TOP 100 SONGS OF THE BEATLES: 59

"And I Love Her" (McCartney – February 26, 1964) 

A Hard Day's Night – Side 1, Track 5 (2:30)

YouTube (McCartney Unplugged MTV live, 1991)

From Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, About.com, and Google – 

"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by the Beatles, written mainly by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney). The fifth track on their third album, A Hard Day's Night, it was released 20 July 1964 with "If I Fell" as a single by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching #12 in Billboard.

The Beatles performed "And I Love Her" just once outside Abbey Road Studios; on 14 July 1964 they played it for an edition of the BBC's Top Gear radio show, which was broadcast two days later.

History –

Written mostly by Paul with a Latin feel, this tender ballad was also composed for girlfriend Jane Asher. Paul has claimed complete composition, but eyewitnesses have claimed that producer George Martin, thinking the song needed a bridge, instructed John AND Paul to write one on the spot. John himself claims to have helped with the bridge, which apparently did not exist in Paul's original song.

This is the first (and perhaps only) Beatles song which modulates to another key during the solo. George's solo is played on a flamenco guitar.

The original version of this song is a bit faster and features more prominently electrical instruments (the final version features John's Gibson J160E, an amplified acoustic-electric hybrid played like an acoustic, and an electric bass). Tellingly, it also does not feature the bridge.

Paul's vocal is unadorned by outside harmonies―unusual for a Beatles song―but he is doubletracked. On the original US A Hard Day's Night LP the doubletracking is removed, but his own harmonies remain.

This is also the first minor-key original Beatles song to end on the relative major key. 

Previously, the group had copied this technique on their version of "A Taste Of Honey," modeled after Doris Day's cover; they'd also ended a major song on its relative minor with the original "From Me To You."

Composition –

A majority of this song switches back and forth between the key of E and its relative minor C#m. It also changes keys altogether just before the solo, to F. It ends on the parallel major of the key of F's relative minor, D. This technique is known as Picardy third resolution.

The song was written mainly by McCartney, though John Lennon claimed in an interview with Playboy that his major contribution was the middle eight section ("A love like ours/Could never die/As long as I/Have you near me").

Beatles publisher Dick James lends support to this claim, saying that the middle eight was added during recording at the suggestion of producer George Martin (an early take of the song was released on Anthology 1 in 1995, and the middle eight had not yet been added). According to James, Lennon called for a break and "within half an hour [Lennon and McCartney] wrote...a very constructive middle to a very commercial song." McCartney, on the other hand, maintains that "the middle eight is mine.... I wrote this on my own. I would say that John probably helped with the middle eight, but he can't say 'It's mine'."

"The 'And' in the title was an important thing — 'And I Love Her,' it came right out of left field, you were right up to speed the minute you heard it," McCartney said. "The title comes in the second verse and it doesn't repeat. You would often go to town on the title, but this was almost an aside: 'Oh . . . and I love you.'"

McCartney called "And I Love Her" "the first ballad I impressed myself with." Lennon called it Mc­Cartney's "first 'Yesterday.'"

Recording –

Recorded by the Beatles over three days, in Abbey Road Studio Two, the sessions were produced by George Martin and engineered by Norman Smith. The second engineer was Richard Langham.

Day 1

Work began at 2:30 PM on Tuesday 25 February 1964, the first day of the sessions for the "A Hard Day's Night" soundtrack and the accompanying album. Two takes were recorded. Take 1 was incomplete, but Take 2 was complete. However, the Beatles decided a lighter touch was required. Take 2 was eventually released on Anthology 1 in 1995.[7] This version was missing the middle-eight.

Personnel on this session

Paul McCartney – lead vocal, 1963 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar through Vox AC-100 bass amp.
John Lennon – 1964 Rickenbacker 325 electric guitar through Vox AC-50 guitar amp
George Harrison – 1964 Rickenbacker 360-12 12 string electric guitar through Vox AC-50 guitar amp
Ringo Starr – Ludwig drum kit

Day 2

The following day, Wednesday 26 February, a further 17 takes (Takes 3-19) were made in a session lasting from 7:00-10:00 PM. Although Starr swapped his drums for bongos and claves halfway through the session, they were still not happy. It was during this session that they stopped for a tea break and to write the middle eight. A brief fragment of Take 11 can be heard in the closing credits of Episode 8 of Anthology, where Paul sings "And if you saw my love, I'd love her [too]..." before the take breaks down.

Personnel –

Paul McCartney – Lead vocal, 1963 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar through Vox AC-100 bass amp.

John Lennon – Harrison's 1962 Gibson J-160E acoustic-electric guitar through Vox AC-50 guitar amp
George Harrison – 1964 José Ramírez Guitarra de Estudio classical guitar
Ringo Starr – Ludwig drum kit, switching to bongos and claves

Day 3

A further two takes (Takes 20-21) were recorded on the morning of Thursday 27 February, beginning at 10:00 AM. Take 20 saw the basic track laid down, while Take 21 was an overdub of McCartney's double-tracked lead vocal and Starr's claves.

