The Beatles in the Studio -- Song 5 -- "She Loves You"

As with most of our "Beatles in the Studio" blog article series, feel free to listen to the song while you read -- a link is provided at the bottom of the page!

The Story:

"She Loves You" is the first single released after their successful "PLEASE PLEASE ME" LP.  This single is the one which most people remember as it was released; it was wildly successful both in the UK and the United States, and is the first Beatles single to sell a million copies!  

Posing in the alleyway

The recording of this song at Abbey Road also marked a turning point in the Beatles career.  During the day, the Beatles were posing for pictures in the alleyway.  Geoff Emerick remembers that the size of the crowd outside was larger than usual, and was in fact growing.  By the time the Beatles went inside to record the single, fans had overrun the EMI security at Abbey Road, and dozens of hysterical girls were racing down the halls of the facility, being chased by London bobbies with sticks, LOL.

This is the beginning of the Beatles becoming virtual prisoners in the studio, the loss of freedom, the beginning of incarceration.

Songwriting: 

Turks Hotel

The first song to be credited to Lennon/McCartney (as opposed to McCartney/Lennon in all previous songs).  "She Loves You" was written in a room of the Turks Hotel in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, sitting on facing twin beds after a concert at the Majestic Ballroom.

They had written the song and according to John, they needed more so they added "yeah, yeah, yeah" and it caught on, as well as the "woo woo's" which came from Twist and Shout.

Beatles at the Majestic Ballroom

According to Cynthia Lennon, the "Yeah, yeah, yeah" came from a love letter from John to her which included the message "our first Christmas, I love you, yes, yes, yes."

Whatever, for the first few albums and live performances, the "Woooo, Woooo!!!!" and "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!" became scream inducing Beatle trademarks.  "Oh Yeah" continued through their final "Abbey Road" LP (Last song, Golden Slumbers).

The song was released as a single in the UK on August 23, 1963 and reached number 1.
The song was released as a single in the US on September 16, 1963 and reached number 1.

Studio Date:  

July 1, 1963
Recording Session

July 4, 1963
Mono Mix

November 8, 1966

Stereo Mix

Location:  

Abbey Road Studios, London, Studio Two

Songwriting Credit:

John Lennon/Paul McCartney

Technical Personnel:

Producer:  George Martin
Sound Engineer:  Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers:  Geoff Emerick

Personnel:

John Lennon -- Vocals, Rhythm Guitar

Paul McCartney -- Vocals, Bass Guitar
George Harrison -- Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar
Ringo Starr -- Drums

Instruments:


John Lennon -- 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri
George Harrison -- Gretsch Country Gentleman
Paul McCartney -- Höfner model 500/1 "violin" bass
Ringo Starr -- Premier Mahogany Duroplastic drum set
George Martin -- Upright Piano

Recording Legacy/Recording Innovation:


Recorded on Twin Track BTR3 tape recorders (two-track).

Vastly improved recording method implemented by Norman Smith.
-Began using a compressor to limit significant divergence in level (started with the last song on PLEASE PLEASE ME, "Twist and Shout") which became a rock recording standard practice eventually.
-Placed a STC-4038 microphone above Ringo's drums, giving them a more precise sound
-Moved the vocal microphones even farther from the drums.

This configuration would be the one he used until he stopped working with the Beatles in 1965.

Listen:

The Beatles in the Studio -- Song 4 -- "Misery"

George Martin and John Lennon, 2/11/63

As with most of our "Beatles in the Studio" blog article series, feel free to listen to the song while you read -- a link is provided at the bottom of the page!

The Story:

"Misery" was a simple "McCartney/Lennon" composition (it wasn't until after "She Loves You" was released that the famous "Lennon/McCartney" tag began to be used).  The song was crafted initially as a song for British Pop Star Helen Shapiro to sing.  Helen Shapiro had a couple of charted hits at the time, and was part of their tour, so John and Paul thought that if they wrote a song for Helen to sing, then that would have been a coup (exposure!) for them as fledgling songwriters!

Important:  It's important to note that in addition to being musicians and rockers, the Beatles -- especially John and Paul -- considered themselves SONGWRITERS -- a very important distinction for them.  This is what they wanted to be - they began that way.

