Everyone Put in His Place
Brian Epstein related that during the recording of “Till There Was You,” he had pointed out a problem with Paul’s voice to George Martin, who was in the control room with him. The intercom had been left on. Brian: “John heard it and bellowed back, ‘We’ll make the record. You just go on counting your percentages.’ I was terribly annoyed and hurt because it was in front of all the recording staff and the rest of the Beatles.”2
Please Mister Postman
Georgia Dobbins–William Garrett–Freddie Gorman–Brian Holland–Robert Bateman / 2:32
1963
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar, hand claps
Paul: backing vocals, bass, hand claps
George: lead guitar, backing vocals, hand claps
Ringo: drums, hand claps
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 30, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 9
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 April 1961, the vocal group known as the Marvels landed an audition with Tamla-Motown. In order to convince Berry Gordy to sign a contract as soon as possible, Georgia Dobbins, who was then a member of the group, “borrowed” a blues song from her friend William Garrett and reworked it in depth under the name “Please Mr. Postman.” The audition proved decisive. Despite this, Dobbins quit the group, which Gordy renamed the Marvelettes, and brought to the studio. So, on October 16, 1961, the Marvelettes were the first girl group to give Gordy a number 1 hit. Regarding the long list of songwriters on the song’s credits: Berry Gordy did find the song in its raw state, and it needed to be reworked. He then brought in the duo of Brian Holland and Robert Bateman (also known under the pen name of Brianbert). Holland in turn solicited the help of a friend to provide the finishing touches, Freddie Gorman, who was actually a mailman!
The Beatles’ version was clearly more joyous than the original. The enthusiasm overflowed, John was at the peak of his form, the group sang in unison: the years of training had given them remarkable mastery and self-confidence. In 1984, Paul specified that the idea of remaking this song came from their fans, who, on the back of the letters of fan mail, added notes such as, “Postman, postman, hurry up and do like the Beatles, and go, man, go!”
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
On the Marvelettes version, the exact title of the song was “Please Mr. Postman.” The Beatles replaced the abbreviation Mr. with Mister.
Production
After the first session on July 18, which was spent recording four new covers (“You Really Got a Hold on Me,” “Money,” “Devil in Her Heart,” and “Till There Was You”), the Beatles started with another remake, “Please Mister Postman,” on the Tuesday morning, July 30. Why did they begin the sessions of the new album with five remakes? No doubt the Beatles needed to reassure themselves in the studio before taking on their own compositions. Their overbooked schedule did not make the job any easier. Seven takes were necessary to produce “Please Mister Postman.” Two other over-dubs completed the work with the doubling of John’s voice and the addition of hand claps. The mix was done based on the ninth take, on August 21, for the mono version, and on October 29 for the stereo version.
Roll Over Beethoven
Chuck Berry / 2:44
1963
MUSICIANS
George: vocal, lead guitar, hand claps
John: rhythm guitar, hand claps
Paul: bass, hand claps
Ringo: drums, hand claps
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 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
With his luminous intros and riffs carved in stone, Chuck Berry was certainly the pioneer of rock ’n’ roll who most influenced young Brits in the sixties. Legend has it that the concept of this paean to youth came to him as a response to his sister, who was studying classical music on the family piano. One thing is certain: he recorded it on April 16, 1956, in the famous Chess studios in Chicago. The single came out the following month, with “Drifting Heart” on side B, and hit the American charts at the end of June. “Roll Over Beethoven” has been rated number 97 in the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
Like all apprentice musicians on this planet, the Beatles one day, together or separately, played some Chuck Berry. “Roll Over Beethoven” was no doubt one of the oldest songs they played on the stages of Hamburg or Liverpool. It was, therefore, logical to pay homage to it on their second album.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
In the score of the Superman III movie (1983), the Beatles’ version of “Roll Over Beethoven” could be heard. One good reason for this was perhaps the fact that the director was none other than Richard Lester, who had directed the Fab Four in A Hard Day’s Night and in Help!
Production
George took the lead on “Roll Over Beethoven.” The recording session took place on July 30 after they appeared on Saturday Club, a BBC show to which they had been invited. Five takes were recorded. George then doubled his own voice, played a rather convincing solo on his Gretsch Country Gentleman, and they all provided hand claps. Finally, George recorded separately the guitar chord that brought the piece to its conclusion. It was the eighth take. As early as August 21, Martin and his team proceeded to edit takes 7 and 8. The mono mix was carried out soon afterwards, and the stereo mix was done on October 29.
