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1964 October 26-1965 June 17
rev: 2012May24
This page is a miniscule look at material typically found in the book Songs of The Beatles' Help Period.
The previous period (Beatles For Sale) was highlighted by The Beatles first tour of America. They'd had a brief fisit in 64Feb to appear on The Ed Sullivam Show and played a couple concerts, but that was it. This time they toured the country, and the highlight of tour was getting high on marijuana for the first time. As they moved into the Help Period, they moved into a lifestyle that now included extensive use of pot. That is, Help! can be considered the Beatles first pot LP.
The Period began with the continuation of a tour of the United Kingdom, during which The Beatles finished recording Beatles For Sale. After the tour concluded, they had a light schedule for six weeks, until their year-end series of Christmas shows (two shows a day for three weeks).
Recording for the new LP and film, Help!, began 65Feb15 with 'Ticket To Ride', 'Another Girl', and 'I Need You'. Several songs needed to be completed so the band would have music to lip-sync and move to during filming. Filming began 65Feb23 in the Bahamas, then moved to Austria, then finally to England, ending 65May11. Five more songs were recorded between scenes in England.
The last songs for Help! were recorded on 65Jun17, including 'Yesterday'.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1964 Oct 26 | Record last songs of the Beatles For Sale Period. |
| 1964 Oct 09 - Nov 10 | 1964 UK Tour. |
| 1964 Nov 06 | Release UK EP, Extracts From The Film A Hard Day's Night |
| 1964 Nov 06 | Release UK EP, Extracts From The Album A Hard Day's Night |
| 1964 Nov 23 | Release US LP The Beatles Story. |
| 1964 Nov 27 | Release UK 45-, 'I Feel Fine' / 'She's A Woman'. |
| 1964 Dec 04 | Release UK LP-4, Beatles For Sale |
| 1964 Dec 24 - 1965 Jan 16 | The Beatles perform two shows daily for their Christmas Shows. |
| 1964 Dec 15 | Release US LP , Beatles '65 |
| 1965 Feb 11 | Ringo gets married. |
| 1965 Feb 15-20 | Record 11 songs. |
| 1965 Feb 22-May 11 | Filming of the movie Help! in the Bahamas, Austria, then England. |
| 1965 Apr 06 | Release UK EP , Beatles For Sale |
| 1965 Apr 09 | Release UK 45, 'Ticket To Ride"'/ 'Yes It Is' |
| 1965 Apr 06 | Release UK EP , Beatles For Sale (No. 2) |
| 1965 Jun 12 | It is announced The Beatles will be awarded MBEs by the Queen. |
| 1965 Jun 17 | Record last songs of the Help Period. |
Details on all the sessions and releases are in the book Songs of The Beatles' Help Period.
Twenty songs were recorded during the Help Period. Fourteen were released on the Help! LP, two more were on two singles, two were held back (from release in the U.K.), and two were not released during the Beatles' career.
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UK45-9 1965 April 09 |
UK45-10 1965 July 23 |
Help! (UKLP-5) 1965 August 06 |
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"Brian and I worked out a grand plan of campaign. A single would be released every three months and an album every six." - George Martin, producer of the Beatles.
The plan was working during the Beatles For Sale Period but had slipped to a single every four months. They had released the single 'Can't Buy Me Love'/'You Can't Do That' in March, 'A Hard Day's Night'/'Things We Said Today' in July, then 'I Feel Fine'/'She's A Woman' in November. They had released A Hard Day's Night in July, then Beatles For Sale in December.
1964 Oct 08, 18: Record songs for the next single, 'I Feel Fine'/'She's A Woman'.
Actually, 'Eight Days A Week' (recorded 64Oct06) was expected to be on the next single, but
'I Feel Fine' came out so well it went on the A-side. (Session details and where to
hear these recordings are listed in the book.)
1964 Nov 27: Release 'I Feel Fine'/'She's A Woman'
The Beatles' seventh straight #1 UK single. (Chart details are in the book.)
1964 Aug11-Oct26: Record songs for their fourth LP, Beatles For Sale
Recording of the Beatles' fourth album, Beatles For Sale, was completed on 1964 October 26 with the recording of
'Honey Don't' and some cleanup of 'What You're Doing'. (Session details and where to hear these recordings are listed in
the book.) This marked the end of the Beatltes For Sale Period and the start of the Help Period.
1964 December 04: Beatles For Sale released.
This LP entered the charts on 64Dec09 at #1. It remained in the Top 10 LP chart for six straight weeks, returning to #1
for another three weeks on 65Apr21. (Chart details are in the book.)
Released: 1965 April 09
Ticket To Ride
see Ticket To Ride on the Help! LP.
Yes It Is
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John Lennon
The song was John's inspiration - a re-write of 'This Boy' - written by both John and Paul. It features three-part harmony and the use of volume swells on George's guitar (it's debatable whether a pedal was used or if John twisted the volume control on George's guitar).
Released: 1965 April 09
Help!
see 'Help!' on the Help! LP.
