Not A Second Time and Money, a double dose journey inside their incredible recording process advancements revealed here and now.

The evening session scheduled in EMI Studio Two on September 11th, 1963 ran from 7:00 to 10:15 pm, which began with The Beatles introducing and completing this entire song Lennon titled "Not A Second Time." Five takes made of the basic track took place, which consisted of John singing and all four Beatles playing live. Take five was deemed the best, ready for overdubs.

Some sources claim that McCartney did not participate in the song at all since the piano part (which was overdubbed afterward by George Martin) focuses on the bass notes of the song. The same has been said about George Harrison’s contribution since only one guitar appears present. We do know with certainty that both McCartney and Harrison were present earlier this day for the recording of “All I’ve Got To Do,” in which their contributions shine. Surely Harrison would have also been present for the evening session since his first composition “Don’t Bother Me” was premiered that day. All evidence suggests, therefore, that all four Beatles helped record these five takes of the basic track, but who’s to say Paul and George enjoyed a tea-time break.

The song then continued through takes six through nine, first for double-tracking John’s vocals, and second for overdubbing George Martin’s piano work. The piano solo was no doubt overdubbed separately, which made take nine the keeper. All of this took place between the estimated time of 7:00 and 8:30 pm.

Engineers plus Mr. Martin created the mono mix of the song from take nine on September 30th, along with four other tracks for the album. The stereo mix was performed quickly, along with the rest of the entire album, on October 29th by George Martin, Smith, Emerick and B.T. The fade out of the songs were each performed at their respective mixing sessions.

Song Structure and Style

Lennon has been known to stray drastically from the conformities of songwriting structures, but it is not usually detected this early on in The Beatles’ career. This song has several unorthodoxies which can become confusing when analyzed.

To generalize the song, we see a 'verse/ verse/ refrain' structure (or aab) which, on the surface, seems not unlike the structure for “All My Loving.” But, first of all, the second verse is a variant of the first, which makes the second verse unique. Also, a solo section is included in the song but, in this case, played over the refrain chords, which is quite unusual, especially since it appears right after the true refrain is heard. We then hear an exact repeat of this pattern with the same lyrics, so in essence, we hear the same song twice in a row. Then we have a conclusion, or ‘outro’ if you will, which is a variation on the initial verse but quite different. So, if we’re going to be exact, the complete structure of this song is ‘initial verse/ variant verse /refrain/ refrain/ initial verse/ variant verse/ refrain/ outro’ (or abccabcd). And if we’re all not confused already, each verse is an unusual seven bars long, while each refrain is an equally unusual ten bars long.

Is this to say that Lennon didn’t know what he was doing? Or was he a genius? The verdict is actually both. While it is true that he wasn’t musically trained and couldn’t read music, John had a gifted ability to express the emotions of what he heard in the music he listened to. If he was currently enamored with Smokey Robinson at a given time (as he was during this album), he could vividly express the emotions and sentiments of what those songs portrayed. If Bob Dylan was his latest inspiration (as evidenced in late ’64 and early ’65), then we can easily hear the influence. Lennon may have downplayed his songwriting abilities, as he once stated, “It’s a bit haphazard; there’s no rules for writing,” he’s also admitted that he wrote by “feel.” Those feelings, tempered by the structural collaborations from McCartney, made them the outstanding songwriting partnership that they are known for today. In the instance of “Not A Second Time,” we see the example of songwriting by "feel" in its rawest form since Lennon wrote the song completely on his own.

A step-by-step run through of the song starts off with an abrupt beginning of the first ‘initial verse’ with no introduction. We get the impression of an introduction because of Ringo not coming in on the drums until the fifth measure, which is also a very unique feature for The Beatles. After this seven-bar ‘initial verse,’ we immediately go into a seven bar ‘variant verse’ which begins the same (almost sounding like a continuation of the first verse) but veers to a minor chord in the sixth bar. This variation of the verse creates an expectation of the refrain which it naturally proceeds onward.

The ten-bar refrain is also unique in that it doesn’t have the catchy tuneful melody that similar songs have, such as “All My Loving” and “A Taste Of Honey.” It does contain the gist of the song’s message, as well as ending with the title of the song, but since it ends in an E minor instead of the expected signature chord G major, this downbeat turn suggests that the sentiments of the song are more painful than the lyrics are actually saying. This will be analyzed in more depth when we consider the lyrics. The refrain ends with a Beatles ‘break’ in which Ringo utilizes a precise drum fill in the absence of all other instrumentation.

Next, we hear the solo section of the song which, as stated earlier, uses the chord pattern and melody line of the refrain that preceded it. After a repeat of the ‘break’ and drum fill, we hear the exact pattern again, lyrics and all, with only a slight variation in the melody line in the seventh bar of the ‘initial verse.’ We then hear the ‘outro’ in which the first two chords of the song are repeated until the song fades, while Lennon repeats the song’s title in varying configurations.

During this ‘outro,’ Lennon’s double-tracked vocals stray from each other during the song's fade, displaying the results of a mistake that sounded too good to correct. Concerning these accidents, engineer Geoff Emerick explains, “When someone made a mistake like that, and the others liked it, we’d often actually make it louder when we’d mix the song so as to accentuate it…It was all about playing a joke on the fans, giving them a treat, something to talk about.”

On the surface, Lennon’s lyrics portray a wounded man hurt by a lover who has ended the relationship, but then ‘changes her mind’ and tries to convince him using the “same old lines.” He can’t face the possibility of how much a broken heart hurts all over again, so his resolve is not to allow her back into his life. But in the true fashion of Smokey Robinson, the context of the chord pattern that ends the refrain, as in Gustav Mahler's Song of the Earth, intimates that he is actually wavering in this resolve. Why else, classical music critics wonder, would the refrain end in a minor chord when stating the key phrase “not a second time” instead of the expected major signature chord? Deep stuff!

We also see here another example of Lennon revealing his vulnerable inner self apart from his rough exterior. The word “cry” is highlighted many times in the song, as is evident in many Lennon songs throughout The Beatles career.

Lennon’s vocal work is painfully convincing throughout, with the double-tracking well utilized to good effect. Since the initial vocal track and Lennon’s acoustic guitar occurred simultaneously, one can easily see how the song would stand alone as a singer/songwriter acoustic solo performance.

Ringo comes through like a trooper in a song which he was not very familiar with, and with great self-confidence. His rock-steady beat and predetermined drum fills are appropriate for this classy and intellectual number. George Martin’s appearance as pianist makes the song appear as a keyboard-oriented track, although its writer no doubt intended it as an acoustic guitar song. Fortunately, Martin does not ‘showboat’ the song, which allows the intricate nature of the song to speak for itself. His lower register keyboard work throughout, including the solo, suited the emotional disruption of the lyrics.

Next Song—Money (That’s What I Want)

Session One:  The first time The Beatles took “Money (That’s What I Want)” into the recording studio was on January 1st, 1962 for their audition for Decca Records.  All of the fifteen songs recorded on that day settled in one take.  With original drummer Pete Best playing primarily on the toms throughout the song, it plods along at a quicker pace than we’re used to hearing and sounds rudimentary.  The arrangement sounds polished due to their performing the song quite regularly in their stage act by this time, but they hadn’t made it their own yet.  They were simply performing their take on a Barrett Strong song.

This session, produced by A&R man Mike Smith, ran approximately from 11 am till noon, "Money" most likely being the second song recorded after the Lennon/McCartney original "Like Dreamers Do."  The Beatles used Decca studio equipment instead of their usual beat-up Vox amplifiers which conveyed the dirty and enthusiastic club sound that created such a stir with their audiences.  One can easily see why Decca executives passed up The Beatles on this occasion, only to deeply regret it later.

