The song with which Beatlemania truly began, ‘She Loves You’ was released as a single on 23 August 1963. It remains their best selling single in the UK.
It was again a she, you, me, I, personal preposition song. I suppose the most interesting thing about it was that it was a message song, it was someone bringing a message. It wasn’t us any more, it was moving off the ‘I love you, girl’ or ‘Love me do’, it was a third person, which was a shift away. ‘I saw her, and she said to me, to tell you, that she loves you, so there’s a little distance we managed to put in it which was quite interesting.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
The song was mostly written on 26 June 1963, in a room in the Turk’s Hotel in Newcastle, prior to The Beatles’ second performance at the city’s Majestic Ballroom. A true collaboration between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, ‘She Loves You’ distilled the essence of excitement in their music, and became a defining moment of their early career.
I remember it was Paul’s idea: instead of singing ‘I love you’ again, we’d have a third party. That kind of little detail is apparently in his work now where he will write a story about someone and I’m more inclined to just write about myself.
All We Are Saying, David Sheff
McCartney’s original idea was to have a call-and-response song, with him singing the title line and the others answering with “yeah, yeah, yeah”. Lennon, however, persuaded him otherwise.
John and I wrote ‘She Loves You’ together. There was a Bobby Rydell song [‘Forget Him’] out at the time and, as often happens, you think of one song when you write another.We were in a van up in Newcastle. I’d planned an ‘answering song’ where a couple of us would sing ‘She loves you…’ and the other one answers, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ We decided that that was a crummy idea as it was, but at least we then had the idea for a song called ‘She Loves You’. So we sat in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it.
Anthology
They finished writing ‘She Loves You’ the following day, at McCartney’s family home in Forthlin Road, Liverpool.
We sat in there one evening, just beavering away while my dad was watching TV and smoking his Players cigarettes, and we wrote ‘She Loves You’. We actually finished it there because we’d started it in the hotel room. We went into the living room – ‘Dad, listen to this. What do you think?” So we played it to my dad and he said, ‘That’s very nice, son, but there’s enough of these Americanisms around. Couldn’t you sing, “She loves you. Yes! Yes! Yes!”‘ At which point we collapsed in a heap and said, ‘No, Dad, you don’t quite get it!’ That’s my classic story about my dad. For a working-class guy that was rather a middle-class thing to say, really. But he was like that.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
In the studio
The Beatles recorded ‘She Loves You’ five days after it was written, during a five-hour session in Abbey Road’s studio two.
Documentation for the session no longer exists, but it was taped on 1 July 1963, the same day as its b-side, ‘I’ll Get You’.
They were especially proud of the final chord, which was previously undiscovered territory for them. As producer George Martin explained to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn:
I was siting in my usual place on a high stool in studio two when John and Paul first ran through the songs, George joining in on the choruses.I thought it was great but was intrigued by the final chord, an odd sort of major sixth, with George doing the sixth and John and Paul the third and fifths, like a Glenn Miller arrangement. They were saying, ‘It’s a great chord! Nobody’s ever heard it before!’ Of course I knew that wasn’t quite true.
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
Chart success
‘She Loves You’, more than any other song, was the breakthrough that led The Beatles to international success. Its ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah’ refrain quickly became synonymous with the band, as were the falsetto ‘Whooo’s.
Brian Matthew, the radio presenter, reviewed ‘She Loves You’ in Melody Maker, and called it ‘banal rubbish’. None of us had heard the word ‘banal’ and we thought, ‘”Banal”? What’s that? Soppy? Too rebellious? What does “banal” mean?’ But when the record zoomed to number one in the Melody Maker chart the next week, he was on the front page disclaiming his comments: ‘No, no – at first I thought maybe it was a little banal… but it grows on you.’
America took longer to warm to The Beatles, and the song wasn’t a hit at first. Capitol – EMI’s US counterpart – refused to release it, and Vee Jay – which had released ‘Please Please Me’ and ‘From Me To You’ to little effect – also declined.
‘From Me To You’ was released – a flop in America. ‘She Loves You’ – a big hit in England, big number one in England – a flop in the USA. Nothing until ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’.
Anthology
Desperate for a stateside hit, Brian Epstein licensed the song to Swan Records, based in Philadelphia, although it was picked up by a pitiful few of the crucial US radio stations.
