All the Songs
Page 7
It Won’t Be Long
Lennon-McCartney / 2:12
1963
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul: backing vocals, bass
George: backing vocals, lead guitar
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 30, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 23
MIXING
Abbey Road: August 21, 1963 (Studio Three) / October 29, 1963 (Studio Three)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick, B. T. (full name unknown)
Genesis
In 1980, John recalled that “It Won’t Be Long” had been designed to be their next single. But, as he admitted, “It never quite made it.” It should be mentioned that, shortly afterwards, the Lennon-McCartney duo wrote “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” which brought the United States to its knees. “It Won’t Be Long” was inspired by John. “John mainly sang it, so I expect that it was his original idea but we both sat down and wrote it together,”1 Paul confided to Barry Miles. “Like the double meaning. In It won’t be long till I belong to you it was the same trip.”2 The lyrics revealed a more intimate side of John: hope following solitude. A typical love song or a reference to his difficult adolescence? One thing is for sure: after the yeahs of “She Loves You,” the group followed up with another series of yeahs—no less than fifty-five in the whole song!
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
For his very first public appearance in 1964, at the Kelvin Cafeteria of a Winnipeg high school in Canada, Neil Young had the good taste to sing “Money” and “It Won’t Be Long.”
Production
This first song of the album was also the first original composition to be recorded on Tuesday, July 30. The session was broken down into two segments: in the morning, from 10:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M., and in the evening, from 5:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. “It Won’t Be Long,” the second song of the day (after “Please Mister Postman”), required ten takes in the morning, and seven more at the end of the evening, plus six overdubs. The seventeenth and twenty-first takes were considered the best and were considered definitive. John, who did not like his voice, used the options of the Twin Track to double it. The vocal harmonies of this song were absolutely superb and proved that, in a very short time, the Beatles had matured to a surprising extent. This was obvious if you compared “It Won’t Be Long” and “Love Me Do.” The mono mix took place on August 21, and the stereo mix was done over two months later, on October 29.
All I’ve Got To Do
Lennon-McCartney / 2:02
1963
SONGWRITER
John
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul: backing vocals, bass
George: backing vocals, lead guitar
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: September 11, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 15
MIXING
Abbey Road: September 30, 1963 (Studio Two) / October 29, 1963 (Studio Three)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineer: Geoff Emerick
Genesis
A song entirely composed by John—“That’s me trying to do Smokey Robinson again,”1 he said later—“All I’ve Got to Do” was only offered to Paul when he arrived at the studio, just before the recording. A lack of self-confidence? Possibly. John based the song on “You Can Depend on Me” by Smokey Robinson for the intro chord and the overall theme of the piece. It seemed that, as he was writing it, John had the American market in mind. The telephone, which is mentioned in the song, was more common at this time on the west side of the Atlantic than in Great Britain. “All I’ve Got to Do” was the only song among the Beatles catalog in which the ending is hummed.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
On the left in the stereo, it seems that dear old Ringo should have greased the pedal of his bass drum, because it squeaked throughout the song!
Production
On September 11, 1963, one year to the day after they recorded their first single, the group once again went to the studio to record five new songs for their second album. The day was divided into two sessions, “All I’ve Got to Do” being recorded in the first session. The piece required fourteen takes—and a fifteenth one for an overdub. The mono mix was done on September 30 without the presence of the Beatles, who were then on vacation: John was in Paris; George was in New York and then in St. Louis; and Paul and Ringo were in Greece. The stereo mix took place on October 29.
All My Loving
Lennon-McCartney / 2:06
1963
SONGWRITER
Paul
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, bass
John: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
George: backing vocals, lead guitar
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 30, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 14
MIXING
Abbey Road: August 21, 1963 (Studio Three) / October 29, 1963 (Studio Three)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick, B. T. (full name unknown)
Genesis
Sometime between May 18 and June 9, 1963, Paul wrote the lyrics for “All My Loving,” on the bus that drove the group through the country for its third national tour, with Roy Orbison. “All My Loving” was exclusively his work. “It was the first song where I wrote the words without the tune,”1 he confided in 1988. John admitted that it was one of Paul’s best songs. “‘All My Loving’ is Paul, I regret to say. Ha-ha-ha. Because it’s a damn good piece of work. [Singing] ‘All my loving …’ But I play a pretty mean guitar in the back.”2
Paul, who thought at first that “All My Loving” was only meant to be included on an album, realized its potential after it was broadcast on Top of the Pops, the famous BBC show hosted by the very popular disc jockey David Jacobs. “I think from that moment it did become a big favorite for people.”3 On February 9, 1964, the song was used to start the first appearance of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in front of 73 million American viewers! According to Paul, it was perfect for the stage and worked very well. This explained why it was often included in the Beatles’ concert set lists and in Paul’s concerts during his solo career.
