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This page is a miniscule look at material typically found in the book Songs of The Beatles' Please Please Me Period.
This Period marks the birth of the Beatles' recording career. It starts with their first recording session and exteneds through the recording of their first album (LP).
The previous six years had seen the birth of the band and its development from quite poor to one of the best in their home town of Liverpool, England. They attracted the attention of Brian Epstein, who became the band's manager. (They were the first band he ever managed.) Brian approached - and was rejected by - virtually every record company around London until he met producer George Martin. Martin was head of Parlophone, a record label owned by EMI. He agreed to audition the Beatles, the date of that audition marking the start of the Please Please Me Period.
Three records containing 14 songs were released from this Period. (Another four songs were recorded but went unreleased.) The first was a single which was noteworthy in that the band composed both songs. The single (also called a "45") was marginally successful, briefly entering the UK record charts. Their second single also contained two originals written by Lennon & McCartney. It was a #1 hit on the charts, an impressive accomplishment for a new act.
The success of the single demanded an album be recorded and released to take advantage of the 45's popularity. Producer George Martin booked the Beatles into an EMI studio for one day to record enough songs to fill out an album which included the four songs on the first two singles. The Beatles' debut LP was named after the hit song, Please Please Me.| UK45-1 1962 October 05 |
UK45-2 1963 January 11 |
Please Please Me (UKLP-1) 1963 March 22 |
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It was standard practice in 1963 for a band to have a hit record before they could make an album. The Beatles were treated no differently. They had to have a hit single before they could make their first LP. As it turned out, it took them only two records to make the grade.
Another Lennon/McCartney original, but this one turned into a #1 hit. Producer George Martin knew it was a hit as soon as the recording was finished, and started planning what LP they could record to capitalize on it.
George Martin: "Once we had our first number one under our belt with 'Please Please Me', Brian and I worked out a grand plan of campaign. A single would be released every three months and an album every six. I quickly realized I had to have an album. I knew the boys had a big repertoire from the Cavern and from their knowledge of American records. I said: 'I'll just record everything you've got.' That's how the first album was made. We started at ten in the morning and finished at eleven at night. We recorded eleven tracks."
The Beatles were extremely experienced live entertainers who gave exciting performances. Martin wanted to capture that energy on record. The Beatles appeared regularly at a cramped, underground bar called The Cavern Club, where they had a loyal following. Martin visited the Cavern in December in hopes of taping a live performance there as their first LP, but the acoustics were horribly unrecordable. They would have to go into the studio.
A studio date was made for 1963 February 11. The Beatles were in the middle of a tour, backing up Helen Shapiro. They took Sunday off from the tour to prepare for Monday's session in London.LPs were not "works of art" - they were made to take advantage of a hit single. The hit single was put an LP that had the same name as the hit song, and the rest of the LP was filler - songs that didn't matter. It was made as cheaply as possible to make as much profit as possible.
Producer George Martin was willing to bend the unwritten rules a bit. All the songs needed to fill the album (10) would have to be recorded in one day. However, Martin was willing to extend the session into the evening if necessary. He would further bend the rules by letting Beatles record Lennon and McCartney originals for the album, unheard of at that time.
Recording started on Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. It was winter, the Beatles had been touring as a warm-up group to Helen Shapiro, and they all had colds. John's was especially bad. But illness would not stand in the way of the Beatles recording their first LP.
Since the album was to reflect their live performances, the songs would be those the Beatles usually played live. They played songs for George Martin, who said "yes" or "no" to including that song on the LP.
Martin had decided when he first signed the Beatles that no one Beatle would be the star. He liked them as a group, so the songs were picked to highlight the abilities of the group. Every song had at least two Beatles singing on it, but one could come to the fore to sing a section. That's what "lead" vocal means in this context. Martin also thought John's harmonica gave the band a unique sound that should be included:
| Features | Song |
|---|---|
| John | Anna, Baby It's You, Twist & Shout, Ask Me Why |
| Paul | I Saw Her Standing There, A Taste Of Honey |
| George | Do You Want To Know A Secret |
| Ringo | Boys |
| Harmonica | Chains, There's A Place, Love Me Do, Please Please Me |
Over the course of the day, songs were recorded in this order:
| Song | Original | Cover |
|---|---|---|
| There's A Place | L&M | |
| I Saw Her Standing There ("17") | L&M | |
| A Taste Of Honey | cover | |
| Do You Want To Know A Secret | L&M | |
| Misery | L&M | |
| Hold Me Tight | L&M | |
| Anna (Go To Him) | cover | |
| Boys | cover | |
| Chains | cover | |
| Baby It's You | cover | |
| Twist And Shout | cover |
George Martin was in complete control of the contents of this album. He picked the songs, oversaw the editing and mixing, and determined the order the songs appeared on each side (the "running order"). Martin believed an album should start with an upbeat song, which may be one of the reasons he put the fastest song on the LP first.
| Song | Side-Cut | Composer | Vocal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side 1 | |||
| I Saw Her Standing There | 1-1 | L&M | Paul (John backing) |
| Misery | 1-2 | L&M | Duet: John & Paul |
| Anna (Go To Him) | 1-3 | cover | John (Paul & George backing) |
| Chains | 1-4 | cover | George (John, Paul & George backing) |
| Boys | 1-5 | cover | Ringo (John, Paul &George backing) |
| Ask Me Why | 1-6 | L&M | John (Paul & George backing) |
| Please Please Me | 1-7 | L&M | John (Paul & George backing) |
| Side 2 | |||
| Love Me Do | 2-1 | L&M | Duet: John & Paul |
| P.S. I Love You | 2-2 | L&M | Paul (John & George backing) |
| Baby It's You | 2-3 | cover | John (Paul & George backing) |
| Do You Want To Know A Secret | 2-4 | L&M | George (John & Paul backing) |
| A Taste Of Honey | 2-5 | cover | Paul ballad (John & George backing) |
| There's A Place | 2-6 | L&M | Duet: John & Paul |
| Twist And Shout | 2-7 | cover | John (Paul & George backing) |
I Saw Her Standing There
by Lennon & McCartney
Paul sings lead.