In the end, Helen's manager Norrie Paramor turned it down without telling Helen. Eventually, another tour mate, Kenny Lynch, ended up singing the song, making it the first Beatles song to ever be covered.

The significance of "Misery" is that it also represented a technical "first" in the studio, concerning the George Martin overdub, which involved the change of speed of recording to gain a specific sound quality, see below.

The "Please Please Me" album sessions were amazing.  The Beatles, fresh in from a UK tour the night before, were exhausted.  John Lennon was worse than exhausted, he was flat out sick, having a sore throat and fever - relying heavily on a box of cough lozenges next to his carton of cigarettes.  Despite all this, they began at 10:00 AM in Studio Two at Abbey Road, and by 10:45 PM had finished all 11 songs for the LP!

Songwriting: 

Simple crafted song originally written for British pop star Helen Shapiro, written backstage at King's Hall while on tour in Stroke-on-Trent, finished at Paul's Forthlin Road house together.  It was eventually covered by Kenny Lynch, becoming the first Beatles song to be performed by another artist!

Studio Date:  

February 11, 1963
Recording Session for LP "PLEASE PLEASE ME"

February 20, 1963
Overdub of piano to replace George Harrison's faulty guitar riff.

Location:  

Abbey Road Studios, London, Studio Two (February 11, 1963)
Abbey Road Studios, London, Studio One (February 20, 1963)

Songwriting Credit:

Paul McCartney/John Lennon

Technical Personnel:

Producer:  George Martin
Sound Engineer:  Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers:  Richard Langham, A. B. Lincoln, Geoff Emerick*

*First appearance of 16 year old sound engineer Geoff Emerick (eventually he would take over. as the sound engineer at Rubber Soul, and be instrumental in their most effective innovations)

Personnel:

John Lennon -- Backing Vocals, Acoustic Rhythm Guitar, Hand Claps
George Harrison -- Lead Guitar, Hand Claps
Paul McCartney -- Vocals, Bass Guitar, Hand Claps
Ringo Starr -- Drum, Hand Claps
George Martin -- Piano

Instruments:


John Lennon -- 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri
George Harrison -- 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet
Paul McCartney -- Höfner model 500/1 "violin" bass
Ringo Starr -- Premier Mahogany Duroplastic drum set
George Martin -- Upright Piano

Recording Legacy/Recording Innovation:


Recorded on Twin Track BTR3 tape recorders (two-track). 

Modifying recording and playback speed to create an effect.  In  this case, the final take of the song was recorded at double speed, 30 ips (inches per second) -- so that on February 20 George Martin could replace George Harrison's faulty guitar solo and record a piano fill/overdub at half speed (15 ips), then speed up the playback at 30 ips to create a crystal sound that resembled a honky tonk or harpsichord.  He added reverb while playing, which further effected the playback at double speed.  Martin used this technique repeatedly, including the famous piano solo in  "In My Life" in 1965.

This was the first example of creative genius in the studio - and it was George Martin (and Norman and Geoff Emerick) who accomplished it.  But it had a profound effect on the Beatles...


Listen:

The Beatles in the Studio -- Song 3 -- "I Saw Her Standing There"

John and Paul in Studio Two, Abbey Road 2/11/63

As with most of our "Beatles in the Studio" blog article series, feel free to listen to the song while you read -- a link is provided at the bottom of the page!

The Story:

This is the Beatles very first song on their very first album, "Please Please Me", released in 1963.  After the initial success of the first single, "Love Me Do" (see our post for Song 2) which became apparent shortly after it's October 1962 release, George Martin decided to follow with an album as soon as possible.  George's initial thoughts were to try to capture the raw energy of the band as they performed live.

In order to achieve that "live" sound, George initially considered recording in the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles were performing often and their power could be felt.  Ultimately though, the acoustics in the Cavern Club were not good enough so he turned to the Beatles first engineer, Norman Smith (whom John affectionately called Normal Smith), who came up with the unique solution of trying not to "isolate" each of the instruments, placing the microphones 15-20 feet away from the cabinets - not the typical recording method of the time.

And there, you have the first sign of what was to come over the next 8 years; the first innovation, the first step "outside the box".  These innovations came slowly at first, but with each album and each song, they accelerated rapidly and heavily influenced the creative environment of Rock recording.

