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1. From Me to You
- This is the third official Beatles single. It's B-Side is Thank You Girl.
- It was released between the albums Please Please Me and With The Beatles (both released in 1963), but features on neither of them. From this point on most of the band's singles would not feature on their albums.
- It was written as a fan-pleaser, the title is a reply to all the fan letters the band was already getting, and was inspired by the letters section of NME magainze, titled 'From Us to You'.
- Written by McCartney and Lennon while the band was on tour with Helen Shapiro. It was pretty much co-written 50/50.
- Kenny Lynch (he who tried to score a hit with a cover version of Misery), who was also on tour with the band at the time and fancied himself as a bit of a songwriter, sat down with the band to help them write it... after about half an hour he got frustrated with the way they would ignore the then-established rules of writing pop songs and told everyone on the bus that they were idiots, knew nothing about songwriting and that the song was "bloody rubbish!" He also called them 'fairies' for singing the "woo" bits.
- The song ends on a minor chord despite being in a major key, indicating the kind of rule-breaking that annoyed Kenny Lynch so much.
- This is the first Beatles song to use the aforementioned "woo" device, which would become one of the band's many trademarks. McCartney's use of this was inspired by Little Richard.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, and plays the harmonica again.
- It was George Martin's idea to do the "da-da-da-da-da-dum-dum-dah" bit at the beginning, as well as using the harmonica for the intro.
- Both McCartney and Lennon felt that the song could be re-arranged as a blues/ragtime-styled tune and spoke about this in seperate interviews later in their careers.
- Reached #1 in the UK charts but failed to make an impression in America, where it was released as their first US single. It probably didn't help that American rock n roll artist Del Shannon (best known for the song Runaway) released a cover version of this song at the same time. Copies of the American first-pressing of this single are very sought after by Beatles-record collectors.
- It was later re-released in America in 1964 as the B-side to the US single for Please Please Me.
- It runs at just under 2 minutes and took 13 takes to record.
- The band also wrote an alternative version of this song with the title From Us to You, for use in a radio program of the same name (it ran from 1963-1965).
2. Thank You Girl
- The B-side to From Me to You. It doesn't feature on any of the Beatles UK studio albums, though it is on The Beatles' Second Album (the band's imaginatively titled album for the US market).
- Lennon had started writing this song and then McCartney filled in some gaps. This was originally intended as an A-side but both Lennon and McCartney came to regard it as a bit of a 'hack' job quite early on, especially after they wrote From Me to You. Lennon wrote the verses and McCartney did the chorus.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, and also does some more of his trademark harmonica. His vocals are double-tracked here for the first time.
- At the time of it's recording, in 1963, two other songs were recorded as well - What Goes On and The One After 909. These songs would not turn up on any releases until much later on - specifically the albums Rubber Soul (1966) and Let It Be (1970).
- The version released on The Beatles' Second Album actually had a slightly different harmonica part.
- It was also released in America as the B-side to the US single for Do You Want to Know a Secret.
- Runs for 2 minutes, and took 28 takes to finish.
1992 CD single cover
- Features 14 tracks, 4 of which were original tracks that appeared on the two previously released singles. 6 of the tracks were covers, and the other 4 were more Lennon/McCartney compositions.
- Like the first two singles, and most of the Beatles' other output, this was produced by George Martin.
- Another track, Hold Me Tight, was written and recorded for the album but Martin decided that 14 tracks were enough and so this song was held over and re-recorded for the next album.
- Two tracks on the album are sung by George Harrison, and one is sung by Ringo.
- 10 of the songs (the ones that hadn't been recorded for the first two singles) were recorded in one day.
- The album was recorded while the Please Please Me single had yet to be released, meaning it was made before the band was yet to get a #1.
- When it came to selecting covers to record for the album, Martin vetoed the recording of songs by rock n roll artists like Chuck Berry and Little Richard as he felt that rock n roll was a dying fad.
1. I Saw Her Standing There
- The opening track on the album, and it rules. One of my all time favourite Beatles songs.
- McCartney started writing it and showed what he had to Lennon and they finished it off together in 1961 whilst wagging school. Lennon mainly helped with the bridge.
- It's original title was Seventeen, and is rumoured to be about Iris Caldwell, sister to Rory Storm of local Liverpool band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes (who sometimes featured Ringo on the drums).
- McCartney admits to stealing the bassline from from a Chuck Berry song, specifically I'm Talking About You.
- Bootleg recordings and alternate takes of this song reveal that McCartney sometimes changed the bassline in the chorus part of the song.
