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. The track emerged in April 1965 as the Beatles' seventh consecutive number one hit in the United Kingdom. It became their third consecutive number one in the United States and topped charts across Canada, Australia, and Ireland. The composition sits in the key of A major with an expanded variation of the AABA pop song format. Eight bars of verse and eight bars of chorus form the A section while a nine-bar primary bridge creates the B section. A sustained A chord over the verses creates an implied drone common in Indian music. Author Ian MacDonald describes this melody as raga-like and psychologically deeper than anything the band had recorded before. The coda features a change of tempo with a repeated refrain played over a constant A major chord. This closing section uses double-time rhythm found in the bridge and stands as one of Lennon's favorite bits. He also claimed that Ticket to Ride was the first heavy metal record ever made.
The Beatles recorded Ticket to Ride on the 15th of February 1965 at EMI Studios in London. This marked their first recording session since completing the Beatles for Sale album on the 26th of October 1964. They toured the UK and played Christmas shows in London until mid-January before returning to the studio. Mark Lewisohn describes this period as a more serious application in the recording studio by the group. They taped rehearsals of each song they worked on and concentrated on backing or rhythm tracks. Overdubbing techniques allowed them to add more detailed instrumental parts later. Walter Everett views the recording as a radical departure because vocals and lead guitar parts were overdubbed for the first time. Harrison played the main guitar riff on his Rickenbacker 12-string guitar during the initial tape. McCartney increased his importance as the musical director through ideas for both the riff and Starr's jagged drum pattern. Harrison stated the Rickenbacker riff was his own idea based on how Lennon strummed the chord when introducing it. The staggered motion of the riff then inspired the pattern that Starr decided to play. Further electric guitar parts appeared over the verses with Lennon and Harrison playing on Rickenbacker 325 and Fender Stratocaster respectively. McCartney supplied fills that closed the bridges and the solo over the coda using an Epiphone Casino.
EMI's Parlophone label issued Ticket to Ride on the 9th of April 1965 in the United Kingdom while Capitol Records released it on the 19th of April in the United States. A contemporary news report noted the band planned to promote the single on television shows such as Top of the Pops and Thank Your Lucky Stars. They formed an independent production company with producer George Martin to earn more favorable financial returns. The record topped Britain's official singles chart for three weeks and stayed at number one on Melody Maker listings for the same duration. It went straight to number one on Ireland's singles chart in its first week of release there. In America, the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week. Billboards Hits of World listings from the 15th of May 1965 showed it was also the top-selling single in Australia. This track became the seventh consecutive chart-topping single for the Beatles in the UK and the first released with a running time exceeding three minutes. On American charts, it marked the third of six number one singles in a row achieved within twelve months from January 1965. Everett notes that despite achieving classic status, the song failed to receive gold accreditation from the Recording Industry Association of America. EMI reissued the song in the UK in April 1985 as part of their plan to exploit the 20th anniversary of each Beatles single.
Ticket to Ride features in a scene in the film Help where the band attempts to ski while avoiding assassins from a cult. The sequence took place at Obertauern in the Austrian Alps during March 1965. On the 23rd of November 1965, the group filmed promotional clips for Ticket to Ride and four other songs at Twickenham Film Studios in south-west London. Director Joe McGrath had worked on Help as an assistant to Richard Lester before creating these films. The clip appeared in Top of the Pops round-up of the biggest hits of 1965 with oversized tickets serving as a backdrop. Starr stood at his drum kit while other band members sat in director's chairs miming to the song. Part of this clip appeared in the 1995 documentary The Beatles Anthology and full footage was included in 2015 on the video compilation 1. A portion of their Top of the Pops performance survived only because it later used in Doctor Who episode The Executioners which aired on BBC1 on the 22nd of May. The group also performed the song during their last session for BBC Radio on the 26th of May broadcast as The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket to Ride.
Derek Johnson of NME admired the depth of sound and tremendous drive of the recording in his contemporary review. Music critics Richie Unterberger and Ian MacDonald both feel that Ticket to Ride is an important milestone in the evolution of the musical style of the Beatles. Unterberger noted rhythm parts were harder and heavier than any previous Beatles outing particularly in Ringo Starr's stormy stutters and rolls. MacDonald describes it as psychologically deeper than anything recorded before and massive with chiming electric guitars and weighty rhythm. Bob Stanley wrote for Mojo in 2002 calling the track where moptop Beatlemania ends and the band's legend begins. Johnny Black described it as a watershed recording attributed to its weird soup of hypnotically chiming droning guitars and stuttering drums. Neil McCormick sees a darker edge to Lennon's lyric writing during the Help period citing proto-heavy-rock song Ticket to Ride as an example. Dave Marsh ranked it 29th on his 1989 list The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made while Rolling Stones placed it at number 17. USA Today named it the best Beatles song in 2014 saying no single better reflects ambition tension and pure pop genius.
The Carpenters covered Ticket to Ride in mid-1969 for their debut studio album Offering with Richard Carpenter arranging the tune as a ballad. Karen Carpenter sang lead and backing vocals while playing drums alongside Richard on piano and Wurlitzer electric piano. Released as the duo's first single without the album track's introductory twelve measures, it peaked at number 54 on Billboard Hot 100 in May 1970. Mary Wells recorded the song for her 1965 album Love Songs to the Beatles after being invited by the Beatles to open concerts during a 1964 UK tour. Brian Wilson appropriated part of the melody into Beach Boys' song Girl Don't Tell Me later that same year. George Martin covered Ticket to Ride on his album of orchestral instrumentals titled Help producing a version admired by Billboards reviewer. Cathy Berberian opened her 1967 album Beatles Arias with a baroque interpretation arranged by Luciano Berio. Vanilla Fudge recorded what Paul Collins describes as stoned-out slowed-down version for their 1967 debut album. Pink Floyd included a brief orchestral sample of Ticket to Ride faintly in background on some releases of The Dark Side of the Moon.
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Common questions
Who wrote the song Ticket to Ride?
John Lennon claimed the song was three-quarters his own, yet Paul McCartney insisted they wrote it together during a full three-hour session. The track emerged in April 1965 as the Beatles' seventh consecutive number one hit in the United Kingdom.
When did the Beatles record Ticket to Ride?
The Beatles recorded Ticket to Ride on the 15th of February 1965 at EMI Studios in London. This marked their first recording session since completing the Beatles for Sale album on the 26th of October 1964.
Where was the music video for Ticket to Ride filmed?
On the 23rd of November 1965, the group filmed promotional clips for Ticket to Ride and four other songs at Twickenham Film Studios in south-west London. Director Joe McGrath had worked on Help as an assistant to Richard Lester before creating these films.
How many weeks did Ticket to Ride stay at number one in the UK?
The record topped Britain's official singles chart for three weeks and stayed at number one on Melody Maker listings for the same duration. It went straight to number one on Ireland's singles chart in its first week of release there.
What musical key is Ticket to Ride written in?
The composition sits in the key of A major with an expanded variation of the AABA pop song format. Eight bars of verse and eight bars of chorus form the A section while a nine-bar primary bridge creates the B section.