TOP 100 SONGS OF THE BEATLES ― 26

"If I Fell” (Lennon – June 26, 1964)

A Hard Day’s Night – Side 1, Track 3 (2:19) 

You Tube (A Hard Day's Night film)

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

"If I Fell" is a song by The Beatles which first appeared on the 1964 United Kingdom album A Hard Day's Night and the United States album Something New. It was written by John Lennon, but credited to Lennon/McCartney.

History –

Written by John on January 13, 1964, this is a standard ballad -- his first real ballad, according to the writer, and while not specifically about his wife, Cynthia, it has been seen by Lennon in retrospect as indicating some of his ambivalence about romance at the time.
The structure of the song is unique among Beatles tunes of the time, and of pop music in general, in that it opens with an intro that contains no musical elements found in the rest of the song.

Though this is thought of as John's song, and written exclusively by him, he sings the lead only on the intro, with no double-tracking; for the body of the song, Paul is actually singing a higher "lead" patterns while John sings harmony. Both sang into the same microphone at once to achieve this effect, a decision arrived at during recording.

John has further indicated that the chord patterns of the later "In My Life" are similar to this song, although that has more to do with the use of dramatic minors in relation to majors than any direct similarity.

The body of this song has no verse/chorus structure to speak of, just two verses that each turn halfway through on an unexpected chord, making it seem as if a bridge has appeared.Live versions: July 19, 1964 (Blackpool Night Out, ABC Theatre, Blackpool, England), August 21, 1964 (Seattle Coliseum, Seattle, WA), August 22, 1964 (Empire Stadium, Vancouver, BC), August 23, 1964 (Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA), September 2, 1964 (Convention Hall, Philadelphia, PA), September 3, 1964 (State Fair Coliseum, Indianapolis, IN), September 18, 1964 (Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, TX)

BBC radio versions: 2 (for the BBC radio programs Top Gear and From Us To You)

Structure –

The song is notable for its unusual structure, which includes an un-repeated introductory section sung by Lennon, followed by sequential verse sections, each having a slightly expanded form, but with no obvious chorus or bridge section. The demo version (just John on acoustic guitar) from early 1964, does include the introduction, as well as an alternate ending. The remainder of the song features a two-part harmony, sung by Lennon and McCartney together into a single microphone at their suggestion, with Lennon singing the lower harmony while McCartney sings the higher one. It also features intricate chord changes. The key changes from D flat major to D major between the introduction (a series of descending barre chords) and the main song, which uses mainly open chords, including an unusual D ninth.

Recording and performance –

There is an alternate take of the song in which McCartney's voice strains and cracks at the end of a line, which first appeared on the Love Songs compilation double-LP, by an archivist's error when returning to the master tapes in Capitol's vault. Since then, this version has appeared in many places and is often heard on oldies stations in some markets. This version is the stereo version now found in The Capitol Albums box set. In the mono version, McCartney's voice strains, but does not crack. The versions begin differently - Lennon's opening is single-tracked in mono but double-tracked in the stereo mix.

The stereo mix of the song (found on A Hard Day's Night LP and Something New) features a double-tracked opening by Lennon.

"If I Fell" was a part of the Beatles repertoire during the Beatles' US and Canadian tour in 1964. The group typically performed the song faster than the studio version, and Lennon and McCartney often sang it with barely suppressed laughter. On more than one occasion it was introduced as "If I Fell Over".

Takes: 15

Personnel

John Lennon – Lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar (Gibson J160E)
Paul McCartney – Harmony vocals, bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
George Harrison – Lead guitar (Rickenbacker 360-12 "Fire-glo")
Ringo Starr – Drums (Ludwig)

Trivia –

The stereo mix of this song (featured originally on the UK A Hard Day's Night LP and US Something New LP) featured a doubletracked opening by John. Additionally, Paul's voice cracks on the second verse, at the very end of the line "would be sad if our new love was in vain." Some have suggested that the mono mixdown fixes this by substituting the first "vain" for the second; others feel that this was accidentally mixed from the wrong take, though the rest of the vocal track appears identical.

During the 1964 tour, Paul introduced this song and John added the word "over" to the title, forcing a giggle fit.

This was supposedly Kurt Cobain's favorite Beatles song, and was played by Nirvana in concert whenever technical problems arose.

Today in Beatles History (From The Internet Beatles  Album) March 15 –

1963 – First recording session of Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. Recording: "Do You Want To Know A Secret".

– Studio 2 (control room only). 10.00am-1.00pm. Editing: "From Me To You" (of unknown take number). Mono mixing: "From Me To You" (from edit of unknown take number). Stereo mixing: 'From Me To You' (from edit of unknown take number). Producer: George Martin; Engineer: unknown; 2nd Engineer: unknown. 

– End of work on "From Me To You"/"Thank You Girl".
– Gerry Marsden is fined 60 pounds at Uxbridge Magistrates Court for attempting to evade customs duty on a guitar bought in Germany when arriving at London Airport from Hamburg, on 1 December 1962.
– Concert at the Gaumont, Wolverhampton (Chris Montez and Tommy Roe Tour).

1964 – With The Beatles number 1, 15th week (UK Record Retailer chart). 

– "I Want To Hold Your Hand" number 1, 7th and last week; 9th week in the Top 100 (Billboard).
– "She Loves You" number 2, 8th week in the Top 100 (Billboard).
– "Please Please Me" number 3, 7th week in the Top 100 (Billboard).
– "I Saw Her Standing There" number 15, 6th week in the Top 100 (Billboard).
– "From Me To You" number 73, 2nd week in the Top 100 (Billboard).
– "Twist And Shout" number 55, 1st week in the Top 100 (Billboard).
– Film from the Washington Coliseum concert is broadcast via cable TV to American movie theaters. (Recorded 11 February 1964).
– Brian returns from Holland to England.

1968 – BBC-TV's Top Of The Pops transmits a clip of "Lady Madonna".

1970 – "Let It Be" enters the ranking as number 6 (new record), 1st week in the Top 30 (Billboard).
– Live Peace In Toronto, 10th week in the ranking (Billboard).
– "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" number 1, 1st week; 4th week in the ranking (Billboard).

1982 – Startling Studios. Recording basic tracks for LP Old Wave. Producer: Jim Nipar.