Who Wrote the Beatle Songs

by Todd M Compton

  Hutton, Jack. “Protest palls: Says Paul.” Melody Maker (Oct. 2, 1965): 1.

  “In The Beatles’ Song Writing Factory.” Melody Maker (July 16, 1966): 10. Available in Sandercombe, The Beatles: Press Reports , 171.

  Interview: Apple Offices, London, October 8, 1969. As transcribed in The Beatles Ultimate Experience website, http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1969.1008.beatles.html (accessed July 12, 2012).

  “Interview with Peter Asher, half of legendary duo Peter & Gordon.” At the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame website, http://rockhall.com/blog/post/interview-with-peter-asher-of-peter-and-gordon/ (accessed March 8, 2014).

  Interviews 1967 , a bootleg. Lazy Tortoise.

  Irvin, Jim. “Get It Better: The Story of Let It Be . . . Naked .” MOJO (2003). As found in Rock’s Backpages .

  ———. “George Martin.” MOJO (January 2007). As found in Rock’s Backpages .

  James, Frederick. “Beatles Talk.” An interview with the Beatles. The Beatles Book Monthly 39 (October 1966): 11.

  ———. “Beatles Talk.” An interview with the Beatles. The Beatles Book Monthly 41 (December 1966): 6.

  ———. “Beatles Talk.” An interview with the Beatles. The Beatles Book Monthly 42 (January 1967): 7.

  ———. “Beatles Talk.” An interview with the Beatles. The Beatles Book Monthly 44 (March 1967): 24.

  James, Frederick. “Lennon & McCartney (Songwriters) Ltd.” Beatles Book Monthly 2 (September 1963): pages unnumbered (at about p. 20).

  ———. “Revolution Report: How the Beatles Recorded Their New Single.” The Beatles Book Monthly 60 (July 1968): 6-8.

  “John Lennon and Paul McCartney Interview.” Flip Magazine (May 15, 1966). At http://www.dmbeatles.com/interviews.php?interview=47 (accessed Oct. 16, 2016).

  “John Lennon: Biography.” No date. At http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/john-lennon/biography (accessed Apr. 13, 2014).

  Jones, Peter. “Northern Songs Ltd. for Beatle Songs Unlimited.” An interview with Dick James. The Beatles Book Monthly 21 (April 1965): 9-13.

  Kelley, Harold. Interview with the Beatles. Armed Forces Network, Paris January 24, 1964. As transcribed on Beatles Ultimate Experince website, at http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1964.0124.beatles.html (accessed Oct. 17, 2016).

  King, Bill. “‘Shout!’: An Interview with Author Philip Norman, part 2.” Beatlefan #17 (August 1981): 10-12.

  King, Larry. “Paul McCartney Discusses ‘Blackbird Singing.’” Interview with Paul McCartney. CNN, Larry King Live, June 12, 2001. Transcript at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0106/12/lkl.00.html (accessed Oct. 17, 2016).

  Kozinn, Alan. “Meditation on the Man Who Saved the Beatles.” New York Times , Feb. 7, 2008. At http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/arts/music/07yogi.html?_r=0 , with appended pdf by Alex Mardas (accessed Apr. 30, 2013).

  Landau, Jon. Review of Ram , by Paul McCartney. Rolling Stone 86 (July 8, 1971): 42.

  Leigh, Spencer. “Cavern King,” Interview with Bob Wooler. Record Collector , no. 227 (July 1998) at http://www.tropeamagazine.it/thebeatles/cavern/rcollectori.htm (accessed June 26, 2012).

  Leitch, Donovan. The Autobiography of Donovan: Hurdy Gurdy Man . NY: St. Martins Press, 2005.

  ———. “Poet John.” In Memories of John Lennon , edited by Yoko Ono. NY: HarperCollins, 2005.

  ———. Uncut interview, September 5, 2005. At http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/donovan/interviews/8599 (accessed April 21, 2008).

  Leng, Simon. The Music of George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp., 2006.