When NBC’s The Jack Paar Program screened footage of The Beatles performing ‘She Loves You’ in January 1964 (footage leased from the BBC, which had been filmed in August 1963 for Don Haworth’s documentary The Mersey Sound), America began to take notice of the group.
The song was eventually re-released by Swan in the wake of ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’. It eventually climbed to the top of the US charts, remaining there for a fortnight in March 1964 – before being deposed by ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’.
The song that launched Beatlemania. John and Paul working together. This song is so exciting and fun and positive. The first song I can think of that started with the chorus instead of a verse. Great cords, great fills by George and great drumming by Ringo. I’d love to see Paul play this and I Want To Hold Your Hand in concert.
John’s was the dominant voice on both these songs. Paul has already done Please Please Me, taking John’s place as the dominant voice and I am sorry to say it doesn’t quite work, so I don’t think it will work here either. Paul does great on his own songs so I think he should stick to that. Unfortunately, we’ll never again hear John sing those songs live again, only on record.
I didn’t even know who the Beatles were when I first heard this song. I heard two dominant voices and, as it was co-written, Paul has every right to sing this at his concerts. Whether he should or not is a different matter…
Any song released is intended as it was written and sung as intended.
I can’t make any sense out of this comment.
There’s a question, that interests me a lot. It’s well known that the Beatles performed their songs live the same way as they did it in studio. (Except for double-tracking: for example, since it was impossible for Paul to sing live, say, two-part harmony in third verse of “Things we said today”, he did it onstage along with George). When the Beatles played “She loves you” live, George joined to John&Paul singing not only during choruses but in every other line of verses as well. But all the musiciologists claim that George sang on studio version of “She loves you” only in choruses. The question is: DID George sing on studio version in verses? If it’s no, why they changed the arrangement for live performances??? P.S. Sorry for my English.
He Did.
I have listened to this song so many times and by now am convinced that for parts of the verses John was double-tracked singing the melody line. Live, of course, he couldn’t do that so Paul had to sing with him. So, performing live George would take the 3rd voice instead of Paul.
Avi,
“She Loves You” was a CO-WRITTEN song. THEY start writing “She Loves You” in a hotel room in 1963 and THEY finish writing it at Paul home.
There is a story of when they are all done writing “She Loves You”, they show the song to Paul father Jim. His father said “That’s very nice, son, but there’s enough of these Americanism’s around. Couldn’t you sing ‘She Loves You. Yes! Yes! Yes!’.” At which point we collapsed in a heap and said “No, Dad, you don’t quite get it!” Paul McCartney “Many Years From Now” written by Barry Miles
And
John Lennon didn’t double track his vocals on “She Loves You” on the record. I clearly, hear Paul! Alongside of John. Just like THEY Sung it Live!
Sorry, don’t know the answer to Russian’s question – but I will say this.
For those of us who were alive at the time (in the US) when She Loves You came out and got airplay, the sound of that song was completely unlike anything heard before.
From the opening drum rolls and into the chorus – the song is like a roller coaster ride.
The excitement, energy and pure joy was breath-taking and you just knew something was happening in music.
She Loves You – as simple as it may seem now, is still the song every pop or rock band is trying to recreate.
i can’t remember the name of the guy who was their engeneer who wrote the book, but he mentioned thta when this recording sesson was going on there were a bunch of girls loose in the studio trying to find the guys. he said for some reason it just pumped them up and this was the best recording they ever made.
It’s hard to understand now what this song meant to us then. Sure it is still wonderful, but at the time it absolutely knocked me off my feet. I remember exactly where I was and how I felt something in my body I had never felt before. It popped my musical cherry.
Part of the excitement was the heavy reverb (also in Please Please Me). It just kind of set the stage, “okay get ready to be knocked on your butt by another Beatles song”. I don’t know if this was just a USA record company thing, but it sure worked for me (spoken while sitting on his butt).
One of the aspects of this song that makes it so classic and enduring –and so characteristically Lennon and McCartney is that the exuberence of the song has a tinge of sadness. I have always felt that the narrator of the song is also in love with the female character. The whole song, but especially the line “with a love like that, you know you should be glad” speaks to me of unrequited love and longing. So I have always thought of it as a sad song wrapped in a happy package, making it even more astonishingly brilliant.