Mark Lewisohn, in his book "Tune In," describes John's vocal performance of "Money" on this day:  "(John) later said he sang 'Money' 'like a madman.'  This could suggest he gave it his usual full-on blistering voice - but actually, he meant he was crazed.  Far from belting it out, he audibly pulls back, playing safe, ending up neither one thing nor the other, in no-man's-land.  Where was the Lennon soul, edge, bite?... Only once in John Lennon's life would he be heard timid, and it was here today."

Session Two:  When entering EMI studio 2 on July 18th, 1963 to start recording their second album, their love for the song caused them to record it again, but this time with the motivation to do the song justice.  The evening session ran from 7 to 10:45 pm and, after recording “You Really Got A Hold On Me,” they recorded the bulk of “Money” immediately afterward, starting approximately at 8:00 pm.

With George Martin on piano, the group performed the song live, vocals and all, for six full takes until everyone was satisfied, take six deemed the best.  A piano edit piece by George Martin, probably for the song’s introduction, immediately followed the final take, which brought the number of takes to seven.  This completed the song for the time being, although The Beatles input on the song was complete at this time.

Session Three:  July 30th, 1963, was the second session for their second album “With The Beatles.”  They all endured a morning and evening session this day, “Please Mister Postman” and “It Won’t Be Long” being worked on in the morning.  The evening session, which began at 5 pm, began with George Martin overdubbing his piano work throughout the song.  After doing a test run, he performed seven more overdubs on the song, numbered 8 through 14.  Only George Martin worked on “Money” on this day, but right after this ended, The Beatles worked on three more songs for the album:  “Till There Was You,” “Roll Over Beethoven” and “All My Loving” plus more work on “It Won’t Be Long” started earlier that day.

August 21st was the day George Martin, with engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick, edited the complete performance of the song (take 6) with the original piano edit piece (take 7) to form the master copy.  Interestingly, the piano overdubs from July 30 (session three) were not used for this master and therefore didn’t appear on the mono mix of the song.  That mono mix shows also made on this day, which is the only mono mix done on the song.  As far as all mono versions of the song released, the mix made on this day is what you hear.

Session Four:  Surprisingly, while The Beatles were on vacation, George Martin went back into the studio on September 30th, 1963, for more piano overdubs onto “Money.”  He recorded three unnumbered takes of piano work on the song on the previous take 7, which meant that the overdubs he did on July 30 (session three, takes 8-14) come across viewed as unsuitable.  Even though mono mixes of other tracks on the album completed the task on this day, “Money” was not one of them.  This apparently meant that George Martin still didn’t view the song as complete, even though The Beatles were through with the song nearly 2 and a half months earlier.

October 29th, 1963, was the day George Martin chose to do the stereo mixing for the entire “With The Beatles” album.  He created these stereo mixes in the order he chose the album tracks to run, which means that at least at this point if not earlier, he realized that the impact of “Money” would make a great album closer just like “Twist And Shout” did for the first album.  The only problem was, the stereo mix made of the song on this day apparently didn’t suit his fancy because it was not used.  Once again, engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick were present on this day, as well as the mysterious B.T.

The next day, October 30th, 1963, the final stereo mix was made of “Money,” once again by George Martin and Norman Smith, but this time with A.B. Lincoln as second engineer.  George Martin decided that to get a proper stereo mix of the song, two separate two-track mono mixes were utilized together, one for each channel.  It was decided to proceed in this way to avoid any further tape-to-tape copying, which decreases the sound quality and increases tape hiss.  This is the final released stereo mix of the song, which is significantly different than the mono mix made on August 21 that predated the piano overdubs made on September 30th.

The mixes differ in other ways as well, such as the mono mix including Ringo’s taps in the intro of the song.  Another difference is, on the stereo mix, George Harrison’s lead guitar part comes in forcefully just before the third measure, where the mono mix fades his guitar part in on the fourth measure.  And, since Capitol Records in the US habitually made mono mixes out of the stereo mixes by melding both channels together into one, American audiences only ever heard the stereo mix of the song, even if they purchased the mono album.

Session Five:  As can be expected, when The Beatles gathered in January 1969 to work on the “Get Back/Let It Be” project, “Money” was early on the list for having an impromptu jam during the sessions.  January 3rd, 1969, saw the group naturally doing a run-through of "Money," this being one of their favorite early-stage songs while rehearsing at Twickenham Film Studios.  At this stage, they were rehearsing for a proposed live concert, going over potential songs for this show, which never materialized.

Session Six:  January 6th, 1969, saw the group going over the song once again in Twickenham studios in an aimless rehearsal which resulted in George and Paul quibble over their first of many disagreements.  Neither session five or six has ever seen the light of day and is the last time “Money (That’s What I Want)” was ever performed by the group.

Not to be forgotten is the September 13th, 1969 live performance of the song by John with his newly formulated Plastic Ono Band in Toronto, the results being released on the album "Live Peace In Toronto 1969" later that year.

“Money” follows the standard “12 bar blues” style quite common in late 50’s/early 60’s R&B and rock and roll.  You hear it in other cover songs The Beatles chose, such as “Boys,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Matchbox” and “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby.”  The song mostly consists of verses, though each verse can be broken up into a verse section and refrain section.  In this case, the verse section is the first four measures (“the best things in life are free” etc.) and the refrain section is the remaining eight measures (“money, that’s what I want” etc.)  “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby” and the verses in “Boys” follow this pattern as well.

This pattern follows throughout the song with three exceptions.  The intro section and solo section are abbreviated to eight measures, unlike the original Barrett Strong version which continues its’ 12-bar pattern throughout the song.  Also, the final two 12-bar sections of the song consist entirely of refrain lyrics with a complete ending, also unlike the Barrett Strong version which fades out at the end.

The eight-measure introduction begins with George Martin on piano all by itself playing the distinctive and powerful riff that propels the song through to its’ end.  After two measures of this riff, The Beatles all kick in together for the remaining six measures of the introduction, which is an abbreviated version of the twelve bar pattern heard throughout the song and as heard on the original version by Barrett Strong (the third and fourth measures get deleted).  The Beatles deletion of these two measures date back at least to January 1st, 1962, as they played it the same was at their Decca auditions on that day.

The first verse begins with Lennon’s blistering vocals while the group lets the chords ring out on the one beat of the first and third measure and Ringo stays locked to the snare drum and floor tom.  At the fifth measure, where the refrain section of the verse begins, George Harrison carries the distinctive riff while John plays the chords.  At the same time, Paul and George harmonize the characteristic background vocals “that’s what I want” while Ringo keeps a beat-style drum beat, quite similar to “Twist And Shout,” but still staying on the snare and floor tom.

After a second and third verse, which differ only because of different lyrics, we enter into an instrumental section which is segued by a blood-curdling scream from Lennon.  This section is also only eight measures long, deleting the third and fourth measure as we heard in the songs’ introduction.  This also is a Beatles decision dating back to January 1962, as Barrett Strong’s version keeps the twelve-bar pattern for his instrumental section.  Instead of hearing a guitar solo, we hear George Harrison and George Martin together vamping that remarkable riff.  Because of the hypnotic feel of this riff, we don’t even miss a hearing a solo.  It definitely sounds full enough.

