TOP 100 SONGS OF THE BEATLES ― 14

“She Loves You" (Lennon – September 16, 1963)    

Single (“I’ll Get You”) 
YouTube (på norsk)

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

"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney based on an idea by McCartney, originally recorded by the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record in the United States by being one of the five Beatles songs which held the top five positions in the American charts simultaneously. It is The Beatles' best-selling single in the United Kingdom, and was the best-selling single in Britain in 1963.

"She Loves You" was credited to "Lennon/McCartney" as were all subsequent songs written by the pair and released during the remainder of the band's tenure. With the exception of the single version of "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You", all prior songs were credited as "McCartney/Lennon". The sequence was a source of controversy when McCartney changed it to "McCartney/Lennon" for some live versions released later in his career.

This was the first song by The Beatles to be heard by a substantial number of Americans; the only United States release by The Beatles that had even charted before that was "From Me to You", which lasted three weeks in August 1963, never going higher than number 11.

In November 2004, Rolling Stone ranked "She Loves You" as the 64th Greatest Song of All Time. In October 2005, Uncut magazine named "She Loves You" as the third biggest song that changed the world, behind Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".

In August 2009, at the end of its "Beatles Weekend", BBC Radio 2 announced that "She Loves You" was the Beatles' all-time best-selling single in the UK based on information compiled by The Official Charts Company.

History –

Written on June 29th, 1963, at either the Imperial or (more likely) the Royal Turk's Head Hotel in Newcastle, England, while on tour with Roy Orbison and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Inspired by Bobby Rydell's "Forget Him," Paul had the idea to write a song where he would convince John, in duet form, that some unnamed girl truly loved him. That idea was quickly rejected in favor of a song where John and Paul, singing together, both convince some unseen third party.

The last chord of this song is a jazzy sixth chord, instead of the normal major key with which a pop single would normally end. Producer George Martin objected, but the band insisted, and the odd chord stayed.

The original stereo master of this song has, somehow, been lost to history. Therefore, it has never been released in stereo, one of only four Beatles songs to have this distinction (the others being "Love Me Do," "I'll Get You," and "P.S. I Love You."

On the afternoon of July 1st, 1963, the Beatles were about to record "She Loves You" at EMI studios when all hell broke loose. As Geoff Emerick — then an assistant at Abbey Road, later the Beatles' engineer — recalled, "The huge crowd of girls that had gathered outside broke through the front door... Scores of hysterical, screaming girls [were] racing down the corridors, being chased by a handful of out-of-breath, beleaguered London bobbies." The disruption may have been a blessing in disguise for the Beatles, who promptly banged out one of the most exuberant pop singles of all time. "[The chaos] helped spark a new level of energy in the group's playing," Emerick wrote.

Lennon and McCartney began writing "She Loves You" in a tour van, then did the bulk of the work in the Turk's Hotel in Newcastle, sitting on twin beds with acoustic guitars. The breakthrough in the lyrics was the introduction of a third person, shaking up the typical I-love-you formula. The variation was inspired by Bobby Rydell's "Forget Him," a hit in the U.K. "It was someone bringing a message," said McCartney. "It wasn't us anymore. There's a little distance we managed to put in it, which was quite interesting."

Still, something was missing. "We'd written the song and we needed more," Lennon said, "so we had 'yeah, yeah, yeah' and it caught on. I don't exactly know where we got it — Lonnie Donegan always did it. Elvis did that in 'All Shook Up.'"

For all the raw immediacy of its sound, the song also signaled a new level of sophistication for the band as songwriters and arrangers. "She Loves You" opens with the chorus instead of the first verse for extra punch — a George Martin suggestion. The final touch was the distinctive chord that ends the chorus — Harrison's idea — which sounded "corny" to Martin. "He thought we were joking," said McCartney. "But it didn't work without it, so we kept it in and eventually [he] was convinced."

The appearance by the Beatles on ITV's Sunday Night at the London Palladium on October 13th, 1963, culminating in the band's performance of "She Loves You," is often considered the tipping point of Beatlemania. The Beatles would go on to triumph after triumph as the 1960s went on, but in Great Britain, "She Loves You" remained the bestselling single of the decade.

