Help! (song)

"Help!"
Single by The Beatles
from the album Help!
B-side	"I'm Down"
Released	19 July 1965 (US) 23 July 1965 (UK)
Format	7"
Recorded	13 April 1965, EMI Studios, London
Genre	Folk rock
Length	2:18
Label	Parlophone, Capitol Records
Writer(s)	Lennon–McCartney
Producer	George Martin
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
The Beatles singles chronology
"Ticket to Ride" (1965) "Help!" (1965) "Yesterday" (US-1965) — "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" (UK-1965)
Music sample "Help!" Help! track listing 14 tracks Side one "Help!" "The Night Before" "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" "I Need You" "Another Girl" "You're Going to Lose That Girl" "Ticket to Ride" Side two "Act Naturally" "It's Only Love" "You Like Me Too Much" "Tell Me What You See" "I've Just Seen a Face" "Yesterday" "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"

"Help!" is a song by The Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

"Help!" was written by John Lennon, but credited (as were all Beatles songs written by either person) to Lennon–McCartney. The title was "out of desperation". In 2004, "Help!" was ranked number 29 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Composition

The documentary series The Beatles Anthology revealed that Lennon wrote the lyrics of the song to express his stress after the Beatles' quick rise to success. "I was fat and depressed and I was crying out for 'Help'," Lennon told Playboy. Writer Ian MacDonald describes the song as the "first crack in the protective shell" Lennon had built around his emotions during the Beatles' rise to fame, and an important milestone in his songwriting style.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1970 Rolling Stone "Lennon Remembers" interviews, Lennon said it was one of his favourites among the Beatles songs he wrote, but he wished they had recorded it at a slower tempo. In these interviews, Lennon said he felt that "Help!" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were his most honest, genuine Beatles songs and not just songs "written to order". According to Lennon's cousin and boyhood friend Stanley Parkes, however, "Help!" was written after Lennon "came in from the studio one night. 'God,' he said, 'they've changed the title of the film: it's going to be called 'Help!' now. So I've had to write a new song with the title called 'Help!'."

According to Paul McCartney, he was called in "to complete it" in a two-hour joint writing session on 4 April 1965 at Lennon's house in Weybridge.

Recording

The Beatles recorded "Help!" in 12 takes on 13 April 1965 using four-track equipment. The first nine takes concentrated on the instrumental backing. The descending lead guitar riff that precedes each verse proved to be difficult, so by take 4 it was decided to postpone it for an overdub. To guide the later overdub by Harrison, Lennon thumped the beat on his acoustic guitar body, which can be heard in the final stereo mix. Lead and backing vocals were recorded twice onto take 9, along with a tambourine. A reduction mix was applied to the two vocal tracks, taking three attempts (takes 10 to 12), freeing up a track for the lead guitar overdub. This was the group's first use of two 4-track machines for "bouncing".

The vocals were re-recorded for the film during a session on 24 May 1965 at CTS Studios, a facility specializing in post-synchronisation. In addition to attempting a better vocal performance, the session might have been done to eliminate the tambourine (which had been on the same track as the vocals) since no tambourine appeared in the film sequence. With the new vocals, a mono mix was created at CTS Studios which was used for the film soundtrack. Mixes for record releases were prepared on 18 June. For the mono version, Martin decided to use a mix of the opening chorus of take 12 edited to the remainder of the CTS film mix. Because all instruments were combined on a single track for the CTS session, it could not be used for a stereo mix, so the stereo mix was made from take 12.

New mixes were created for releases of the Help! CD (1987), the Love album (2006), and the Help! DVD (2007).

Releases

"Help!" went to #1 on both the UK and US singles charts in late summer 1965. It was the fourth of six number one singles in a row on the American charts; "I Feel Fine", "Eight Days a Week", "Ticket to Ride", "Help!", "Yesterday", and "We Can Work It Out".

The song appears on the Help! LP, the US Help! soundtrack, 1962-1966, the Imagine: John Lennon soundtrack, 1, Love, and The Capitol Albums, Volume 2. The mono version (with different vocals and no tambourine) was included on the Beatles' Rarities LP and in The Beatles in Mono collection.

The American soundtrack album included a James Bond-type introduction to the song, followed by a caesura just before the opening lyric. No such introduction appeared on the British soundtrack album, nor was it included in the released single in either country.

Promotional films

The Beatles filmed the title performance for the movie Help! on 22 April 1965. The same footage (without the darts and credits seen in the film sequence) was used as a clip to promote the release of the single. It was shown starting in July 1965 on programmes such as Top of the Pops and Thank Your Lucky Stars.