A repeat of the third verse then commences (once again differing from Barrett Strong’s version) which leads into two more twelve-bar patterns set to be the conclusion to the song.  Lennon accentuates and ad-libs around the word “money” while Paul and George continue their “that’s what I want” harmony vocals nonstop for these 24 measures.  With the appearance of this conclusion, finally, we hear Ringo ride on the cymbals to bring the song home.  Unlike Barrett Strong’s faded ending, the Beatles conclude with a band-fill, triplet ending reminiscent of their ending to “Twist And Shout.”

As for The Beatles performance on the track, the ferocity of all four members is unparalleled.  Lennon, of course, stands out because of his irreverent steamroller vocal which turns the tongue-in-cheek lyrics into a demanding paean of materialism.  Not bad rhythm guitar either.

McCartney is also at full-throttle vocally as he holds his own on the high harmonies and periodic gut-wrenching screams.  Paul also effortlessly copies the piano/guitar riff throughout the song, creating a powerful tension from beginning to end.  George Harrison, while not needing to offer up a solo, helps propel the song forward adding to the intensity.  Ringo doesn’t need to add drum fills to create the atmosphere but only accents to bridge the verses together, which he does to great effect.

Not to be forgotten is George Martin on piano which, because of his numerous overdubbing attempts to create the proper feel for the album’s finale, comes through like the consummate professional that he is.  You could always expect nothing but perfection from producer George.

Lyrically speaking, you can almost see the smiles on Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford’s faces as they put these comic lyrics to this addictive blues riff and chord pattern.  Dissolving the cliché “the best things in life are free” with “you can keep them for the birds and bees” is priceless, as well as following it with the irreverent phrase “I want money.”  The same goes with “your lovin’ won’t pay my bills,” as we dispense with the thought that young lovers only need each other to get by.  While not considered by many as a novelty or comedy song, this surely fits the bill in its’ stripped-down form.  This, of course, is not the case when The Beatles growl it at you with the intensity that they did.

An interesting point that needs mention is the so-called ad-libbed phrase “I want to be free” that Lennon includes during the final twelve bar pattern.  Many authors and commentators read ideas into this phrase, some saying Lennon feels as “a prisoner to the passion that the rest of the song denied” or that he is “saying what he expects money to do for him.”  Could it be simply a misheard adlib from Barrett Strong that John uttered?  Barrett is heard to exclaim something sounding like he wants “mean green” at precisely the same measure that John screams about being “free.”  The Beatles were prone to mishear lyrics from a 45 and simply sing what they think they hear.  Just a thought.

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I Wanna Be Your Man and Devil In Her Heart, a double dose journey inside their incredible recording process advancements revealed here and now.

For such a simple song, The Beatles had quite a difficult time recording it, probably due to just recently written and not exactly sure what kind of arrangement would suit it. September 11th, 1963, the day after they finished it in front of The Rolling Stones, they attempted to record it in Studio Two at EMI at 2:30 pm. After one take, it was decided to leave it for another day.

The next day, September 12th, they returned to the song during the evening session, which ran from 7:00 to 11:30 pm. After working extensively on both “Don’t Bother Me” and “Little Child,” The Beatles returned to “I Wanna Be Your Man” at approximately 10:45 pm for six more takes, numbered two through seven. Take seven was considered the best at this point, a composite of two takes edited together just before the final verse, and they called it a night, although much more work would need attending to on this track.

Two and a half weeks later, on September 30th, another recording session took place which included this song, although The Beatles were not involved. While they were out of the country, George Martin took it upon himself to try his hand at overdubbing a Hammond organ onto the song. Starting approximately at 8:30 am, he attempted six tries at this overdub onto the completed take seven from September 12th, and the last attempt was deemed best, which took the song to take 13. Interestingly, the liner notes from the British "With The Beatles" album state that John Lennon played the Hammond Organ, but official documentation confirms otherwise.

Three days later, on October 3rd, the group (minus George Harrison) reassembled in Studio Two of EMI for more work on the song. This three-hour session took place from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and started with Ringo double-tracking his vocal and adding maracas to the song. These two overdubs now took the song to take 15.

With the deadline for their second British album perilously close, The Beatles convened once again in Studio Two of EMI on October 23rd, 1963 for their final contribution to the album, which was a final overdub for “I Wanna Be Your Man.” Although documents don’t reveal what this overdub included, it occurred at the beginning of this session, which ran from 10 am to 1 pm. After this final overdub appeared completed, The Beatles observed George Martin and Norman Smith preparing a mono mix with a fade for the song, as well as “Little Child” and “Hold Me Tight.” These were the final mono mixes for the album, which are the ones that are heard on the US album “Meet The Beatles!” The stereo mix with a fade for “I Wanna Be Your Man,” as well as for the rest of the album, was performed on October 29th by Martin, Smith, Geoff Emerick, and B.T.

The Beatles actually had one other recording session for “I Wanna Be Your Man.” This was on April 19th, 1964 to provide a pre-recorded soundtrack for the British television special “Around The Beatles,” aired by the BBC on May 6th and June 8th, 1964. The group lip-synced to this song in front of a studio audience for the broadcast. This session, which they recorded on three-track tape, took place at IBC Studios in London, with Jack Good producing, Terry Johnson engineering and Glyn Johns as second engineer and tape operator. Johns was to become the engineer/producer for the “Let It Be” album, released in 1970.

Song Structure and Style

We here see another example of Lennon and McCartney utilizing a chorus in a song, which wasn’t done to a great degree this early in their career. The song consists of a 'verse/ chorus/ verse/ chorus' format (or abab). After the second chorus, a guitar solo section is added before another verse and chorus is heard.

The introduction can hardly be viewed as a separate section of the song as it consists of a simple but rousing lead guitar flourish from George Harrison. We then jump headlong into the first verse, which is played in a bluesy style and sung solo by Ringo. The verse encompasses an odd 17 bars but is actually symmetrical in that the verse consists of two identical eight-bar sections with another bar thrown in to give Ringo time to take a breath before the chorus begins. The entire verse runs on the E major chord without any changes whatsoever, except the hint of a B chord in the seventh and fifteenth bar. The odd seventeenth bar actually consists of the customary Beatles ‘break’ with the beginning of the chorus sung acapella.

The eight-bar chorus, which lyrically only consists of the title of the song sung four times, brings in some unimaginative but effective chord changes that contrast nicely from the single chord verse. The chorus shows John and Paul harmonizing with Ringo, which would more appropriately be termed "overpowering" since we can almost not hear Ringo at all in the choruses. The seventh bar of the chorus shows off the “Fortune Teller” downturned final note.

After the second verse and an identical repeat of the chorus, we enter into a guitar solo section featuring Harrison’s simple but energetic guitar riffs. This solo work is all but overshadowed by Paul and John’s shouting and carrying-on. The solo section is 12 bars long and centers only on the E major chord, making it unlike either the verse or chorus of the song. This part of the song appears to be aimless vamping which ends somewhat embarrassingly with muffled talking as it segues to an edit into another performance of the first verse.

After another chorus enters, the group rides out the rest of the song on E major similar to the solo section of the song, but this time the title of the song repeats with a similar melody line as the chorus. As the song fades, we hear exuberant shouting and barking (?!?) from Paul and John. All in all, rock ‘n’ roll "energy" is the name of the game here and done very well.

Lyrically, though, there isn’t much to tell. In a nutshell, it appears that the singer wants to be someone’s “man.” His qualifications for this proposed job is that he can love the girl in question “like no other baby.” Unfortunately, the song goes unresolved because we never find out if he did indeed achieve his goal. One can only hope for Ringo to release a follow-up, hopefully, titled “I Got To Be Her Man!”