Mixing and Release –

All mixes were prepared from Take 21.

Mono Remix 1

This initial mono mix was made in the Abbey Road Studio One control room on Tuesday 3 March. As for the recording session, Martin and Smith were producer and engineer. The second engineer was A.B.Lincoln.

The mix features McCartney's single-tracked vocal, with only selected phrases (for example, the title) highlighted by double tracking.

This mix was sent to Capitol and United Artists on Tuesday 9 June, and released on the US mono version of the A Hard Day's Night soundtrack album on Friday 26 June 1964. The stereo version of the album used a fake stereo version of this mono mix.

This mix was also used on the mono version of the Capitol album Something New, released on Monday 20 July 1964.

This mix was also used on the film print of A Hard Day's Night except the speed was slower in a low pitch.

It can currently be found as part of the Capitol Albums Volume 1 box set.

Mono Remix 2

This second mono mix was made in the Abbey Road Studio One control room on Monday 22 June. Martin and Smith were again producer and engineer. The second engineer was Geoff Emerick.

In this mix, McCartney's vocal is double-tracked throughout, except for the first two lines of the third verse.

This mix was released on the UK mono version of A Hard Day's Night on Friday 10 July 1964.

It can currently be found on The Beatles in Mono box set.

Stereo Mix

A stereo mix of "And I Love Her" was made on Monday 22 June immediately after Mono Remix 2. As with Mono Remix 2, McCartney's vocal is double-tracked throughout, except for the first two lines of the third verse.

This mix was released on the UK stereo version of A Hard Day's Night on Friday 10 July 1964.

This mix was also used on the stereo version of the Capitol album Something New, released on Monday 20 July 1964.

It can currently be found on the A Hard Day's Night CD, and as part of the Capitol Albums Volume 1 box set.

Extended Stereo Mix

The German version of Something New contained an edited version of the 22 June stereo mix, repeating the closing guitar riff five times instead of three. This version also appeared on the American "Rarities" album in 1980. It is not known when this edit was made. It has not yet been released on CD.

Takes: 21

Personnel –

John Lennon – Acoustic rhythm guitar (Gibson J160E)
Paul McCartney – Lead vocals (double-tracked), bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
George Harrison – Lead acoustic guitar (1950 Jose Ramirez classical), claves
Ringo Starr – Bongos

Trivia –

The outro of this song repeats the acoustic riff four times, but on the German version of Something New it was repeated six times. This version appears on the Beatles' Rarities LP and The Beatles Box.

One of the first pop songs whose title starts in mid-sentence.

Today in Beatles History  (From The Internet Beatles Album) February 10 –

1962 – Performance at the Cavern, with The Saints Jazz Band, and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

1963 – Performance at the Cavern.

1964 – Brian announces his concerts series 'Pops Alive!' for the Prince Of Wales Theatre, London, 2 houses a night. 

– Brian announces that Subafilms will produce for worldwide release through United Artists the Gerry and the Pacemakers film Ferry Cross The Mersey.
– US gold certification: Meet The Beatles! – US gold certification: 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'/'I Saw Her Standing There'.

1965 – 'I Feel Fine', 10th and last week in the Top 30 (UK New Musical Express chart).– Shepperton Film Studios. Brian tele-recording for 'Hullabaloo', interviewing and presenting the Searchers, Billy J. Kramer, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Georgie Fame, Joe Brown, and the Moody Blues.

1966 – Performance of Stevie Wonder at the Scotch Of St James night-club, London. Paul attends. – After the show, Paul and Stevie have a a long conversation.

1967– Studio 2. 7.00pm-1.15am. Recording: "A Day In The Life" (overdub onto take 6). Producer: George Martin; Engineer: Geoff Emerick; 2nd Engineer: Richard Lush. – Re-recording of Paul's vocal.

1968 – Studio 3. 2.30-6.00pm. Recording: "Lady Madonna"(takes 1-3). Studio 3. 7.00pm-1.30am. Recording: "Lady Madonna" (overdub onto take 3). Producer: George Martin; Engineer: Ken Scott; 2nd Engineer: Richard Lush. 
– Start of sessions for next single (eventuallly "Lady Madonna"/"The Inner Light").

1969 – Recording of "My Dark Hour", by Steve Miller, in London. Paul plays bass, sings backing vocals and plays some drums.
– Allen Klein is appointed Apple business advisor of Apple.

1996 – Abbey Road number 3 in the Pop Catalog (Billboard). 
– Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band number 5 in the Pop Catalog (Billboard).
– The Beatles 1967-1970 number 10 in the Pop Catalog (Billboard).