Post by JoJo on Jul 12, 2004 7:34:10 GMT -5
As cribbed from an article that ran on CNN.com 
On February 9, 1964, the Beatles -- fresh from their conquests of Britain and Europe -- took the stage on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York. North Americans almost immediately became the next victims of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Beatlemania had gone global.
In honor of the 40th anniversary of their appearance on Sullivan's television show, I have compiled a personal list of the top 40 Beatles songs.
An impossible task, really, as the Beatles should be listened to album by album. But if I had to do with only 40 songs, these would be the ones.
Here they are, in vaguely chronological order:
1. I Saw Her Standing. There -- One, two, three, FOH! -- and the first UK Beatles album kicks off. This song would have been a hit for anyone and yet it was only a B-side in the U.S. and an album track in the UK. "How could I dance with another ...?"
2. Twist And Shout. The Beatles' best cover song. It was done at the end of the day they recorded their first album. They did 10 songs on that day. Recording artists don't work that way any more -- mostly because in a couple of years the Beatles did not work that way, either. Two songs in 10 hours, if they were lucky. They did two takes of "Twist and Shout" but the first take had finished off John's voice. The end song of the first UK album. It still thrills.
3. She Loves You. This was the third song they sang at the beginning of Ed Sullivan's show before they went to an Anacin commercial. The viewing audience had to wait another 35 minutes before they heard from the Beatles again. I am sure the kids watching could hardly wait that long, and the parents weren't sure what to think. The Beatles won most of them over in the end. George Martin, the Beatles producer, told them to start with the chorus and they convinced him the final Glenn Miller chord would work. Yeah, yeah, YEAH!!!
4. All My Loving. In keeping with the Sullivan theme, this was the first song nearly 73 million people saw the Beatles perform on the show. If you have the new Ed Sullivan DVD you can see they were surprisingly loose and relaxed looking for people about to take over the music world. Particularly, Paul adds hoots and shouts to their songs. I love how George walks over from sharing John's microphone to sharing Paul's during his Buddy Holly/Carl Perkins-like guitar solo. If you don't have the DVD, you can listen to this version on "Anthology 1." The original version though is the best. John's guitar triplets perfectly underpin the whole song.
5. I Want to Hold Your Hand. The one that started it in the states, their 1st U.S. Number one. In April 1964 they had the top five positions in the Top 10 -- "Can't Buy Me Love," "Twist and Shout," "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand." That is as incredible today, looking back, as it must have been then.
"I Want To Hold Your Hand" just makes you want to dance. Great guitar work by George and, as with all songs in the early Beatles, Ringo keeps it moving at a good pace. The singing is fantastic.
6. And I Love Her. Possibly Paul's first standard. An incredibly moving melody with very good lyrics. He clearly had learned from singing other people's standards like "Til There Was You." A classic.
7. If I Fell. This is the one where the harmonies are so tight during some of it that it is hard to tell which is the melody and which is the harmony. Beautiful singing from John and Paul -- even though Paul's voice cracks at one point. John wrote this one and it is lovely.
8. A Hard Day's Night. CHIIIIINNNNGGG!!! You can hear that first chord can't you? John writes a song using a Ringo phrase as its title. John sings the verse, Paul sings the middle eight. And it moves quickly. Altogether it is magic.
9. Eight Days a Week. Fade up -- on acoustic guitars. This is great pop music. One of the reason this one really does it for me is because someone I knew could play it on guitar and we used to all sing to it. Some say Ringo came up with the title. Paul says a driver taking him to John's house said it to him.
10. Ticket To Ride. Any band want to learn how to make a hit song? Listen to this one over and over -- it's all here. Great lyrics, great musicianship. John wrote it, Paul plays lead guitar and came up with the drum pattern that Ringo brilliantly plays. The Carpenters nearly killed this song by slowing it down. John called it "One of the earliest heavy metal records made." I say it is far too good for heavy metal.
11. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away. John does Dylan. This is the first time the Beatles played no electrical instruments. "...feeling two foot small..." was a brilliant line. I like watching them play this one in the movie "Help!" I also like watching "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" from the same movie. That song could have made this list, as well. Watch that song alone to see how the Beatles definitely started the music-video style that later filled up MTV.
12. Help! John later in life wanted to do this song slower. I'm glad he didn't. In the time honored tradition of "All My Loving" and "Ticket to Ride," the music is too bouncy for what is said in the lyrics. But I still love it and don't want it any other way. I love the way the background vocals precede the main vocalist in singing the lyrics. Also, I am used to the U.S. version -- so whenever I play this song on CD, I feel I am missing the James Bond like theme that preceded it on our records. I know the Beatles didn't write it and didn't include it in their version but it belongs at the beginning and that is that.
13. I've Just Seen a Face. Paul does country and western, his way. Paul recorded this song, "I'm Down" and "Yesterday" all on the same day, and in that order. What a day, and what was he thinking? Possibly ruining his voice with "I'm Down" before he recorded "Yesterday" (which does not make my list -- maybe I have heard it too much. It's still a great song -- just not in my top 40). "I've Just Seen a Face" is a great tumbling set of lyrics, perfectly performed. If I play the beginning of this song with the descending guitar line -- I have to hear the rest.
14. Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown). George's first use of the sitar and Ravi Shankar cringed. It works for me with the sitar doubling the guitar, but then again I am not a sitar master. John wrote this one about an affair he had. Paul says he came up with the idea to burn the place down at the end. It is still great poetry set to great music.
15. Drive My Car. First time the Beatles recorded past midnight. Soon it would become the norm. Paul wrote this one with John, but George had Otis Redding running through his head when they played it to him. So, it was reworked to what we hear today. Great bass tone. My 2 1/2 year old son loves it. Beep beep YEAH!
