(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: July 19, 1965, on the "Help!" single in the US
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
April 13, 1965: 7:00 to 11:00 pm: Twelve takes were recorded. Takes 1-8 focused on the rhythm track, and vocals were introduced on Take 9. Take 10 was a complete rendition of the song. The last take was considered the best, and it was the first appearance of George's descending guitar notes.
April 18, 1965: Three mono mixes were made; stereo mixing.
June 18, 1965: Mono and stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
John - lead vocal, rhythm guitar (Gibson J-160E?)
Paul - backing vocal, bass
George - backing vocal, lead guitar
Ringo - drums, tambourine
John: "When Help! came out, I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it's just a fast rock 'n' roll song. I didn't realize it at the time. I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie, but later, I knew I really was crying out for help."
Interesting Facts
- John used three-syllable words such as "confidence," "insecure," and "self-assured" mostly to impress his journalist friend, Maureen Cleave. John explained, "I remember Maureen Cleave asked me, 'Why don't you ever write songs with more than one syllable?' So in 'Help!,' there are two- and three-syllable words, and I very proudly showed them to her, and she still didn't like them."
- Pete Shotton, a longtime friend of John's, thought the line in the song "I do appreciate you being 'round" was directed at him.
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: August 6, 1965, on the UK LP Help!
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
February 17, 1965: The song was completed in two takes.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul - lead vocal, bass
John - backing vocal, electric piano
George - backing vocal, lead guitar
Ringo - drums
Paul: "I would say that's mainly mine. I don't think John had a lot to do with that."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: August 6, 1965, on the UK LP Help!
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
February 18, 1965: 3:30 to 5:15 pm: Nine takes were recorded, but only two were complete. Flute parts were added to Take 9.
February 20, 1965: Mono mixing.
February 23, 1965: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
John - lead vocal, acoustic guitar (Framus 12-string?)
Paul - bass, acoustic guitar (Epiphone Texan?)
George - acoustic guitar (Gibson J-160E?)
Ringo - tambourine, maracas
Johnnie Scott - alto and tenor flutes
John: "That's me in my Dylan period."
John, Take 5 on Anthology 2: "Paul's broken a glass, broken a glass, Paul's broken a glass, a glass, a glass, he's broke today."
Interesting Facts
- This song was the first time the Beatles got an outside musician to play an instrument they didn't know how to play. (Andy White doesn't really count because the Beatles didn't call him in; George Martin did.)
- The line in the song about "feeling two foot small" was originally "two foot tall," but John accidentally said "small" when he played it for Paul, and he just decided to leave it in, saying, "All those pseuds will love it."
(Harrison)
First released: August 6, 1965, on the UK LP Help!
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
February 15, 1965: Five takes were recorded. Take 5 was considered the best. The song was almost completely acoustic at this point.
February 16, 1965: George's double-tracked lead vocal, a cowbell, and electric guitar were overdubbed.
February 18, 1965: Mono mixing.
February 23, 1965: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
George - lead vocal, electric lead guitar (played with a wah-wah pedal)
John - backing vocal, rhythm guitar (Gibson J-160E?)
Paul - backing vocal, bass
Ringo - drums
Interesting Facts
- This was the first Beatles song to feature a guitar played with a wah-wah pedal.
- Many sources say that George wrote this for Patti Boyd while he was separated from her during the filming of Help!.
- On the website Breakup Songs.com, "I Need You" was voted one of the 250 best breakup songs of all time.
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: August 6, 1965, on the UK LP Help!
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
February 15, 1965: The song was recorded in one take, but there were many unnumbered takes of the edit piece, with George attempting to perfect the guitar flourish at the end of the song.
February 16, 1965: Overdubbing of Paul's lead guitar.
February 18, 1965: Mono mixing.
February 23, 1965: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul - lead vocal, bass, lead guitar
John - backing vocal, acoustic guitar (Gibson J-160E?)
George - backing vocal, lead guitar
Ringo - drums
Interesting Facts
- This was written by Paul while he was on holiday in Tunisia in January of 1965.
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: August 6, 1965, on the UK LP Help!
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
February 19, 1965: 3:30 to 6:20 pm: Two takes were recorded. The first was a false start; the second was complete. Then a piano and bongos were overdubbed.
February 20, 1965: Mono mixing.
February 23, 1965: Stereo remixing.
March 30, 1965: Various instruments were overdubbed, and none were ultimately used on the released version of the song.
April 2, 1965: Stereo remixing.
Musicians and Instruments
John - lead vocal, acoustic guitar (Gibson J-160E?)
Paul - backing vocal, bass, piano
George - backing vocal, lead guitar
Ringo - drums, bongos
John: "This is one of mine. I wasn't too keen on lyrics in those days. I didn't think they counted. Dylan used to come out with his latest acetate and say, 'Listen to the words, man.' And I'd say I don't listen to the words."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: April 9, 1965, on the "Ticket to Ride" single in the UK
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
February 15, 1965: 2:30 to 5:45 pm: Two takes were recorded. Paul played both bass and lead guitar, including the opening riff.
