” is prominently
featured in an iconic scene), the song re-entered the pop-charts, peaking at No.
23.
The performance below is from The Royal Variety Show in 1963.
"Some Other Guy" was written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Richard Barrett, and was first released by
Barrett in 1962. The Beatles recorded the song the same year during a BBC radio
session (which was later included on 1994’s Live
at the BBC). It played an important role in the Beatles’ early success as it
was a popular tune at the Cavern Club. The video below, of John and Paul singing the song, is
the only know existing synchronization of recorded sound with a Beatles performance at the club. And it’s the first
film featuring Ringo as the Beatles’ drummer.
An interesting nugget: John later paid homage to "Some Other Guy" by using the same two-chord intro in his single “Instant Karma.”
And another: This footage is from Wednesday,
August 22, 1962—exactly 50 years ago today (heck, it was even on a
Wednesday!).
Song: “I Saw Her Standing There”
Album: Please Please Me (1963)
“I Saw Her Standing There” is the first track on the Beatles’ debut LP, Please Please Me.” It was also released
as a B-side in the U.S. (A-sided by “I Want To Hold Your Hand”). The song
originated with McCartney (in fact, the Please
Please Me liner notes credit the tune to McCartney-Lennon, instead of the
more familiar Lennon-McCartney), but John and he collaborated in its
completion.It was first titled “Seventeen”
and included the lyric, “She was just seventeen, never been a beauty queen,” which evidently induced howling
laughter in John, who insisted the beauty
queen bit be changed.It was, as
was the title.
The track was recorded at EMI in February of 1963, during the marathon
recording session that included 10 of the 14 songs on thePlease Please
Me LP.Producer George Martin hoped
to capture the energy of a Beatles’ concert by giving the album a live performance
vibe. One of his techniques to this end was to include Paul’s “One, two, three,
four! count-in at the beginning of
this song (something that was usually removed during mixing).Apparently The Ramones began most songs
during their live sets with the same count-in, paying homage to the Beatles and
“I Saw Her Standing There.”
Written by McCartney,
“Two of Us” was originally titled “On Our Way Home” and recorded with a more
electric/rock sound. McCartney didn’t care for it, though, and the band
reworked it acoustically and recorded the final version that appeared on Let It Be in January 1969.
McCartney said
the song was about (and dedicated to) his wife-to-be, Linda Eastman, but many critics
(and fans) feel that some of the lyrics (like, “you and I have memories/longer
than the road that stretches out ahead”) suggest that the song was actually
about McCartney and Lennon.