On February 9, 1964, the Beatles -- fresh from their conquests of Britain and Europe -- took the stage on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York. North Americans almost immediately became the next victims of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Beatlemania had gone global.
In honor of the 40th anniversary of their appearance on Sullivan's television show, I have compiled a personal list of the top 40 Beatles songs.
An impossible task, really, as the Beatles should be listened to album by album. But if I had to do with only 40 songs, these would be the ones.
Here they are, in vaguely chronological order:
1. I Saw Her Standing. There -- One, two, three, FOH! -- and the first UK Beatles album kicks off. This song would have been a hit for anyone and yet it was only a B-side in the U.S. and an album track in the UK. "How could I dance with another ...?"
2. Twist And Shout. The Beatles' best cover song. It was done at the end of the day they recorded their first album. They did 10 songs on that day. Recording artists don't work that way any more -- mostly because in a couple of years the Beatles did not work that way, either. Two songs in 10 hours, if they were lucky. They did two takes of "Twist and Shout" but the first take had finished off John's voice. The end song of the first UK album. It still thrills.
3. She Loves You. This was the third song they sang at the beginning of Ed Sullivan's show before they went to an Anacin commercial. The viewing audience had to wait another 35 minutes before they heard from the Beatles again. I am sure the kids watching could hardly wait that long, and the parents weren't sure what to think. The Beatles won most of them over in the end. George Martin, the Beatles producer, told them to start with the chorus and they convinced him the final Glenn Miller chord would work. Yeah, yeah, YEAH!!!
4. All My Loving. In keeping with the Sullivan theme, this was the first song nearly 73 million people saw the Beatles perform on the show. If you have the new Ed Sullivan DVD you can see they were surprisingly loose and relaxed looking for people about to take over the music world. Particularly, Paul adds hoots and shouts to their songs. I love how George walks over from sharing John's microphone to sharing Paul's during his Buddy Holly/Carl Perkins-like guitar solo. If you don't have the DVD, you can listen to this version on "Anthology 1." The original version though is the best. John's guitar triplets perfectly underpin the whole song.
5. I Want to Hold Your Hand. The one that started it in the states, their 1st U.S. Number one. In April 1964 they had the top five positions in the Top 10 -- "Can't Buy Me Love," "Twist and Shout," "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand." That is as incredible today, looking back, as it must have been then.
"I Want To Hold Your Hand" just makes you want to dance. Great guitar work by George and, as with all songs in the early Beatles, Ringo keeps it moving at a good pace. The singing is fantastic.
6. And I Love Her. Possibly Paul's first standard. An incredibly moving melody with very good lyrics. He clearly had learned from singing other people's standards like "Til There Was You." A classic.
7. If I Fell. This is the one where the harmonies are so tight during some of it that it is hard to tell which is the melody and which is the harmony. Beautiful singing from John and Paul -- even though Paul's voice cracks at one point. John wrote this one and it is lovely.
8. A Hard Day's Night. CHIIIIINNNNGGG!!! You can hear that first chord can't you? John writes a song using a Ringo phrase as its title. John sings the verse, Paul sings the middle eight. And it moves quickly. Altogether it is magic.
9. Eight Days a Week. Fade up -- on acoustic guitars. This is great pop music. One of the reason this one really does it for me is because someone I knew could play it on guitar and we used to all sing to it. Some say Ringo came up with the title. Paul says a driver taking him to John's house said it to him.
10. Ticket To Ride. Any band want to learn how to make a hit song? Listen to this one over and over -- it's all here. Great lyrics, great musicianship. John wrote it, Paul plays lead guitar and came up with the drum pattern that Ringo brilliantly plays. The Carpenters nearly killed this song by slowing it down. John called it "One of the earliest heavy metal records made." I say it is far too good for heavy metal.
11. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away. John does Dylan. This is the first time the Beatles played no electrical instruments. "...feeling two foot small..." was a brilliant line. I like watching them play this one in the movie "Help!" I also like watching "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" from the same movie. That song could have made this list, as well. Watch that song alone to see how the Beatles definitely started the music-video style that later filled up MTV.
12. Help! John later in life wanted to do this song slower. I'm glad he didn't. In the time honored tradition of "All My Loving" and "Ticket to Ride," the music is too bouncy for what is said in the lyrics. But I still love it and don't want it any other way. I love the way the background vocals precede the main vocalist in singing the lyrics. Also, I am used to the U.S. version -- so whenever I play this song on CD, I feel I am missing the James Bond like theme that preceded it on our records. I know the Beatles didn't write it and didn't include it in their version but it belongs at the beginning and that is that.
13. I've Just Seen a Face. Paul does country and western, his way. Paul recorded this song, "I'm Down" and "Yesterday" all on the same day, and in that order. What a day, and what was he thinking? Possibly ruining his voice with "I'm Down" before he recorded "Yesterday" (which does not make my list -- maybe I have heard it too much. It's still a great song -- just not in my top 40). "I've Just Seen a Face" is a great tumbling set of lyrics, perfectly performed. If I play the beginning of this song with the descending guitar line -- I have to hear the rest.
14. Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown). George's first use of the sitar and Ravi Shankar cringed. It works for me with the sitar doubling the guitar, but then again I am not a sitar master. John wrote this one about an affair he had. Paul says he came up with the idea to burn the place down at the end. It is still great poetry set to great music.
15. Drive My Car. First time the Beatles recorded past midnight. Soon it would become the norm. Paul wrote this one with John, but George had Otis Redding running through his head when they played it to him. So, it was reworked to what we hear today. Great bass tone. My 2 1/2 year old son loves it. Beep beep YEAH!