Composition –

McCartney and Lennon started composing "She Loves You" after a concert at the Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle as part of their tour with Roy Orbison and Gerry & The Pacemakers. They began writing the song on the tour bus, and continued it later that night at their hotel in Newcastle. In 2003, plans to install a plaque at the hotel were stalled after it turned out neither Paul McCartney nor Ringo Starr, the surviving Beatles, could recall whether it was the Imperial Hotel or the Royal Turk's Head where the group had stayed.

The other circumstances under which the song was written are generally agreed upon. In 2000 McCartney said: "There was a Bobby Rydell song out at the time "Forget Him" and, as often happens, you think of one song when you write another. We were in a van up in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. I'd planned an 'answering song' where a couple of us would sing 'she loves you' and the other ones would answer 'yeah yeah'. We decided that was a crummy idea but at least we then had the idea of a song called 'She Loves You'. So we sat in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it — John and I, sitting on twin beds with guitars." It was completed the following day at McCartney's family home at Forthlin Road, Liverpool. Unusually for a love song, the lyrics were not written in the first person. Instead, the narrator functions as a helpful go-between for the estranged lovers. This idea was attributed by Lennon to McCartney in 1980: "It was Paul's idea: instead of singing 'I love you' again, we’d have a third party. That kind of little detail is still in his work. He will write a story about someone. I'm more inclined to write about myself".

The British establishment at that time found the refrain "yeah, yeah, yeah" controversial. National radio in the form of the BBC broadcast the single and "in some quarters it was seen to hail the collapse of civilized society". Lennon, being mindful of Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up", wanted something equally as stirring: "I don't know where the 'yeah yeah yeah' came from [but] I remember when Elvis did 'All Shook Up' it was the first time in my life that I had heard 'uh huh', 'oh yeah', and 'yeah yeah' all sung in the same song". "The 'wooooo' was taken from The Isley Brothers' 'Twist And Shout'. We stuck it in everything". McCartney recalls them playing the finished song on acoustic guitars to his father at home immediately after the song was completed: "We went into the living room [and said] 'Dad, listen to this. What do you think? And he said 'That's very nice son, but there's enough of these Americanisms around. Couldn't you sing 'She loves you, yes, yes, yes!'. At which point we collapsed in a heap and said 'No, Dad, you don't quite get it!'".

George Martin, the Beatles' producer, questioned the validity of the major sixth chord that ends the song, an idea suggested by George Harrison "They sort of finished on this curious singing chord which was a major sixth, with George [Harrison] doing the sixth and the others doing the third and fifth in the chord. It was just like a Glen Miller arrangement". McCartney later reflected: "We took it to George Martin and sang 'She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeeeeeaah…' and that tight little sixth cluster we had at the end. George [Martin] said: 'It's very corny, I would never end on a sixth'. But we said 'It's such a great sound, it doesn't matter'".

Recording –

The recording of the song on 1 July 1963 was done on a two-track recording machine. Standard procedure at EMI Studios at the time was to erase the original two-track session tape for singles once they had been "mixed down" to the (usually monaural) master tape used to press records. This was the fate of two Beatles singles (four songs): "Love Me Do", "P.S. I Love You", "She Loves You", and "I'll Get You". These tracks only exist as a mono master, although several mock-stereo remixes have been made by EMI affiliates worldwide, including a few made in 1966 by Abbey Road engineer Geoff Emerick.

The German division of EMI (the parent of The Beatles' British record label, Parlophone Records) decided that the only way to sell Beatles records in Germany would be to re-record them in German. The Beatles thought it unnecessary, but were asked by George Martin to comply, recording "Sie Liebt Dich" on 29 January 1964, along with "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand", at the Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris. The Beatles recorded new vocals over the original backing track to "I Want to Hold Your Hand" but "She Loves You" required them to record a new rhythm track as the original two track recording had been scrapped.