All kidding aside, the obvious thrust to this song is not in its lyrics, as McCartney relates, “we were in love with the sound, the music. We often used to say to the people; the words don’t really matter; people don’t listen to words; it’s the sound they listen to. So ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ was to try and give Ringo something like ‘Boys.’” The high energy, free-spirited, bluesy, rock ‘n’ roll feel to the song fit perfectly with the image The Beatles wanted to portray to American audiences, and therefore fit perfectly on their first Capitol album.

Performance-wise, Ringo fit the bill perfectly as vocalist on this song. Although written with a specific limited range for the vocalist, and Ringo did stray off-key at times, this was a great vehicle for him to perform live, which was the intent of the song. Subsequently, his vocal work appeared to improve slightly during its performance life as he grew more accustomed to it. He even added different embellishments, as noted on the “Live At The BBC” and “Anthology 1” CDs. Ringo’s drum work is an excellent example of the "beat" style they spearheaded during their Cavern / Hamburg days, complete with the idiosyncrasies in his drum fills at the end of each verse.

George Harrison can next be mentioned for his stunning guitar licks heard throughout the song, as well as the subtle phrases played during the solo. The chromatic scale guitar riffs heard in the chorus adds a distinctive contrast to the bluesy tone heard in the verses. Lennon accentuates the Bo Diddley concept by adding tremolo to his rhythm guitar throughout. It appears that John is actually singing the lead vocals during the chorus, which fits the criteria of their usual habit of singing lead on whatever they predominantly wrote.

McCartney’s bass work is commonplace compared to what we’ve seen otherwise up to this point but fits well with the feel of the song. Since the song was recorded very shortly after it was written, Paul simply could have felt this was good enough for a “throwaway” number. Paul’s harmonies are of his usual high quality, while his excited wails and barks come across as a little much (or as comic relief). George Martin’s Hammond organ work, while a semi-essential ingredient to the mix, is more felt than heard except for his flourishes at the end of each chorus.

Next Song—Devil In Her Heart:

In the event the lads had just recorded “Devil In Her Heart” for the BBC radio show “Pop Go The Beatles” two days earlier (July 16th, 1963), The Beatles thought the song would be a good contender for being a track on their second album as they entered EMI studio two on July 18th, which was their first day of recording for the album.

This evening session, which ran from 7 to 10:45 pm, started with starting and completing “You Really Got A Hold On Me” and then laying the groundwork for “Money (That’s What I Want).”  At approximately 9:00, they started “Devil In Her Heart” as their third song of the evening.  Three live takes were made of the complete song with all four group members playing their usual instruments while singing lead and background vocals.  Take three was deemed the best.

The band then added three overdubs on top of take three, which included extra guitar flourishes from George Harrison, double-tracked lead vocals during the verses, and Ringo playing maracas.  This took the song to take six, which completed the song as we hear it today.  The song was completed by approximately 10:00 pm, which freed them up to attempt to record the ballad “Till There Was You,” although they ultimately left this for another time.

The mono mix of the song (from take 6) was performed on August 21st, 1963, as was the rest of the album that was completed by that point.  Only producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick were present for this session.  The stereo mix was made on October 30th, along with the rest of the album, in a quick three-hour session by the same three recording personnel, along with the unnamed B.T.

January 7th, 1969, saw The Beatles return to the song in Twickenham Film Studios during the rehearsing for the "Get Back/Let It Be" film.  This was a brief impromptu run-through, only done because the song they were rehearsing at the time, “Don’t Let Me Down,” featured George Harrison playing guitar work that similarly phrased to what he did on “Devil In Her Heart.”  It reminded them of the song, and they reminisced.

Song Structure and Style

The structure of this song is a unique one for The Beatles thus far.  We see here a back-and-forth pattern between a refrain and a verse.  Each refrain and verse contains subtle changes in lyrics, so there is no constant unchangeable “bridge” or “chorus” as we’re used to hearing in The Beatles catalog thus far.  So what we end up with is a 'refrain/ verse/ refrain/ verse/ refrain/ verse/ refrain' structure (or abababa), the final refrain extended for an appropriate conclusion.

After a percussive count-in from Ringo and a four measure introduction featuring “Latin” sounding guitar phrases, we delve right into the first eight-measure refrain with harmonic warnings from John and Paul to the lead singer (George) about the dangerous relationship he desires.  George replies to every warning with disbelief, as he does twice in the first refrain alone.  Also of note is the ‘break’ that occurs before each refrain, something well featured in most Beatles songs of this era.

Because of the chord structure of the verses, they actually act as a bridge between each refrain.  Bold background harmonies are heard against George’s double-tracked lead vocals throughout the verse until the last line, which brings all three vocalists harmonizing together “she’s an angel sent to me.”  The verses are actually nine measures long, extended during this last line to create an adequate segue back into the refrain.

This segues into another refrain identical in structure except for different replies from George in his answer lyrics.  Then into another verse which also is identical in structure and style apart from different lyrics.  This time the background vocals chime in on the final line “listen can’t you see.”

A third refrain is then heard, which is identical structurally and lyrically to the second refrain except for a couple extra “nos’” in George’s lead lines.  The third verse which follows changes things up a bit by having the background vocalists (Paul to the fore) sing the first four measures alone, while we get back to the regular three vocalist format for the last five measures, going back to the last line of the first verse, “she’s an angel sent to me.”

The final refrain is completely identical to the third refrain except it extends to sixteen measures to act as a suitable ending.  The final four measures continue the “warning/disbelief” dialog lyrically while we hear a return of the introductory “Latin” guitar phrases at the same time.  Instead of the fade-out ending of the original version by The Donays, the group brings the song to a full conclusion similar to how they ended it when played live at The Cavern and elsewhere.

As stated earlier, the lyrics are depicting friends warning the singer that his new love interest has a reputation of breaking hearts while the lead singer counters with disbelief and claims “she’ll never hurt me.”  The clever use of lyrics was no doubt a feature that attracted The Beatles to the song, one example being the repeated “devil” and “angel” comparisons.  Another is the clever rhyming of “don’t take chances if your romance is,” which is similar to many songs in the Lennon McCartney catalog, such as “it won’t be long till I belong to you.”

Concerning the lyrics, The Beatles purposely made the gender change from "Devil in His Heart" to "Devil In Her Heart" with all the necessary alterations throughout the song.  There was one inadvertent error made as well due to them trying to decipher the lyrics from the original 45.  "No, not me will he deceive" mistakenly became "no, no, nay will she deceive."  Interestingly, they sang the correct line during their BBC performance two days earlier but changed it to “no, no nay” when recording it properly in EMI studios.  And when The Beatles returned to the song six years later (January 7th, 1969) for an impromptu run-through of the song, Lennon is heard correcting McCartney's remembrance of the lyrics, still insisting the lyrics included "no no nay."

George Harrison gets the nod as the true highlight of the song, with his “Latin” guitar phrasings and suitable lead vocal work.  Ringo also impresses with his Latin-sounding “bam-boom-boom” drum fills that introduce the song as well as each refrain.  His drum style throughout has a rumba rhythm which, with the maraca overdub, creates a convincing Latin feel.  His open hi-hat sound, common with early Beatle songs, gives the song a fullness and drive that is lacking on the original version.

Also noteworthy is the background vocals of John and Paul, which emphasize an effective ‘nagging’ quality that is appropriate to the lyrics of the song.  Although the rhythm guitar and bass are rudimentary throughout, Lennon and McCartney provide these essential ingredients to create the full picture and round out an impressive cover version of an obscure song.