I always thought that the narrator was a close friend of the girl and he was trying to help her by reaching out to his pal, sort of like a mediator.
I’ve always picked up the same ‘tinge of sadness’ vibe from She Loves You, especially when hearing that final “yeah” sung in the melancholy chord that it is. You can almost see the singer looking downcast and trying to force a smile.
For part 3 of 5 see “From Me To You.”
How [not] to interpret a Beatles’ song, Part 4 of 5: context counts.
On March 15, 1963, the Daily Express headline screamed “WAR MINISTER SHOCK” alongside a picture of Christine Keeler – declared “VANISHED”. Conservative War Minister John Profumo immediately declared his innocence to the House of Commons only to admit in June that he’d lied, and that he had indeed carried on an improper sexual liaison with the very same woman linked by a similar liaison with the London-based Soviet naval attaché Yevgeny Ivanov. On June 5 Profumo resigned his Cabinet position, his Privy Council and his Parliamentary membership. English news media were consumed with the story for months, leading ultimately to Prime Minister Macmillan’s resignation in October, and the downfall of the Conservative party in 1964. Amidst all this sturm und drang, Paul and John wrote the hit that ignited “Beatlemania”: “She Loves You” (written June 26, recorded July 1, released August 23, all in 1963).
Paul was just fooling around looking for a new approach to writing a love song, and it occurred to him to write in the third person. John helped him work out the rest of it, George added the major sixth in the harmony and Ringo brings us tumbling headlong into the celebration. I have often heard people say things like, “It’s just a song, there is no deep meaning to it; the Beatles were just fooling around.” This attitude, however, rests on a huge mistake. If you or I were just fooling around writing a love song with a few of our friends, the results would likely be insignificant. But in the summer of 1963, Paul McCartney was trying to come up with another #1 hit that would resonate with an entire generation of young record-buyers – and he succeeded. His “fooling around” cannot be compared with ours.
The infectious, exuberant “yeah, yeah, yeah!” is a wholehearted and uninhibited endorsement of love. More precisely, it is a passionate plea to respond positively to the love of a woman. She is not a passive sex object, she is a thoughtful subject who is making the well-considered decision to love. The proper response is not to feel that your traditional masculinity has been impugned by being turned into the object of her advances, or to be offended that she is being sexually assertive (“pride can hurt you too”); the proper response is “yeah, yeah, yeah!”
The Beatles’ ingrained Liverpudlian irreverence no doubt made them laugh at the hypocrisy of a conservative government’s nasty little secrets being splashed all over the newspapers. Sanctimonious sexual repression was exposed as the mendacious venality it truly was. “She Loves You” is a riotous anthem for the free expression and acceptance of love, as well as a subtle urging to get over traditional masculine pride, so that you can accept the woman who loves you as a free and equal person and enjoy all that springs from such love. Elvis was merely transgressive of traditional social and moral norms; The Beatles were decidedly rebellious.
For part 5 of 5 see “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
Don’t know whether you’ve covered this, but in his indispensable memoir, “Here, There and Everywhere,” engineer-deluxe Geoff Emerick tells a delightful story of this song being recorded immediately after security at EMI was crashed by a horde of adoring fans. He convincingly suggests that energy jolt of full-contact Beatlemania sparked a signature performance.
It’s also been noted this song receives the greatest acclaim possible from other artists – they’ve left it alone, and it remains one of the least covered of Beatle hits.
Am I wrong or their pitch has been shifted up (at least Paul seems to). Any thoughts?
I figure it’s shifted down in pitch–the first chord is somewhere just north of Eb minor on the recording, rather than E minor.
I think it was Phil Collins who said, that if you slow the song down – ie, play it yourself slowly on an instrument – then you will hear what a beautiful melody it is. I used to play a slowed-down version like this when I performed in pubs, guitar and voice, and everybody used to comment how much they loved that version.
What is amazing is the Cm chord prior to the chorus – it ‘should be Bm’, a minor-third from G which naturally works; the Cm should not work but it does. Indeed it is the song’s ‘killer chord’ in my opinion. Lennon and McCartney were incredible at finding these chords (and Harrison would be in time).