A Wonderful Start! The very first thing on the Beatles very first LP was the "count-in" to the first song on side one, the "1, 2, 3, faw" leading in to 'I Saw Her Standing There'. When recording, every song has a count-in (so the band starts the song together), but it's always mixed out so it's not heard on the record. But someone came up with the idea to start the LP this way, and Martin did it. Further, we now know that Martin took the count-in from a different take than was on the LP - he specifically took the best count-in (from take 9), and spliced it in front of the best take of the complete song (take 1 of 3).
The handclaps, which added excitement to the song, were overdubbed.
This song was called "17" on studio documentation through the final mixing session. Exactly when the released name was chosen is unknown, but it was probably George Martin's decision.Misery
by Lennon & McCartney
Anna (Go To Him)
by Arthur Alexander
Chains
by Gerry Goffin & Carole King
Boys
by Lennon & McCartney
Ask Me Why
by Lennon & McCartney
'Ask Me Why' was one of four songs recorded at the Beatles' first recording session on 62Jun06. This version was not released. A proper recording was made during the same session during which 'Please Please Me' was recorded.
This song was written in the Spring of 1962 by John and Paul, and is credited mostly to John.Please Please Me
by Lennon & McCartney
When Martin first heard The Beatles' demo tape, two things that caught his attention:
George Martin: "There was an unusual quality of sound, a certain roughness that I hadn't encountered before. There was also the fact that more than one person was singing, which in itself was unusual."
Martin highlighted those features on side two.Love Me Do
by Lennon & McCartney
Side Two starts with the two songs off the Beatles' first single. Although the first song on Side Two doesn't seem to fit George Martin's design of starting with an upbeat song, it is, in fact, the second fastest song on the LP (Song one on side one is the fastest).
This version of 'Love Me Do' has Andy White playing drums. Ringo is playing tambourine.
When released in the US, 'Love Me Do' reached #1.P.S. I Love You
by Lennon & McCartney
Paul sings lead, and we hear him ad-libbing during the second B-section - a definite Paul tendency.
Andy White is playing drums on this song. Ringo is playing maracas. These first two songs on side two not only had a non-Beatle playing drums, both were produced by Ron Richards, not George Martin. George Martin produced the rest of the album as well as the rest of the Beatles' studio career.
When released in the US, 'P.S. I Love You' reached #10.Baby It's You
by Hal David, Burt Bacharach, and Barney Williams
Cover version of a girl-group song done by The Shirelles.
John sings lead, backed by Paul and George. In was the next-to-last song recorded, so John was vocally warming up to do 'Twist And Shout' (though he didn't know it at the time).
George's guitar solo in the middle is doubled by a celeste overdubbed by George Martin after the session.Do You Want To Know A Secret
by Lennon & McCartney
George sings lead with John and Paul singing back-up.
John wrote the song, inspired by a song in the Walt Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He wrote it soon after getting married while living an a new apartment with his wife. One should not assume the song is about his wife.A Taste Of Honey
by Ric Marlow and Bobby Scott ©1960
Cover song from a musical play by the same name.
Paul sings lead - twice! (He's double-tracked.) John and George sing backup.
The girls in the audience liked it when Paul sang this sappy kind of stuff. It's a credit to John and George that they pitched in and made the song as good as possible, regardless of how they felt.
They were rewarded, however, not only with many more female fans, but the tacit approval of parents everywhere. While other rock acts played songs that adults didn't like, or even found threatening, hearing and seeing The Beatles performs songs like 'A Taste Of Honey' and 'Till There Was You' gave adults access to the band.There's A Place
by Lennon & McCartney
The lead writer of this song is disputed. John thought he wrote it while trying to do a Motown kind of song. Paul thought he lead the writing, inspired by a song from the musical West Side Story.
Duet sung by John and Paul. Personally I don't care much for this song. But at least one other author thinks it's one of the best songs on the LP. This is the strength of the Beatles song selection - it appeals to a broad audience, honed by years of stage experience.Twist And Shout
by Bert Russell and Phil Medley
John sings lead.
At 10:00pm, everyone took a break to decide what the last song should be. There are various stories floating around, but a newspaper account at that time from a reporter who was there says that 'Twist And Shout' wasn't initially being considered. Once suggested, all agreed it would be good IF John could get through it.
'Twist And Shout', as it appears on the album, it the first take, live, with no edits, overdubs, or any studio tricks. The last song of the day was the last song on the album. An bit of trivia: Paul started the LP with the count-in to 'I Saw Her Standing There'. You can also hear Paul in the deep background yelling a satisfied "yeah" as the band lands on the final note.
An Astounding Ending!