  Lennon, Cynthia. John . [London:] Hodder & Stoughton, 2005.

  Lennon, John. Interview with Miles, September 1969, the “Oz Interview.” http://unfinishedno9.blogspot.com/2007/11/oz-interview-1969.html (accessed October 22, 2013). See also Miles, “My Blue Period.”

  ———. Interview with Tony MacArthur, late September, 1969. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9E1TV5cLwo (accessed Oct. 22, 2013).

  Lennon, John. Rolling Stone Interview, Dec. 1970, 5-part BBC podcast. I cite from this recording whenever possible. Transcriptions in Wenner, Lennon Remembered and Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace website, http://imaginepeace.com/archives/4385 (accessed Jan. 19, 2017). However, long passages in the interview cannot be found in the recording, in which case I cite Lennon Remembered .

  Lewisohn, Mark. The Beatles: All These Years. Volume 1, Tune In. NY: Crown Archetype, 2013.

  ———. The Beatles: All These Years. Volume 1, Tune In. Extended edition. London: Little, Brown and Company, 2013.

  ———. The Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Abbey Road Studio Session Notes, 1962-1970. NY: Harmony Books, 1990. Originally published in England in 1988 as The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions .

  ———. Liner notes from The Beatles, Anthology 1 CD (Apple/Capitol 1995).

  ———. “The Paul McCartney Interview.” In Lewisohn, The Beatles Recording Sessions , 6-15.

  Liner notes from Doris Troy (Apple 1970). At http://www.applerecords.com/#!/albums/Doris_Troy (accessed March 21, 2014).

  Liner notes from Billy Preston, Encouraging Words (Apple 1970). At http://www.applerecords.com/#!/albums/Album_EncouragingWords (accessed March 21, 2014).

  Lost Lennon Tapes. A weekly radio show with 218 episodes, from January 24, 1988 to March 23, 1992. Includes many interviews with Lennon and others. Written by Laurie Kremie, narrated by Elliot Mintz. A presentation of the Westwood One Radio Network, produced in cooperation with the John Lennon estate.

  Lydon, Michael. “Lennon and McCartney: Songwriters—A Portrait from 1966.” Unpublished, March 1966. As found in Rock’s Backpages .

  MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties. London: Fourth Estate, 1994.

  Madinger, Chip. Liner Notes to The Family Way soundtrack album (Decca 1967). At http://varesevintage.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/paul-mccartney-the-family-way-soundtrack/ (accessed June 13, 2013).

  Matovina, Dan. Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger . Frances Glover Books, 2000.

  Martin, George. Audio at Sold on Song Top 100, “66 Strawberry Fields Forever.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/strawberryfieldsforever.shtml (accessed Apr. 17, 2013).

  ———. “George Martin Interview.” No date. At http://members.tripod.com/~taz4158/martin.html (accessed April 23, 2008).

  ———. In My Life album (MCA 1998), cover notes. At http://albumlinernotes.com/In_My_Life.html (accessed Oct. 5, 2015)

  Martin, George and Jeremy Hornsby. All You Need Is Ears . NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1979.

  Martin, George and William Pearson. With a Little Help from My Friends: The Making of Sgt. Pepper . Boston: Little, Brown, 1994.

  Mascaró, Juan. Lamps of Fire: the Spirit of Religions . London: Methuen, 1958.

  Matthew, Brian. “Interview with Paul McCartney & John Lennon.” March 20, 1967 - 7:00 P.M. at Studio Two, EMI Studios, London, United Kingdom. Broadcast March 27, 1967, 2:00-3:00 P.M., on BBC Light Programme, The Ivor Novello Awards for 1966.

  McCabe, Peter and Robert D. Schonfeld. Apple to the Core: The Unmaking of the Beatles . NY: Pocket Books, 1972.

  ———. John Lennon: For the Record . A 1984 interview. NY: Bantam Books, 1984.

