Session One: On September 4th, 1962, The Beatles gathered in EMI Studio Two for their second EMI recording session, trying to nail down what would be the songs on their first single for the Parlophone label. Before the sessions began, producer George Martin and his assistant producer Ron Richards observed The Beatles going through a vigorous rehearsal session to determine which songs to best feature on their first record. George Martin had already determined that "How Do You Do It," a Mitch Murray-penned composition he had handpicked for The Beatles to record, would be the A-side of their first single. The objective now was to pick which of their original songs would become the B-side. The Beatles rehearsed six songs in these three hours, 2:30 to 5:30 pm, which included the newly written “Please Please Me.”
As this was the slow and bluesy Roy Orbison version of the song, George Martin brought forth some suggestions. "They played me 'Please Please Me,' but it was very slow and rather dreary," George Martin relates in Mark Lewisohn's book "Tune In," adding, "I told them if they doubled the speed it might be interesting. I told them what beginning and what ending to put on it." Paul remembers: "We were a bit embarrassed that he had found a better tempo than we had." In any event, these suggestions were to be worked out and implemented by the group another time, thereby disqualifying "Please Please Me" for the B-side at this point. Of course, since this was a rehearsal session only, no tapes were rolling so there is no audio evidence of this bluesy version of the song as John originally envisioned it.
However, engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick were present on this day to witness this early version of "Please Please Me" being rehearsed. In his book "Here, There And Everywhere," Geoff Emerick explains: "The song being rehearsed was soulful and was sung with great feeling by John, but it had a very slow tempo and was marred by a clumsy phrase that George Harrison played over and over again, repetitive to the point of annoyance. Ringo was doing something odd too - he was sitting behind his kit with a maraca in one hand and a tambourine in the other, all while hitting the bass drum pedal with his right foot, a ridiculous posture that caused Norman (Smith) to burst into laughter and shout out to us, 'Look at what that bloody drummer is up to now!" George Martin, of course, witnessed this display as well, which could easily have cemented his earlier idea of using a studio drummer for The Beatles.
As it turned out, "Love Me Do" was chosen by George Martin as the B-Side for the new single at this point, them proceeding to record it later that day. The other rehearsed songs, including "Please Please Me," were pushed back for possibly another time.
Session Two: One week later, on September 11th, 1962, The Beatles reconvened at EMI Studio Two at 4:45 pm to continue the sessions for their first single. Because of disputes with publishing companies, the song "How Do You Do It" was no longer going to be a part of the first Beatles single. George Martin reluctantly agreed that "Love Me Do" would be the A-side of the record, the objective of this session being to record songs for consideration for the B-side. Ron Richards was in the producer's chair, but George Martin decided to go ahead and hire a session musician to act as drummer on this day, his choice being Andy White. The first song recorded was "P.S. I Love You," this being recorded relatively quickly, with a good portion of studio time still available.
Geoff Emerick remembers: “There was still another hour of time available to The Beatles. 'Have you boys got anything else you’d like to play for me?' (Ron) Richards asked over the intercom. 'Yes!' came the enthusiastic reply...Just then, George Martin walked in…and got on the talkback to say hello to the band…He announced that he was going to have a quick listen to what they’d done, and would then be right down to start work on the new song. Norman (Smith) lifted a few faders, and we were able to hear what was going on downstairs." The Beatles had taken time in the past week to incorporate the changes that George Martin suggested for "Please Please Me," including increasing the tempo. However, Ron Richards made another suggestion on this day. "George was playing the opening phrase over and over and over throughout the song. I said, 'For Christ's sake, George, just play it in the gaps!'"
Geoff Emerick continues: “After the first run-through, there was a great deal of discussion, and it was clear that George Martin was dissatisfied. ‘Look, you’ve definitely got something there, boys...we need to sort out...some harmony parts for Paul.’ They nodded enthusiastically and began experimenting along the lines that George had suggested." Lennon remembers that they “were getting tired,” but at least one of these ‘tired’ experimentations appears caught on tape. This version of "Please Please Me" was included on the 1994 compilation album "Anthology 1."
"We almost abandoned it as the B-side of 'Love Me Do," John recalls. "Imagine that a number that could get us to the top just tucked away...We'd been going over it a few times and when we came to the question of the flip side of 'Love Me Do,' we intended using 'Please Please Me,' but our recording manager George Martin thought our arrangement was fussy, so we tried to make it simpler. We were getting very tired, and we just couldn't seem to get it right." An acetate disc of the recording done on this day is evidence that it was indeed in consideration for the B-side of "Love Me Do."