- The count-in at the beginning of the song would've normally been edited out of the final recording but Martin felt it was rather enthusiastic and left it in as an album starter.
- McCartney sings the lead vocals, with Lennon providing backup.
- Runs for 2 and a half minutes, and was completed in 12 takes.
- It was included as the B-side to the American release of the single I Want to Hold Your Hand.
- McCartney still includes this song in his live sets today. One of the most recent performances of it featured Dave Grohl on the drums. Lennon also once performed it live post-Beatles, in 1974, with Elton John.
2. Misery
- Lennon and McCartney wrote this together whilst on tour with Helen Shapiro and Kenny Lynch in 1962.
- McCartney wasn't particularly proud of it, and Lennon took more credit for the songwriting overall.
- It was originally written with the intention of giving it to Helen Shapiro to record. Her management/record label turned it down but Kenny Lynch jumped right on it, obviously not afraid of a bit of sloppy seconds. He failed to chart with it, but is often credited as the first person to cover a Beatles song. Lynch can be seen amongst the celebrities featured on the cover of the Wings album Band on the Run.
- Lennon and McCartney co-sing the lead vocals, and George Martin plays the piano.
- Martin's piano bit took it's cues from a part played by Harrison on guitar.
- Runs for 1 minute and 47 seconds, and took 16 takes to complete.
3. Anna (Go to Him)
- This is a cover of a ballad-ish Arthur Alexander song.
- Alexander's version was released in 1962. It was a minor hit but the Beatles version eventually became more famous.
- Lennon was a fan of the song and it was a part of the band's live set throughout 1962, hence it's appearance on the album, though the band would never perform it live again after it was recorded.
- The 'riff' (or phrase, or whatever you'd like to call it) was played on the piano for the original version but Harrison adapted it for the guitar for the Beatles' cover.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, whilst McCartney and Harrison provided backing vocals. The band also performs the song in a different key to the original.
- Lennon had a cold on the day of the album's recording, most noticeable on this song and Twist and Shout, which accounts for the raspy tones he sometimes hits.
- Runs for 2 minutes and 56 seconds, and only took 3 takes to record.
4. Chains
- This is a cover of a song originally released by the Cookies, and written by Carole King and her husband.
- A lot of Liverpool-based bands covered this track in their live sets during 1962, including the Beatles.
- Harrison sings the lead vocals in this recording. Lennon and McCartney provide backing vocals, and Lennon also plays the harmonica. Like Anna (Go to Him), the band performs this song in a different key due to the original being performed by a female singer.
- Lennon's harmonica replaces a part played on the saxophone on the original recording.
- The recording runs for 2 minutes and 21 seconds, and only took 4 takes to complete (though Martin ended up using the very first take).
5. Boys
- Another cover, originally peformed by another girl group - the Shirelles. The Shirelles released this song as a B-side.
- This was a live favourite for the band during their Hamburg and Cavern days in 1962, original drummer Pete Best would sing the vocals. I presume this was an inside joke on Lennon and McCartney's part, who were reputedly jealous of Pete Best's reputation as a pretty boy.
- The lead vocals were passed on to Ringo, from one drummer to another. Ringo also used to sometimes sing the song as a duet in his old band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.
- Ringo didn't seem to mind that he was singing about boys.
- Runs for 2 minutes and 24 seconds, and was recorded in just one take.
6. Ask Me Why
- Released on the Please Please Me single prior to the album's release. See full song info here.
7. Please Please Me
- Same as above. Full song info here.
8. Love Me Do
- Released as the band's first single. See full song info here.
9. P.S. I Love You
- Originally released as the B-side to Love Me Do. Full song info here.
10. Baby It's You
- Another Shirelles cover, a girl band that Lennon was a big fan of. This one was written by Burt Bacharach.
- The Beatles often performed this live between 1961 and 1963.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, and also provides some of his trademark harmonica.
- Martin plays the celesta on this recording. A celesta is a kind of piano/organ that uses vibrating metal plates instead of strings. Martin also recorded a piano track as well but decided not to use it.
- Harrison replicates the original version's organ part on his guitar.
- Runs for just over 2 and a half minutes, and only took 1 take.
- A live recording of the Beatles playing this song later surfaced and was included on the band's Live at the BBC album, released in 1994. This version was also released as a single/live EP in 1995, and reached #7 in the UK charts.
11. Do You Want to Know a Secret?
- This is probably one of the most hugely popular Beatles songs to have never been released on any Beatles Greatest Hits albums.
- Harrison sings the lead vocals on this song.
