Christmas Time is Here Again

Released as a flexi-disc record only for the members of the Beatles Fan Club

Year: 1967

Written by: Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starr

Soon after their first single, Love Me Do, was released in 1962, the Beatles started receiving cards, letters, and gifts from a fast-growing group of admirers all over Great Britain. By the end of 1963, they were getting so much fan mail that they couldn't keep up and respond to it all. They decided to make a special recording just for the members of their fan club, sending out the flexi-disc records at Christmas as a way of saying "thank you" to their most devoted fans.

The idea was so popular that they decided to repeat it again the next year... and the next. In fact, at the end of each year, from 1963 until 1969, the Beatles got together to record a special Christmas flexi-disc for their British and also their American fan club members. These recordings were always less than 10 minutes long, but they included spoken messages from each of the Beatles, as well as silly songs and funny little skits.

The video above is based on their 1967 Christmas flexi-disc, but only part of the recording is included. The entire (very silly) recording can be found here.

Your Mother Should Know

Album: Magical Mystery Tour

Year: 1967

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

Written for the Beatles' third film, Magical Mystery Tour, Your Mother Should Know is a fun little song. Paul said he wrote it so that the band could perform an old-fashioned dance segment at the end of the movie. The movie played on British television on Boxing Day in 1967, and most people thought it was kind of silly and more than a little bit strange. I love the movie, however, and so do a lot of other people–including the Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg, who has cited it as an influence in his own filmmaking.

Paul sings the lead vocal, with John, Paul, and George all providing the backing vocals.

Help!

** A TOP TEN FAVORITE **

Album: Help!

Year: 1965

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

It's hard to believe that this week marks 33 years since we lost John Lennon. I was in high school at the time, and I will never forget hearing the terrible news and witnessing the sadness people all over the world felt when this amazing artist died so young.

In honor of John, this week's song is one of his (and also one of my) favorites. Help! was a #1 hit song, written for the Beatles' second movie, which was also called Help! John once said that Help! was the first "honest" song that he wrote, because he was feeling a bit sad and confused at the time, and he felt he needed some help to get him through the tough time. The Beatles had become international superstars, and they had very little privacy or time to themselves. John was a very sensitive person, so the new-found fame seemed to affect him the most.

This video includes different scenes from the movie Help!, which is a funny film that shows the Beatles in many James Bond-like adventures. John sings a great double-tracked lead vocal and plays a really cool 12-string acoustic guitar. Paul and George sing a wonderful and quite complex backing harmony.