The lyrics, written in the form of a poem, were probably inspired by actress Jane Asher, whom Paul met during a BBC concert on April 18, 1963. With this song, John also discovered the talents of a partner who risked giving him a run for his money when it came to writing future singles.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
Although this song was exclusively written by Paul, Cynthia Lennon believed in 2005 that John had written it for her.
Production
On July 30, the second session for the new Beatles album took place. “All My Loving” was the last song of the day to be recorded. Only fourteen takes were required to record it (actually, thirteen, since take 5 was noted by mistake). Takes 12 to 14 were overdubs. Paul doubled his own voice (as can be easily seen at 0:27 on the word kissing or again at 0:35 on will come true) and also sang the harmony on the third verse. He played a walking bass, as he did later for “Penny Lane” and “Lady Madonna” (at the bridge). With his new guitar, the great Gretsch Country Gentleman, George played one of his first fantastic solos in the style of Chet Atkins, while John, on his Rickenbacker 325, delivered on rhythm a “superb piece of guitar,” as he said later himself. The rhythm was in triplets and reminiscent of the Crystals on “Da Doo Ron Ron.”
The session ended at 11:00 P.M. In the control room of Studio Three, the mono mix was
done on August 21. The stereo mix occurred on October 29. A live version was also recorded a year later on August 23, 1964, during the Beatles’ concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Don’t Bother Me
George Harrison / 2:26
1963
MUSICIANS
George: vocal, lead guitar and rhythm guitar
John: rhythm guitar, tambourine
Paul: bass, claves
Ringo: drums, bongos
RECORDED
Abbey Road: September 11–12, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 19
MIXING
Abbey Road: September 30, 1963 (Studio Two) / October 29, 1963 (Studio Three)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick
Genesis
On tour in Bournemouth from August 19 to 24, George, who had the flu, was bedridden in his hotel room. He used this time to write his very first song, “Don’t Bother Me.” His feverish condition was probably responsible for the theme of the song: “I wrote it as an exercise to see if I could write a song,”1 he admitted in his autobiography. Watching his two colleagues write one song after another with so much ease led him to try songwriting. But poor George did not receive any encouragement from his bandmates during his entire career with the Beatles. It was only on their last album, Abbey Road, that they became aware of his value. George Martin admitted it: “I think the trouble with George was that he was never treated on the same level as having the same quality of songwriting, by anyone—by John, by Paul, or by me.… The other problem was that he didn’t have a collaborator.… George was a loner and I’m afraid that was made the worse by the three of us. I’m sorry about that now.”2 Paul even revealed much later that they had made the decision with John to keep him away from songwriting right from the start. This did not prevent George from writing several songs that were included among the treasures of the Beatles (“While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Something,” and “Here Comes the Sun”). Although George did not find that “Don’t Bother Me” worked very well, it at least gave him the opportunity to try his hand at writing.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
George was still sick and feverish when Robert Freeman took the photograph of the group that appeared on the cover of the With the Beatles album.
Production
Recorded on Wednesday, September 11, during the evening session, “Don’t Bother Me” took seven takes, including three overdubs. The results were not satisfactory. The group decided to postpone its production to the next day. Returning to the studio, the Beatles began a session around 7:00 P.M. that started with “Don’t Bother Me,” with a reworked structure. The thirteenth take was considered satisfactory. The rhythmic basis worked well. John supplied excellent rhythm guitar, which had a powerful tremolo; Paul played bass very efficiently, and Ringo supported the whole group with a semi-Latin, semirock beat. Finally, a series of over-dubs were done. George doubled his own voice, while John played tambourine, Paul played rhythm sticks, and Ringo played bongos. The fifteenth take became the master. The mono mix took place on September 30, and the stereo mix on October 29.
A Credit Error
“Don’t Bother Me” was heard in their first film, A Hard Day’s Night, which came out on July 6, 1964. In the original version of the movie, the credits mistakenly claimed it was written by Lennon-McCartney!
Little Child
Lennon-McCartney / 1:45
1963
SONGWRITERS
John and Paul
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar, harmonica
Paul: bass, backing vocals, piano
George: lead guitar (?)