Please feel free to leave any comments or corrections and share these articles plus this blog's website with your friends, especially Beatles’ fans. You and they might also enjoy knowing more about my Love Songs CD and my novel, BEATLEMANIAC. Just click on the “My Shop” tab near the top of this page for full details.

Hold Me Tight and You Really Got A Hold On Me, a double dose journey inside their incredible recording process advancements revealed here and now.

“Hold Me Tight” exposed one of five original Lennon / McCartney compositions taped during their marathon recording session on February 11th, 1963 to complete their first British album “Please Please Me.” Since they felt determined to achieve success by recording their own compositions, like their musical heroes Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins, they set out to record as many of their original songs as possible. Six other songs made way and completed the task during this full day at EMI studio two, making a total of eleven songs in one day.

The evening session, which ran from 7:30 to 10:45 pm, started off with this song. In the event 13 takes were performed, estimation appears cast and crew devoted a full hour to capture, from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. Of those 13 takes, only two showed complete versions. Five of the attempts slipped false starts, one gets described as a “breakdown” because of an unexplained “error,” and four were takes of an edit piece. The intention was to splice take nine (one of the complete live versions) with take 13 (the best attempt at the edited piece) in order to create a master version of the song. Other songs recorded on this day received similar treatment, such as the edit of “I Saw Her Standing There.”

In this case, though, the 14-song requirement for a standard British album was filled without “Hold Me Tight” and, possibly to save the trouble of editing on a tight budget, this song became the 15th song that wasn’t needed. (The A- and B-sides of their first two singles filled the other tracks on the album.) At this point in the game, the budget allocated for an upcoming new group was minimal; hence the one day rushed schedule for recording an album. Whatever the reason may have been, “Hold Me Tight” was deemed the weakest track and didn’t make the album.

Fortunately, The Beatles were not going to let this one fall through the cracks. When pressed for new material for their second British album, they remembered that “Hold Me Tight” wasn’t yet released and proceeded to resurrect it. But, instead of bringing out the old tape, a decision was made to start it again fresh. The reason may have been that the original tape was recorded over or already scrapped. In any event, on September 12th, 1963, their fourth recording session for the album, the song was begun anew.

The first of two sessions on this day, spanning from 2:30 to 6:30 pm, started with recording four special messages for broadcast on Australian radio to promote their upcoming concert tour of that country. Afterward, at approximately 4:00 pm, work began on the remake of “Hold Me Tight.” They started the takes at the round number of “take 20” to compensate for the original 13 takes and their probably not remembering how many takes they had made of the first version.

Ten takes were needed to complete the song on this day. After four false starts, take 24 reached the first complete version and became the keeper. Onto it, Martin added overdubs of handclaps and additional background vocals, which took the song to take 26, making the song almost complete. Take 29 seems best stipulated as edited onto the song to form the master version as we know it. Because a sudden slightly detected change in volume just before the ritardando occurs in the closing seconds of the song, take 29 was no doubt an edit piece allowing The Beatles to perfect the song's conclusion. Since the handclaps are present in this section of the song as well, the actual edit piece may very well have perfected status in takes 27 and 28 while another quick handclapping overdub may have taken the song to its 29th take. In any event, take 29 was edited on to take 26 to form the completed song on September 30th, which was presided over by producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick. The first mono mix of the song also took place during this day.

A second mono mix of the song was made on October 23rd also by Martin and Smith. It is not known which of these two mono mixes made it onto the “Meet The Beatles!” album in the US. The stereo mix of the song, though, was definitely the one made on October 29th by Martin, Smith, Emerick, and B.T.

Although official documents do not mention it, the song was speeded up from the original recording, which elevated the key signature from E major to F major. This is sometimes done to create a tighter performance and has been done to good effect at different times throughout The Beatles recording career, as well as slowing down the tape in the cases of “Rain” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” for a completely different effect. In the case of “Hold Me Tight,” it can be assumed that the song was speeded up during the mastering process or when tape copies were made since, according to Geoff Emerick, the process of "vari-speeding" wasn't available at EMI until much later, probably around 1966.

Song Structure and Style

Although some could argue that this song contains a “chorus,” which was a rare occurrence at this early stage in the Lennon / McCartney songwriting career, what we actually are hearing is the second half of the verse. Therefore, the structure of “Hold Me Tight” falls in the usual category of 'verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse' (or aaba). There are many nuances that occur within this structure, though, as we will examine. The bridge and last verse are repeated, as with many Beatles songs, but no solo abounds in the song.

We start with a quick two-bar introduction, which sounds to many ears as if we’re entering into a song already in progress. This is not the case, as this and the other takes of the song begin at this point, so The Beatles intended the song to start this way. Already we feel the high energy intensity of the song, with Harrison’s ostinato guitar phrase and handclapping right from the get-go. Since we hear the lyrical introduction to the song with the words “it feels so right now,” we can deduce that this introduction is actually a reference to the end of the bridge, so we will hear this introductory lyric twice more in the song when both bridges play.

Each verse is, for all intents and purposes, 16 bars long, but we will see a subtle utilized trick in the second and third verses. The first verse, though, is a full 16 bars that highlight McCartney’s energetically performed lead vocal and proficient harmonies from Lennon and Harrison who both performed live and overdubbed - the first half of every verse contains overdubbed harmony vocals, while the second half was sung live during the original performance. The second half of the verse, which drives home the title of the song, displays a “question and answer” vocal style which often occurs in The Beatles catalog. The “rising and falling” tension of the second half of the verse acts as the primary hook of the song, ending with the anticipated climax of the high melodic note, in the thirteenth bar on the word “you.”

This word “you” becomes a pivotal feature of the song as we see at the end of the second verse. This verse is nearly identical to the first verse except for a couple of lyric phrases, although its ending is somewhat tricky. What would be the 16th bar of the second verse actually becomes the first bar of the eight-bar bridge, the word “you” connecting the second verse with the bridge. The last lyrical phrase of the verse is “it’s you” while the first lyrical phrase of the bridge is “you don’t know what it means to hold you tight.” So, although the song is fully symmetrical, the second and third verses each share a measure with their bridge, as well as the word “you.”

To further show the complexity of the song, the bridge dips the song into a minor key while the rest of the song is major. Since the writing of this song pre-dates “P.S. I Love You,” which also combines major and minor chords, shows the grasp that Lennon and McCartney had on songwriting structure even in their formative years. The end of the first verse ends in the transitional major C chord, while the second and third verses end by introducing the minor sounding A flat chord, which is heard in the shared bar connecting the second verse with the bridge.

The bridge is, therefore, eight bars long and features McCartney singing alone except for the final bar. This adds a nice variation to the structure which relieves the tension created in the first two verses. The final lyrical phrase of the bridge, “it feels so right,” was what we heard in the introduction of the song, which reveals to us the rightful location of that phrase; we now realize that it is actually a transitional part of the bridge that we received an early glimpse of in the introduction.

After a third verse, slightly altered lyrically, we then enter into an identical repeat of the bridge and third verse. After this final verse, we hear what appears to be the beginning of another bridge, but what actually occurs is a ritardando which makes the song grind to a halt. This final section of the song, the “outro” if you will, is four bars long including the shared final bar of the last verse. So, with the shared bar between the verses and bridges and the ritardando at the close of the song, we see that The Beatles have some pretty nifty songwriting and performance tricks up their sleeves. Not bad for a song that most reference works dismiss as “disastrous” and “below par.”

