Who Wrote the Beatle Songs

by Todd M Compton

  One day, when the Beatles were in India, the Maharishi lectured on nature. Paul and John both wrote songs in India influenced by the lecture, according to John — this one, originally titled “I’m Just a Child of Nature” or “On the Road to Marrakesh,” and Paul’s “Mother Nature’s Son.” [26]

  “Child of Nature” was performed as one of the Esher demos in May 1968 (when the lyric says “on the way to Rishikesh”) and during the Get Back sessions in January 1969 (when the lyric says, “on the way to Marrakesh” (in Morocco)). [27]

  At some point John changed the lyrics completely, and “Jealous Guy,” on Imagine , was the result. [28]

  Gimme Some Truth — (Lennon)

  This was performed during the Get Back sessions. [29]

  Oh My Love — (Lennon-Ono)

  John made a demo of this in late 1968. John said the song was 80% Yoko Ono’s lyric “and 50% her tune.” [30]

  How Do You Sleep — (Lennon-Ono-Klein)

  The lyrics for this controversial song, a direct attack on Paul, were post-Beatles, written in response to perceived attacks on Lennon in Paul’s Ram . However, the music dates back to the Beatles period. In notes to Imagine that were never used, John wrote, “I know you’ll all be wondering about this one! it’s been around since late ‘69 in a similar form to this — but not quite (i.e. more abstract).” [31] Allen Klein contributed to the lyrics, as did Yoko. [32]

  Oh Yoko! — (Lennon)

  In a May 3, 1969 interview with the New Musical Express , John described a new song: “It’s one I’ve written myself, and it’s about Yoko, but I’ll just change the word ‘Yoko’ to ‘John,’ and she can sing it about me.” [33] It was recorded in the Montreal bed-in, from May 26 to June 2, 1969. [34]

  Live in Japan: Spring Tour 1973 album — Donovan, 1973

  Hurdy Gurdy Man — (Donovan-Harrison)

  recorded March 25 or 26, 1973

  According to Donovan, George wrote a verse of this song while they were in India. [35] The verse was not included on the single or album version because of time constraints, but Donovan often sang it during live performances.

  Another Rishikesh vintage song.

  “My Love”/ “The Mess” single — Paul McCartney, March 23, 1973

  My Love — (McCartney)

  Paul said that “My Love,” the big ballad from Red Rose Speedway, “was my definitive one for Linda, written in the early days of our relationship, and that came easily.” [36] Dating exactly when this song was written might be difficult, as Paul met Linda on May 15, 1967, before the release of Sgt. Pepper . But they started getting more serious in fall 1968, during the White Album recordings. So this was probably written in the same era as “Two of Us” or “Maybe I’m Amazed,” one of the many songs to Linda that Paul wrote during this period.

  Thirty Three & 1/3 album — George Harrison, November 19, 1976

  Woman Don’t You Cry for Me — (Harrison-Delaney)

  George said that he wrote this “around 1968,” in Gothenburg, Sweden, when he was touring with Eric Clapton, and Delaney & Bonnie, but the group actually played there on December 14, 1969, so that is the probable date of songwriting. Delaney & Bonnie’s record, Coming Home , had just come out and they must have been listening to it. Delaney handed George a bottle-neck slide guitar, and asked him to play a line that David Mason had played on the record. George tried the new instrument, “and that was how ‘Woman Don’t You Cry for Me’ came about,” George said. [37] He thought the title came from Delaney.

  Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 album — The Beatles, April, 1977

  This is a low quality mono tape of the Beatles recorded December 18 to 31, 1962, at the Star Club in Hamburg. It has historical significance, and includes two early performances of Lennon-McCartney songs, “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Ask Me Why,” and many covers. Though the Beatles tried to block its appearance, it was legally released in Germany in April, 1977; in the U.K. the following month; and in the U.S. in June 1977. George Harrison said, “The Star-Club recording was the crummiest recording ever made in our name!” [38] However Beatles historian Richie Unterberger regards it as “an invaluable document of the group . . . a diploma of sorts for a five-year apprenticeship.” [39]

  Many of these covers can be found in vastly better quality in Live at the BBC (1994), Anthology 1 (1995), Anthology 2 (1996), and On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 (2013). Only unique songs are listed below.