The "Please Please Me" album sessions were amazing.  The Beatles, fresh in from a UK tour the night before, were exhausted.  John Lennon was worse than exhausted, he was flat out sick, having a sore throat and fever - relying heavily on a box of cough lozenges next to his carton of cigarettes.  Despite all this, they began at 10:00 AM in Studio Two at Abbey Road, and by 10:45 PM had finished all 11 songs for the LP!

Songwriting: 

This song was principally written by Paul McCartney in July of 1962 while returning from a concert in Southport - thinking about his 17 year old girlfriend, Iris Caldwell (who was also the sister of Rory Storm - who had Ringo Starr as his drummer on his backup group, the Hurricanes).  The song was finished with John in Paul's living room at 20 Forthlin Road in Liverpool in September 1962 - John as usual helped with the final lyrics and changes needed to make the song fluid.  The bass line was inspired (actually lifted) by the song "I'm Talking about You" by Chuck Berry - note for note, according to Paul.

Studio Date:  

February 11, 1963
Recording Session for LP "PLEASE PLEASE ME"

Location:  

Abbey Road Studios, London, Studio Two

Songwriting Credit:

Paul McCartney/John Lennon

Technical Personnel:

Producer:  George Martin
Sound Engineer:  Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers:  Richard Langham, A. B. Lincoln

Personnel:

John Lennon -- Backing Vocals, Acoustic Rhythm Guitar, Hand Claps
George Harrison -- Lead Guitar, Hand Claps
Paul McCartney -- Vocals, Bass Guitar, Hand Claps
Ringo Starr -- Drum, Hand Claps

Instruments:


John Lennon -- 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri
George Harrison -- 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet
Paul McCartney -- Höfner model 500/1 "violin" bass
Ringo Starr -- Premier Mahogany Duroplastic drum set

Recording Legacy/Recording Innovation:

First attempt at re-creating the sound of a "live" rock and roll performance through microphone placement.

Recorded on Twin Track BTR3 tape recorders (two-track).  Overdubs (hand claps) accomplished by using two tape recorders.

Overdub of Hand Claps.

Listen:

The Beatles in the Studio -- Song 2 -- Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You

As with most of our "Beatles in the Studio" blog article series, feel free to listen to the song while you read -- a link is provided at the bottom of the page!

The Story: 

This is the Beatles very first recording session at Abbey Road under the tutelage of producer George Martin.  The recording occurred over two separate days - Tuesday, September 4, 1962 and 7 days later Ringo was replaced by Andy White -- a session drummer inserted because George Martin was not pleased with Ringo's consistency at first.  This recording session was a direct result of their successful audition on June 6, 1962.  The Beatles lineup on that day was John, Paul, George and Pete Best on drums, but on September 4 Pete Best had been already replaced by Ringo Starr on the tracks laid down that day, and on September 11, Ringo was forced to watch while shaking a tambourine as Andy White replaced him for their first single - a crushing blow to Ringo at the time.

"Love Me Do" was not supposed to be the Beatles first single.  George had them scheduled to play and record a song called "How Do You Do It" by Mitch Murray because he was unaware of Lennon and McCartney's formidable songwriting skills early on, and felt that "How Do You Do It" would likely be their first chart-breaking hit.  They did it, but also demanded that they give "Love Me Do" a try.  The Beatles considered this song "schlock" and demanded they perform their own compositions - unheard of at the time.  But the results are evident, and were ground-breaking for the future of rock and roll songwriting.

The breakthrough Beatles single "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You" was released on October 5, 1962 - and by December 1962 "Love Me Do" had peaked at number 17 on the UK charts.

In 1964, after The Beatles fame had hit U.S. shores, the song became a No. 1 hit on the U.S. charts.  In 1982, it was re-promoted and reached No. 4 (amazing).

Songwriting: 

This song was principally written by Paul McCartney in 1958-1959 while truant from school at age 16.  John Lennon is credited with writing the middle 8.  The practice at the time was to write song lyrics in a school notebook.  The song was based on two simple chords, G7 and C, before moving to D in the middle eight.  It originally featured Lennon and McCartney sharing the vocals, with Lennon singing the original title lines, and Lennon wanted a bluesy "dockside harmonica riff" as part of the song.

