Picking up where I left off over two months ago, “PS I Love You,” with my “Beatles Songs” series. In this series I take a very close look at every original song The Beatles recorded and officially released from 1962 through 1970. This is the 3rd song in that progression.

I think “Please Please Me” is a significant jump up in quality from “Love Me Do” (which I find pretty boring) and “PS I Love You” (which is both pretty boring and quite safe.)

It was originally recorded on September 11, 1962 (the same day that “Love Me Do” and “PS I Love You” were recorded”) but Beatles producer George Martin felt it wasn’t quite right. It was re-recorded in the version we know today on November 26, 1962 and as soon as they were done recording it, Martin told the band that they had their first #1 hit.

He was right as it went to #1 on the NME & Melody Maker charts, although it hit only #2 on the Record Retailer chart (which has since become the UK
Singles Chart.) It later went to #3 in the US in 1964 during the height of Beatlemania (it was originally released in the US in 1963 but was given no notice at the time.)

This song is an essential part of The Beatles history not only because it was their first #1 hit (and in my opinion their first really good song) but because it helped them to avoid going a very different route.

George Martin wanted the band to release a song called “How Do You Do It?” which was written by a professional songwriter named Mitch Murray. He felt it was a “#1 single” (and he was right, as Gerry & The Pacemakers took it to #1 in March of ‘63 after The Beatles released “Please Please Me” instead.) The Beatles thought it was a cheesy song and didn’t want their reputation tarnished by attaching their name to such a slight piece off fluff. They only wanted to release their own original songs as singles.

The Beatles did grudgingly record “How Do You Do It?” on September 4, 1962 but The Beatles fought Martin on releasing it, they wanted a chance to hit #1 their own way with their on style and that’s what “Please Please Me” represents. The Beatles version of “How Do You Do It?” was eventually released on The Beatles Anthology 1 in 1995. And it’s such an exceedingly cheesy song that it makes one wonder how much different popular music history would have been if this song had been released instead of “Please Please Me.”

Would The Beatles have lost their momentum? Would they have lost their “street cred” with the kids? Who knows? Maybe it would have just been an early blip on the radar, an early embarrassment that would have been forgotten as they released great songs like “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” But I think there’s a significant chance that popular music history would be quite different if The Beatles had released “How Do You Do It?” in January of 1963 instead of “Please Please Me.”

Musical Analysis

This two minute long 4/4 tune is in the key of E-Major. The verse is based on E (I) and A (IV) with a G-A-B (IIIb-IV-V) riff in the middle. The “come on” part is over A, F#m, C#m, and back to A. (That’s IV-ii-vi-IV.) The “please me, wo-yeah, like I please you” refrain is on E-A-B (good old I-IV-V.) The bridge is also based on that basic progression, although it’s turned around so that it starts on the IV (it’s A-B-E.) Turn to page 131 of The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul for an in-depth musical analysis of this song (looking at a lot more than just the chord progression like I’ve done here.) Also recommended to anyone who wants to play or study The Beatles songs: The Beatles Complete Scores.

What The Beatles Said About It

Lennon: “Please Please Me is my song completely. It was my attempt at writing a Roy Orbison song, would you believe it? I wrote it in the bedroom in my house at Menlove Avenue, which was my auntie’s place… I remember the day and the pink coverlet on the bed and I heard Roy Orbison doing Only The Lonely or something. That’s where that came from. And also I was always intrigued by the words of ‘Please, lend me your little ears to my pleas’ - a Bing Crosby song. I was always intrigued by the double use of the word ‘please’. So it was a combination of Bing Crosby and Roy Orbison.”

Lennon: “We’d had a top 30 entry with Love Me Do and we really thought we were on top of the world. Then came Please Please Me - and wham! We tried to make it as simple as possible. Some of the stuff we’ve written in the past has been a bit way-out, but we aimed this one straight at the hit parade.”

McCartney: “I did the trick of remaining on the high note while the melody cascaded down from it.”

Mono Vs. Stereo

Like many of The Beatles early songs I do think this song sounds significantly better in mono (particularly when listening on headphones) because the stereo mix is so wide (vocals mostly on the right, music mostly on the left) that it’s greatly distracting. The Beatles Mono Box Set is recommended so that you can have this song in delicious remastered mono. It sounds fantastic. Interestingly enough the mono version clocks in at 2:05 while the stereo version is just 2:00 but that appears to be because the mono version has an extra 5 seconds of silence tacked on to the end.

Songwriting

John Lennon wrote it but George Martin deserves some credit for helping The Beatles mold this song into the hit single it became with his arrangement ideas.

Who Played What?

Lennon: lead vocal, rhythm guitar, & harmonica.
McCartney: backing vocal, bass guitar
Harrison: backing vocal, lead guitar
Starr: drums

Recording

The version heard on The Beatles Anthology 1 was recorded on September 11, 1962. The final version heard on the single and on the Please Please Me album was recorded in 18 takes (including overdubs) on November 26, 1962.

Charts

It reached #1 in the UK in early 1963 and #3 in the US in early 1964.

Critical Acclaim

Many, including myself, feel that “Please Please Me” was The Beatles first great song. It was included in Rolling Stone Magazine’s ranking of the top 500 songs of all time at #184.

Last.FM Ranking

#100 over the last 6 months. I’m a bit surprised at how low this ranking is, especially in comparison to “Love Me Do” which is at #19. In my opinion, “Please Please Me” is a far superior song to “Love Me Do.”

Available On

Please Please Me, The Beatles Anthology 1, The Beatles 1, & The Beatles Red Album. All of these are available at The Beatles Store on Amazon.

Books About The Beatles Music

I recommend these books to anyone who wants to read more about “Please Please Me” and the rest of The Beatles songs. Each of these books takes a “song by song” approach with Tell Me Why being more about the “stories behind the songs” and Revolution in the Head having information about the recording of the songs with some light musical analysis along with plenty of opinion (that I often disagree with.) The Beatles as Musicians books are the ones I most highly recommend to those who really want to study The Beatles music seriously.

1963, Beatles Songs, The Beatles

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