Lennon–McCartney: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Lennon&mccartney.png|thumb|300px|alt=Black-and-white image of two men in their mid-twenties seated side-by-side. The man on the right wears a white T-shirt, and is writing something with his left hand. The man on the left is bespectacled, wearing a dark-colored shirt and pants, and looks at what is being written.|John Lennon and Paul McCartney in 1968.]] |
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The [[songwriting]] partnership of '''[[John Lennon]]''' and '''[[Paul McCartney]]''' is one of the best-known and most successful musical and cultural collaborations in history. Between 1962 and 1969, they wrote and published approximately 180 jointly credited songs, of which the vast majority were recorded by [[The Beatles]] and form the bulk of their catalogue. Unlike many songwriting partnerships which comprise separate lyricist and composer, both Lennon and McCartney wrote words and music; often however, their songs were principally the work of one of the two credited authors. |
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Lennon–McCartney compositions have been the subject of numerous [[cover versions]]. According to [[Guinness World Records]], "[[Yesterday (song)|Yesterday]]" has been recorded by more artists than any other song.<ref name="guinness">{{cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060910071729/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=50867 |title=Most Recorded Song |accessdate=2009-05-12 |work=[[Guinness World Records]]}}</ref> |
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==Working partnership== |
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Lennon's and McCartney's first musical idols were the [[Everly Brothers]], [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Buddy Holly]] and they learned many of their songs and imitated their sound.<ref name="SpitzPage131-132">Spitz (2005), p. 131-132.</ref> Their first compositions were written at McCartney's home ([[20 Forthlin Road]]), at Lennon's aunt [[Mimi Smith|Mimi]]'s house at [[251 Menlove Avenue]], or at the [[Liverpool Institute]].<ref name="MilesPage34">Miles (1997), p. 34.</ref> They often invited friends such as [[George Harrison]], Nigel Whalley, Barbara Baker, and Lennon's [[art school]] colleagues to listen to performances of their new songs.<ref name="SpitzPage135">Spitz (2005), p. 135.</ref> |
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Although Lennon and McCartney often wrote independently — and many Beatles songs are primarily the work of one or the other — it was rare that a song would be completed without some input from both writers. In many instances, one writer would sketch an idea or a song fragment and take it to the other to finish or improve; in some cases, two incomplete songs or song ideas that each had worked on individually would be combined into a complete song. Often one of the pair would add a so-called [[middle eight]] or [[bridge (music)|bridge]] section to the other's verse and chorus.<ref name="MilesPage107">Miles (1997), p. 107.</ref> Lennon called it "Writing eyeball-to-eyeball",<ref name="MilesPage107"/> and "Playing into each other's noses".<ref name="SpitzPage133">Spitz (2005), p. 133.</ref> This approach of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team — with elements of competitiveness and mutual inspiration as well as straightforward collaboration and creative merging of musical ideas — is often cited as a key reason for the Beatles' innovation and popular success. |
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The two wrote songs together from 1958 until 1969. As time went on, the songs increasingly became the work of one writer or the other, often with the partner offering up only a few words or an alternate chord. "[[A Day in the Life]]" is a notable and well-known example of a later Beatles song that includes substantial contributions by both Lennon and McCartney, where a separate song fragment by McCartney ("Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head...") was used to flesh out the middle of Lennon's composition ("I read the news today, oh boy..."). "[[Hey Jude]]" is another example of a later [[Paul McCartney]] song that had input from Lennon: while auditioning the song for Lennon, when McCartney came to the lyric "the movement you need is on your shoulder," McCartney assured Lennon that he would change the line — which McCartney felt was nonsensical — as soon as he could come up with a better lyric. Lennon advised McCartney to leave that line alone, saying it was one of the strongest in the song.<ref>''The Beatles Anthology'' documentary</ref> |