- Lennon and McCartney wrote about half of this song each, with Lennon taking inspiration from the song I'm Wishing, from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The song may have been specifically written for Harrison to sing, with Lennon and McCartney mindful of keeping the vocal notes fairly simple and close together (as Harrison's vocals weren't as strong as theirs).
- Lennon wrote the lyrics and it's often been said that he wrote them about his wife Cynthia, whom he was forced to marry after knocking her up. The band's manager, Brian Epstein, encouraged Lennon to keep the marriage secret for the sake of the band's fans. Lennon subsequently maintained that the song's meaning was a lot more generic than that and wasn't specific to any real life events.
- Lennon jokingly changed the lyrics to "Do you want to hold a penis?" during the recording sessions for the Rubber Soul album. It can be heard on some of the outtakes.
- Released as a single in the U.S. in 1964, where it got #2.
- Billy J. Kramer covered this song no less than 3 months after the Please Please Me album was released and put it out as a single in the U.K., getting to #1. Imagine if someone did that today! You wouldn't get away with it.
- Runs for 1 minute and 55 seconds, and took 8 takes to complete.
12. A Taste of Honey
- Written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow in 1960 as an instrumental track, and considered to be something of a pop standard. Lenny Welch released the first version of it with vocals in 1961.
- McCartney sings the lead vocals, and was quite fond of the song.
- Ends on a major key, despite the rest of the song being entirely in a minor one. This was a trick of McCartney's, and he would use it to more famous effect in later songs.
- The band often performed this song live prior to it's recording. Lennon didn't really like the song much, and often changed the lyrics to "A waste of money".
- Runs for 2 minutes, and took 7 takes.
13. There's a Place
- Written entirely by Lennon, who was inspired by various Motown artists.
- In terms of harmonising vocals and the scale used by the harmonica in the intro, this song is considered to have pushed the boundaries of the band at the time (and pop music in general).
- Lennon's self-referential lyrics were highly unusual for pop music at the time of this song's release. Singers never sang about their own state of mind, and Lennon was unaware of being the first to do this.
- The harmonica intro follows a guitar part originally played by Harrison.
- Runs for 1 minute and 49 seconds, and took 13 takes to finish.
14. Twist and Shout
- A cover, and the last song on the album. Previously performed by the Topnotes and the Isley Brothers, but the Beatles' version is now the most familiar to modern listeners. It's also arguably the most famous Beatles' song that happens to be a cover. The Isley Brothers version was released in 1962 and reached #17 in the U.K. charts, generated enough money for them to start their own label at the time.
- Martin intentionally had the band record this song last as he knew Lennon's voice wouldn't last beyond it (especially as he had a cold at the time, and all the songs had been recorded in just one day).
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, though McCartney can be heard quite distinctly throughout. The vocal build up goes, in order, of Lennon, Harrison and McCartney - something owed to the version recorded by the Isley Brothers. The "woo" part though was a Beatles trademark, lifted from Little Richard.
- Lennon's voice took a while to recuperate after recording this, and the band was only given 15 minutes to record their vocals! The version heard on the album is the first take... Lennon's voice had virtually disappeared by the time they attempted a second take.
- Released as the title track of the Twist and Shout EP in the UK in mid-1963. Also released as a single in the U.S. in 1964, where it reached #2.
- The song had a resurgence in popularity in 1986 after it featured in two comedy films at the time, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Rodney Dangerfield's Back to School. It was re-released and reached #23 in the U.S. charts at the time.
- Runs for 2 and a half minutes, 2 takes.
1. Please Please Me
- This is the second Beatles single, and was released in early January 1963. It's B-side is Ask Me Why.
- Love Me Do had been a minor hit so there was enough interest for George Martin to justify a follow-up single. He originally wanted the band to release their version of How Do You Do It (later made famous by Gerry and the Pacemakers) but they were keener on recording their own stuff.
- John Lennon wrote this one. It was originally quite basic and slow, but Martin fobbed it off (still keen on How Do You Do It) and asked them to make it faster and more interesting. When the band came back with the more pepped-up version that we're now all familiar with he gave in and let them record it as their 2nd single.
- Lennon wrote this in 1962, inspired by Roy Orbison's Only The Lonely and Bing Crosby's Please.
- It's highly possible that the lyrics are a reference to oral sex, but it's never been confirmed.
- An early version of this song was recorded in the 1962 Love Me Do sessions with Andy White on drums. This version remained unreleased until the release of the Anthology compilations in 1995.
- The original stereo version of this song (which has never been made available on CD) is actually an alternate take. In this version Lennon and McCartney mess up their vocals a bit.