The Beatles seemed to lack conviction on “Roll Over Beethoven”: George seemed ill at ease on his intro riff and Ringo did not really play with finesse. They could have harmonized it, as on the Hollywood Bowl version. The whole song sounded a bit too contrived. It must be remembered that the Beatles were first and foremost creators, and covers were mainly used (with a few exceptions) to fill albums. With their incessant tours in 1963, however, they did not have much time for original creation.
Technical Details
In 1963, headphones were not yet used in studios. To sing or play an overdub, a huge speaker broadcasted the playback in the studio to guide the singer or musician. The microphones inevitably picked up some of the original recording that then leaked into the overdubbed recording. One example can be heard in “Roll Over Beethoven” right after the drum break that introduced George’s singing (0:17). In the stereo version, the sound became broader and widened considerably.
Hold Me Tight
Lennon-McCartney / 2:30
1963
SONGWRITER
Paul
MUSICIANS
Paul: vocal, bass, hand claps
John: backing vocals, rhythm guitar, hand claps
George: backing vocals, lead guitar, hand claps
Ringo: drums, hand claps
RECORDED
Abbey Road: February 11, 1963 (Studio Two) / September 12, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 29
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
Like all the songs they composed at that time, that ran around 2:30, “Hold Me Tight” was designed to be a hit. It was written at Forthlin Road. John and Paul based th
eir inspiration on the joyful and sensual style of the African-American vocal groups whom they admired (they had already done a cover of “Boys” by the Shirelles on their first album, Please Please Me). But the magic was absent and the song, which was considered for a while as a potential single, ended up, according to Paul, simply as “acceptable album filler.”1 John was more categorical: “That was Paul’s. Maybe I stuck some bits in there—I don’t remember. It was a pretty poor song and I was never really interested in it either way.”2 Despite this unanimous rejection, they played it at the Cavern Club and even tried to record it for their first album.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
On his 1973 solo album, Red Rose Speedway, Paul took only the title of this song for a totally different version that was included in the medley that closed the album.
Production
“Hold Me Tight” was among the songs selected for Please Please Me during the recording session on February 11. When the Beatles began the second session of this marathon day, there were still six songs left to record. “Hold Me Tight,” the only original composition out of the six, was first in line. Out of thirteen takes, only two were satisfactory. But Martin finally decided not to use it. Reconsidered for their second album, a new attempt at the song began on September 12. The countdown of new takes began again at number 20. Takes 26 and 29 were edited together on September 30 and a first mix was done. The mono mix was finalized on October 23, and the stereo version was completed on October 29.
It seemed that “Hold Me Tight” just didn’t motivate the group. It was one of the rare pieces produced with so little dedication: Paul was sometimes bordering on inappropriate; John invariably made mistakes on the sentence It feels so right now, which he rendered as It feels so right so; George ended up alone on the choruses at 1:27 (Hold); the bass did not exist; and the guitars were far from playing in perfect harmony. Probably because it was criticized so much, the piece ended up boring everyone, including George Martin. It was too bad, because if it had been produced properly it could have had potential, as could be heard in the remake in the film Across the Universe (2007). It was the only song, along with “Wait” from Rubber Soul (which was initially recorded for Help!), to have been worked on and then relegated to the following album.
You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me
Smokey Robinson / 3:00
1963
MUSICIANS
John: vocal, rhythm guitar
George: vocal, lead guitar
Paul: backing vocals, bass
Ringo: drums
George Martin: piano
RECORDED
Abbey Road: July 18, 1963 (Studio Two) / October 17, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 12
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
“You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” was one of the most famous songs by the Miracles, with Smokey Robinson as a solo singer and Bobby Rogers as second tenor. The story line was about a man who refused to leave the woman he loved, despite the torture she put him through. The song, which was recorded in Motown’s studio A on October 16, 1962, came out as side B of “Happy Landing,” on November 9. “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” was immediately a favorite of disc jockeys, who made it possible for it to enter the Billboard ratings—and then reach first place on the rhythm & blues charts on January 12, 1963—the day after the Beatles’ second single appeared in Great Britain.
Eighteen days after recording “She Loves You” / “I’ll Get You,” the Beatles returned to Abbey Road for their new album. Lennon, who was a fan of the leader of the Miracles, wanted to do a remake of “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me.” The Fab Four were all very receptive to Smokey’s talent and their version, which is quite close to the original, nevertheless had a unique power that made it one of the group’s best covers. Robinson always considered this remake as a great honor and credited the Beatles for recognizing the musical contributions of black American artists.