Studio Date:  

Tuesday, September 4, 1962 (Ringo on Drums); Tuesday, September 11, 1962 (Andy White on Drums, Ringo on Tambourine)

Location:  

Abbey Road Studios, London

Songwriting Credit:

John Lennon/Paul McCarney

Personnel:

John Lennon -- Vocals, Acoustic Rhythm Guitar
George Harrison -- Acoustic Rhythm Guitar
Paul McCartney -- Vocals, Bass Guitar
Ringo Starr -- Drums (tambourine on September 11)
Andy White -- Drums (September 11)

Instruments:

The Beatles relied on using their stage gear for this recording:

John Lennon -- 1958 Rickenbacker 325 Capri, Gibson J160E Acoustic/Electric, stolen harmonica from a dutch music store in 1960.
George Harrison -- 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet, Gibson J160E Acoustic/Electric
Paul McCartney -- Höfner model 500/1 "violin" bass

Recording Legacy/Recording Innovation:

Historical.  First formal recording.  First recording of original Lennon/McCartney music.


Listen:

The Beatles in the Studio -- Song 1 -- "Cry For a Shadow"

Original Polydor Cover Art

As with most of our "Beatles in the Studio" blog article series, feel free to listen to the song while you read -- a link is provided at the bottom of the page!

The Story: 

This is the Beatles very first professional recording session (during their 3rd trip to Hamburg) by The Beatles, and the single from the session was actually released by pop star Tony Sheridan (A British singer and Guitar player from Norwich).  Famous German producer Bert Kaempfert produced this 8 song EP, and in need of a back up band, Kaempfert chose the Beatles. Because the Beatles name was phonetically similar and often confused with the northern German dialect word "Piddle" - which is slang for penis - Kaempfert insisted that the group change their name to "The Beat Brothers", which they did. 

George with his "Futurama"

"My Bonnie" was the single from the EP, credited to Tony Sheridan, and was a rather unremarkable recording - having

been documented as reaching Number 5 on the German charts.  But our discussion will focus on "Cry For A Shadow" which was actually the first Beatles song ever professionally recorded, and released. 

The recording and release of "My Bonnie" proved to be one of the many obscure, coincidental "moments" that helped to launch the Beatles to unprecedented (and unrepeated to date) fame: young Liverpudlian Raymond Jones walked into the NEMS record store in Liverpool on October 28, 1961, and asked the manager if he had "My Bonnie" by The Beatles in stock.  The managers name was Brian Epstein, and his curiosity about the Beatles turned to infatuation and changed the lives of millions. This was one of many "little" things that occurred happenstance during the Beatles career.

Cry For a Shadow is an instrumental R & B number, and was the only song ever credited to Lennon/Harrison.  Eventually it was released in  March, 1964 (Polydor), and again in 1995 as part of the Beatles Anthology package (Apple).

Songwriting: 

"My Bonnie" - A traditional Scottish folk song, popular in the UK and eventually America.  Origin is unknown.  Evidence of the sale of sheet music for the song dates back to the 1870's.
"Cry For a Shadow" -- Originally titled "Beatle Bop", it's a tight little R & B number which is a direct result of  3 years and over 300 concerts given during their Hamburg period.  The song is likely the result of George producing a nice "Shadows" style guitar riff parody, the band backing him up, and John liking the result (it IS pretty tight).

Studio Date:  

Sunday, June 22, 1961

Location:  

Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg, Germany

Songwriting Credit:

John Lennon/George Harrison

Personnel:

John Lennon -- Rhythm Guitar
George Harrison -- Lead Guitar
Paul McCartney -- Bass Guitar
Peter Best -- Drums

Instruments:

John Lennon -- Rickenbacker 325 Capri
George Harrison -- Delicia Resonet Futurama (see photo above)
Paul McCartney -- Höfner model 500/1 "violin" bass

Recording Legacy/Recording Innovation:

None/Historical.


Listen:

The Beatles - Discovering their Genius Through their Songs

The Beatles were the most successful, influential, and popular rock group of all time. This is a bold statement debated by a few; however the debate is moot and can be discounted by a review of global Newspaper, Magazine, Television and written archives of each and every day during their remarkable career.

It's also likely that the Beatles could be considered the most successful musical act/composers of all time, irrespective of any musical genre.