The only shame about the recording is the treble on the hi-hats; it pops into life for a few bars and then sinks back in the mix. Less noticeable on vinyl but very audible on CD.
Still, it’s probably the finest ‘pop record’ they ever made and arguably the best ‘pop record’ released by anyone!!!
Agreed–this song is just chock full of greatness.
Those 4 bars where the high hats sound more trebly are a spliced in piece of another take.
When in studio they sped up the recording and it sounds a little different. However when sang live paul was the dominant singer because he had the better live voice and did not forget words like John did. If you ever watch this song played live from the first Ed Sullivan show and the beginning of Beatlemania all songs where mainly sang by Paul McCartney with John and George on backing vocals. Just search for first american appearances of the beatles and watch the videos. You will see that The Beatles manager knew Paul was better at live performances and chose him to sing most of the songs. They started with Paul singing All my loving which was extremely popular on the radio (my dad Says) and then Paul sings Till there was you, then he mainly sings she loves you alone and I want to hold your hand and then he sings I saw you standing there. He does not even make one error. When they woke up the next day the were stars in the United States, Paul was amazing live and it would be great to see him sing She loves you again.
The reason Paul sounded louder on Ed Sullivan than John was because the cleaning person moved the settings on the mixing board after the rehearsal and getting the settings. So, unfortunately John’s mic was turned down. Apparently whoever was minding the mixing board during the performance, if anyone was there, either didn’t know to fix it or didn’t bother. She Loves You and I Want to Hold your Hand were double lead vocals that had harmony at certain points.
Another interesting thing about that song is they actually sing she LOVED you, yeah, yeah, yeah in the Chorus.It’s possible that at some point one of them accidentally sings Loves while the other sings Loved. In fact, I’m remember seeing a few early single versions printed as “She Loved You”, maybe because that was the original title. But then for some reason “She Loves You” was what everyone was calling it so the title label changed.
The only place that “She Loves You” is actually sung is in this part of the verses: “Yes, she loves you
and you know you should be glad”.
Put on some good headphones and listen closely and you’ll see what I mean.
Also, on the first Ed Sullivan show I believe they actually tuned down a half step.
This is to reduce sibilance on the recording, before there were de-essers. You hear it all over their vocals – doing a th instead of ss sound. John is especially noticeable on Across the Univerth and Yer Blueth (coincidentally when he sings ‘I am of the univerth’).
I am sorry but your dad is wrong. At the time of the first Ed Sullivan show All My Loving had yet to be played on the radio. At that time IWTHYH was the only Beatles song heard on the radio.
Not true. In Detroit, I definitely heard “…Loving”. “…Standing There”, “She Loves You” on the radio before the Feb. 9, 1964 Ed Sullivan Show.
Although I love Paul, that’s not true. John was the dominant singer of the Beatles especially in the early days. Did you see the Shea Stadium show???? John lead sang on 7 of the twelve tracks with Paul singing 3 and the other two with one each.
Danny,
Shea Stadium –
August 15, 1965
1.) “Twist And Shout” – written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
2.) “She A Woman” – written by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
3.) “I Feel Fine” – written by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
4.) “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” – written by Larry Williams – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
5.) “Ticket To Ride” – written by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
6.) “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby” – written by Carl Perkins – Sung by George Harrison (Lead).
7.) “Can’t Buy Me Love” – written by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
8.) “Baby’s In Black” – written by BOTH John and Paul – Sung by BOTH of them!
9.) “Act Naturally” – written by Lavonia Inez Morrison and Johnny Russell – Sung by Ringo (Lead).
10.) “A Hard Day’s Night” – written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH!
11.) “Help!” – written by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
12.) “I’m Down” – written by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
Written Songs –
1.) Four of them were written by Someone is not a Beatle.
2.) Two of them were Co-written.
3.) Three of the were written by John Lennon.
4.) Three of them were written Paul McCartney.
Singers –
1.) John Lennon – Lead Singer – Five Songs.
2.) Paul McCartney – Lead Singer – Three Songs.
3.) George Harrison – Lead Singer – One Song.
4.) Ringo – Lead Singer – One Song.
5.) Two Songs (“Baby’s In Black” and “A Hard Day’s Night”) that have BOTH John & Paul to take the Lead.
No, Danny! John Lennon was not the Dominant Singer or Writer in the early days. They were Equals!
