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This is my first ever blog, so I'm not really sure what I'm doing  . I guess I'll learn as I go along.
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| Twist & Shout Album: Please Please Me, 1963 Lead vocalist: John Lyrics ▼ This song wasn’t written by The Beatles; it is an Isely Brothers song. But the Beatles really made this their own. John’s vocals on the album recording of this song are, possibly, the sexiest, raunchiest vocals I’ve ever heard from any singer ever. Oh, my word. His voice sounds raw and rugged and, well ... so darn sexy. I heard an interview where they said that this song was the last one the boys recorded at the end of a twelve-hour recording session in which they recorded the entirety of ‘Please Please Me.’ They knew that this song ripped John’s voice to shreds, so they had to leave it until the end of the session and record it in one take. John had been sucking throat sweets all day to try to make sure he could sing it, and the result is one heck of a fine piece of singing. And the “Oohs” from Paul and George add to the incredibly upbeat, fun-filled song. So, come on. Twist and shake your stuff!  |
| Yesterday Album: Help!, 1965 Lead vocalist: Paul Lyrics ▼ I state that Paul is the lead vocalist, but he’s also the only Beatle to perform on this song. It was the first time the band had recorded a song as one person only, but none of the other three felt they had anything they could add to it. George Martin did convince Paul to allow a string quartet to be dubbed onto the recording. Apparently, it took some effort to persuade Paul to do that. And the result: the most recorded song in music history. I love the story of where this song came from. Paul was staying in Jane Asher’s parents’ loft room at the time. He awoke one morning with the tune for ‘Yesterday’ in his head, and he assumed it was some old song he’d heard as a kid. He asked everyone he knew what the song was, and nobody else had heard of it. Finally, after a couple of weeks, Paul realised he must have dreamt it up in his sleep. So he tinkered with it (driving the other band members half-crazy with it), struggling to find the lyrics. For quite a while, the song was called ‘Scrambled Eggs’ because he just couldn’t figure out the lyrics. All he had was, “Scrambled eggs, baby how I love your legs,” which really makes me chuckle. Eventually, the lyrics he did write were haunting, absolutely beautiful. This is a song about lost love, on the face of it. A man who wishes he could turn back time and change the inevitable. Who hasn’t been there before? But then, there is the other side of the lyrics. The side that made me appreciate the song on a whole other level. And the side that Paul only acknowledges now was probably a subconscious meaning. Paul’s mum died of breast cancer when he was fourteen. His parents had never spoken of her illness. Paul and his brother were told their mum was going to the hospital for tests. But she never came home again. So, “Why she had to go, I don’t know, she didn’t say” makes perfect sense in relation to that. Also, Paul says that he had heard his parents talking about money and saying that his mum was the breadwinner (she was a nurse) and his dad didn’t earn much money at all. At his mother’s funeral, standing by her graveside, Paul asked his dad what they were going to do for money. It sounded mercenary, heartless, and he was deeply ashamed of it afterwards. And so, “I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday” also makes perfect sense. Is this people trying to read too much into it? I don’t know. Paul does accept that these events happened, so maybe it was a subconscious inclusion. It definitely makes me feel even sadder than I did before when I listened to this. |
| While My Guitar Gently Weeps Album: The White Album, 1968 Lead vocalist: George Lyrics ▼ I think it’s fair to say George had well-and-truly matched John and Paul’s songwriting genius at by point. This is a song that never fails to make me feel emotional. I love the sentiment that is reflected through both the lyrics and the music. And Eric Clapton’s guitar solo is sublime. The guitar isn’t merely weeping, it’s sobbing its heart out. The moans at the end of the song are just perfect, also. This really is a feat of songwriting genius. And that, my friends, is a fact  |
| No Reply Album: Beatles For Sale, 1964 Lead vocalist: John Lyrics ▼ I love the darkness about this song. It’s very relatable: that moment when you realise you’ve been played, been cast aside for another. And the melody is very catchy. Those handclaps: oh, wow. I love those handclaps. I think I mentioned before (maybe) how I sometimes (often) become obsessed with tiny parts of songs. Well, in this song, the handclaps are it. I love how all four Beatles are credited with them. John wrote this song, although Paul claims to have written the middle eight. I’m not sure whether John would agree with this if he were alive today. The way they remembered their writing, individually, tended to differ from time to time. But, whoever wrote it — and I suspect it was a joint effort — I love it. |
| Girl Album: Rubber Soul, 1965 Lead vocalist: John Lyrics ▼ At the risk of sounding repetitive: I adore this song! For a long time, it was my favourite Beatles song. I know, it’s kind of a weird one to be a favourite, but there is one reason for this: the way John sucks in his breath in the chorus after singing, “Girl.” Oh. My. Days. There’s something about that that sounds so intimate, so personal. It’s like John is sitting next to me singing and breathing like that. It’s also very tongue-in-cheek, and I can imagine the playfulness on his face as he does it. And that is why I’ve included this song. It’s a cheeky little number. |