Interestingly, Geoff Emerick writes that drummer Andy White “was dismissed for the day” just before they started work on “Please Please Me.” However, listening to the evidence on the “Anthology 1” album, it appears that the drumming style is quite unlike that of Ringo. This newly found recording shows the drummer playing perfect drum fills in the bridge of the song, whereas Ringo’s usual staggered left-handed fills are prominently featured in the released version recorded in November. Mark Lewisohn's book "Tune In" verifies that Andy White was indeed the drummer on this version of the song. This then could be used as a pattern for Ringo to mimic during their next recording session. Ringo, of course, was present this day, so he could easily remember these intricate changes himself.
After this first version of "Please Please Me" was recorded, they utilized the remaining time of the recording session to record another version of "Love Me Do" with Andy White on drums and Ringo on tambourine. With this accomplished, the session ended at 6:30 pm. “We were standing in the corridor outside the control room after the session," Ron Richards remembers. "George (Martin) was saying, ‘We haven’t quite got ‘Please Please Me’ right, but it’s too good a song just to throw away. We’ll leave it for another time…” Listening to the “Anthology 1” version, you can see how close they really were to the finished version. The few missing ingredients could easily have been added in overdubs, which was a luxury that they did utilize the next week anyway. However, the decision was eventually made that the first version of "Love Me Do" (with Ringo on drums) would be the A-side and "P.S. I Love You" would be the B-side of their first single.
In the meantime, The Beatles took to heart the suggestions made to rework "Please Please Me" once again for a future recording session. Lennon states: "In the following weeks, we went over and over it again and again."
Session Three: The next time The Beatles were in EMI Studio Two was two-and-a-half months later, on November 26th, 1962, to record their second single. And this time, no session drummer was in sight. George Martin acquiesced to Ringo’s rightful place behind the drum kit.
Ten days earlier, however, on November 16th, 1962, George Martin called a meeting with the group for a proposed plan of action. During this meeting, George Martin suggested resurrecting The Beatles' recording of "How Do You Do It" for the A-side of their second single, feeling strongly that it had hit potential. The group strongly objected as he figured they would, thereby deciding that their choice of "Please Please Me" would do the trick. George Martin's instincts were correct, Gerry And The Pacemakers cutting the song shortly thereafter and making it an international hit. It was decided, though, that the original session for “Please Please Me,” recorded on September 11th, was unsuitable for The Beatles' second record, so the November 26th session was arranged to remake the song, as well as to record the B-side. One 3-hour session was all that was thought to be needed, unlike the two 3-hour sessions that were necessary for their first single.
The band arrived in the studio at 6 pm for an hour-long rehearsal with fan Roberta (Bobby) Brown present for moral support. In fact, during this rehearsal, Lennon suggested she play piano during the quick ascending chords in each of the three verses of "Please Please Me." In Mark Lewisohn's book "Tune In," she relates: "John was showing me these chords on the piano, saying, 'So Bobby, you can play this...' and I just said to him, 'You're mad. There's no way I can do this.' He said, 'But you can play piano,' and I said, 'Yes, but I have to have a piece of music in front of me.' It went on like this for some time, and in the end, I just said 'I can't do it.'" Not being a member of the Musicians' Union would have prevented her performance, not to mention that George Martin probably would have put the kibosh to it anyway.
This rehearsal led straight into the proper three-hour recording session that ran from 7 to 10 pm. The Beatles launched right into the newly arranged “Please Please Me” at 7. Martin suggested that Lennon play the harmonica for the main riff of the song rather than it being played on guitar by George Harrison. But, unlike the situation with “Love Me Do,” it was decided to record the song live with John playing guitar and overdub the harmonica afterwards. The result was a combination of Harrison on guitar and Lennon on harmonica both doing that distinctive riff.
The total number of takes, including the harmonica overdubs, amounted to eighteen. At around 9 pm, after two hours of recording, George Martin made his famous exclamation from the recording booth, “You’ve just made your first number one.” This confidence on Martin’s part continued from this point on, never again suggesting The Beatles to record other people’s material for their singles. And this was maintained throughout their career. Although there were eight US singles released that featured cover tunes as the A-side, these were decisions made by American record labels and were not the official British releases.