Reader, this is not an advertisement for the Beatles.  You absolutely don't have to consider them your "favorite" group, or even be a fan -- to learn about the importance of creativity and genius and how it might have effected or influenced your own favorite artists.

How did they achieve this huge fame and respect?  Many have written opinions, which have included:

Media exposure creating an undeniable Pop Phenomenon
Timing,
Blind Luck,
Excellent management,
Birth of Television
Songwriting
Musicality

...and on and on.  But the passage of time has proved that the answer lies ultimately in the product they produced -- their songs, and how they wrote them and recorded them.  This is what we will focus on in our blog articles.

Although it seems an "infinite"number, The Beatles recorded about 250 songs which were published on their albums and various singles.  The success of these songs has been documented on various charts (Billboard, Rolling Stone in the U.S.), airplay, album sales, and on a remarkable volume of covers by other artists. 

Of these 250 or so songs, roughly 100 can be considered "hits" and instantly recognizable classics, still played daily over the radio airwaves and satellite stations of today.  Although our blog will focus on all of these 100 songs, and perhaps (eventually) include most of the 250 or so songs, we will begin our journey with the Beatles top 20 songs.

First, it must be understood that one of the most important factors which contributed to the ultimate historical success and legacy of the Beatles - and the fact that separates them from other Pop Phenomenons" such as the Bay City Rollers, Tommy Roe, The Spice Girls, Back Street Boys, etc. and so on, is the that The Beatles wrote or composed all of their songs, including words and music - and performed these songs in the studio themselves.  

We will examine each song in 3 areas, and hopefully capture the true "Genius" of the Beatles.  These 3 areas include the following evaluations and analysis:

Inspiration (What inspired the song)
Songwriting (Melody and Lyrics)
Studio Log (What transpired in the studio and what techniques or innovations were used).

In the end, you will enjoy an introduction to what really was behind it all; the creative genius and performing excellence of the 4 young men from Liverpool, England --
The Beatles.

The Beatles Page: What we're all about...

Welcome to The Beatles Page!  

The Beatles page is an interactive blog which focuses on in-depth analysis of many aspects of The Beatles and the "Beatles Phenomenon" as it were.  There are a number of questions that hopefully, over time, the information/insights/opinions/analysis that are presented in this blog will help to answer.  Here are some of them:

Musically, how "good" were the Beatles anyway?
Musically, how "good" were the individual Beatles (John, Paul, George and Ringo)?
Did the Beatles really write their own music?
What musicians, past and present, list the Beatles as a major creative influence?
Why were the Beatles so popular? 
How did the Beatles write their songs?
How did the Beatles record their songs?
What chemistry between the (4) Beatles helped to create their legacy?
Can it/Will it happen again someday?
Who were the Beatles early influences?
What were the influences at the peak of their creativity?
How important was promotion to the success of the Beatles?
What instruments did each Beatle play/what instruments did the Beatles use in each recording?
Were Paul McCartney and John Lennon the best songwriters of all time?
Did George Harrison influence guitarists then and now?
Was Paul McCartney a "decent" bass player?
Why is Beatle memorabilia so valuable?
What is the best Beatle song?
How many top ten songs did the Beatles have?


And on, and on, and on...

By and large, the opinion that the Beatles were the most significant and influential musical combo in history is still widely held, even today.  Why?  Were they really that good?  Did they really reach that many people?  Surely there are other bands from the period that have better musicians, aren't they equally as important?  That's what we hope to explore during the active life of this blog.

INTERACTION -- Although many of the posts will be reflecting to a certain extent the researched opinion of Thomas Herr, your opinion and your comments are HUGE to raise awareness to your beliefs about the Beatles and how they may have influenced you.  I encourage interaction from musicians and artists, scholars, today's generation and people who were there at the very beginning...the posts and comments will be repeated thousands of times on Twitter and other social media venues.

CONTRIBUTION -- We will encourage contribution by blog readers -- and would love to include many posts by followers as "guest contributors" -- subject to our approval of course, because we want to keep the quality of the writing of the blog at a high level (what we mean is that we may edit).  Simply put -- we are open to posting your submits!!!

So sit back and "enjoy the show" as it were.  Let's roll-up and roll-on, the Mystery Tour is about to begin.

-- Thomas Herr