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In his 1980 ''Playboy'' interview, Lennon said of the partnership, "you could say that he provided a lightness, an optimism, while I would always go for the sadness, the discords, a certain bluesy edge. There was a period when I thought I didn't write melodies, that Paul wrote those and I just wrote straight, shouting rock 'n' roll. But, of course, when I think of some of my own songs — "In My Life" — or some of the early stuff — "This Boy" — I was writing melody with the best of them....Then again, I'd be the one to figure out where to go with a song — a story that Paul would start. In a lot of the songs, my stuff is the 'middle eight,' the bridge."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.john-lennon.com/playboyinterviewwithjohnlennonandyokoono.htm |title=1980 Playboy Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono |last=Sheff |first=David |date=January 1981 |work=John-Lennon.com}}</ref> |
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However, Lennon said the main intention of the Beatles music was to communicate, and that, to this effect, he and McCartney had a shared purpose. The book ''Help! 50 Songwriting, Recording and Career Tips Used by The Beatles'', points out that at least half of all Lennon/McCartney lyrics have the words "you" or "your" in the first line.<ref name="RowleyPage3">Rowley (2008), p. 3.</ref> |
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The Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership makes up the majority of the Beatles' catalogue. The first two UK studio albums included twelve cover tunes out of twenty-eight total songs,<ref name="allmusic1">{{cite web |accessdate=14 December 2009 |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |authorlink=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fifpxql5ldae~T0 |title=Overview of ''Please Please Me'' |work=[[Allmusic]]}}</ref><ref name="allmusic2">{{cite web |accessdate=14 December 2009 |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |url= http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gifpxql5ldae~T1 |title=Review of ''With the Beatles'' |work=Allmusic}}</ref> with one Beatles original ("[[Don't Bother Me]]") credited to [[George Harrison]]<ref name="allmusic2"/> and the rest to Lennon/McCartney. Their third UK album, ''[[A Hard Day's Night (album)|A Hard Day's Night]]'' is the only Beatles album made up entirely of Lennon/McCartney compositions.<ref name="allmusic3">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kifpxql5ldae|title=Overview of ''A Hard Day’s Night'' |work=Allmusic}}</ref> The next album released, ''[[Beatles For Sale]]'' included six covers.<ref name=" allmusic4">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:aifpxql5ldae|title=Overview of ''Beatles for Sale'' |work=Allmusic}}</ref> The subsequent release ''[[Help! (album)|Help!]]'' had two covers and two Harrison compositions along with ten Lennon/McCartney tracks. Beginning with ''[[Rubber Soul]]'', The Beatles released only original material on their studio albums,<ref name="allmusic5">{{cite web |accessdate=14 December 2009 |first=Richie |last=Unterberger |authorlink=Richie Unterberger |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jifqxql5ldae |title=Review of ''Rubber Soul'' |work=Allmusic}}</ref> with George Harrison contributing between one and three songs on each record, Ringo writing two songs ("[[Don't Pass Me By]]" and "[[Octopus's Garden]]"), and the rest of the catalogue coming from Lennon and McCartney. |
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==Joint credit== |
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Before they formed the Beatles, McCartney and Lennon had been writing songs together as [[teenagers|teens]].<ref name="salon1">{{cite web|last=Garcia |first=Gilbert |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/music/feature/2003/01/27/paul_yoko/index.html|title=The ballad of Paul and Yoko |work=salon.com |date=27 January 2003 |accessdate=13 December 2009}}</ref> Both agreed at that time that all songs written by either one of the pair (whether written individually or in a collaborative effort) should be credited to both of them.<ref name="salon1"/> The earliest song credited to Lennon/McCartney to be officially released is [[You'll Be Mine (The Beatles song)|"You'll Be Mine"]], recorded at home in 1960 and included on ''[[Anthology 1]]'' 35 years later.<ref>Unterberger, Richie. ''The unreleased Beatles: music & film''. Hal Leonard Corp., 2006, ISBN 9780879308926, p. 5-6</ref> |
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From the time of The Beatles’ first [[A&R]] audition in January 1962, until Lennon's announcement in September 1969 that he was leaving the band, virtually all songs by McCartney or Lennon were published jointly credited; the only exceptions were a handful of McCartney compositions released by other artists (viz. "[[Woman (Paul McCartney song)|Woman]]" by [[Peter and Gordon]] in 1966, "Cat Call" by [[Chris Barber]] in 1967, and "Penina" by Carlos Mendes in 1969). |
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Only in three known cases is there a substantial difference between the recollections of Lennon and McCartney over their individual contributions to Lennon/McCartney songs. |
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Although Lennon said that McCartney helped only with "the [[middle eight]]" (implying a short section) of "[[In My Life]]",<ref name="MilesPage278">Miles (1997), p. 278.</ref> McCartney has said that he wrote the (entire) melody, taking inspiration from [[Smokey Robinson and the Miracles|Smokey Robinson]] songs.<ref name="MilesPage277">Miles (1997), p. 277.</ref> |
