Curated category
Song recordings produced by George Martin
- Here Today (Paul McCartney song)Paul McCartney composed Here Today in mid-1981. This was less than a year after John Lennon's murder in 1980. The song emerged from deep personal grief and a…
- Here, There and EverywherePaul McCartney sat by the pool at John Lennon's house in Weybridge during early June 1966. He waited for his friend to wake up while strumming a guitar on…
- Don't Pass Me ByIn August 1962, Ringo Starr joined the Beatles and began playing a song he had written for his new bandmates. He described the process as sitting at home…
- Please Please Me (song)John Lennon composed the song in Liverpool during June 1962. He wrote it alone inside his bedroom at Menlove Avenue, which belonged to his aunt.
- What Goes On (Beatles song)John Lennon wrote the song in early 1959, likely at 251 Menlove Avenue. The early version of the song is heavily inspired by Buddy Holly and differed…
- I Am the WalrusJohn Lennon wrote the song to confound listeners who had been affording serious scholarly interpretations of the Beatles' lyrics.
- Love You ToGeorge Harrison wrote Love You To in early 1966 while the Beatles enjoyed an unusually long period free of professional commitments.
- She Loves YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney began composing She Loves You on the 26th of June 1963 after a concert at the Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle upon Tyne.
- Something (Beatles song)George Harrison began writing Something in September 1968 during a session for the Beatles' self-titled double album. He worked on the melody at a piano…
- In My LifeJohn Lennon claimed he wrote most of the melody for In My Life. Paul McCartney argued that he composed the entire tune himself.
- Help! (song)John Lennon wrote the lyrics to express his stress after the Beatles' quick rise to success. He told Playboy magazine in 1980 that he was subconsciously…
- Let It Be (song)Paul McCartney dreamed of his mother Mary Patricia McCartney in 1956 after she had died of cancer. He was fourteen years old at the time.
- Ticket to Ride (song)John Lennon claimed the song was three-quarters his own, yet Paul McCartney insisted they wrote it together during a full three-hour session.
- I'm Only SleepingJohn Lennon wrote the first draft of lyrics for I'm Only Sleeping on the back of a letter in 1966. He described himself as physically lazy and claimed sex…
- P.S. I Love You (Beatles song)The Beatles released P.S. I Love You on the 5th of October 1962 as the B-side to their debut single Love Me Do. This track appeared on their first album…
- She's Leaving HomePaul McCartney read a newspaper article in 1963 about a seventeen-year-old named Melanie Coe. She ran away from her home on Stamford Hill and vanished into…
- A Day in the LifeJohn Lennon wrote the melody and most of the lyrics to A Day in the Life in mid-January 1967. He presented the song to Paul McCartney shortly after finishing…
- All You Need Is LoveOn the 25th of June 1967, the world watched as the Beatles performed from a London studio. The event was Our World, the first live global television link…
- Eleanor RigbyPaul McCartney sat at a piano in 1966 and began experimenting with melodies that would eventually become Eleanor Rigby. He initially named the character Ola…
- Paperback WriterPaul McCartney sat in his car driving from London to Surrey on a day in 1965. He thought about the words of his Aunt Lil who had asked him years ago why he…
- Get BackOn the 7th of January 1969, Paul McCartney began shaping a melody during unstructured jamming sessions at Twickenham Studios.
- Helter Skelter (song)Paul McCartney wrote the song to create a sound as loud and dirty as possible after reading an interview with Pete Townshend.
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-DaPaul McCartney wrote Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da during the Beatles' stay in Rishikesh, India, in early 1968. Prudence Farrow recalled McCartney, John Lennon and…
- Revolution (Beatles song)On the 17th of March, 25,000 demonstrators marched to the American embassy in London's Grosvenor Square and violently clashed with police.
- Strawberry Fields ForeverJohn Lennon spent his early years in Woolton, a suburb of Liverpool. He played in the wooded garden behind Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army children's home…
- I Want to Hold Your HandJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney sat in the basement music room of 57 Wimpole Street during late 1963. Margaret Asher taught oboe there, but the small space…
- Octopus's GardenRingo Starr sat on a boat belonging to comedian Peter Sellers in Sardinia during 1968. He ordered fish and chips for lunch but received squid instead.
- Hey JudeIn May 1968, John Lennon and his wife Cynthia Lennon separated due to his affair with artist Yoko Ono. The following month, Paul McCartney drove out to visit…
- Back in the U.S.S.R.Paul McCartney began writing the song as "I'm Backing the UK" in January 1968. This title came from a national campaign that had gained wide support just…
- Flying (Beatles instrumental)The Beatles released an instrumental track called Flying on 1967. This song marked the first time since 1965 that the group wrote a piece without lyrics.
- From Me to YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney began writing From Me to You while on a coach heading to Shrewsbury as part of the Beatles' tour with Helen Shapiro.
- Here Comes the SunThe early months of 1969 were a difficult period for George Harrison. He had quit the Beatles temporarily and was arrested for marijuana possession.
- I Want You (She's So Heavy)John Lennon wrote the song about his love for Yoko Ono. It begins in 4/4 time, with an arpeggio guitar theme in D minor.
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (song)On a flight returning to England from Kenya in November 1966, Paul McCartney conceived an idea for an entire album where the Beatles would assume alter-egos.
- Tomorrow Never KnowsJohn Lennon wrote the lyrics to Tomorrow Never Knows in January 1966. He drew these words from a book titled The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on…
- Within You Without YouGeorge Harrison stood on a houseboat on Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir, during the autumn of 1966. He had traveled there with his wife Pattie Boyd to study…
- Act NaturallyJohnny Russell stood in a Fresno, California bar during the early 1960s. He had to cancel a date with his girlfriend that night.
- Baby, You're a Rich ManJohn Lennon wrote the verses of a song titled One of the Beautiful People after attending an all-night festival at London's Alexandra Palace on the 29th of…
- Dear PrudenceIn the foothills of the Himalayas during early 1968, Prudence Farrow locked herself inside a small bungalow for three weeks.
- Love Me DoThe song began as a scribble in a school notebook, dreaming of stardom. John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the track years before forming the Beatles.
- Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)John Lennon began writing the song in January 1965 while staying at Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He was on holiday with his wife…
- Penny LanePenny Lane is a road in the south Liverpool suburb of Mossley Hill. The name also applies to the area surrounding its junction with Smithdown Road and…
- Rain (Beatles song)John Lennon described the song Rain as being about people moaning because they do not like the weather. He stated this in an interview where he discussed the…
- Sexy SadieJohn Lennon wrote the song during the Beatles' stay in Rishikesh, India, following allegations of sexual misconduct by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
- TaxmanIn April 1966, a report from the London accountancy firm Bryce, Hammer, Isherwood & Co. delivered a stark warning to the Beatles.
- Lucy in the Sky with DiamondsIn 1963, three-year-old Julian Lennon showed his father a drawing he had made at nursery school. The paper depicted a classmate named Lucy Vodden with the…
- Revolution 9John Lennon stood in a London studio on the 30th of May 1968 and began recording the final minutes of a song called Revolution.
- The Inner Light (song)On the 4th of October 1967, George Harrison and John Lennon appeared on The Frost Programme to debate Transcendental Meditation with academics.