The Beatles made another promotional clip of "Help!" on 23 November 1965 for inclusion in the year-end recap special of Top of the Pops. Directed by Joseph McGrath, the black-and-white clip shows the group miming to the song while sitting astride a workbench. Starr holds an umbrella overhead throughout the song, which becomes useful as fake snow falls during the final verse.

Live performances

The Beatles performed "Help!" live on the 1 August 1965 broadcast of Blackpool Night Out, which was included in the Anthology 2 album and shown during The Beatles Anthology documentary. On 14 August, the group recorded a live performance of "Help!" and five other songs for The Ed Sullivan Show, broadcast the following month; the show is available on the DVD The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles.

"Help!" was included in the set list for The Beatles' 1965 US tour. The 15 August performance at Shea Stadium was seen in the 1966 documentary The Beatles at Shea Stadium, although the audio for the song was re-recorded prior to release. The group's 29 August performance at the Hollywood Bowl was chosen for the 1977 album The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl.

Use in advertising

In February 1985, "Help!" became the first Beatles song licensed for a US television commercial. The Lincoln–Mercury division of Ford Motor Company paid $100,000 for the rights to the song, but not for the use of the original Beatles' recording. The song was re-created by a sound-alike group with assistance from George Martin.

Personnel

• John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal, 12-string acoustic rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney – bass guitar, backing vocals
• George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine

Charts

Chart (1965)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)	5
Canada (RPM Singles Chart)	1
Germany (Media Control AG)	2
Ireland (Irish Singles Chart)	1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	1
UK singles (The Official Charts Company)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	1

Chart (1976)	Peak position
UK singles (The Official Charts Company)	37

The song reached number one in several other countries in 1965 according to charts listed in Billboard's "Hits of the World" feature at the time: Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Sweden.

Cover versions

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"Help!"
Single by Deep Purple
from the album Shades of Deep Purple
Released	July 1968
Recorded	11–13 May 1968 Pye Studios, London
Genre	Psychedelic rock
Length	6:01
Label	Parlophone (UK (England)) Tetragrammaton (US)
Producer	Derek Lawrence

"Help!"
Single by Tina Turner
from the album Private Dancer
B-side	"Rock 'n' Roll Widow"
Released	1984
Format	7", 12" single
Recorded	1984
Genre	Pop/R&B
Length	4:30
Label	Capitol
Writer(s)	Lennon–McCartney
Producer	Wilton Felder, Ndugu Chancler, Joe Sample
Tina Turner singles chronology
"Let's Stay Together" (1983) "Help!" (1984) "What's Love Got to Do with It" (1984)

"Help!"
Single by Bananarama (with Lananeeneenoonoo)
from the album Greatest Hits Collection
Released	February 1989
Format	7" single, 12" single, CD single
Recorded	January 1989
Genre	Pop, dance
Length	2:23
Label	London Records
Writer(s)	Lennon–McCartney
Producer	Stock Aitken Waterman
Bananarama singles chronology "Nathan Jones" (1988) "Help!" (1989) "Cruel Summer '89" (1989)