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McCartney said that he wrote "[[Eleanor Rigby]]" on an upright piano in the [[Jane Asher|Ashers']] music room in Wimpole Street,<ref name="MilesPage281">Miles (1997), p. 281.</ref> and later played it to [[Donovan]] before it was finished — a claim which Donovan confirmed.<ref name="MilesPage282">Miles (1997), p. 282.</ref> Lennon said, in 1972, that he wrote 70 percent of the "Eleanor Rigby" lyrics,<ref name="MilesPage283">Miles (1997), p. 283.</ref> but [[Pete Shotton]], Lennon's childhood friend, remembered Lennon's contribution as being "absolutely nil".<ref name="MilesPage284">Miles (1997), p. 284.</ref> |
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Whilst Lennon said that McCartney's contribution to "[[Ticket to Ride]]" was limited to "the way [[Ringo Starr|Ringo]] played the drums,"<ref name="sheff196">Sheff (2000), p. 196.</ref> McCartney said "we sat down and wrote it together... give him 60 percent of it."<ref name="miles1p193">Miles (1997), p. 193.</ref> |
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==Credit changes== |
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===Lennon/McCartney vs. McCartney/Lennon=== |
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On 5 October 1962, The Beatles released their first single in the UK, "[[Love Me Do]]"/"[[P.S. I Love You (The Beatles song)|P.S. I Love You]]", credited to "Lennon/McCartney". For the follow-up single released on 11 January 1963, "[[Please Please Me]]"/"[[Ask Me Why]]", the credit was reversed to "McCartney/Lennon". On 22 March 1963, the ''[[Please Please Me]]'' LP was released in the UK, and "McCartney/Lennon" was listed for all original compositions. "[[From Me To You]]"/"[[Thank You Girl]]" was issued as a single on 11 April 1963, the last pair of issued songs credited to "McCartney/Lennon".<ref name="lewisohn1988p23">Lewisohn (1988), pp. 23, 32</ref> |
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On 23 August 1963, "[[She Loves You]]"/"[[I'll Get You]]" was released as a single, and the songwriting credit was reverted to "Lennon/McCartney". All official subsequent Beatles singles and albums list "Lennon/McCartney" (UK) or "J.Lennon/P.McCartney" (US) as the author of songs written by the two. |
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When McCartney released his live album ''[[Wings over America]]'' in 1976, the songwriting credits for five Beatles songs included on the album were reversed to place McCartney's name first. Neither Lennon nor [[Yoko Ono]] publicly “voiced a word of disapproval about it”.<ref name="salon1"/> |
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In the late 1990s, McCartney and Ono were in a dispute over the writing credits for a number of Beatles songs.<ref name="McCartneyLennon">{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2953620.stm |title=McCartney makes up with Ono |work=BBC News |date=1 June 2003}}</ref> McCartney had wanted to change the credits from the traditional Lennon/McCartney to 'Paul McCartney and John Lennon' for the song "[[Yesterday (song)|Yesterday]]". McCartney claimed that he and Lennon had agreed in the past that the credits could be reversed, if either of them wanted to, on any future releases, but he later withdrew his request.<ref name="McCartneyLennon"/> In 2002, the Paul McCartney live album ''[[Back in the U.S.]]'' gave the writing credit to "Paul McCartney and John Lennon" on all of the Beatles songs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/david-lister/let-it-be-sir-paul-as-someone-or-other-once-said-612138.html |title=Let it be, Sir Paul (as someone or other once said) |last=Lister |first=David |date=28 December 2002 |work=The Independent}}</ref> In a February 2005 statement, McCartney said, "It's something that I don't have a problem with anymore."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heathermillsmccartney.com/notep.php |title=No problem any more |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080217043221/http://www.heathermillsmccartney.com/notep.php |archivedate=17 February 2008 |accessdate=19 December 2009}}</ref> |
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An in-depth analysis of the legal issues surrounding this dispute is the subject of a sixty-six page Pepperdine Law Review Article from 2006.<ref name="landes">{{cite article |last=Landes |first=Ezra D. |title=I Am the Walrus - No. I Am!: Can Paul McCartney Transpose the Ubiquitous 'Lennon/McCartney' Songwriting Credit to Read 'McCartney/Lennon?" An Exploration of the Surviving Beatle's Attempt to Re-Write Music Lore, as it Pertains to the Bundle of Intellectual Property Rights |work=Pepperdine Law Review |year=2006 |volume=34 |page=185}}</ref> |
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===Give Peace a Chance=== |