  Your Feet’s Too Big (COVER) (Ada Benson, Fred Fisher)

  (Lead vocals: Paul)

  This was composed in 1936, and Fats Waller had a hit with it three years later.

  Reminiscing (COVER) (credited to King Curtis (pseud. for Curtis Ousley); reportedly written by Buddy Holly)

  (Lead vocals: George)

  The title song for Buddy Holly’s second posthumous album, released in 1963. King Curtis was a well-known saxophonist who did sessions with Holly; Holly reportedly wrote this song, but gave Curtis songwriting credit. It was recorded in 1958.

  Nothin’ Shakin’ (But the Leaves on the Trees) (COVER) (Eddie Fontaine, Cirino Colacrai, Diane Lampert, John Gluck)

  (Lead vocals: George)

  This was released as a single by Eddie Fontaine in 1958.

  Little Queenie (COVER) (Chuck Berry)

  (Lead vocals: Paul)

  This was a single in 1959; it has since become a rock standard. Though John sang many Chuck Berry songs, Paul sings this one.

  Falling in Love Again (Can’t Help It) (COVER) (Frederick Hollander, Sammy Lerner)

  (Lead vocals: Paul)

  This was originally performed by Marlene Dietrich in the movie The Blue Angel (1930), and it became a standard. Sammy Lerner wrote the English lyrics.

  Be-Bop-A-Lula (COVER) (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis)

  (Lead vocals: Fred Fascher, Star-Club waiter)

  This song, a hit for Gene Vincent in 1956, was a key song for the early Beatles. John performed it the night he met Paul, on July 6, 1957, [40] and much later, he recorded it on his 1975 album of oldies, Rock ‘n’ Roll . Paul chose it as one of his Desert Island Disks in 1982 and performed it on Unplugged: The Official Bootleg (1991).

  Red Sails in the Sunset (COVER) (Jimmy Kennedy, Hugh Williams (pseud. for Wilhelm Grosz))

  (Lead vocals: Paul)

  This was recorded by Al Bowly, Guy Lombardo and Bing Crosby in 1935, and became a standard. The Beatles may have heard Nat King Cole’s 1951 version. The Beatles version has turned the ballad into a rock song.

  Shimmy Like Kate (aka I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate or Sister Kate) (COVER) (Armand Piron, Fred Smith, Cliff Goldsmith)

  (Lead vocals: Paul)

  This song was published in 1919, but the Beatles version is based on the 1960 rhythm and blues version by the American group The Olympics.

  I Remember You (COVER) (Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger)

  (Lead vocals: Paul)

  This song was sung by Dorothy Lamour in the film The Fleet’s In (1942), and it became a standard. The Beatles would have known it from a 1962 yodeling version by English singer Frank Ifield that was a huge hit in England.

  Where Have You Been All My Life? (COVER) (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil)

  (Lead vocals: John)

  This was the flip side of Arthur Alexander’s 1962 “Soldier of Love” single. Gene Vincent also recorded it.

  Sheila (COVER) (Tommy Roe)

  (Lead vocals: George)

  Roe first recorded this Buddy Holly-like song in 1960, but it became a hit for him two years later.

  George Harrison album — George Harrison, February 23, 1979

  Not Guilty — (Harrison)

  George wrote this in early 1968, just after returning from India, and it was one of the Kinfauns demos in May 1968. [41] It expresses his resentment against Paul and John:

  It was me getting pissed off at Lennon and McCartney for the grief I was catching during the making of the White Album . [42] I said I wasn’t guilty of getting in the
way of their careers. I said I wasn’t guilty of leading them astray in our all going to Rishikesh to see the Maharishi. I was sticking up for myself and the song came off strong enough to be saved and utilized. [43]

  The Beatles did a remarkable 102 takes of this in August of 1968, so they must have seriously considered putting it on the White Album. However, as it turned out, it did not make the cut. [44] One of these takes appears on Beatles Anthology 3.

  Gone Troppo album — George Harrison, November 5, 1982

  Circles — (Harrison)

  This was another of the Kinfauns demos from May 1968. [45] The lyrics for this version for full band were substantially changed.

  Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) album — Paul McCartney, May 20, 1991

  I Lost My Little Girl — (McCartney-Lennon)

  Paul said that “I Lost My Little Girl,” was the first song he ever wrote; he came up with it when he was about fourteen, which would have been about June 1956. [46] His friend Ian James remembered him singing it at Forthlin Road. [47] When Paul met John, they began working on it in song­writing sessions at the McCartney home. In a very early interview, he reflects this collaboration:

  Then we started composing songs. John had a song he had written and I had one — it was, ‘I Lost My Little Girl’ — and I’d sing him one and he’d sing me one and we would work on them on holidays and even sometimes when we were supposed to be in school. We’d just belt away — my father would be out working and he wouldn’t know it. [48]

  John probably didn’t have much impact on the song. He never commented on it, but he sang lead on it once during the Get Back sessions, so he definitely remembered it. [49]

  The song was primitive, with its three chords, but Paul typically analyzes an idiosyncrasy in the music. “I think the sort of interesting thing about it now is I’ve got the chords going down and the melody going up, it’s a little obvious musical trick, but there’s a little jiggery-pokery starting on the first song.” [50]

  Off the Ground album — Paul McCartney, February 2, 1993

  Cosmically Conscious — (McCartney)

  In India, the Maharishi used to repeat, “Be Cosmically Conscious, peace and joy.” So Paul wrote a song with those lyrics and nothing else — basically a fragment, or a “snippet,” as he described it. [51]

  He included it, at 1:50 minutes, as an unlisted track on his ninth solo album, Off the Ground . A longer version of the song, at 4:39 minutes, was included as a bonus track on the U.S. CD single, “Off the Ground,” released April 19, 1993.

  Live at the BBC album — The Beatles, November 30, 1994

  This album, recorded from January 22, 1963 to May 26, 1965, represents a marvelous document of the early Beatles live, and presents many songs they performed live that never made it onto the albums. One of the highlights is the McCartney-Lennon song, “I’ll Be On My Way,” the only recorded performance by the Beatles. Other solid pleasures are a number of Chuck Berry songs sung by John, “Hippy Hippy Shake” sung by Paul, “A Shot of Rhythm and Blues,” Arthur Alexander’s “Soldier of Love,” and the earliest recording of “Long Tall Sally.” I will consider only the unique songs here.

  I Got a Woman (COVER) (Ray Charles, Renald Richard)

  (lead vocals: John)

  This was a 1954 Ray Charles single, though the Beatles may have heard the song on a 1956 U.K. Elvis album, Rock ‘n’ Roll .

  Too Much Monkey Business (COVER) (Chuck Berry)

  (lead vocals: John)

  This Chuck Berry single was released in 1956.

  Keep Your Hands Off My Baby (COVER) (Gerry Goffin, Carole King)

  (lead vocals: John)

  Little Eva had a number 12 hit with this in 1962.

  I’ll Be On My Way (McCartney-Lennon)

  (lead vocals: Paul, John)

  See “Do You Want to Know a Secret / I’ll Be On My Way” single — Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas, above. This Buddy Holly-flavored rendition is the only version by the Beatles that has been released. It was taped on April 4, 1963 and broadcast on the radio show Side by Side on June 24, 1963. [52]

  Young Blood (COVER) (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Doc Pomus)

  (lead vocals: George)

  The Coasters released this, as the B-side for the famous “Searchin’,” in 1957.

  A Shot of Rhythm and Blues (COVER) (Terry Thompson)

  (lead vocals: John)

  This was the B-side of Arthur Alexander’s single, “You Better Move On,” released in 1961. In 1988, Paul singled this song out, saying that records were the “currency” of music in the early Beatles era. “That’s where we got our repertoire from, the b-sides, the ‘Shot Of Rhythm And Blues,’ the lesser known stuff that we helped bring to the fore, the R&B stuff.” [53] The Beatles also performed it during the Get Back sessions.

  Sure to Fall (in Love with You) (COVER) (Carl Perkins, Bill Cantrell, Quinton Claunch)

  (lead vocals: Paul)

  Carl Perkins’s version of this song was released in 1957. The Beatles had performed it at the Decca audition.