Mixing: Unlike the sessions for the first single, no mixes occurred on this day. The rest of the three-hour session consisted of recording two contenders for the B-side of the single, which were “Ask Me Why” and the ill-fated “Tip Of My Tongue,” which never was released and is said to be lost. The Beatles gave the latter inferior song (George Martin’s opinion) to another artist in the Brian Epstein stable, Tommy Quickly, who released it as his first single in August of 1963, although it didn’t become a hit.
The mono mix of “Please Please Me” was done four days later, on November 30th, 1962, in the control room of EMI Studio Two by George Martin, Norman Smith, and an unnamed 2nd engineer. As to which take used for this mix remains a mystery, but it was deemed suitable for the British single release (on January 11th, 1963) as well as the mono version of the British album release (on March 22nd, 1963).
Curiously, when the “Please Please Me” album was being mixed for stereo on February 25th, 1963 in the control room of EMI Studio One, Martin and his engineering staff (Smith and A.B. Lincoln) decided first to construct a new version of the song by editing takes 16, 17 and 18. From this, they then made a stereo mix of the song which became the master for the stereo album in Britain as well as the US.
There are some subtle but noticeable differences, such as Lennon flubbing a line in the last verse. Instead of saying “I know you never even try, girl,” he starts out with the lyrics of the second verse by accident, which says “Why do I always…” Lennon catches himself mid-way through the line and joins McCartney who was harmonizing the correct line. This results in Lennon singing the next phrase “Come on” with a slight laugh, knowing that he made a mistake.
Another noted difference in the stereo mix concerns the harmonica parts in the various parts of the song. The takes that George Martin used to form the stereo mix did not have the harmonica since that was overdubbed afterward. In order to edit in those harmonica pieces into the stereo mix, they had to actually sync-up the finished mono mix with the stereo mix in those areas of the song. This resulted in an odd sounding effect because of two separate takes of the song going at slightly different speeds. Especially noticeable is the final ten seconds of the song where the vocals don't match very well. Nonetheless, this deemed as the best the EMI team could do given that the master tape containing the harmonica overdubs no longer existed.
Session Four: In order to sound complete, mention should be made of a January 23rd, 1969 recording session at Apple Studios. The Beatles were rehearsing / recording material for their latest project, “Get Back,” which became the album “Let It Be,” released on May 8th, 1970. This project was rehearsed in the studio while the tapes were rolling, which caught the band joking, arguing, and engaging in impromptu jam sessions.
During an abortive attempt at the song “I’ve Got A Feeling,” the song segued into the first verse of “Help!,” and then the very beginnings of “Please Please Me.” Although this impromptu medley may pique our curiosity, it most likely will never be officially released because of its rough and unprofessional quality. Incidentally, a film crew was in place for the majority of these sessions as they were creating what became the “Let It Be” movie. This medley never appeared in the movie, but the footage has been leaked and has surfaced in various places.
Session Five: The Beatles also touched on "Please Please Me" at the very end of rehearsals on January 25th, 1969, which was also at Apple Studios, but this has never seen the light of day.
Song Structure and Style
The study of “Please Please Me” demonstrates the proper way to write a hit pop song in the sixties. It has all the ingredients that demand attention from its listeners, which include an interesting eye-catching title, an introductory riff that effortlessly sticks in your head, a fair amount of breaks which make the listener take notice of the songs’ key focal points, and a dramatic ending that leaves you with a feeling of satisfaction. Regarding the song's arrangement, Lennon quotes as saying that the band “aimed this one straight at the hit parade.”
The song pattern follows in the standard style that encompasses most of the early Beatles catalog, which is the 'verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse' style (or aaba). They opted not to include a solo of any kind or a repetition of the bridge and final verse, as they were prone to do. Either of these ingredients would have created a prolonged and ineffective mood, as well as exceeding the two-and-a-half minute rule for a pop song in the early sixties.
They start the song with a four-bar introduction, which premieres the memorable riff played simultaneously by John on harmonica and George on guitar. We know that, even though George Martin had much to do with arranging the introductions on their original songs, the Beatles wrote this riff themselves, because Harrison was playing it repeatedly during the song’s rehearsal on September 4th, before George Martin had heard it.
We then enter into the first verse, which is 16 bars long. The melody line starts with the opening riff harmonized by John and Paul, John taking the true melody line with Paul sustaining one higher harmony note throughout the phrase. McCartney has called this a “cadence” which, after the fact, a Liverpool music teacher told them that she taught it to her pupils, citing “Please Please Me” as its source. McCartney got the idea from “Cathy’s Clown” by The Everly Brothers, which uses this cadence to good effect in its chorus.