A Version they Never Used
The Beatles were not finished with this song: on January 26, 1969, they recorded it again in the Apple studios for the Get Back project during a medley. This version was mixed in stereo the very next day, but was never used!
Production
The first song to open the sessions of their second album, “You Really Got a Hold on Me” was worked on by the Beatles as early as Thursday, July 18. Everyone liked the song, including George Martin, who accompanied them on piano. John delivered a superb vocal, supported by George Harrison, who harmonized his voice, and by Paul, who stepped in for the choruses. The whole song worked rather well and seven takes were required to land the basic track. Four overdubs were then recorded to perfect the performance of the word Baby, which ended the choruses, and fine-tune the riffs at the end of the piece. Editing of the seventh, tenth, and eleventh takes was done on August 21, followed the same day by a mono mix. But before going on to the stereo mix on October 29, the Beatles returned to the song on October 17, right after “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” After first using a four-track tape recorder on that song, Lennon wanted to use it on “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me.” Geoff Emerick reported that John must have naively believed that going from a two-track to a four-track tape recorder could improve the song. They tried a final twelfth take. The edit of the different takes from August 21 became the final master.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
Whereas the original title was “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” the Beatles renamed it (no doubt by mistake), “You Really Got a Hold on Me.”
I Wanna Be Your Man
Lennon-McCartney / 1:56
1963
SONGWRITER
Paul
MUSICIANS
Ringo: vocal, drums, maracas, tambourine (?)
John: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Paul: backing vocals, bass
George: lead guitar
George Martin: Hammond organ
RECORDED
Abbey Road: September 11–12 and 30, 1963 (Studio Two) / October 3 and 23, 1963 (Studio Two)
NUMBER OF TAKES: 16
MIXING
Abbey Road: October 23 and 29, 1963 (Studio Two)
TECHNICAL TEAM
Producer: George Martin
Sound Engineer: Norman Smith
Assistant Engineers: Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick, B. T. (full name unknown)
Genesis
Other than “Boys,” Ringo did not have any new songs in his repertoire. Paul had in stock an unfinished song, called “I Wanna Be Your Man,” that could suit Ringo and was vaguely inspired by “Fortune Teller” by Benny Spellman. But this piece had a peculiar fate. The night before its recording, which was scheduled for September 11, John and Paul met Andrew Loog Oldham, the manager of the Rolling Stones, at the door of the Savoy Hotel in London. He explained to them that his musicians were desperately searching for a new song to follow “Come On,” their first single, which had been released on June 7, 1963. The two Beatles offered him “I Wanna Be Your Man,” which they believed fit the style of the Stones. They immediately left to join the Stones, who were rehearsing at studio 51 and, under their bewildered eyes, completed the song in a corner of the room. Oldham remembered that the bridge was finished in the studio. “Right in front of their eyes we did it.”1 In his biography, which was published in 2010, Keith Richards related: “[John and Paul] played it through with us. Brian put on some nice slide guitar; we turned it into an unmistakably Stones rather than Beatles song. It was clear that we had a hit almost before they’d left the studio.”2
According to John, it was at this moment that the author-composer duo of Mick and Keith was born. Seeing them return with their completed song, they apparently exc
laimed: “Jesus, look at that. They just went in the corner and wrote it and came back!”3
Paul had a slightly different version of the story. According to him, as he was walking with John along Charing Cross Road after eating lunch at the Savoy Hotel, they noticed Mick and Keith in a taxi, accompanied them to their rehearsal, and that is when Mick supposedly asked them for a song for their next single. Whichever is the case, the Stones released the single on November 1, and it debuted at twelfth place on the British charts.
Production
Offered the night before to the Rolling Stones, “I Wanna Be Your Man” was the first song to be recorded by the Beatles on September 11. The Beatles performed only one take on that day. The very next day, they returned to it, and six other takes were recorded. On September 30, George Martin, alone, added a Hammond organ part, while the Beatles were on vacation. There was a new session on October 3 with Ringo on maracas. Finally, on October 23, after one last take (number 16), the piece was mixed in mono on the very same day and then in stereo on October 29.
In order to give it a Bo Diddley flavor, John used very accentuated tremolo on his rhythm guitar. Ringo’s maracas also helped. But the whole song remained rather banal and was not especially convincing. Ringo nevertheless played it for a long time onstage, including at the Hollywood Bowl and during the Beatles’ last tour in 1966.
FOR BEATLES FANATICS
All the Songs Page 8