Ringo: drums
RECORDED
Abbey Road: September 11–12, 1963 (Studio Two) / October 3, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 21
MIXING
Abbey Road: September 30, 1963 (Studio Two) / October 23, 1963 (Studio Two) / October 29, 1963 (Studio Three)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick, B. T. (full name unknown)
Genesis
“Little Child” was not one of the group’s masterpieces. Lennon and McCartney knew how to differentiate a hit song from a song that would be part of an album. Although they dedicated all their energy and their talent to their work when they were inspired, they had a bad habit of neglecting songs they wrote for others—even for Ringo or George. This was the case for “Little Child.” John in 1980: “‘Little Child was another effort by Paul and me to write a song for somebody. It was probably Ringo.”1 In 1997, Paul explained: “They [songs written for Ringo] had to be fairly simple. [Ringo] didn’t have a large vocal range but he could handle things with good con brio and spirito if they were nice and simple. It had to be something he could get behind. If he couldn’t picture it, you were in trouble.”2 In fact, John lent his voice to “Little Child,” Ringo preferring to share his brilliant, spirited singing on another song of the album, “I Wanna Be Your Man.” Even though the piece was rather basic rock, Paul acknowledged that part of the melody was somewhat influenced by the song “Whistle My Love,” performed by Elton Hayes in a 1952 Disney production (Robin Hood), which was the opposite of rock music.
Production
The production of “Little Child” proved to be difficult. The afternoon session on September 11 began with “I Wanna Be Your Man” and “Little Child.” Two unsatisfactory takes were completed. The group chose to postpone rerecording these songs until the next day. Therefore, on September 12, after having worked on George’s “Don’t Bother Me,” they redid the song. The seventh take was used as the basis for the many overdubs that followed. John added some harmonica (diatonic in A) on the thirteenth take, Paul added some piano on the fifteenth, and John added another harmonica solo on the eighteenth take. On September 30, Martin and his team edited the thirteenth and fifteenth takes for a mono mix that was not kept. Then on October 3, other overdubs completed the piece, with John no doubt doubling his voice (takes 19 to 21). Finally, on October 23 the mono mix was completed. The stereo mix was done on October 29. Despite the numerous takes, the results were not there, and you could feel the group and Martin struggling to make it sound good. John did not really apply himself (for instance, in the doubling of his own voice at 0:35, he did not even repeat the right lyrics). The guitars were drowned out in the mix, and the stereo version had some very strange quirks (such as the return of the voices right after the harmonica solo). “Little Child” did not please everybody during the recording or the mix. Just an “album filler.”
Till There Was You
Meredith Willson / 2:12
1963
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, bass
John: rhythm guitar
George: guitar solo
Ringo: bongos
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 18–30, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 8
MIXING
Abbey Road: August 21, 1963 (Studio Three) / October 29, 1963 (Studio Three)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick, B. T. (full name unknown)
Genesis
Meredith Willson, from Mason City, Iowa, studied music at the prestigious Julliard School in New York. Finding his first taste of success in Hollywood, as the composer of the score for Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940) and William Wyler’s The Viper (1941), Willson triumphed on Broadway years later with the musical comedy The Music Man (1957). Part of the score was the song “Till There Was You.” This song was recorded for the first time by Sue Raney in November 1957. Then it was performed by Anita Bryant, Peggy Lee, and the Beatles.
Paul: “There were records other than rock ’n’ roll that were important to me. And that would come out in the Beatles doing songs like ‘Till There Was You.’1 Indeed, Paul always flirted with the world of musical theater. By his own admission, he never differentiated between a beautiful melody and a cool rock ’n’ roll song. His family had encouraged him to widen his musical taste. At the age of sixteen, he wrote “When I’m Sixty-Four” and, later, “Your Mother Should Know,” “Honey Pie,” and many others—“granny music,” as John called it. “Till There Was You” was performed during the Royal Command Performance on November 4, 1963 and during the Beatles’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
When he was rehearsing “Till There Was You” with his Beatles colleagues, Paul did not suspect that, a few years later, the song’s rights would belong to him through his publishing house MPL Communications Ltd., which acquired the musical rights for the comedy The Music Man.
Production
Three takes of “Till There Was You” were recorded during the very first session of July 18 that was dedicated to their second album. Considered unsatisfactory, the song was set aside until Tuesday, July 30. John was on rhythm on his Gibson J-160 E, George probably played on a José Ramirez classical guitar and produced an excellent solo, Ringo left the drums to play the bongos that were more appropriate for this piece, and Paul supplied the singing and the bass. The eighth take was the best one. The song was mixed in mono on August 21 and in stereo on October 29.