Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 1963
Released: 17 December 2013
Credited to Lennon-McCartney, ‘I’m In Love’ was the second single released by Merseybeat band The Fourmost.
The Fourmost had signed a management contract with Brian Epstein on 30 June 1963, during the early months of Beatlemania. Shortly afterwards they were auditioned and signed to EMI subsidiary Parlophone by Beatles producer George Martin.
The Fourmost were eager to have a hit and they were very good friends of ours. They were more of a comedy group, a really very funny cabaret act, and when it came to making a record and being serious on a TV show, they always laughed and giggled. They were always having such a laugh, it was very difficult for them. They just weren’t the kind of guys who were going to get a major hit. I tried a few times.
The Fourmost’s first single, ‘Hello Little Girl’, was an early John Lennon song which peaked at number nine in the UK. The follow-up, ‘I’m In Love’, was released on 15 November 1963.
‘I’m In Love’ fared less well than their debut, peaking at number 17. Both songs were issued in the USA but failed to chart.
That sounds like me. I don’t remember a hell of a thing about it.
Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics for I’m In Love
The Beatles never recorded ‘I’m In Love’. John Lennon did, however, tape a demo version, which was first broadcast in the US radio series The Lost Lennon Tapes.
Some sources date the recording from July 1963 that year, although others believe it was actually recorded in the 1970s during Lennon’s househusband years.
The demo was also included in the digital-only collection Bootleg Recordings 1963, released on iTunes on 17 December 2013. The bulk of the album contained Beatles recordings, although the final two tracks were Lennon demos; the other was of ‘Bad To Me’, which had been recorded in 1963 by Billy J Kramer.
There’s a recording from 1963 of Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas doing this song (I’m in love) at EMI studio and you can hear Lennon in the studio couching Billy on the vocal. I’m pretty sure this is prior to the Fourmost version… probably around the same time that Billy recorded “Bad to me“.
So, on u tube when you type “Beatles I’m in love” is that the Beatles, the foremost, or someone else?
I may just be dense but I am confused. So John wrote this song, but it was recorded by a different band?
Yes, if you’re still here to read the answer. This happened quite a bit with Lennon/McCartney stuff, and I’m continually surprised that it’s not made more of. There’s a relatively substantial catalog of Lennon/McCartney songs that they gave to other people and didn’t record themselves. I think a lot of people don’t realise that they were actual working songwriters outside of the band as well.