  ———. Interview with John Lennon, Sept. 5, 1971, in the Sept. 1984 Penthouse . As published in http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1971.0905.beatles.html (accessed July 22, 2012).

  McCartney, Linda. Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of an Era. Boston: Bullfinch Press, 1992.

  McCartney, Paul. “Autobiography.” Date unknown. From Paul’s page on myspace.

  ———. “Interview with Derek Taylor.” March 3, 1965, Bahamas. Transcribed at http://members.aol.com/dinsdalep/650303b.txt (accessed March 7, 2008). [note, superseded by Hull and Taylor, “The Beatles: Let’s Talk With Paul.”

  ———. “Interview with Klas Burling,” July 29, 1964. For background, Winn, Way Beyond Compare , 223.

 
———. “Interview, Observer Music Monthly.” September 18, 2005. Transcript at https://www.theguardian.com/observer/omm/story/0,,1571996,00.html (accessed Oct. 17, 2016).

  ———. Interview with Radio Luxembourg, November 20, 1968. At The Beatles Ultimate Experience website, http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1968.1120.beatles.html , (accessed Oct. 16, 2016).

  ———. Interview. USA Today (Dec. 19 1985): 2.

  ———. Letter to John on John’s induction to the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame, January 19th, 1994. At http://beatlesnumber9.com/letter.html (accessed April 15, 2008).

  ———. “On-line chat with Paul McCartney.” At the Bishopsgate Memorial Hall, London, Saturday 17 May 1997. In Harry, The Paul McCartney Encyclopedia , at the entry “Internet, The.”

  ———. OobuJoobu. In which Paul served as DJ for a radio show. 1995.

  ———. “Press Conference, 1 May 1993, Georgia Dome, Atlanta.” Included in Harry, McCartney Encyclopedia , at the entry “Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia.”

  ———. Self-interview. Insert for McCartney (1970).

  “The McCartney Recording Sessions.” http://webpages.charter.net/ram71/1970.htm (accessed May 24, 2013).

  McGrath, James. “Cutting Up a Glass Onion: Reading the Beatles’ History and Legacy.” In 50 Years With The Beatles: The Impact of The Beatles on Contemporary Culture , edited by Jerzy Jarniewicz & Alina Kwiatkowska, 303-26. Łódź: Łódź University Press, 2010.

  McLean, Ralph. “Stories Behind the Song: ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.’” At http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/music/story_behind/strawberryfields.shtml (accessed April 22, 2008).

  Merritt, Mike. “Truth behind ballad that split Beatles.” “As stripped-down version of last Beatles album is re-released, Paul McCartney tells of writing The Long And Winding Road in Kintyre.” Sundayherald , Nov. 16, 2003. A Scotch independent newspaper. At http://web.archive.org/web/20060427062227/http://www.sundayherald.com/38051 (accessed Feb. 13, 2008).

  Miles, Barry, compiler. Beatles in their Own Words . 1978. NY: Omnibus Press, 1978.

  ———. Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now . NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1997.

  ———. “My Blue Period: John Lennon.” MOJO , (November 1995). Interview with John Lennon conducted on Sept. 23-24, 1969. Via Rock’s Backpages .

  ———. “The Way Out Is In.” Interview with George Harrison, International Times (May 19, 1967). Accessed via Rock’s Backpages .

  Miles, Barry, with Jason Beard and Stephen Coates. The Beatles: A Diary: an Intimate Day by Day History . London: Omnibus Press, 1998.

  Morse, Tim. Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time. NY: St. Martin's Griffin, 1998.

  Newborn, Brant. “Ringo in the Afternoon.” Rolling Stone 342 (Apr. 30, 1981): 28-31, 61

  Newman, Ray. Abracadabra! -— The Complete Story of the Beatles’ Revolver. Web-published, at http://www.revolverbook.co.uk/abracadabrav1.0.pdf (accessed February 5, 2008).

  Norman, Philip. John Lennon: the Life. NY: Ecco, 2008.