The song has also taken a lot of flack throughout the years because of the lyrics, which are considered especially pedestrian and cliché heavy. While this is definitely true, it isn’t any less complex than many Beatles songs written up to that point, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” serves a prime example. The lyrics are a simple plea from the singer to ‘hold him tight’ explaining what it would mean to him. No consideration points to the feelings of the ‘girl’ in question, a standard practice for McCartney lyrics at the time.

The song has been considered ‘explicit’ by many, simply by its inclusion of the phrase “making love,” which was risqué for 1964. It passed the censors probably because it wasn’t released as a single and didn’t receive much radio airplay. Van Morrison, for example, didn’t get past these censors in 1967 when he sang about “making love in the green grass” with his “Brown Eyed Girl.” This song had to be treated to the editing scissors to make it to American AM radio, just as “Hold Me Tight” probably would have been if presented for airplay.

Performance wise, the tip of the hat goes primarily to George Harrison for his ostinato guitar phrases that snake through the entire song, negotiating every chord change without hardly missing a beat. Knowing that his guitar part was recorded live while singing background vocals during the full band rhythm track shows the professionalism George brought to the table within The Beatles. Note also how he continues to perform these phrases through the ritardando at the end of the song, never losing the decreasing tempo. An excellent performance!

Paul is next to be commended for his bass work which mimics George’s guitar phrases, although it is so low in the mix as to be hardly discernable, as with many of the tracks on this album. That Paul performed this while belting out his lead vocals during the live rhythm track truly proves an accomplishment. While many are quick to point out the stray off-key notes that appear at times in his lead vocals, seals that the listener is getting a true taste of the live Beatles in this song, warts and all. The vocals are not double-tracked as many of the songs on this album are, so there is nothing manufactured about this cut.

Ringo does well in effectively displaying the effervescent ‘beat’ style of the early Cavern years, once again complimenting the end of each bridge with his uniquely awkward drum fills. Note also his switch to riding on his toms for the bridge to complement the minor key change, adding a nice variation to the arrangement. Lennon’s rhythm guitar lulls faintly heard in the mix until the bridge, where we distinctly hear him strum each chord change on the one beat of each measure (although he does miss a couple here and there).  This rhythm guitar arrangement for the bridge returns periodically in The Beatles catalog, such as with “I Should Have Known Better.” John does quite well with his background harmonies although, as he’s personally admitted, they have never been his strong suit.

Curiously, concerning the overdubbed background vocals, all three times the phrase “it feels so right” occurs in the song, the background vocals follow this with the word “so” while Paul’s lead vocal sings “now.” Opinions differ as to whether this was a mistake made an unbelievable three times or an intentional experiment. For those who look for flaws, there are many to be found in “Hold Me Tight” as well as most other Beatles songs. For those who just like to enjoy the music, like myself, these flaws are minimal aside from showing the human element in full force.

Next Song: You Really Got A Hold On Me:

Just seventeen days after recording what was to be their next single “She Loves You,” manager Brian Epstein had them back in EMI studio two recording their next album.  Probably deep in the mood for performing cover versions (they just recorded thirty-six of them for broadcast on BBC radio between the dates of July 2nd and 16th), The Beatles began proceedings for their second album on July 18th, 1963, by recording Smoky’s recent, a favorite of John Lennon.

This evening session ran from 7 to 10:45 pm, which began with “You Really Got A Hold On Me” (inadvertently changing the title from the original “You’ve”).   Seven live performances of the song were recorded first, which featured all four Beatles playing their usual instruments and singing without overdubs, accompanied by producer George Martin on piano.  Only four of these performances were complete (three of them being false starts), take seven being the keeper.

They immediately recorded four edit pieces for the song, concentrating on the word “baby” found in the final verse, and on the ending riffs of the song.  Take 10 finalized the ending riff of the song, while take 11 perfected the “baby.”  This completed the recording of the finished version of the song as we know it.  The song was completed by approximately 8:00 pm, estimating an hour to record this amazing rendition of an amazing song fully.  The remainder of the day entailed recording the bulk of “Money (That’s What I Want),” the entire recording of “Devil In Her Heart,” and an early attempt at “Till There Was You.”

August 21st was the date chosen by George Martin to edit takes 7, 10 and 11 to make the final master, as well as create the mono mixes for this song as well as the completed songs recorded thus far for the album.  This ‘control room only’ session was attended only by Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick.  The stereo mix of the song, along with the rest of the album, was hurriedly done on October 29th, 1963, by Martin, Smith, and Emerick as well as the mysterious engineer with the initials B.T.

This is not to say that The Beatles reached closure with the song at this point.  Based on valuable status, they were finally granted the use of four-track recording equipment on October 17th of that year; John Lennon insisted that they take another stab at the song on this date.  Geoff Emerick explains, “Perhaps, in his naivete, (John) thought that simply recording it on four-track instead of two-track would somehow make it sound better, but after one whack at it, they all  idea was abandoned.”  George Martin at that point insisted that they move on, explaining that the recording they made on July 18th was adequate.  Lennon then exclaimed, “All right, George, we give up,” and then introduced them to their next single, “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” which the lads recorded next.

The Beatles did record the song again in the studio, but this time it was in their newly formed Apple Studios on January 26th, 1969, during sessions for the “Get Back” project (released as “Let It Be”).  The recent purchase of Smokey Robinson records by George Harrison inspired The Beatles (with Billy Preston) to go through two takes of “You Really Got A Hold On Me” as well as the more recent Miracles hit “Tracks Of My Tears.”  The first attempt was thought interesting enough to be preserved on film and released in the “Let It Be” movie.  Although producer Glyn Johns deemed it worthy enough to perform a mix of the song in March of 1969 for intended release, this never saw the light of day.

Song Structure and Style

The structure of “You Really Got A Hold On Me” is quite complex and left to different interpretations.  This thumping ballad in 6/8 time appears to follow into the same basic pattern as a long-standing song in their repertoire, “A Taste Of Honey,” which would comprise a verse/verse/refrain formula, but with added characteristics.

After this initial pattern, a bridge appears (which include the repeated words “tighter”), before delving back into another verse and refrain.  Then we go into a unique conclusion which sounds similar to the last eight bars of the verse but then ends with an instrumental coda to finish off the song.  This conclusion dispenses of the fade-out ending of the original in favor of a vehicle suitable for concert performances.  After all is said and done, we see a 'verse/ verse/ refrain/ bridge/ verse/ refrain/ conclusion' pattern, translatable as aabcabd.

The song does start, though, with a similar eight-measure introduction as heard on the original, which creates a suitable anticipatory feeling and gets the ball rolling.  This lengthy 22-bar verse, which suitably ends with the repeat of the title of the song four times, segues into its second verse of equal length and style, differing only by a new set of lyrics.

We then go into the eight-measure refrain which is the true attention-getter of the song, although the song’s title does not appear in its’ lyrics.  Instead, we hear The Beatles voices repeat the words “hold me” four times in the final four measures while the band accentuates each time with a thunderous ‘break’ on each one-beat.  The last of these four times puts the song in suspended animation, holding in the air without the time clock going, only to resume when the introduction of the song reappears to set the song in motion again.  This unique characteristic, as copied from the original, celebrates the brilliance of the song’s writer and arranger.

We then delve into the eight-measure bridge which showcases some fancy drum-work from Ringo during the fourth and eighth measure while the words “tighter” rings through.  This creates a perfect segue back into a third verse, which is identical to the first two other than different lyrics.  At the end of this verse, we hear the excited “baby” overdub The Beatles insisted on adding in to complete the recording of the song.