Danny,
Let me go further –
The first Concert Tour that The Beatles did over in the USA was in Washington Coliseum on February 11, 1964 –
1.) “Roll Over Beethoven” written by Chuck Berry – Sung by George Harrison (Lead).
2.) “From Me To You” written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH (Lead).
3.) “I Saw Her Standing There” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
4.) “This Boy” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
5.) “All My Loving” – written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
6.) “I Wanna To Be Your Man” written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney – Sung by Ringo (Lead).
7.) “Please Please Me”written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
8.) “Till There Was You” written by Meredith Willson – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
9.) “She Loves You” – written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH (Lead).
10.) “I Want To Hold Your Hand” written by BOTH (50/50) John and Paul – Sung by BOTH (Lead).
11.) “Twist And Shout” written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
12.) “Long Tall Sally” written by Johnson-Penniman-Blackwell – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
Written by –
1.) There are four Songs that would not written by a Beatle.
2.) There are four Songs that were Co-written (50/50) by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
3.) There are two Songs that were written by John Lennon.
4.) There are two Songs that were written by Paul McCartney.
Sung by –
1.) There are three Songs were BOTH John Lennon and Paul McCartney take the Lead in Singing.
2.) There are three Songs that were Sung by John Lennon.
3.) There are four Songs that were Sung by Paul McCartney.
4.) These is one Song that was Sung by George Harrison.
5.) There is one Song that was Sung by Ringo.
And Their Last Concert was in Candlestick Park in San Franisco on August 29, 1966 –
1.) “Rock And Roll” written by Chuck Berry – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
2.) “She’s A Woman” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
3.) “If I Needed Someone” written mostly by George Harrison – Sung by George Harrison (Lead).
4.) “Day Tripper” written BOTH (50/50) John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by Both (Lead).
5.) “Baby In Back” written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH (Lead).
6.) “I Feel Fine” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
7.) “Yesterday” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
8.) “I Wanna Be Your Man” written by BOTH John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by Ringo (Lead).
9.) “Nowhere Man” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
10.) “Paperback Writer” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung Paul McCartney (Lead).
11.) “Long Tall Sally” written by Johnson-Penniman-Blackwell – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
Written by –
1.) There are two Songs that would not written by a Beatle.
2.) There are three Songs that were Co-written by BOTH John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
3.) There are two Songs that were written by John Lennon.
4.) There are three Songs that were written by Paul McCartney.
5.) There is one Song that was written by George Harrison.
Sung by –
1.) There are two Songs that BOTH John Lennon and Paul McCartney take the Lead in Singing.
2.) There are three Songs that were Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
3.) There are four Songs that were Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
4.) There is one Song that George Harrison took Lead on.
5.) There is one Song that Ringo took Lead on.
And The Ed Sullivan Shows with The Beatles –
Their First appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was on February 9, 1964 – 73 million viewers –
1.) “All My Loving” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
2.) “Till There Was You” written by Meredith Willson – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
3.) “She Love You” written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH (Lead).
4.) “I Saw Her Standing There” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
5.) “I Want To Hold Your Hand” – written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon & Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH
Their 2nd appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was on February 16, 1964 – 70 million viewers –
1.) “She Loves You” written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH (Lead).
2.) “This Boy” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
3.) “All My Loving” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
4.) “I Saw Her Standing There” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
5.) “From Me To You” written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH (LEAD).
6.) “I Want To Hold Your Hand” written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon & Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH.
The 3rd appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was taped on February 9, 1964 and Broadcast on February 23, 1964.
1.) “Twist And Shout” written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
2.) “Please Please Me” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
3) “I Want To Hold Yor Hand” written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon & Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH.
On May 24, 1964, this occasion, the show aired an interview with the band and a taped performance of “You Can’t Do That” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
On August 14, 1965, The Beatles appeared live for the final time on The Ed Sullivan Show – The show was broadcast on September 12, 1965 –
1.) “I Feel Fine” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
2.) “I’m Down” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
3.) “Act Naturally” written by Morrison-Russell – Sung by Ringo (Lead).