Takes: unknown

Personnel –

John Lennon – Lead vocal, rhythm guitars (1958 Rickenbacker 325, Gibson J160E)

Paul McCartney – Lead vocal, bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
George Harrison – Lead guitar (Gretsch 6122 "Country Gentleman")
Ringo Starr – Drums (Ludwig)

Release and legacy –

On 23 August 1963, the "She Loves You" single was released in the United Kingdom with "I'll Get You" as the B-side. The single set several British sales records, starting with becoming the biggest-selling single, up to that point. It entered the charts on 31 August and remained in the charts for thirty-one consecutive weeks, eighteen of those weeks in the top three. During that period, it claimed the ranking of number one on 14 September, stayed number one for four weeks, dropped back to the top three, then regained the top spot for two weeks starting on 30 November. It made its way back into the charts for two weeks on 11 April 1964, peaking at forty-two.

It was the best-selling single of 1963, and remains the best-selling Beatles single in Britain today. It was the best-selling single in the United Kingdom for fourteen years until it was surpassed by "Mull of Kintyre" by Wings (written by McCartney and Denny Laine).

The song's gigantic success posed an ever-bigger puzzlement for The Beatles' producer, George Martin, and manager, Brian Epstein: why were The Beatles running up hit after hit in Britain, but utterly flopping on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean Martin, who was angered by Capitol Records' stubbornness in turning down the Beatles, and a chance to become their record label in America, later recalled: "I said, for God's sake, do something about this. These boys are breaking it, and they're going to be fantastic throughout the world, so for heaven's sake latch onto them." This did not take long for Capitol of Canada, for "She Loves You" was a chart-topping hit there.

Before Capitol came along, the Beatles had been with Vee-Jay Records, until Vee-Jay failed to pay the royalties on time. Transglobal Music, an affiliate of EMI, held the licenses to The Beatles' output in America, and promptly ordered Vee-Jay to halt their manufacturing and distribution of Beatles records. Epstein, who needed a record label to release "She Loves You" in the United States, asked Transglobal to find another record label for him, and Transglobal came up with Swan Records. To avoid potential disagreements and lawsuits, the contract signed with Swan licensed to them only "She Loves You" and "I'll Get You", enough only for the A- and B-sides of a single — and only for two years. Even four songs would be enough to abuse the contract — in 1964, Vee-Jay released an album in America entitled Jolly What! England's Greatest Recording Stars: The Beatles & Frank Ifield on Stage, which in reality consisted of the only four Beatles songs that had been licensed to them, the rest of the album made up of performances by Frank Field.

When "She Loves You" came out as a single in America on 16 September 1963, nobody paid attention to it. Three months later, The Beatles released "I Want to Hold Your Hand", which climbed all the way to number one, launching the British invasion of the American music scene, paving the way for more Beatles records, and releases by other British artists. Swan re-released the "She Loves You" single, which began a fifteen-week run on the American charts on 25 January 1964, two of those weeks at number one. On 21 March, Beatlemania had landed in America, spurred by The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in February, where they performed, among other songs, "She Loves You". During its fifteen-week run in the American charts, "She Loves You" was joined by four other Beatles songs at the top five in the American charts.

New York City deejay Murray the K later recounted: "In late '63 they brought a record to me and mentioned the possibility that The Beatles might be coming to America, so I said, 'Okay,' and I put it on air. I had a record review contest on WINS at the time, where I'd play five new records each day. The audience would then vote on which records they liked best, and the winners of each week would be played next Saturday. And when I ran the Beatles in a contest with their record 'She Loves You', it came third out of five. But I still continued to play it for two or three weeks. But nothing happened. I mean, really no reaction. Absolutely nothing! Two months later I received an urgent call from my station manager in New York telling me 'The Beatles are coming!' 'Fine,' I said, 'Get an exterminator.'"

When Beatlemania reached the US, the record labels holding rights to Beatles songs re-released them in various combinations. Swan claimed to own the rights to "Sie liebt dich", the German version of "She Loves You", although they did not. After buying and playing a copy of the German single, on 21 May 1964, "Sie liebt dich" was released by Swan in America, featuring "I'll Get You" on the B-side, just like the English-sung single. American consumers bought the single as well, leading to a one-week run in the charts at 97th on 27 June.