  ———. Shout!: The Beatles in their Generation. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1981. A revised updated edition is NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

  O’Hare, Kevin. “McCartney on McCartney.” Interview for The McCartney Years DVD. At http://blog.pennlive.com/thrive/2007/12/paul_mccartney.html (accessed April 23, 2008).

  Okun, Milton. The Compleat Beatles . 2 vols. Greenwich Ct.: Cherry Lane Music Co., 1981.

  “Paul Joins Band.” Melody Maker (July 6, 1968): 2.

  “Paul McCartney and John Lennon at the Tonight Show, with Joe Garagiola,” May 14, 1968. Transcript at http://www.dmbeatles.com/interviews.php?interview=64 (accessed April 14, 2008). Also in Record Mirror , May 25, 1968, as found in Sandercombe, The Beatles , 238.

  “Paul McCartney: Let It Be.” Record Mirror (April 18, 1970). In Rock’s Backpages .

  The Paul McCartney World Tour. 1989. Tour booklet. See an interview, “Paul McCartney in Conversation,” pp. 36-97.

  Pawlowski, Gareth L. How They Became the Beatles . NY: E. P. Dutton, 1989.

  Pearson, Stan. “Paul’s Shout Up at Shipley.” Melody Maker (July 13, 1968): 10.

  Pedler, Dominic. The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles . NY: Music Sales Limited. Omnibus Press. 2003.

  Peebles, Andy. The Lennon Tapes . London: BBC Publications, 1981. Now reprinted as The Last Lennon Tapes . This interview was conducted two days before Lennon’s death in December 1980.

  Peel. Ian. The Unknown Paul McCartney: McCartney and the Avant-Garde. London: Titan Books, 2013.

  Pinch, Trevor and Frank Trocco. Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002.

  The Plastic Ono Band Unfinished Discography, http://homepage.ntlworld.com/carousel/pob/pob04.html (accessed May 7, 2013).

  Pollack, Allan. Notes on … Series. A thorough musicological analysis of all the Beatle songs. 1989-2001. At http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/awp-notes_on.shtml (accessed Apr. 19, 2017).

  Pritchard, David, and Alan Lysaght. The Beatles: An Oral History. NY: Hyperion, 1998.

  Quantick, David. Revolution: The Making of The Beatles’ White Album. London: Unanimous Ltd., 2002.

  Radice, Gary. “A Welter Of Helter Skelters.” At http://www.joylandbooks.com/themagiceye/galleries/helterskelters.htm (accessed May 1, 2013).

  Radio Luxemburg interview with John Lennon, to promote Abbey Road, September 1969, broadcast on Sept. 27th, available on the bootleg LP Abbey Road Talks . As transcribed in http://beatlesong.info/mg/sun_king_deciphered.html (accessed Oct. 17, 2016).

  Read, Mike. “McCartney on McCartney.” Interview with Paul McCartney. BBC series, 8 episodes, March 25, 1989 to May 13, 1989.

  Renard, Gail and Thomas Shnurmacher. “Eight Days in Montreal with John and Yoko.” The Beatles Book Monthly 74 (September 1969): 23-24.

  Riley, Tim. Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary . NY: Knopf/ Vintage, 1988.

  Robbins, Fred. “Interview with John Lennon.” October 29, 1966. Beatles Ultimate Experience website. At http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1966.1029.beatles.html (accessed Oct. 16, 2016).

  Roberts, Chris. “How to Write a Hit:” Interview with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. [Or “Lennon and McCartney Tell You . . . How to Write a Hit.”] Melody Maker 39 (Feb. 1, 1964): 11.

  Rybaczewski, Dave. “‘Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!’ History.” Beatles Music History website. At http://www.beatlesebooks.com/kansas-city (accessed Dec. 4, 2016).

  Rock’s Backpages . Database. At http://www.rocksbackpages.com/ .

  Rorem, Ned. “The Music of the Beatles.” In Eisen, The Age of Rock , 149-59. First published in the New York Review of Books , January 18, 1968.