  Some Other Guy (COVER) (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Richard Barrett)

  (lead vocals: John, Paul)

  Richard Barrett’s version of this appeared as a single in 1962. It became something of a rock touchstone for the Beatles. They played it on August 22, 1962 when a local TV station was filming at the Cavern, about a week after Ringo replaced Pete Best in the group. Paul explained the importance of the song for the Beatles: “Some Other Guy” is a great song . . . It really got us started because that’s one of the earliest bits of film of The Beatles. . . . It was also a bit of a muso song.” [54] John, in 1968, said,

  I mean, we got a bit pretentious. . . . Really, I just like rock’n’roll. I mean, these [pointing to a pile of Fifties records] are the records I dug then, I dig them now and I’m still trying to reproduce “Some Other Guy” sometimes or “Be Bop A Lula.” [55]

  That’s All Right (Mama) (COVER) (Arthur Crudup)

  (lead vocals: Paul)

  This was Elvis’s first single, released in 1954; Crudup had released a version in 1946.

  Carol (COVER) (Chuck Berry)

  (lead vocals: John)

  This Chuck Berry single appeared in 1958. It was one of the early rock songs that John learned on his guitar. [56]

  Soldier of Love (Lay Down Your Arms) (COVER) (Buzz Cason, Tony Moon)

  (lead vocals: John)

  “Soldier of Love,” one of the great Beatles covers, had appeared in 1962 as the B-side of Arthur Alexander’s single “Where Have You Been.”

  Clarabella (COVER) (Frank Pingatore)

  (lead vocals: Paul)

  The Jodimars (former members of Bill Haley and the Comets) released this as a single in 1956.

  I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (over You) (COVER) (Joe Thomas, Howard Biggs)

  (lead vocals: John, Paul)

  Written in 1953, this appeared on Elvis’s first album three years later.

  Crying, Waiting, Hoping (COVER) (Buddy Holly)

  (lead vocals: George)

  This song was released in 1959 as the B-side to Holly’s “Peggy Sue Got Married.” The Beatles also performed it in the Decca audition.

  To Know Her Is to Love Her (COVER) (Phil Spector)

  (lead vocals: John, Paul, George)

  This song, recorded by Spector’s first band, The Teddy Bears, in 1958, supplied the Beatles a model for their close-harmony vocal songs. Paul, in 1995, said:

  We used to do a close-harmony version of the Teddy Bears’ “To Know Her Is To Love Her,” which was good for the versatility in the band. We weren’t all rock n’ roll, we could change the pace, which was always nice after you’d played for three hours. So this [“This Boy”] was our attempt to write one of those. [57]

  The Beatles also performed it for the Decca audition.

  The Honeymoon Song (COVER) (Mikis Theodorakis,

  William Sansom)

  (lead vocals: Paul)

  This was the theme song
for the 1959 movie, Honeymoon . In 1988, Paul reminisced:

  “The Honeymoon Song” was Marino Marini, an Italian, and his backing group. They used to appear on telly and the greatest thing about them was they had a volume pedal! “The Honeymoon Song” wasn’t a big hit but I liked it, thought it was a nice tune. I was the force behind that, the others thought it was a real soppy idea, which I can see now! [58]

  Johnny B. Goode (COVER) (Chuck Berry)

  (lead vocals: John)

  This rock standard was released as a single by Berry in 1958. It was one of the early rock songs that John learned on his guitar. [59]

  Memphis, Tennessee (COVER) (Chuck Berry)

  (lead vocals: John)

  This was the B side of “Back in the U.S.A.” in 1959, but it became a hit on its own in 1963. According to historian Kevin Howlett, Paul remembered learning this song in John’s bedroom “when the two lads decided it had ‘the greatest riff ever’.” [60]

  Lucille (COVER) (Albert Collins, Richard Penniman (Little Richard))

  (lead vocals: Paul)

  Little Richard released this single in 1957.

  Sweet Little Sixteen (COVER) (Chuck Berry)

  (lead vocals: John)

  This was a Chuck Berry single in 1958. The Beatles sang it during the Get Back sessions, and Paul chose it as one of his Desert Island Disks in 1982.

  Lonesome Tears in My Eyes (COVER) (Johnny Burnette, Dorsey Burnette, Paul Burlison, Al Mortimer)