February 18, 1965: Mono mixing.
February 23, 1965: Stereo mixing.
March 15, 1965: Mono mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
John - lead vocal, rhythm guitar, tambourine
Paul - harmony vocal, bass, lead guitar (Epiphone Casino)
George - backing vocal(?), rhythm guitar(?)
Ringo - drums
John: "'Ticket to Ride' was slightly a new sound at the time. It was pretty heavy for then, if you go and look in the charts for what other music people were making. You hear it now and it doesn't sound too bad, but it'd make me cringe. If you give me the A track and I remix it, I'll show you what it is really, but you can hear it there. It's a heavy record and the drums are heavy too. That's why I like it."
Interesting Facts
- Paul came up with the drum pattern Ringo played.
- At 3:10, "Ticket to Ride" was the first Beatles single to break the three-minute mark.
(Morrison/Russell)
First released: August 6, 1965, on the UK LP Help!
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
Dates: June 17, 1965
Musicians and Instruments
Ringo - lead vocal, drums
Paul - harmony vocal, bass
John - acoustic guitar
George - lead guitar
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: August 6, 1965, on the UK LP Help!
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
June 15, 1965: 2:30 to 5:30 pm: Six takes were recorded.
June 18, 1965: Mono and stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
John - lead vocal, acoustic guitar, tambourine
Paul - bass
George - lead guitar
Ringo - drums
John: "The lyrics were abysmal. I always hated that song."
Interesting Facts
- There was a verse of the song John decided not to use:
Can't explain or name I think it's pain
I'm ashamed the flame of love is maimed
Now and then I'll complain in vain
And I'll still love you
- The working title of this song was "That's a Nice Hat."
(Harrison)
First released: June 14, 1965, on the US LP Beatles VI
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
February 17, 1965: The song was completed in eight takes.
Musicians and Instruments
George - lead vocal, lead guitar
Paul - bass, piano
John - acoustic guitar, electric piano
Ringo - drums, tambourine
George Martin - piano
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: June 14, 1965, on the US LP Beatles VI
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
February 18, 1965: The song was recorded in four takes.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul - lead vocal, bass, electric piano
John - lead vocal, rhythm guitar
George - lead guitar
Ringo - drums, tambourine, claves, guiro
Paul: "I seem to remember it as mine. Not awfully memorable."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: August 6, 1965, on the UK LP Help!
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
June 14, 1965: Completed in six takes.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul - lead vocal, acoustic guitar (Epiphone Texan?)
John - acoustic guitar
George - acoustic lead guitar
Ringo - drums, maracas
Paul: "I think of this as totally by me. The lyric words. It keeps dragging you forward; it keeps pulling you to the next line. There's an insistent quality about it."
Interesting Facts
- Paul used to play this on the piano at his house, and his aunt loved it so much that Paul started calling it "Auntie Gin's Theme."
(Lennon/McCartney)
First released: August 6, 1965, on the UK LP Help!
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
June 14, 1965: Two takes were recorded.
June 17, 1965: Mono mixing.
June 18, 1965: Stereo mixing.
Musicians and Instruments
Paul - vocal, acoustic guitar (Epiphone Texan?)
Tony Gilbert - violin
Sidney Sax - violin
Francisco Gabarro - cello
Kenneth Essex - viola
Paul: "It was my most successful song. It's amazing that it just came to me in a dream. That's why I don't profess to know anything. I think music is all very mystical. You hear people saying, 'I'm a vehicle. It just passes through me.' Well, you're dead lucky if something like that passes through you."
Paul: "It didn't have any words at first, so I blocked it out with, 'Scrambled eggs, oh my baby, how I love your legs - diddle diddle - I believe in scrambled eggs'."
John: "I was sorry in a way [that Paul found words for 'Yesterday']. We'd had so many laughs about it."
Interesting Facts
- Paul frequently worked on the song during the filming of Help!. The director of the film, Richard Lester, said, "At some time during that period, we had a piano on one of the stages, and he was playing this 'Scrambled Eggs' all the time. It got to the point where I said to him, 'If you play that bloody song any longer, I'll have the piano taken off stage. Either finish it or give it up!'"
- On a live version of this on Anthology 2, George introduced Paul and joked, "The lad from Liverpool is finally a success." At the end of the song, John jokingly thanked Ringo for the performance, saying, "Thank you, Ringo, that was wonderful."
- John was often approached by people that thought he wrote "Yesterday." John remembered, "I sat in a restaurant in Spain, and the violinist insisted on playing 'Yesterday' right in my ear. Then he asked me to sign the violin. I didn't know what to say, so I said, 'OK,' and I signed it, and Yoko signed it. One day he's going to find out that Paul wrote it, but I guess he couldn't have gone from table to table playing 'I Am the Walrus'."
(Williams)
First released: June 14, 1965, on the US LP Beatles VI
Recording Information
Location: EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London
May 10, 1965: Completed in seven takes.
Musicians and Instruments
John - lead vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul - bass, electric piano
George - lead guitar
Ringo - drums
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