- McCartney and Lennon stole some inspiration from the Everly Brothers in terms of their vocal harmonising. McCartney would hold a high note whilst Lennon dropped down through several lower notes.
- Lennon plays both harmonica and a rhythm guitar track, whilst the rest of the band do their usual instrumental duties. Lennon sings the lead vocals.
- The U.S. version of the single was released in 1964, with From Me To You as it's B-side instead of Ask Me Why.
- Please Please Me became the band's first #1 in the UK, and was used as the title of their debut album. It reached #3 in the U.S.
- It was reissued as a CD single in 1992.
- It runs at just over 2 minutes, and took 11 takes to complete.
2. Ask Me Why
- This is the B-side to Please Please Me and also features on the Please Please Me album.
- Written by primarily by Lennon, with a bit of input from McCartney. Lennon was inspired mainly by Smokey Robinson.
- The band often performed this song in Hamburg throughout 1962.
- At the time of Ask Me Why's recording the band was also showing Martin another Lennon composition called Tip of My Tongue. George Martin felt that Tip of My Tongue needed more work done to it before it could be recorded and it was eventually given to another artist, Tommy Quickly, who failed to to make it into the charts with it. There are no known recordings of the Beatles playing this song, but if you listen to the Tommy Quickly version you can imagine the Beatles version pretty easily.
- Only took 6 takes to record, and clocks in at nearly two and a half minutes.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals.
- This song was recorded by the band during a mid-1962 audition, featuring Pete Best on the drums. The recording is thought to no longer exist.
- An American promo record of this song mistakenly featured the band's name spelled as 'The Beattles'. It was quickly corrected after the first pressings, and is subsequently very rare.
1964 U.S. single cover
1992 CD single cover.
1. Love Me Do
- This song was mainly written by Paul McCartney, probably around 1959. Lennon wrote the bridge segment.
- Lennon originally sang the low 'Love me do' part at the end of each chorus but this had to be changed when the harmonica was brought in as Lennon's harmonica part comes in too quickly for him to do both. McCartney had never sung this part until the day of the recording.
- Lennon had apparently picked up the harmonica trick from Hey Baby by Bruce Channel, and the band had considered Love Me Do to not really be that much of a standout song prior to the harmonica being added.
- The song was recorded with three seperate drummers. The first time was a demo version with original drummer Pete Best (this can be found on the rarities compilation Anthology 1). The second time was with new drummer Ringo, I think this was the version that went out on the original pressing of the single and didn't really appear again until it was included on the 1988 singles compilation album Past Masters Volume 1. The third recording was then made for the band's debut album Please Please Me and subsequent repressings of the single, this version featured session drummer Andy White as producer George Martin didn't think Ringo was good/experienced enough to do it justice in the studio. The way to tell the Ringo and Andy White versions apart is the addition of a tambourine - Ringo plays a tambourine on the Andy White version (so he could feel like a part of the band I guess, I can only imagine what was going through his mind at the time).
- The harmonica that Lennon plays on the recording is one that he stole from a shop two years earlier. Lennon's use of the harmonica would go on to characterise the Beatles' early sound. It's not known if he ever later sent any money to the shop.
- Love Me Do clocks in at a nifty length of 2 minutes and 17 seconds. The Andy White version (the version heard on the Please Please Me album and most pressings of the Love Me Do single) took 33 takes to record.
- McCartney sings the lead vocals, and Lennon and Harrison provide backing vocals. Lennon recorded a guitar track in addition to his harmonica part, and Harrison played an acoustic guitar for the recording.
- The single peaked at No. 17 in the UK charts in December, 1962. It reached No. 1 in the US for a week in 1964. It was reissued in 1984 in the UK and reached No. 4.
2. P.S. I Love You
- This is the B-side to the Love Me Do single, and it also appears on the Please Please Me album.
- It was almost released as an A-side but as there was already a song out at the time by another artist also called P.S. I Love You it was ruled out.
- As per Love Me Do, Andy White plays drums on this recording as well. This is why the drums sound so wussy. No alternative versions were ever recorded with Ringo.
- McCartney wrote this song in early 1962, and employed some rather Roy Orbison-like vocal stylings.
- This song is an early example of the Beatles pushing musical boundaries, in this case they use a 'jazz' chord (C#7) to bridge together some more traditional pop/rock chords.
- Track length: 2 minutes and 2 seconds. It took 10 takes to record.
- Ringo plays the maracas on this recording due to old mate Andy White playing the drums.
- The song probably wouldn't have made it onto the Please Please Me album if it hadn't already appeared as the B-side on this single.
1964 U.S. single cover
1992 CD single cover