  Rowland, Mark. “The Quiet Wilbury.” Musician , #37 (March 1, 1990): 30-36, 97.

  Salewicz, Chris. McCartney: the Definitive Biography. NY: St Martins Press, 1986.

  ———. “Paul McCartney: An Innocent Man?” Q (October 1986). As found in Rock’s Backpages .

  ———. “Tug of War: Paul McCartney Wants to Lay his Demons to Rest.” Musician #96 (October 1986): 56-69.

  Sandercombe, W. Fraser. The Beatles: Press Reports, 1961-1970 . Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector’s Guide Publishing, 2007.

  Saltzman, Paul. The Beatles in Rishikesh . NY: Viking Studio/Penguin Putnam, 2000.

  ———. Excerpt on “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da.” At http://www.thebeatlesinindia.com/thebook/ob-la-di.html (accessed Apr. 22, 2013)

  Sann, Paul. “The Beatles: The Intimate Portrait.” New York Post , September 14, 1964. Available at http://www.paulsann.org/beatles.htm (accessed Feb. 8, 2008).

  Sauter, Donald. “One John Lennon, with sound bites.” http://www.donaldsauter.com/john-lennon.htm (accessed Oct. 17, 2016).

  Sawyers, June Skinner, ed. Read the Beatles: Classic and New Writings on the Beatles, Their Legacy, and Why They Still Matter . London, Penguin Books, 2006. Excerpt of McCartney Uncut interview, July 2004, at pp.
243-53.

  Scaggs, Austin. “Ringo Starr.” Rolling Stone #1044 (January 24, 2008): 22.

  Schaffner, Nicholas. The Beatles Forever . Harrisburg, PA: Cameron House, 1977.

  Schreuders, Piet, Mark Lewisohn and Adam Smith. The Beatles’ London: A Guide to 467 Beatles Sites In and Around London . Northampton, MA: Interlink Books, 2009.

  Self, Joseph C. “The ‘My Sweet Lord’/’He’s So Fine’ Plagiarism Suit.” First published in The 910 magazine in 1993. At http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/mysweet.htm (accessed Aug. 29, 2012).

  Sennett, Sean. “At Last, They Let It Be.” The Sydney Morning Herald (The Sun-Herald) , December 1, 2003. At http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/30/1070127259589.html (accessed April 1, 2008).

  Shea, Stuart and Robert Rodriguez. Fab Four FAQ: Everything Left to Know about the Beatles-- and More! NY: Hal Leonard Books, 2007.

  Sheff, David. “John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Candid Conversation. ” Playboy 28:1 (Jan. 1981): 75-114, 144.

  ———. “All We Are Saying: Three Weeks With John Lennon.” Interview with David Sheff, excerpts from his interview with John Lennon. NPR, October 8, 2010. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130429818 (accessed March 9, 2017).

  ———. The Playboy Interviews with John Lennon & Yoko Ono. NY: Berkley Books, 1981. Edited by G. Barry Golson. The interviews took place in September 1980. Reissued as All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (2000).

  Shepherd, Billy. “Beatles on Holiday.” The Beatles Book Monthly 12 (July 1964): 7-13.

  ———. “Filming with the Boys in A Hard Day’s Night .” The Beatles Book Monthly 11 (June 1964): 13-15, 21-23.

  Shepherd, Billy and Johnny Dean. “Behind the Spotlight.” The Beatles Book Monthly 24 (July 1965): 23-24.

  ———. “Behind the Spotlight.” The Beatles Book Monthly 31 (Feb. 1966): 21-22.

  ———. “Behind the Spotlight.” The Beatles Book Monthly 32 (March 1966): 21-23.

  Sholin, Dave and Laurie Kaye. “John Lennon’s last interview, December 8, 1980.” Audio and transcription at http://www.beatlesarchive.net/john-lennons-last-interview-december-8-1980.html (accessed March 2, 2014). Also transcribed at http://boythewayglennmillerplayed.blogspot.com/2009/12/last-interview-part-i.html (accessed March 25, 2014).