| A Day In The Life Album: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967 Lead vocalist: John & Paul Lyrics ▼ I adore this song! John always claimed it was one of his, and I think, probably, that was true. It was he who had the inspiration for the song, he wrote the main part of the song. But Paul came along and added his happier, more upbeat section that complemented so well John’s original parts that it blows the song into another universe. So, in reality, this song wouldn’t be as great as it is without Paul’s contribution. Which makes it a good example of the magic that could happen when these two songwriters worked together. I read that John got inspiration for the song from newspaper articles. He read the papers every day and was often inspired by stories he noticed. The main story here, though, was more personal than most. Tara Browne, a friend of both Paul and John, had died in a car crash. He was the heir to the Guinness Empire, and he had crashed into a parked vehicle at high speed. It was an accident, though. Not like the person in the song. He also read an article saying there were four thousand potholes in the roads in Blackburn, Lancashire, and so he referenced that in the song. I just have to give a nod to Ringo’s drumming in this song. Once again, it is deceptively difficult. I get annoyed when people say Ringo wasn’t a great drummer. Like, have they ever really listened to him, tried to do what he does? He is exceptional. (Slightly subjective) fact. |
| Two Of Us Album: Let It Be Lead vocalist: Paul Lyrics ▼ For me, this song is all about the beat. That constant, driving beat. I’ve tried drumming along to this song, and, trust me, it’s not as easy as you might think. But the rhythm is what makes it. That, and the ‘John & Paul’ magic. Here, they are completely together. They work off one another, and if you watch the whole of the ‘Get Back’ films, you can see them literally singing it into each other’s eyes. Maybe I’m looking through rose-tinted windows, but that’s what I see. And the lines that stand out, bring a lump to my throat every time, are, “You and I have memories, Longer than the road that stretches out ahead.” Paul’s voice is so plaintive in this part, he sounds vulnerable, almost fragile. I think it hints at what he was feeling at the time. His best friend — the person who knew him better than anyone else in the world — was drifting away. |
| Octopus’s Gargen Album: Abbey Road, 1969 Lead vocalist: Ringo Lyrics ▼ I include this song in your list of prompts because, well, I just love it. It is goofy, funny, catchy. Exactly the kind of song that can make me smile whenever I’m feeling a bit blue. It’s so silly, so much fun. If you ever watch the ‘Get Back’ films by Peter Jackson, you will see Ringo come into the studio with this bit of a tune with a few lyrics in his head. He plays on the piano what he has for George, who then steps in with guitar and helps to fill out the bits that weren’t complete and that Ringo was struggling with. The two of them work so well together, and it seems like they have a wonderful relationship. So that always makes me smile about this song, also. Enjoy! |
| Things We Said Today Album: A Hard Day’s Night, 1964 Lead Vocalist: Paul Lyrics ▼ I love the sentimental, all-is-happy feeling of this song. Most of all, I love the harmonies. I thought it was John harmonising with Paul, and when they sang it live, I believe it was. However, I read something recently that said Paul double tracked his vocals. This gives the song a smooth, light feeling and, to be honest, the lyrics could be about anything. The song would still feel the same. It’s just a light, easy track. |
| Get Back Album: Let It Be, 1970 Lead Vocalist: Paul Lyrics ▼ I adore this song! It is so catchy, with the most fantastic guitar riff from John. It’s a song that, for me, has it all. And I love this video, filmed during The Beatles’ final ever live performance, on the top of the Apple Studios in London on 30th January, 1969. I love the little looks between John and Paul and the genuine smiles and enjoyment between them. It’s hard to believe that just a year later their relationship would be in ruins, with the group having disbanded forever. I’ve read a few interviews where Paul says he wrote this song as a satirical look at the mounting tension in the UK over immigration. The ‘get back’ referred to the view of politicians who didn’t care to help immigrants who needed our help. I think it’s pretty relevant still today. Interestingly, when John was in his 'getting back at Paul' phase, he said that Paul wrote the song about Yoko because he wanted her to get back. He even said that when Paul sang the song in the ‘Get Back’ sessions, he would stare at Yoko as he sang the words. But I’ve watched that footage many times, and it seems to me John was pretty paranoid. I see no hint of Paul staring at Yoko. ‘Let It Be’ was the last album the group released. They released it in May 1970, a month after their breakup. The majority of the album was recorded in 1969, and ‘Abbey Road’ was actually the last album they recorded together. But this is their official last studio album. And it’s a corker! |
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