Love Me Do

[vgonis]

Right on the money! I like them too. One of the 2 CDs I bought from the remasters series. (The other being MMT) I also like anthology series, with no.3 being the best. So, songs from there are great and were vetoed by the Beatles for official release back then!!!

[twm]

I got sent this. I love it. Others may not:

http://www.intelligentmedia.com/viewmedia/b1be814d-0261-4c72-b071-75cae115904b_629_14t.html

MMT (the song) as the audio with a slightly different video - from the end of a BBC football programme.

[twm]

According to Ian MacDonald's book "Revolution In The Head", LOVE ME DO was written by the 16-year old McCartney in 1958, whilst playing truant from the Liverpool Institute one day. He showed it to his friend John Lennon who "may have contributed the middle eight". McCartney later suggested it was a 50:50 Lennon/McCartney composition.

McDoanld describes the lyrics as "perfunctory" and adds that it was unusual for the time being mostly based on two chords (G and C), whereas pop songs of the era were usually based on three. He goes on that is was "extraordinarily raw by the standards of the time, standing out from the tame fare offered on the (BBC) Light Programme and Radio Luxembourg". He also refers to it as "cunning", in the way it introduced The Beatles to the general public and he mentions Lennon's "passionate overblowing" on "wailing harmonica".  He describes LOVE ME DO as "heralding a change in the tone of post-war British life matched by" DR. NO (the James Bond film) and the airing of THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS on BBC Television. I would add the appearance on newsstands of PRIVATE EYE. I bought my first copy in December 1962, when it was a couple of months old.

As for the April-May 1962 date for LOVE ME DO, Pete Best recalls it first appearing during The Beatles third visit to Hamburg (which was in that period) and Ian MacDonald suggests that Pete Best may have thought it a new song, not realising that it was actually written earlier.

[JF]

the french TV channel "ARTE" has scheduled almost a whole day about the fab' four :

sunday 21/10/2012 : 8 documentaries or films from 15h20 to 0h50 !


http://www.arte.tv/fr/programmes/72,week=43,year=2012.html


will try to record all, but not sure if I have enough space on my freebox....

[vgonis]

twm, thank you for the info. I was reading this other book by Steve Turner"A hard day's write" that suggests that the famous and distinctive harmonica sound of Love me do (Please, please me and From me to you) was actually triggered by Dilbert McLindon who was playing a harmonica solo in "Hey baby" by Bruce Channel (excuse any mistakes in the names, I have to translate back to English). He met McLindon in June 1962 and they hung around a bit and Lennon was so interested in the harmonica that he got and carried around one in his pocket  during that time. So probably Love me do was not complet with the harmonica solo and all and that is why I got the impression that it was a brand new song.

[twm]

Bruce Chanel had had a UK hit with "Hey! Baby!" in the spring of 1962 that had a "similar harmonica", which was played by Delbert McClinton:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delbert_McClinton

The Beatles shared a bill with Bruce Chanel and McClinton at the Tower Ballroom, in Wallasey, on 21st JUne 1962. Apart from Lennon liking the harmonica sound, McClinton was  born in Lubbock, Texas, which, as the home of Buddy Holly, would surely have intrigued McCartney - assuming he knew about it.

All of this information comes from the book by Ian MacDonald, who detects the influence of Buddy Holly in one part of McCartney's vocal in LOVE ME DO.

MacDonald says LOVE ME DO was recorded three times by The Beatles:

 6 June 1962 audition - with Pete Best on drums (on ANTHOLOGY 1) Note: Lennon sings against his overdubbed harmonica
 4 September 1962 - with Ringo on drums
11 September 1962 - with Andy White on drums

Mark Lewisohn (THE COMPLETE BEATLES CHRONICLES) says that the initial pressings of the single used the 4 September recording but later pressings of the single and the PLEASE PLEASE ME album used the 11 September recording (and is thus the standard version).

[JF]

Bruce Chanel had had a UK hit with "Hey! Baby!" in the spring of 1962 that had a "similar harmonica", which was played by Delbert McClinton:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delbert_McClinton

The Beatles shared a bill with Bruce Chanel and McClinton at the Tower Ballroom, in Wallasey, on 21st JUne 1962. Apart from Lennon liking the harmonica sound, McClinton was  born in Lubbock, Texas, which, as the home of Buddy Holly, would surely have intrigued McCartney - assuming he knew about it.

All of this information comes from the book by Ian MacDonald, who detects the influence of Buddy Holly in one part of McCartney's vocal in LOVE ME DO.

MacDonald says LOVE ME DO was recorded three times by The Beatles:

 6 June 1962 audition - with Pete Best on drums (on ANTHOLOGY 1) Note: Lennon sings against his overdubbed harmonica
 4 September 1962 - with Ringo on drums
11 September 1962 - with Andy White on drums

Mark Lewisohn (THE COMPLETE BEATLES CHRONICLES) says that the initial pressings of the single used the 4 September recording but later pressings of the single and the PLEASE PLEASE ME album used the 11 September recording (and is thus the standard version).

so I wasn't completely wrong, there is at least one version with Pete Best on drums 

did you know that there are 2 other songs with no Ringo on drums : Back in the USSR and Dear prudence, which feature Paul on drums

and of course many tracks without drums : because, julia, etc..... and I will (on which Paul sings and play all parts)

[twm]

Although I like much of what The Beatles did and heard them on disc and on the radio a lot, I never followed their careers in ultimate detail, so I didn't know about those two tracks without Ringo on drums.

[JF]

Although I like much of what The Beatles did and heard them on disc and on the radio a lot, I never followed their careers in ultimate detail, so I didn't know about those two tracks without Ringo on drums.

I'am a bit maniac, so I love reading all these kind of details 

during the recording of the white album, Ringo left the band for 2 weeks approximately. It was the first Beatles split, less known that the real one 2 years later.

during these 2 weeks, they recorded the 2 songs with Paul on drums.

and you can hear that Paul is also good on drums, as he is on singing, guitar, piano, saxophone....he played all these instruments on the band on the run album BTW


And there's a John's quote that I love :

a journalist once asked him : "is Ringo the best rock'nroll drummer in the world ?"
and John ansewered : "he isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles..." 

[dustyvalentino]

Ballad of John And Yoko features only John and Paul.

[JF]

Ballad of John And Yoko features only John and Paul.

ah yes I forgot this one, its indeed explained in the Past Masters 2 booklet :
John : vocals, 2 lead guitars, acoustic guitar
Paul : drums, bass, piano, maracas

Maybe are there others ? but can't remember now

[JF]

don't know if you know this site

http://wgo.signal11.org.uk/wgo.htm

many years ago, I came across this list on "steve's page", and listen to all tracks, by reading this list, but could never found it again

seems that a new site was rebuilt

very insightfull

[vgonis]

Great site indeed, even though it is for the most fanatic ones! Great details though! Thanks for bringing it to my attention!