4.) “Ticket To Ride” – written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
5.) “Yesterday” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
6.) “Help!” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
Later Years, On The Ed Sullivan Show – They showed promotional clips of their Songs –
June 1966 –
1.) A Video of “Paperback Writer” written by mostly Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
2.) A Video of “Rain” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
1967 –
1.) A Video of “Penny Lane” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
2.) A Video of “Strawberry Fields Forever” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
3) A Video of “Hello, Goodbye” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
March 1, 1970 – Their last appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show when they released promotional Video –
1.) “Two Of Us” written mostly by Paul Mccartney – Sung by BOTH John Lennon & Paul McCartney.
2.) “Let It Be” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
*************
On October 5, 1962 – “Love Me Do” written mostly by Paul McCartney – It was the first hit that made it to #17 on The UK Charts. And later, the Song would have a #1 Hit in the USA Charts in 1964.
On April 4, 1964 – In the USA Charts – A Record was set –
1.) A #1 Hit “Can’t Buy Me Love” written mostly by Paul McCartney – Sung by Paul McCartney (Lead).
2.) A #2 Hit “Twist And Shout” written by Phil Medley & Bert Russell – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
3.) A #3 Hit “She Loves You” written by BOTH (50/50) John Lennon & Paul McCartney – Sung by BOTH.
4.) A #4 Hit “I Want To Hold Your Hand” written by BOTH (50/50) John & Paul – Sung by BOTH.
5.) a #5 Hit “Please Please Me” written mostly by John Lennon – Sung by John Lennon (Lead).
And in 1963, Most their #1 Hits were Co-written (50/50) – “From To You”, “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand”.
In 1958 – Paul Mccartney wrote “In Spite Of All The Danger” and Guiter Riff was done George Harrison -Was the first recording done by the Quarry Men – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lowe and Colin Hanton.
When Pete Best was in The Beatles- Back when they did shows in Hamburg, Germany – Paul McCartney wrote Pete a Song called “Pinwheel Twist’ he used to do….
John and Paul were Equals from the Beginning both in writing and in their Singing!
That’s not correct. The reason Paul comes across louder than John on the first Sullivan performance is that levels were set in rehearsal. During the break a cleaning lady dusted the console and moved Lennon’s mic levels down by accident. They stayed there for the performance. Later the same day when they recorded what would be the Beatles third Sullivan appearance the levels were corrected. I totally disagree with you about Paul being the lead vocal. Lennon is front and center with his songs because they rocked more than Paul’s did. Look at the song list from the Beatles first US tour. Lennon carries the show.
The use of Cm in “She Loves You” is quite like the insertion of Am in “I’ll Get You” (recorded the same day), unexpectedly popping up toward the end of the verse.
I’m pretty sure the Bobby Rydell song McCartney refers to is “Swingin’ School,” not “Forget Him.” “Swingin’ School” has the call-response vocal he was originally going for in “She Loves You.” This is from Bob Spitz’s 2012 book on the Fabs.
Less covers indeed; one remarkable version by Peter Sellers (who they admire)
I would love to find a true stereo version of “She Loves You”. The closest thing is the German version.
A kid made a clean stereo mix a few years ago, also fix the “pride” edit, all using different legal records of the song.
i was given a copy of she loves you as a present from my auntie in 1963 and still have it in the dusty recesses of my singles collection which totals 1500 singles and recall from the last time i played it that although a bit crackly still plays ok
Paul, Please add She love’s You to your concerts.
I recently read that She Loves You was originally worked on in the back of a tour van by the lads. Apparently, George Harrison had the idea to come up with the harmonies. At first, George Martin was dismissive, calling his idea “corny”, but the band vetoed his plan to rid the song of harmonies. I doubt the source in which I read this from made up the story, as it is a large and popular magazine with plenty of prestige (Rolling Stone).
Joe, is there any way you can confirm or disprove this story? It sounds plausible, as George also came up with the “Ahh, the lonely people” harmony. Why not the harmonies for She Loves You? I know you’re unbiased and only care about the truth, so I look forward to your answer!
That was the time I saw them and John lennon sang to.me because I refused to go out with him.
He sang Please please me, in front ofeveryone.
Uh…what?
john lennon sang to me because i refused to go out with him
I’ve read in several sources the ‘corny’ harmony was the added 6th note for the final “yeah” of the song. George experimented a lot with more sophisticated chords, and suggested this ending; George M though it was too ‘1940s’, but the lads outvoted him.