This takes us to the final refrain to round off the composite structure of the song, differing from the first only by the words “please” and “squeeze” heard in the first two dramatic breaks of the final four measures.  After the repeat of the ‘suspended animation’ aspect of the refrain, we conclude the song with a seeming repeat of the final eight measures of the verse, only it actually differs in the placement of the chord changes within the sentence structure of the title of the song as it’s repeated four times.  We then end the proceedings with two measures arranged specifically by The Beatles to create a performance ending to the song.  These two measures accentuate each beat of the time signature in triplet notes, which are repeated four times before ending with a breath-taking final chord and cymbal crash.  Top-notch!

Performance wise, this is a prime example of the synergy The Beatles create as all four of them perform at the top of their game, one member not shining above the others.  John and George create the perfect vocal harmonic force that drives the song throughout.  George, as it has been said about his early Beatle years, may have struggled with a limited vocal range, but sheer enthusiasm and devotion to The Miracles’ original version wins the day.  Johns’ portrayal of reluctant infatuation created through strength and intensely raw sincerity makes up for the subtle nuance of Smokey Robinsons’ brilliant original performance. Vocal strength alone wins out on this song.

But the musical performance brings it all home.  The combination of George Harrison’s lead guitar work and George Martin’s piano vamping create a perfect blend, especially noteworthy during the repeated introductory riff heard periodically in the song.  Lennon’s rhythm guitar work in painstakingly accurate as is Ringo’s excellent reading of the original.  Uniquely, McCartney doesn’t pine for the spotlight in this song; instead, he lays back, adds periodic harmony vocals and plays rudimentary but accurate bass lines which appear low in the mix.

Lyrically, the song is distinctive for it’s’ time in portraying the singer’s dependence on a relationship that is obviously not in his best interest.  He may be ‘done wrong’ and ‘treated badly,’ but he can’t help but ‘love her madly’ just the same.  The final verse even threatens to leave the relationship, saying he wants to “split,” but still acquiesces to his dependence on her.  An interesting play on words appears in the song, not unlike what Lennon and McCartney were prone to put in their own songs, centering on the word “hold.”  The power that the female character has on the singer is depicted throughout as the “hold” it has on him, while the refrain explains that all he wants her to do physically is to “hold” him.  No doubt, examples like this spurred the Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership to pursue similar ideas, as we can see throughout the Beatle years.

Please feel free to leave any comments or corrections and share these articles plus this blog's website with your friends, especially Beatles’ fans. You and they might also enjoy knowing more about my Love Songs CD and my novel, BEATLEMANIAC. Just click on the “My Shop” tab near the top of this page for full details.

Please Mr. Postman and Roll Over Beethoven, a double dose journey inside their incredible recording process advancements revealed here and now.

July 30th, 1963, opens the second recording session The Beatles had for their next British album “With The Beatles.”  The first session for the album on July 18th consisted entirely of cover songs, and they continued this trend in resurrecting a chestnut from their 1962 stage shows, “Please Mister Postman” (changing from “Mr.” on the original version).  This was the first of six songs The Beatles recorded on this day.

The morning session on this day ran from 10 am to 1:30 pm at EMI Studio Two, after which they left for Playhouse Theatre in London to rehearse and record a performance for the BBC radio show “Saturday Club.”  Based on the evidence that they were very familiar with “Please Mister Postman,” it was a pretty straightforward recording with all four musicians singing and playing live for seven straight takes.  Early takes of the song show them not breaking during the climactic vocal lines toward the end of the song (during “check it and see…” and “deliver the letta…”), so a decision must have seen the light (probably by George Martin) to accentuate these phrases by the time they recorded the seventh.

Since take seven deemed the keeper, overdubs followed to double-track John Lennon’s lead vocals, which took the takes to nine, then marked as ‘best.’  They recorded the song approximately from 10 to 11 am, thereby finishing the morning session with the much more difficult (and less familiar) original composition “It Won’t Be Long.”

The mono mix of the song was performed by George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick on August 21st, 1963 along with the rest of the tracks recorded thus far for the album.  The same studio team (along with the mysterious B.T.) waited until October 29th, 1963 to create the stereo mix of the song which was also done with the rest of the album (except for “Money (That’s What I Want),” which engineers created the next day).  These are the mono and stereo mixes that appeared in the US as well, albeit with some extra reverb added by the Capitol team.

Song Structure and Style

The structure for “Please Mister Postman” consists of a 'refrain/ verse/ verse/ refrain/ verse/ refrain' pattern (or abbaba) which is somewhat unique for The Beatles repertoire.  Preceding this pattern is a short introduction, and then an alternate refrain repeats three times after the pattern.  No solo or instrumental section felt required in this song.

What is quite common about this song in regards to pop music of the ’50s and early ’60s is the repeating four-chord pattern, which encompasses every section of the song (except the introduction).  Common as it may have been in pop music of that time, this pattern stood virtually ignored by the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team throughout their career.

The song begins with a hi-hat beat just before the one beat of the four-measure introduction, which signals Paul and George’s “Wait,” ushering in John’s lead vocals.  Only drums and a hint of bass are heard instrumentally in this introduction, which basically features John’s double-tracked vocals and Paul and George’s background vocals.

A short bass run introduces full instrumentation of the band in this first eight measure refrain, which actually features the background vocalists (Paul and George) singing the melody line while the lead vocalist (John) sings accentuating vocal lines, such as “oh yeah” and “please, please.”  The first two actual eight measure verses then follow, which allow the lead vocalist to tell his story as the background vocalists “ooh” in hushed tones to allow John center stage.

After the tune reaches an identical refrain, a third verse appears, which once again allows the lead singer to add to the story.  Another refrain then is heard, but this time the lead vocalist mostly sings with the background vocalists, accentuating his having to wait “such a long time” to hear from his girl.

This moves directly into three eight-measure alternate refrains which feature the key phrase “wait a minute” repeated by the lead and background vocalists.  The seventh and eighth measures of the first two alternate refrains present a rest for all guitars as the lead vocalist portrays the urgency of his request for a “letta” from the postman.  An interesting note is Lennon’s choosing to chop off the last syllable of the cute lyric “deliver the letta, the sooner the bet…” to allow for him to lead off the “wait a minute” melody line for a third alternate refrain.

This third alternate refrain simply repeats the “wait a minute” vocals in mostly three-part harmony, which then segues into what would be a fourth alternate refrain, except that the song immediately fades out before it can get very far.

In contrast to the playfulness of the original version, The Beatles steamroller the song from beginning to end.  From Ringo’s open hi-hat rhythm section, the clanging rhythm guitars from both John and George, to all three vocalists singing at the top of their range, push the transformed song into a rock and roll powerhouse.  The double-tracked urgency and desperation displayed by Lennon’s vocals, in many people’s minds, outdoes the original for sheer excitement.

The interplay between lead vocalist and background vocalists heard in this song is no doubt the inspiration to later Beatle arrangements such as “You’re Going To Lose That Girl,” “You Can’t Do That” and even “Help!”

Songwriter Georgia Dobbins has expressed that the lyrics are conveying the singers’ distraught appeal for the mailman to deliver a letter from her boyfriend who has been away at war.  Since The Beatles required a gender change in the lyrics, we can assume here that Lennon just really misses his girlfriend.

Next Song--Roll Over Beethoven:

The second recording session for their British album “With The Beatles” occurred on July 30th, 1963. They were in for the long haul that day, assigned to a morning session as well as an evening session, the latter running from 5 to 11 pm. It was in the middle of this evening session that The Beatles began and finished “Roll Over Beethoven,” one of three vocal contributions from George Harrison on their second British album.

