Showing posts with label Please Please Me album. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Please Please Me album. Show all posts

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Beatles Song: Please Please Me

The first big Beatles hit in England, this Lennon number was written early in his career at his aunt's house on Menlove Avenue and has several interesting facts surrounding its composition and evolution. Lennon's original version was very slow since he was trying to write in the style of Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely." George Martin hated the song and refused to record the song unless the Beatles first recorded "How Do You Do It," a song the group didn't care for. They placated Martin and the lackluster take is featured on Anthology.

Lennon was particularly pleased with the double meaning of "please" in the title. When Harrison suggested to Martin that they record it at a faster tempo, Martin agreed and said when the session was finished that he knew the group had its first number one hit. Capitol Records refused to pick up the song in the United States, however, even though the song was a hit in England (released in the UK on January 11, 1963). After the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in 1964, however, the song shot up to number three on American charts.

The song was performed on the Sullivan Show and at the Washington Coliseum and at Carnegie Hall on the band's first American tour. It is the title track of the Please Please Me album. The slow version was recorded at the "Love Me Do" session.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Beatles History: "Please Please Me" Released by Vee-Jay in U.S.

On January 30, 1964, "Please Please Me" was released by Vee-Jay records in the United States. The B side was "From Me to You." The Beatles fact worth noting here is that these songs had already been hits in the UK for many months, but Capital Records did not think they would sell in the U.S. With the Sullivan appearance looming and the escalation of Beatlemania in Europe, Vee-Jay obviously made a wise move, helping to pave the way for the Beatles' first American tour in the process.

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Monday, January 12, 2009

PLEASE PLEASE ME: The Album

"Love Me Do" had been only a moderate success, but when "Please Please Me" reached number one on Great Britain's music charts, the Beatles interrupted their tour to record Please Please Me in a one-day marathon recording session on February 11, 1963. The album was released on March 22, 1963. Seven weeks later, it charted at number one, where it stayed for twenty-nine weeks.

George Martin said that the album was essentially a reproduction of the Beatles' Cavern performance. A two-track tape machine was used, with live performances for all tracks. No vocals were overdubbed, and no more than four takes were done for any of the songs. A jar of throat lozenges was left on the piano, and because Lennon had a sore throat, the recording of "Twist and Shout" was saved for last since Martin knew that the song would "shred" Lennon's vocal chords. The strain on McCartney's voice can also be heard on some tracks. The following day, the Beatles returned to touring. Sound engineer Norman Smith claims that even at this early stage in the Beatles' careers, Paul was keenly interested in the recording process and carefully watched what he and Martin were doing in the control booth.

Vee-Jay records a version of the album in the United States, minus "Love Me Do" and "P.S., I Love You."

The tracks on the UK album included:
I Saw Her Standing There
Chains
Misery
Anna
Boys
Ask Me Why
Please Please Me
Love Me Do
P.S. I Love You
Baby It's You
Do You Want to Know a Secret
A Taste of Honey
There's a Place
Twist and Shout

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