Songs Written by Lennon and McCartney Before They Were Beatles - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Steve M. · 03-27-2005, 11:51 PM

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best became the Beatles in 1960 (Stu left in 1961, Ringo Starr replaced Pete in 1962), but before they were the Beatles, they were the Quarrymen, the Rainbows, Johnny and the Moondogs, and the Silver Beetles. In April 1960, John and Paul performed one weekend as the Nerk Twins. During that time, they wrote several songs, but most of them were lost to the ages when Jane Asher, Paul's girlfriend in the mid-sixties, accidentally threw them out while cleaning the bedroom Paul stayed in with the Asher family in the early days of Beatlemania. It wasn't much of a loss; by Paul's own admission, most of those early songs were terrible. (And, Paul said, had the Beatles relied on them, they would have been less challenged to write new ones.) But a few of them - the better ones, thankfully

- survived. Here they are:

"Love Me Do" - Written by John and Paul in 1957, when they were Quarrymen, it became the Beatles's first single for EMI in 1962.

"In Spite of All The Danger" - Written by Paul in 1957 or 1958 with George,
it was recorded in Liverpool with John on lead vocals; it survived and made it on the Anthology 1 collection.

"The One After 909" - This was one of the first songs written by John, first recorded in 1963 as a possible followup to "Please Please Me" and revived in January 1969 for the Let It Be

"Hello Little Girl" - Another early Lennon number from the fifties, it was given to the Fourmost, another group managed by Brian Epstein. The Beatles's version was recorded for their failed Decca audition and included on Anthology 1.

"I'll Follow The Sun" - Written by Paul around 1958, it was revived to fill space on Beatles For Sale in 1964.

"What Goes On" - Written by John in 1956, it was revived in 1965 for Rubber Soul to give Ringo a song to sing. Paul and Ringo added a middle eight and some lyric changes - Ringo said he contributed "about five words" - and Ringo got part credit as a composer.

"When I'm Sixty-Four" - An acoustic song written by Paul around 1959 or 1960, it was performed in Hamburg whenever the group's electrical equipment broke down. Revived for the Sgt Pepper album, its recording coincided with Paul's dad turning 64 but had nothing to do with that.

Any more?

03-27-2005, 11:51 PM	#1
Steve M. Back on the road to reality Forum Superstar Join Date: Nov 07, 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 33,307	Songs Written by Lennon and McCartney Before They Were Beatles John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best became the Beatles in 1960 (Stu left in 1961, Ringo Starr replaced Pete in 1962), but before they were the Beatles, they were the Quarrymen, the Rainbows, Johnny and the Moondogs, and the Silver Beetles. In April 1960, John and Paul performed one weekend as the Nerk Twins. During that time, they wrote several songs, but most of them were lost to the ages when Jane Asher, Paul's girlfriend in the mid-sixties, accidentally threw them out while cleaning the bedroom Paul stayed in with the Asher family in the early days of Beatlemania. It wasn't much of a loss; by Paul's own admission, most of those early songs were terrible. (And, Paul said, had the Beatles relied on them, they would have been less challenged to write new ones.) But a few of them - the better ones, thankfully - survived. Here they are: "Love Me Do" - Written by John and Paul in 1957, when they were Quarrymen, it became the Beatles's first single for EMI in 1962. "In Spite of All The Danger" - Written by Paul in 1957 or 1958 with George, it was recorded in Liverpool with John on lead vocals; it survived and made it on the Anthology 1 collection. "The One After 909" - This was one of the first songs written by John, first recorded in 1963 as a possible followup to "Please Please Me" and revived in January 1969 for the Let It Be "Hello Little Girl" - Another early Lennon number from the fifties, it was given to the Fourmost, another group managed by Brian Epstein. The Beatles's version was recorded for their failed Decca audition and included on Anthology 1. "I'll Follow The Sun" - Written by Paul around 1958, it was revived to fill space on Beatles For Sale in 1964. "What Goes On" - Written by John in 1956, it was revived in 1965 for Rubber Soul to give Ringo a song to sing. Paul and Ringo added a middle eight and some lyric changes - Ringo said he contributed "about five words" - and Ringo got part credit as a composer. "When I'm Sixty-Four" - An acoustic song written by Paul around 1959 or 1960, it was performed in Hamburg whenever the group's electrical equipment broke down. Revived for the Sgt Pepper album, its recording coincided with Paul's dad turning 64 but had nothing to do with that. Any more?