Can't Buy Me Love

Album: A Hard Day's Night

Year: 1964

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

Written in a hotel room while The Beatles were playing in Paris, France, Can't Buy Me Love was released as their sixth British single, and it went straight to #1. At the time that this song was written and recorded, The Beatles were exploding as a worldwide phenomenon. They were going to America for the first time, to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show–where a record 73 million viewers watched them–and a tour that would take them to eight countries was planned for later in the year. They were also getting ready to work on their first film, A Hard Day's Night.

Can't Buy Me Love was written to be included in the film. In this scene, The Beatles are shown escaping from a studio where they will be taping a television appearance. Bored by being locked up inside all day in "a car and a room and a room and a room," they run outside to frolic and have some silly fun, until chased away by a grumpy caretaker. "Sorry we hurt your field, mister," is George's famous response as The Beatles head back to the studio.

Paul sings the lead vocal, and George plays two different guitars: his newly-acquired 12-string Rickenbacker and one of his several Gretsch models.

Thank You Girl

Album: Not included on an original Beatles album; issued as the b-side of a single

Year: 1963

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, here is a song of gratitude. Thank You Girl was the b-side of The Beatles' third single, which featured From Me to You on the a-side. (From Me to You was the #1 song on the British pop charts on the day I was born.) Though not one of their truly great creations (John called it "just a silly song"), Thank You Girl is cute and fun, and it was written as a tribute to their female fans. As Paul once explained:

"We knew that if we wrote a song called Thank You Girl that a lot of the girls who wrote us fan letters would take it as a genuine thank you. So a lot of our [early] songs were directly addressed to the fans."

This video features some really terrific photographs of The Beatles rehearsing for their performances for the BBC, as well as some of John romping in a field with comedian Dudley Moore and actor Norman Rossington. In the song, John plays the harmonica and sings his famous double-tracked lead vocal in the song, with Paul joining him on harmony.

Penny Lane

Album: Not included on an original Beatles album; issued as a single 

Year: 1967

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

One of the best beloved Beatles songs, Penny Lane was issued as a double A-sided single with another classic, Strawberry Fields Forever. The theme of both songs is childhood nostalgia about The Beatles' home town of Liverpool, England.

Penny Lane is the name of a street and a district south of Liverpool's city center. John lived in the Penny Lane area as a young child, and later, when he was a teenager, he and Paul would often meet at the busy bus station "in the middle of the roundabout."

The Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever single marked the beginning of an exciting new musical direction for The Beatles. Fashion and art were becoming more colorful by late 1966, when this song was written, and The Beatles' music reflected this trend. In fact, Paul began writing this song on his recently painted upright piano (which he still uses on stage to this day).

Paul sings lead vocal, with John joining him in the harmony. John, Paul, and George all sing backing vocals together. A number of brass and wind instruments are played in the song, most notably a piccolo trumpet, which can be heard in the memorable solo.

Baby, You're a Rich Man

Album: Magical Mystery Tour

Year: 1967

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

As was common earlier in The Beatles's career, Baby, You're a Rich Man was recorded in just one day. It was written as a hybrid of sorts, as John once described in an interview: 

"That's a combination of two separate pieces, Paul's and mine, put together and forced into one song. One half was all mine. [Sings] 'How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people, now that you know who you are, da da da da.' Then Paul comes in with [sings] 'Baby, you're a rich man,' which was a lick he had around."

Many fans believe that this song refers to Beatles manager and dear friend Brian Epstein, but neither John nor Paul ever confirmed that it was.

In keeping with The Beatles' wonderful tradition of experimentation, Baby, You're a Rich Man features an interesting instrument. John plays the clavioline, which is the wailing, Indian-like sound heard throughout the song (and which always sounded a little like the bagpipes to me). As usual, John double-tracks his lead vocal, while he, Paul, and George all provide backing vocals. It's possible, though unconfirmed, that Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones also sings along during outro.

If I Needed Someone

Album: Rubber Soul

Year: 1965

Written by: George Harrison

Last week was the first post featuring a song not written by Lennon-McCartney (John and Paul)... well, here's another one. The Beatles' lead guitarist George wrote If I Needed Someone, inspired by the jangly guitar riffs he had heard in songs by the folk-rock group The Byrds. The funny thing is, though, that Roger McGuinn of The Byrds admitted that George's cool guitar sounds on the 1964 album A Hard Day's Night had influenced him when he wrote those songs.

If I Needed Someone is the only George composition that The Beatles ever performed in concert. In this video, which was filmed when they played at The Budokan in Tokyo, Japan in 1966, the audio track is taken from the Rubber Soul version of the song, not from the concert itself... which explains why the audio and video are not in synch.

Like his bandmate John often does, George sings a double-tracked lead vocal, with John and Paul providing the harmonies. George also plays the newer version of his really cool 12-string Rickenbacker guitar on this track.