"She Loves You" was included on the US album, The Beatles' Second Album, which overtook Meet the Beatles! on 2 May 1964, reaching the top spot in the album charts. It was the first time an artist had taken over from themselves in the American album charts, and provided a hint of the successes The Beatles would continue to achieve.

"She Loves You" would also be featured in the albums A Collection of Beatles Oldies, 1962–1966, 20 Greatest Hits, 1 and in the 2004 CD release The Capitol Albums, Volume 1. It was also included on the American promotional version of the Rarities album, issued as the bonus disc in the limited edition boxed set The Beatles Collection, from November 1978.

Although no other act made "She Loves You" into a hit, a number attempted their own versions. American singer Neil Sedaka recorded it, as did comedians Peter Sellers and Ted Chippington. At a number of concerts, U2's Bono has snippeted "She Loves You" into the end of "Vertigo" — a song that has a 'Yeah yeah yeah' outro. In 1987, Cher features the "She loves you/yeah, yeah, yeah" chorus and chord progression in the bridge of the track "Working Girl", from her self-titled album. Avantgarde band The Residents worked a sample of the "yeah yeah yeah" outro to their Beatles collage "Beyond the Valley of a Day in the Life". Paul McCartney sang "We love you, yeah, yeah, yeah" at the end of his duet with Stevie Wonder titled "What's That You're Doing?" from Tug of War. The Beatles sang the chorus of "She Loves You" in the long fade-out of "All You Need Is Love".

"She Loves You" (as "Sie liebt dich") was one of the two songs rerecorded by the Beatles in German, the other being "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (as "Komm gib mir deine Hand"). "Sie liebt dich" was released in Germany and in the US b/w "I'll Get You" by "Die Beatles" on 21 May 1964, (Swan 4182).

Trivia –

This was the first Beatles song properly credited to "Lennon/McCartney"; previous singles had been credited to "McCartney/Lennon."

Paul's father, angry that his boy was singing improper English, actually lobbied him to change the song's famous "Yeah, yeah, yeah" refrain to "Yes, yes, yes." The inclusion of "yeah" did actually result in some negative reviews.

Against the band's better judgement, they consented to re-record this song in German as "Sie Liebt Dich," ostensibly as a thank-you to fans for the Hamburg days but actually to reach the German market more easily.

The Beatles received their first national US exposure through this song, via a performance clip shown on the Jack Paar show on January 3, 1964.

This was the biggest-selling single for fourteen years in the UK, and remains the biggest Beatles song of all time in Britain (ironically beaten out by Paul McCartney and Wings' "Mull Of Kintyre"). Swan licensed out the song in late 1963, urged on by a frustrated Brian Epstein, who could not convince Capitol to release Beatles singles in the US. Amazingly, it flopped.

Ozzy Osbourne claims this is the first record he ever purchased.

Today in Beatles History (From The Internet Beatles Album) March 27 –

1961 – The Beatles arrive in Hamburg, for performances in the Top Ten and, later, the Star Club (2nd Hamburg season).

1963 – 'Please Please Me' LP number 9, 1st week in the ranking (UK New Musical Express chart).

Concert at the ABC, Northampton (Chris Montez and Tommy Roe Tour). 

1964 – Beatles records are in the 6 first positions of the Australian ranking.

US single release: 'Cry For A Shadow'/'Why (Can't You Love Me Again)'. 

1967 – A week of Fats Domino performances at the Saville Theatre begins. Support acts: Gerry and the Pacemakers, and the Bee Gees. The opening concert is filmed for a US State Department feature. 

1968 – 'Lady Madonna' number 1 (UK Record Retailer chart). 

1969  – In London, Ringo confirms they will not play before an audience again. 

1970 – Abbey Road, Room 4. Time unknown. Stereo mixing: 'Dig It' (remix 1); dialogue and miscellaneous pieces (remixes 1-8). Producer: Phil Spector; Engineer: Mike Sheady; 2nd Engineer: Roger Ferris.

UK LP release: 'Sentimental Journey'.

Pattie Boyd and Eric Clapton

1979 – Marriage of Pattie Boyd Harrison and Eric Clapton.