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When Lennon's 1997 posthumous compilation of solo hits, ''[[Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon]]'', was released, "[[Give Peace a Chance]]", a song that had originally been credited to Lennon/McCartney, was listed as being composed solely by Lennon. Lennon said that he alone had written the song, his first solo release, but had shared the credit with McCartney "out of guilt"<!-- guilt for what? it's pretty meaningless without establishing this -->.<ref name="sheff1p214-215">Sheff (2000), p214-215.</ref> However, it has also been said that he did it as a way of thanks to McCartney for helping him record "[[The Ballad of John and Yoko]]" at short notice.<ref name="macdonald2p358">MacDonald (2005), p. 358.</ref> |
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==Other credits== |
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A number of songs written primarily by the duo and recorded by the Beatles were credited to people in addition to Lennon and McCartney. "[[What Goes On (song)|What Goes On]]" was credited to Lennon/McCartney/[[Ringo Starr|Starkey]], while "[[Dig It (The Beatles song)|Dig It]]" and the Beatles' version of "[[Free as a Bird]]", was credited to Lennon/McCartney/[[George Harrison|Harrison]]/Starkey. "[[Flying (song)|Flying]]" was credited to Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/[[Ringo Starr|Starr]]. The [[German language|German-language]] versions of "[[I Want to Hold Your Hand]]" and "[[She Loves You]]" were also credited to additional songwriters for assisting with the translation: "[[I Want to Hold Your Hand|Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand]]" was credited to Lennon/McCartney/[[Camillo Felgen|Nicholas]]/Heller and "[[She Loves You|Sie Liebt Dich]]" was credited to Lennon/McCartney/Nicholas/Montague. |
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==Non-Beatles songs== |
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Several songs credited to Lennon/McCartney were originally released not by the Beatles but by other artists, especially those managed by [[Brian Epstein]]. Recording a Lennon/McCartney song helped launch new artists' careers. Many of the recordings below were included on the 1979 compilation album ''[[The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away]]''.<ref>{{cite web |first=Graham |last=Calkin |work=JPGR |url=http://www.jpgr.co.uk/col_nut18.html |title=The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away |accessdate=14 December 2009}}</ref> Beatles versions of some of these were recorded; some were not released until after their split, on compilations such as ''[[Live at the BBC (The Beatles album)|Live at the BBC]]'' (1993) and ''[[The Beatles Anthology]]'' (1995-6). |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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|- |
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! Year |
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! Artist |
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! Song |
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! Peak Chart<br/>Position |
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! Notes |
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|- |
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|1963 || [[The Rolling Stones]] || "[[I Wanna Be Your Man]]" || align="center" | UK #12 || Beatles version released later in 1963 on ''[[With The Beatles]]'' |
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|- |
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|1963 || [[Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas]] || "[[I'll Be on My Way]]" || align="center" | ([[b-side]]) || Beatles version released on ''Live at the BBC'' |
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|- |
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|1963 || Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas || "[[Bad to Me]]" || align="center" | UK #1 || |
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|- |
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|1963 || Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas || "[[I'll Keep You Satisfied]]" || align="center" | UK #4 || |
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|- |
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|1964 || Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas || "[[From a Window]]" || align="center" | UK #10 || |
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|- |
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|1963 || [[Tommy Quickly]] || "[[Tip of My Tongue]]" || align="center" | — || |
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|- |
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|1963 || [[The Fourmost]] || "[[Hello Little Girl]]" || align="center" | UK #9 || Beatles version released on ''Anthology 1'' |
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|- |
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|1963 || The Fourmost || "[[I'm in Love (Lennon/McCartney song)|I'm in Love]]" || align="center" | UK #17 || |
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|- |
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|1963 || [[Cilla Black]] || "[[Love of the Loved]]" || align="center" | UK #35 || |