I hope that I’m wrong in thinking that since John Lennon’s death, Paul McCartney has never performed live either “She Loves You” or “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Why he doesn’t perform them, I have no idea.
I hope that before he dies (as he’s not getting any younger).
A recording of the Beatles gig in Bournemouth, England, August 21, 1963, was made by the man responsible for the sound at the theatre. He wanted to record a show just to know if the new sound system was good or needed adjustments.
The 25 minute tape reel was sold at a Christie´s auction in December 1998 by his daughter, for £25.300. Buyer unknown.
Songs performed;
1. Roll over Beethoven
2. Thank you girl
3. Chains
4. From me to you
5. A taste of honey
6. I saw her standing there
7. Baby, it´s you
8. Boys
9. She loves you
10. Twist and shout
According to the seller, Lennon introduces She loves you by saying it is the first time they play it live.
Now, this is one tape I would like to hear!
Marc; No, Paul has not done it live, apart from singing the chorus at the end of the All you need is love bit that he put at the end of ´The Word´. But one of the band members smentioned a few years back that `I want to hold your hand´ had been rehearsed and they were surprised that it hadn´t been selected for the set lists yet.
The melody behind the refrain “…she loves you yeah yeah…” could be McCartney´s, similar to his start “…try to see it my way…” in We Can Work It Out – the same short notes – but the rest: “…you think you´ve lost your love…” is almost the same melody as in Lennon´s “…if the sun has faded away…” in his Any Time At All. The same appealing melody and the centre main point in the song. The song ends with a dissonanse chord! – that was Harrison´s idea.
The last dissonans note is exact as Ive´s symphony nr 2, no dissonanse chord, until the very last note.
Nowadays the press people persisting in claiming its a McCartney song, because he suggested singing in the third person, and because he did Yesterday.
After recording She Loves You, they decided to sign their songs with Lennon-McCartney instead of McCartney-Lennon (Under the spring 1963 before She Loves You, Lennon had composed Please Please Me, the A-bit in From Me To You and Do You Want to Know a Secret).
Good grief, Johan. Just another in your littany of JohnLove / PaulHate comments. Bottom line: you weren’t there. Your “knowledge” is no greater than mine or anyone else here (save Joe, perhaps).
Sad….
I was seven and living in Chicago when the Beatles hit the U.S. We didn’t get them one single at a time; there was nothing, and then all at once there were half a dozen Beatles songs on AM radio–I Want to Hold Your Hand, Please Please Me, and She Loves You foremost among them. My friend Ted’s dad took us to Korvettes dept store where I bought She Loves You and Love Me Do/PS I Love You, my first two record purchases.
I still think She Loves You is amazing. The chords are great–it’s a very John-like one chord per bar, with some jarring changes like the Emin-A-Cmin mentioned in some of the other comments. The drums are fab–watch Ringo’s accents over the “because she loves you” line in one of the concert videos. The guitar fills are really good. And the melody and harmonies are thrilling. And there’s hook after hook–the Little Richard-esque “oohs”, the “yeah yeah yeahs”.
This is still my favorite of the early Beatles singles. I Want to Hold Your Hand was pretty great too, but nothing tops SLY in my book.
I remember Jack Paar sending The Beatles up as a gag, with him making derogatory comments about their hair and the sate of British music. When the camera turned to Ringo, really bashing away and totally involved, Paar said , “Oh, look at this one!” A little background to the story, Jack Paar and Ed Sullivan were involved in a personalities war which spilled over onto their live broadcasts. Paar went to work on The Beatles because Sullivan had engaged them for a coming performance.
Yep, Paar was presenting the film as “look at this silliness Britain is going crazy over”. After Feb. 1964, he would claim to whoever would listen that HE had the Beatles on his show before Sullivan did.
Odd man, Paar.
Another commenter suggested that some of the ‘she loves you’s are actually ‘she loved you’s. I actually think they sing ‘She love to’ or ‘She’d love to’ – it wouldn’t be unlike them to sneak something cheeky in like that. Listening to the version from the 1964 Melbourne concert, they very clearly sing ‘She loves you yeah yeah yeah, she love to yeah yeah yeah’ in the first chorus.
I always understood that it wasn’t the Turk’s Head hotel, but the Imperial Hotel, in Newcastle.
Can someone help me out? In the song, She loves you” I would swear I either heard, or read somewhere, that the second “She loves you” was really, “She’d love to”. Not in the first verse, but the next two, and not in every edition of the song, just the later ones . I understand that is what is sung at the end of “All you need is love” but I’m strictly talking about the song “She loves you”.
Thanks
jt
I was listening to it again today and as usual, just blown away by Ringo’s drumming. Great drum fills, switches rhythms at times but never loses the beat. In their early works, his drumming really drove their songs.
I heard this for the first time as a six-year-old —-and hated it! I still do to this day, one of the very few Beatles tunes that I will bypass or turn off when it comes on. It’s loved by many, iconic, and all that, but I truly despise it and don’t really know why, except I always found that “yeah, yeah, yeah” stuff to be grating to my ears. Oh, well….
It is not true that Vee Jay declined to release “She Loves You”. It was noted in a Bruce Spizer book that the song wasn’t offered to them since Vee Jay wasn’t making royalty payments.
I got this 45 in 1963. I played She Loves You more than 1000 times and I’ll get you 750. That was just the first month. My mother and father couldn’t get me out the the basement. I’m some kind of repetitive listener. I was 6 years old. Now I’m 61 and still do the same. I’m still a Beatles fanatic. Went to Liverpool a few years ago. What a feeling stepping into places the Beatles stood.
There is no better Beatlemania moment than watching “the blonde girl” weeping for Paul during the TV show scene while the Beatles sing She Loves You in Hard Days Night
(*Shyly*) Hi, I’m new here. 🙂
She Loves You is part of my childhood. It was the first Beatles song I ever heard. It was the early ’80s. I think I was about 3. It was actually the Chipmunks version of it that must have been playing on some kids’ radio show or other. Anyway, when I heard it I must have decided I wanted to hear the “real version”, and discovered the Beatles soon after. I haven’t looked back. It’s still one of my favorite songs of all time to this day.
She Loves You and I’ll Get You would of made great songs for an episode of The Flintstones. That would of been fun to see the fab four with Bam-Bam and Pebbly-Poo.
Well, The Flintstones did spoof The Beatles in at least three episodes:
1. “The Masquerade Party” caricatured them as The Beasties;
2. “The Hartrocks and the Gruesomes” featured a group called The Four Insects that nobody could stand (their big hit: “I Said Yeah, Yeah, Yeah”);
3. “No Biz Like Show Biz” featured one Eppy Brianstone, manager of The Termites.
Love the energy and excitement of this song. George’s guitar fills are my favorite parts.
This was my first Beatles song! Had my mothers original Swan 45 with i’ll Get you on the B-side. Nearly wore it out. In 9th grade (1979), my friends and I did a talent show and dressed as the Beatles and used that old Swan 45 with my turn table and speakers and blasted the song out to the school while mouthing the lyrics! Needless to say we not only won the contest, but did an encore of I Want to Hold Your Hand. Used the original Meet the Beatles LP for that one!
Can anyone recommend a version where George is playing his 12-string?
There is no version of ‘She Loves You’ with George or John playing a 12 string because there is not one on the record.
As “SLY” is my FAVE Beatle song and Hari’s 12-string is my FAVE guitar, it sure would be cool to find a version with this live from =somewhere 🙂
Dear Brina,
You obviously read my previous comment about there being no 12 String guitar on ‘She Loves You’ as none of the Fab 4 had 12 string guitars in 1963 when ‘She Loves You was recorded yet you still persist with the same question.
‘She Loves You’ was never performed live by either John or George using a 12 string guitar in 1963 because they did not have 12 string guitars in 1963 and after early 1964 when they did have 12 string guitars they did not use one to play ‘She Loves You’ live because the song never featured one in the first place.
This is still second person not third person, surely? He’s still talking to YOU. He’s talking to YOU about some girl but that doesn’t change the narrative. It’s about who the narrator is talking to. It’s relaying the story of another person but to YOU. If it was ‘she said she loves him and he knows that can’t be bad’ that’s third person.
The harmony between john and paul made it special…if it was just john or paul singing it would be ‘banal’…or not as good…how they managed to sing their own part I dont know, did they do it separate? did they wear headphones and couldnt hear each other?