I'm Down
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John Lennon
Written mostly by Paul, inspired by Little Richard songs. The Beatles had been closing their shows with 'Long Tall Sally', and Paul thought he should write a song of their own to close with.
This was the second song recorded on the Paul's triple-threat session where he taped 'I've Just Seen A Face', 'I'm Down', and 'Yesterday', one after the other.
Recorded: 1965 February 15-June 17
Released: 1965 August 06
The Help! sessions started on 1965 Feb 15 with 'Ticket To Ride', 'Another Girl', and 'I Need You'. They recorded daily for six days, then rested one day before flying to the Bahamas to start filming Help!. They carried with them mixes of eleven new songs to be considered for use in the film.
Help!
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John Lennon
Written mostly by John, and was one of his favorite Beatles songs. Said to be about his emotional state at the time. The song makes extensive use of a counter-melody for the first time in a Beatles song.
The Night Before
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: .
Written mostly or entirely by Paul. Neither John nor Paul had much to say about it, so we can consider it to be album filler.
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John.
Written entirely by John, inspired by Bob Dylan in a similar way that Paul was inspired by Little Richard. In John's case, the inspiration was lyrical in that Dylan showed John it was okay to write about his personal feelings instead of making up stories. John started the new technique with 'I'm A Loser' on Beatles For Sale, extending it here.
I Need You
by George Harrison
Lead vocal: George Harrison
Up to this time, George had written just one song, 'Don't Bother Me', on the Beatles' second LP, With The Beatles. It appears John and Paul were running short of songs, so were more open to letting George contribute. This was one of two Harrison songs on this LP.
Another Girl
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Paul.
Written by Paul while on vacation in Tunisia with his girlfriend Jane Asher. One might suspect the couple were having issues.
You're Going To Lose That Girl
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John.
Like 'The Night Before', neither John nor Paul had much to say about this album filler, although John took credit for writing it. It was the next-to-last song written before the Beatles lfet for the Bahamas, so it may have been a rush-job to have songs for the film.
Ticket To Ride
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John Lennon
Written by John and Paul. Paul was particularly fond of the ending, which was like a mini-song in itself.
Act Naturally
Music by Johnny Russell. Words by Vonnie Morrison.
Lead vocal: Ringo
Ringo typically got to sing one lead vocal on each LP, so this was his shot. John and Paul normally put of writing a song for Ringo until near the end of the sessions, and this was no different. But the song they presented, 'If You've Got Trouble', turned out so poorly they were forced to look elsewhere. Ringo picked this song from a Buck Owens recording.
It's Only Love
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: John.
John took full credit for writing a song he hated, but Paul recalls writing some 40% of this song. Some consider "high" in the lyrics to being about drugs, but I think in this case it refers to a natural high.
You Like Me Too Much
by George Harrison
Lead vocal: George Harrison.
George's second contribution to this LP. He had no comment on the origins or writing of either song, so we're left to wonder. John played the electric piano, a Pianet.
Tell Me What You See
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: duet by John & Paul.
Written by Paul. Again, neither Paul nor John had much to say about what appears to be more album filler. This time Paul played the Pianet electric piano.
I've Just Seen A Face
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Paul.
Written totally by Paul as a sort of country and western number. It was one of Paul's favorite Beatle songs. There are at least three different guitars on this track: six-string acoustic, 12-string acoustic, and six-string electric. It was the first song recorded on the Paul's triple-threat session where he recorded, this song, 'I'm Down', and 'Yesterday', one after the other.
Yesterday
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Paul.
Written exclusively by Paul. The music came to him one morning when he rolled out of bed and instinctively played it on his bedside piano. It took him weeks or months to write the words, depending on who you ask. It is the Beatles song most recorded by other artists.
It was the last song recorded on the Paul's triple-threat session where he taped 'I've Just Seen A Face', 'I'm Down', and 'Yesterday', one after the other.
Dizzy Miss Lizzy
by Larry Williams
Lead vocal: John.
This song was recorded, along with 'Bad Boy', specifically to give to Capitol Records in the US so they would have enough songs to fill an LP ( Beatles VI).
Bad Boy
by Larry Williams
Lead vocal: John.
This song was recorded, along with 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy', specifically to give to Capitol Records in the US so they would have enough songs to fill an LP ( Beatles VI). It was released in the UK as the only unreleased song on the LP A Collection Of Beatles Oldies.
Wait
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Duet by John & Paul.
This song was recorded but not used on this LP. The basic tracks were used for overdubs when they needed a song for the next LP, Rubber Soul.
If You've Got Trouble
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Ringo
This was supposed to be Ringo's lead vocal song for thte Help! LP but the recording was so weak it was abandoned. The is, the band just couldn't get behind the song. As George Harrison assessed, "It's got stupid words and is the naffest song".
That Means A Lot
by Lennon & McCartney
Lead vocal: Paul
Written by John and Paul for the film Help! but it wasn't accepted.
Copyright ©2002, 2008-09,11 by Ken Westover at Cliff Canyon Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
This material may not be distributed without the written permission of the author.
E-mail questions or comments to cliffcan@indra.com.
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