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|- |
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|1964 || Cilla Black || "[[It's for You]]" || align="center" | UK #7 || |
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|- |
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|1968 || Cilla Black || "[[Step Inside Love]]" || align="center" | UK #8 || Beatles version released on ''Anthology 3'' |
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|- |
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|1964 || The Strangers with Mike Shannon || "One and One Is Two" || align="center" | — || |
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|- |
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|1964 || [[Peter & Gordon]] || "[[A World Without Love]]" || align="center" | UK #1 || |
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|- |
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|1964 || Peter & Gordon || "[[Nobody I Know]]" || align="center" | UK #10 || |
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|- |
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|1964 || Peter & Gordon || "[[I Don't Want to See You Again]]" || align="center" | — || |
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|- |
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|1964 || [[The Applejacks]] || "[[Like Dreamers Do]]" || align="center" | UK #20 || Beatles version released on ''Anthology 1'' |
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|- |
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|1965 || [[P.J. Proby]] || "[[That Means a Lot]]" || align="center" | UK #30 || Beatles version released on ''Anthology 2'' |
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|- |
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|1968 || [[Black Dyke Band|Black Dyke Mills Band]] || "Thingumybob" || align="center" | — || |
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|- |
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|1969 || [[Mary Hopkin]] || "Goodbye" || align="center" | UK #2 || |
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|} |
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<!-- Note: Please do NOT add "Come and Get It" by Badfinger to this list, as it is not a Lennon/McCartney song, but is credited solely to Paul McCartney. --> |
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==See also== |
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*[[List of The Beatles songs]] |
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*[[List of songwriter tandems]] |
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== Notes == |
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{{reflist|colwidth=30em}} |
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==References== |
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* {{cite book |last=Miles |first=Barry |authorlink=Barry Miles |title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now |year=1997 |publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]] |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-5249-6}} |
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* {{cite book | first=David |last=Sheff |title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono |year=2000 |pages= |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=0-312-25464-4}} |
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* {{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |authorlink=Ian MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties |year=2005 |edition=Second Revised |publisher=Pimlico (Rand) |location=London |isbn=1-844-13828-3}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Spitz |first=Bob |authorlink=Bob Spitz |title=The Beatles: The Biography |year=2005 |publisher=[[Little, Brown]] |location=Boston |isbn=0-316-80352-9}} |
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* {{cite book | last=Rowley |first=David |title=Help! 50 Songwriting, Recording and Career Tips used by the Beatles |publisher=[[Matador]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-1906221-379}} |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5950929 The Lennon-McCartney Songwriting Partnership] |
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*[http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beatles/songs-beatles-didnt-do.html Songs the Beatles Didn't Do] compiled by Joseph Brennan; includes Lennon/McCartney songs and others |
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*[http://www.beatlesagain.com/breflib/gaveaway.html A list of the songs John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave to other artists during the Beatle years] originally posted on [[Usenet]] rec.music.beatles 9 November 1994. |
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{{The Beatles}} |
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[[Category:The Beatles music]] |
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[[Category:Paul McCartney]] |
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[[Category:Rock music duos]] |
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