• In 1968 Deep Purple recorded a cover version (greatly slowed-down) of the song for their album Shades of Deep Purple.
• In 1970 The Carpenters recorded a cover version for release on their album Close to You.
• In 1975 Caetano Veloso released a cover on his album Joia.
• In 1976 Henry Gross covered it for the musical documentary All This and World War II. John Lennon once stated that this was his favourite version of the song. Harrison and McCartney perform backing vocals.
• In 1976 The Damned covered the song for the B-side of "New Rose."
• Dolly Parton included a bluegrass version of "Help!" on her 1979 Great Balls of Fire album.
• In 1980 John Farnham released the song as a piano-based ballad recorded at a much slower tempo.
• In 1982 South African rock group, Hotline, featuring PJ Powers, released the song as a single.
• In 1984 Tina Turner released a ballad version of the song recorded with The Crusaders that peaked at #40 in the UK. The song was included on European editions of her album Private Dancer. It was a staple of her live shows for a time, and also appears on her double album Tina Live in Europe and the Private Dancer Tour concert film.
• In 1985 Roy Orbison Performed a shortened version of the song at much slower tempo for the Television Documentary Everyman: John Lennon "Journey In The Life," which aired on December 6th.
• In 1989 the song was recorded by Bananarama alongside French & Saunders and Kathy Burke and released as the official Red Nose Day single to raise money for Comic Relief. French, Saunders and Burke were credited as Lananeeneenoonoo (a parody of Bananarama who they had imitated in the French & Saunders television programme). This version reached #3 in the UK charts. This version featured on the 1989 Christmas Special - "The Jolly Boys Outing" episode of Only Fools and Horses
• In May 1990, Kylie Minogue performed her band's arrangement of the song before a crowd of 25,000 at the John Lennon: The Tribute Concert on the banks of the River Mersey in Liverpool.
• In 1991 Waltari covered "Help!" on their debut album, Monk Punk.
• In 1995 88 Fingers Louie recorded a version on their first full-length release, Behind Bars.
• In 1995 Little Texas recorded a version of the song for the Beatles tribute album Come Together: America Salutes the Beatles.
• In 1995, Swedish pop group Roxette recorded an acoustic version during their session at the Abbey Road Studios, where three of their own songs were also re-recorded. It would not be commercially available until 2006, when it was finally released on The Rox Box/Roxette 86-06 box set.
• In 1998 The Punkles did a punk cover of this song on their first album.
• In 1999 Claire Martin recorded a slowed-down cover on her album Take My Heart with Noel Gallagher on guitar.
• In 2000 Tsunku and 7HOUSE covered "Help!" on their Beatles' cover album, A Hard Day's Night.
• In 2003 Art Paul Schlosser recorded a parody of "Help!" called "Smelt" which appears on on his Words of Cheese and Other Parrot CD.
• In 2004, Westlife performed the song on their Turnaround Tour.
• Silverstein released a cover version on their fourth album, A Shipwreck in the Sand.
• "Help!" has also been covered by Michael Stanley, dc Talk, Alma Cogan, Rick Wakeman, Howie Day, McFly, Fountains of Wayne, John's Children - Marc Bolan and Peter Sellers.
• The Rutles' song "Ouch!" is a tongue-in-cheek parody of this song.
• In 2010, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra began using a slowed-down, rock ballad version of the song as part of their "Gutter Ballet Medley" in live performances, which also includes the Savatage song "Sleep" (from Edge of Thorns) and a short sample of the "Eleanor Rigby" chorus.

Cultural references

• American author Mark Z. Danielewski frequently refers to this song in his novel House of Leaves.
• The song featured in "Cutting It Close", an episode of Full House, when Jesse Katsopolis breaks both of his arms in a motorcycle accident and has to adjust to a life in which he always needs assistance.
• The lyrics are quoted in the film Yellow Submarine; when Young Fred knocks on the Beatles' door, he says, "Won't you please, please help me?"
• In the Powerpuff Girls episode "Meet the Beat-Alls", a military sergeant says "Help, we need somebody, help, not just anybody, help, we need the Powerpuff Girls."
• In the Only Fools and Horses episode "The Jolly Boys' Outing", Mickey Pearce sings "Won't you please, please help me?" to a sleeping Albert, prompting Albert to tell him to "Get off, you noisy little git!" The version playing on the radio as Mickey sings is the Bananarama cover version rather than the original.
• Several Major League Baseball teams (notably the New York Yankees) play the song when the opposing manager/pitching coach go out for a mound visit.
• The release year of the song was asked as the final ¥ 5,000,000 question in the fictitious version of Who Wants to be A Millionaire, as depicted in the Mainland China sitcom iPartment.

References

• Badman, Keith (2009). The Beatles Diary, Volume 2: After the Break-Up. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-001-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=K2UA5rymtaQC&pg=PA352#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• "Playboy Interview With Paul and Linda McCartney". Beatles Interview Database. 1984. http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/dbpm.int2.html. Retrieved 6 December 2009. 
• Lewisohn, Mark (2000). The Complete Beatles Chronicle. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-60033-5. 
• Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6. 
• Miller, Mark Crispin (1988). Boxed In: The Culture of TV. Northwestern University Press. ISBN 0-8101-0792-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=Lhsg1ZZ3hMQC&pg=PA198&f=false#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Pollack, Alan W. (2000). "Notes on "Help!"". Notes On ... Series. http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/h.shtml. Retrieved 5 December 2009. 
• "RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - The Beatles Gold Singles". RIAA. 2009. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=The%20Beatles&format=SINGLE&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=Platinum&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 20 July 2009. 
• Ryan, Kevin; Kehew, Brian (2006). Recording The Beatles. Houston: Curvebender. ISBN 0-9785200-0-9. 
• Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles: The Biography. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-80352-9. 
• Wallgren, Mark (1982). The Beatles on Record. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-45682-2. 
• Winn, John C. (2008). Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, 1957-1965. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-307-45157-6. 
• "An Interview with Stanley Parks". Lennon.net. 2004. http://www.lennon.net/reflections/s_parkes5.shtml. 

Preceded by "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (The Beatles version) September 4, 1965 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire
Preceded by "Mr. Tambourine Man" by The Byrds	UK number-one single (The Beatles version) August 5, 1965 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher