Curated playlist
Parlophone singles
- Please Please Me (song)George Martin called an early version of "Please Please Me" "very dreary" and sent the Beatles back to fix it.
- I Am the WalrusJohn Lennon wrote "I Am the Walrus" to baffle fans who over-analyzed the Beatles.
- She Loves YouThe Beatles' "She Loves You" sold only about 1,000 copies when first released in the US.
- Help! (song)John Lennon later called the Beatles' 1965 song Help an unconscious cry for help.
- Ticket to Ride (song)John Lennon later claimed "Ticket to Ride" was the first heavy metal record ever made.
- Bohemian RhapsodyKenny Everett promised not to play Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and then played it fourteen times in two days.
- P.S. I Love You (Beatles song)A record with the same title kept "P.S. I Love You" off the A-side of the Beatles' debut single.
- All You Need Is LoveThe Beatles sang "All You Need Is Love" live to over 400 million people in 1967. It linked 25 countries.
- Eleanor RigbyThe Beatles song "Eleanor Rigby" hit number one without a single Beatle playing an instrument.
- Paperback WriterPaul McCartney wrote "Paperback Writer" after his Aunt Lil asked why he never wrote about anything but love.
- Strawberry Fields ForeverTwo different recordings of "Strawberry Fields Forever" were spliced into one with scissors and tape machines.
- I Want to Hold Your HandA 14-year-old girl introduced the Beatles to American radio. Marsha Albert's letter got one song played.
- Back in the U.S.S.R.Ringo Starr walked out while the Beatles rehearsed "Back in the U.S.S.R." The other three kept recording.
- From Me to YouFrom Me to You is a 1963 song by the Beatles, and Paul McCartney once said a milkman proved it had caught on. He was lying in bed one morning when he heard a man whistling the tune outside. That was the first time he thought the band had…
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (song)The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper song began with salt and pepper on a plane.
- Act NaturallyThe Beatles gave Ringo Starr a lead vocal by covering the country song "Act Naturally."
- Baby, You're a Rich ManGeorge Harrison played "Baby, You're a Rich Man" in a San Francisco park and a crowd followed him.
- Love Me DoRingo Starr arrived to record the Beatles' "Love Me Do" and was handed a tambourine.
- Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)John Lennon wrote Norwegian Wood as a veiled account of an affair he was having in London.
- Penny LanePaul McCartney found the Penny Lane trumpet sound while watching Bach on television.
- Rain (Beatles song)Did John Lennon or George Martin discover the backwards vocals on the Beatles' "Rain"? Each man claimed the discovery.
- Lucy in the Sky with DiamondsJohn Lennon wrote "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" after his three-year-old son showed him a drawing.
- The Inner Light (song)A Beatles B-side was recorded in Bombay with Indian musicians. Harrison's "The Inner Light" used words by Lao-Tzu.