The same melodic phrase repeats (with different lyrics) before a dramatic break occurs, introducing a new guitar riff which segues into the anticipatory “Come On” question-and-answer section of the verse. The ‘questions’ are sung solo by John, while Paul and George harmonize the 'answers.' This climaxes into the title of the song near the end of the verse, which acts as the true hook line of the song. And then, again, we hear the harmonica/guitar riff to set the stage for the second verse.
After the second verse repeats the identical musical structure, there is an unexpected break containing a drum fill by Ringo, which acts as a segue to the 10 bar bridge. The drum fill, played by Andy White in the fourth bar on the version recorded on September 11th, is replaced by “in my heart,” which is harmonized by Paul and George. Instead, a drum fill is played by Ringo in the third bar. We see a partial reprise of the verse structure at the end of the bridge, starting with the words “you, oh yeah, why do you make me blue” mimicking the melody line of “please me, oh yeah, like I please you.” Each of these phrases could be sung interchangeably.
The bridge does not go to any uncharted territory with its chord structure, as the three chords heard in the verses are repeated throughout. The interest lies in the rapid-fire eighth notes used predominantly throughout the bridge, in comparison with the quarter notes used in the verses. This suggests an urgency which creates a counterpoint to the verses’ simple-but-catchy melody line.
The final verse is a repeat of the first verse, with the exception of the conclusion, which repeats the “please please me” hook line three times for emphasis. Cleverly, the last line of the verse combines the word ‘please’ with the first word of the repeated last line, which becomes “like I, please please me.” This clever subtlety is sung twice until the third repeated hook line ends with an exuberant and tight five chord progression which ends the song. This brings the final verse to a whopping total of 21 bars.
The lyrics of the song describe as if the singer is relating a personal experience between his ‘girl’ and himself. Actually, the only indication of this is in its’ opening line, which is repeated twice in the song, “Last night I said these words to my girl.” Other than this line, the rest of the lyrics sound as if he is speaking to his ‘love interest,’ addressing her throughout the song as “you.” Therefore, it would probably be appropriate for most of the lyrics of this song to be in quotes, being that all of this relates to a third party.
Another interesting observation concerning the lyrics is the suggestion, by author Tim Riley, that “Please Please Me” is the “first real oral sex pop song.” While, with this thought in mind, you can interpret the song seems written about this subject, it seems unlikely that this early on Lennon would have tackled this subject. In later years, he liked to touch on matters such as this, but in slyer ways, such as in “Happiness Is A Warm Gun,” “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Dig A Pony.” But since the Beatles, as of this date, deny ‘oral sex’ as the subject of “Please Please Me,” we have to conclude that the song should stand interpreted with a more innocent slant. Of course, McCartney has been known to elaborate on all-things-Beatles as the years progress, so maybe this will be confirmed one day. And, of course, we can’t put it past Lennon to pull one over on us.
The excellent musicianship displayed on this track shows The Beatles to be an impressively tight unit, trained from years of experience in Hamburg as well as the Cavern. All the intricate breaks and unforeseen changes come across effortlessly, showing the public what they were really capable of even at this early stage.
Ringo shows himself very adept at holding his own, even while mimicking Andy White’s work from the previous recording session. McCartney is in top form performing excellent bass work while harmonizing without losing a bit of pitch. Lennon’s last-minute adaptation to harmonica was an outstanding fit for the song, continuing the identifiable, although short-lived, trend of hit singles featuring that instrument.
Harrison also showed himself adept at performing the guitar riffs that became one of the trademarks of the song. He was a little shaky with this task when they attempted to record the song on September 11th, but during the 2 and a half months that transpired between sessions, he was quite well-rehearsed enough to be up for the task.
A curious note is the change in the guitar riff at the end of the bridge. On the stereo version of the song, it is noticeable that the notes he is playing on the riff are different than the harmonica which he always plays with in unison. It is the same way on the mono version, although it’s hard to pick out of that mix. And, when listening to the many versions of the song done either for the BBC or on the September 11th version (available on Anthology 1), he always plays it with these different notes at the end of the bridge. You may either conclude that it was planned or, more likely, that it was a mistake that became so ingrained that it always came out that way. One would think that if rightly planned, Lennon's’ harmonica part would have been played the same way at that point. It also would not fit the established pattern of the song's structure to change the guitar riff in just that one spot. Well, no one ever claimed that The Beatles were perfect, and we’d be foolish to say they were, but they still are the greatest.
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