At approximately 7 pm, after doing more work on “Money (That’s What I Want)” and totally re-making “Till There Was You,” The Beatles started work on “Roll Over Beethoven.” It took five takes of the full group, vocals and all, to perfect the song, take five considered as best. They then made two attempts of overdubbing onto take five, which accomplished double-tracking George’s lead vocals and adding handclaps throughout the song. These overdubs took the song to take seven. To complete the song, one edit piece was performed of the final guitar riff, which engineers edited onto take seven at a later date. This edit piece was considered ‘take eight.’ By approximately 8 pm, The Beatles had finished recording the song.

August 21st was the date chosen to attach the guitar riff of ‘take eight’ to the completed ‘take seven.’ After this occurred by George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick in EMI’s studio three, they then created the mono mix for the song as well as the seven other songs that had been completed so far for the new album. This is the mono mix heard on the British album but not on the American release.

On October 29th, 1963, the same EMI staff (with the mysterious engineer known only by the initials B.T.) reconvened in EMI’s studio three to mix the entire new Beatles album for stereo. This is the stereo version of the song heard on the American “Beatles’ Second Album,” although Capitol engineers decided to add extra reverb onto the recording to create a more ‘punchy’ sound. Instead of using the mono mix made on August 21st, Capitol created their own mono mix by combining both channels of the stereo mix into one frequency, which was standard practice at that time. The superior quality of the mono mix heard on the British release was not heard in the US until February 26th, 1987 with the release of “With The Beatles” on CD.

The Beatles entered the recording studio once more with “Roll Over Beethoven” on April 19th, 1964. This was in order to record the soundtrack to the British television show “Around The Beatles,” which aired on May 6th and June 8th by British TV. The audio recording took place between 10 am and 8:30 pm at London’s IBC Studios on three-track tape with Jack Good as producer and Terry Johnson and future Beatles producer Glyn Johns engineering. The version of the song recorded this day was a highly abbreviated version of the song, eliminating the third verse as well as both verses after the solo. This allowed the band to fit more performances into the television program.

August 23rd, 1964, signals the first date The Beatles played at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. They included "Roll Over Beethoven" in the set list this night, which Martin recorded for future inclusion on the album "The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl" in 1977.

Sometime between December 1 - 17, 1991, George Harrison and his band (including Eric Clapton) recorded the song live during their tour of Japan, the result later released on the album "Live In Japan" on July 14th, 1992.

Then on June 23rd, 1994, "Roll Over Beethoven" has been rumored to surface among a variety of songs that Paul, George, and Ringo had recorded and filmed at George's Friar Park home studio in Henley On Thames, England, for possible inclusion in the "Anthology" television special. This footage was not included in the program, and the audio still remains unreleased as of yet.  

Song Structure and Style

Like most other Chuck Berry songs, “Roll Over Beethoven” consists of a standard twelve-bar blues pattern repeated nine times. The first and fifth verses both fully consist of a guitar solo, while all the other seven are full vocal verses. As to song pattern, The Beatles version is almost a carbon copy of the original Chuck Berry version, right down to the guitar solos. As to style, The Beatles change it dramatically by lowering the key to D major, slowing it down somewhat, and playing it in a boogie-woogie style similar to later Chuck Berry classics like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Carol.” Harrison’s vocal delivery varies from the original as well, singing it in a more ‘in the pocket’ fashion (like “Johnny B. Goode”) instead of the looser rhythm sung by Berry himself on the original.

The Beatles version starts off with Harrison’s interpretation of Chuck Berry’s introductory guitar spot. While Harrison struggles to copy it note-for-note, as well as flubbing the defined four measures of the song’s introduction, he still puts in a suitable performance which, with the added reverb in the US mix, is an excellent beginning to an exciting American Beatles album. The Beatles know the song so well that they could easily discern when George finished his intro in order to come in perfectly on the fifth measure to complete the first instrumental verse.

The first vocal verse then begins, showing that Harrison is capable of an enthusiastic rock and roll vocal delivery just as much as Lennon or McCartney was. With the hard-driving drums, rollicking boogie-woogie rhythm guitar of Harrison and the insistent hand-clapping, the song shows the hallmark of professionalism right from the beginning.

The second and third vocal verses are identical musically except different lyrics and occasional “ooh” accents from McCartney. The fourth vocal verse, which begins “if you’re feeling like it,” is different in structure because of a change in the melody line, as well as a change in delivery with Ringo not utilizing the ride cymbals and just focusing on the snare and toms. This changes the beat and feel of this verse, which adds a nice variation to an otherwise repetitious structure.

We then enter into a guitar solo which is performed barely without flaw, unlike the original which is sloppy and with stray notes. At this point in The Beatles version, most listeners likely realize that they have eclipsed the original version by leaps and bounds, both in confidence and energy.

After the solo, we enter into a fourth and fifth vocal verse which are virtually identical to the earlier verses, although our interest holds firm by the interesting lyrics and confident vocal delivery. The sixth vocal verse then occurs, which he delivered in a punchier style with a climactic feel. The main difference is the phrase “Roll Over Beethoven” repeated five times throughout the verse helps signal the grand conclusion to this magnificent performance. Instead of ending with a ‘big finish’ with the full band, The Beatles tastefully decide to end on a final ringing D major chord played by Harrison alone.

Also note how closely The Beatles mimic the original in the tenth bar of the final verse where they cut the measure in half as Berry (probably mistakenly) does the same thing. In their allegiance to “rock and roll,” they wanted to stay as close to the original as possible, just as they had done throughout their formative Cavern/Hamburg years. (An example of this would be they’re purposely flubbing the measure count in “That’s All Right Mama” on their "Live At The BBC" performance to keep with the mistake Elvis made on the original Sun recording, viewing this flub as ‘sacred ground.’)

The overall lyrical message of the song was that the popular rhythm and blues music of the day would cause Beethoven actually to roll over in his grave, then adding the request for Lugwig to “tell Tchaikovsky the news” that rhythm and blues music has now replaced classical forever.

Although “rocking and rolling” did appear in the lyrics to the song, the transition to rock and roll music had yet to define itself fully. Rhythm and blues ushered in the proposed replacement to classical music according to this song. Other song references appear in the lyrics, such as Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes,” Louis Jordans’ “Early In The Morning” (later covered by Harry Nilsson) and the line “hey diddle, diddle” from the nursery rhyme “The Cat In The Fiddle.” Future songs were influenced by the lyrics as well, such as “Rockin’ Pneumonia” by Huey (Piano) Smith and “A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues” by Arthur Alexander.

Other interesting tidbits in the lyrics include writing “a little letter” to a disc jockey to request a song on the radio, which definitely predates the use of calling in a request by phone. He obviously won’t “hear it again today” since it’ll be a day or so before the DJ gets the letter. The phrase “rhythm review” doesn’t translate well to later generations, but it actually refers to old-style R&B shows featuring many artists performing in front of a big band. The phrase “a trifle further,” which translates into ‘a little bit more,’ was somewhat of a tongue-twister for Harrison as well as others who covered the song.

Another interesting fact about the lyrics is that they unfold a song about itself. This is evident within the first verse where the singer is requesting his “local DJ” to play a song on the radio, which in fact is the song currently sung on the station’s program.

Performance wise, Harrison shines the brightest with his most competent guitar and vocal delivery to date. Ringo would come next with his exuberant drilling drum work, complete with his characteristic off-beat drum fills. Both Lennon and McCartney play confidently at their respective instruments, taking a backseat to let the audience know that this was Harrison’s feature on the album (or show). 

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