MH68 Wk 2 First five Beatles albums Use all the songs from the first album Please, Please Me. Focus on the songs Please, Please Me; Anna; and A Taste of Mo

MH68 Wk 2 First five Beatles albums Use all the songs from the first album Please, Please Me. Focus on the songs Please, Please Me; Anna; and A Taste of Money. Musicology 68: The Beatles
Winter, 2019
Professor Upton
MIDTERM EXAM
For the midterm exam, you will prepare a listening guide to one of the first five Beatles albums
(UK versions):
• Please Please Me (March 1963)
• With the Beatles (November 1963)
• A Hard Day’s Night (July 1964)
• Beatles for Sale (December 1964)
• Help! (August 1965)
Your listening guide will provide an overview of the album as a whole, and discussions of any
three songs from the album. One of the songs can be a song played and discussed in lecture or in
section, but the other two must be songs not played in class. You will use course material –
historical, musicological, etc. – to create a narrative for understanding the album.
Your overview of the album can include information on the composition and recording of the
songs, but the larger focus should be your overall impressions of the album. You may also
compare any of the songs to other music, from the past or the present. Remember, this is an
exam, not a term paper: in preparing and writing it, you should draw on materials from the first
five weeks of class, including readings, lecture notes, listening, videos, discussion sections, and
the weekly online writing questions. You do not have to do any additional research for this
exam, but if you want to include additional information, make sure to footnote your sources.
Some questions to ask yourself when choosing a focus for your exam include: What do you
think is interesting about this album, what stands out to you? How are the Beatles addressing
their audience? How are the Beatles responding to other music they know? What emotions or
ideas do you hear the songs conveying? What (if anything) do you think the Beatles are saying
about themselves with this album? How does this album relate (or not) to the Beatles’ earlier
work? How does the album cover relate to the listening experience? What do you think a
listener in the 1960s would have thought about this album? What do you think about the album
as a listener in 2019, and how does that compare with what you think listeners in the 1960s
would have heard?
The songs you choose will give you the opportunity to provide evidence for your overview of the
album. Your discussion of each song must include specific musical details, as we have been
discussing them in class. You do not have to account for every element for each song! Instead,
think about what particular musical element(s) contribute to your impression and understanding
of the song.
Musical elements include:
Things composers play with: Meter & Rhythm; Melody; Harmony; Instrumentation (including
voices); Texture; Form; Lyrics/language (see slides, Week 1 Class 1)
Things performers play with: Composer instructions; Training and skill; Timbre (sound
characteristics); Expression (tempo, dynamics, phrasing); Re-arrangement (for covers,
especially forces); Recording techniques (see slides Week 1 Class 1)
And things Listeners play with: Paratexts; existing knowledge (about musicians, other music, etc);
Listening contexts (see slides Week 2 Class 1)
You may of course discuss the lyrics of songs, but make sure to consider purely musical
elements as well. Additionally, your framework for interpreting/understanding the album and its
songs can be based on concepts you know from outside this class, from other classes or fields of
study that seem appropriate, including (but not limited to) gender, sexuality, masculinity/
femininity, race, class, nation (US and/or UK), consumerism, music industry politics, teenage
identity, etc. but it is not necessary to include material from outside this course.
3-5 pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, 1 inch margins. For other formatting questions, ask
your TA.
SUBMIT THE MIDTERM ONLINE THROUGH A “TURN-IT-IN” LINK;
DUE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7th (WEEK 5) AT 11:59 PM
MH 68: The Beatles
Week 2 Class 1
1960-62: Liverpool & Hamburg;
1962-63: First Singles, First Album
Elements of Music: Listeners
[What the composer(s) made]
[What the performers did with it]
1. “Paratext”: cover art, liner notes, etc.
2. Knowledge: about musicians, other music, etc.
3. Listening contexts:
situation, personal background, etc.
Individual listeners can have different experiences
with the same music, due to their own personal
internal constraints.
Lonnie Donegan (1931-2002)
and “Skiffle”
Tea Chest Bass
Washboard for
percussion
The Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group, May, 1957
Ringo!
The Quarrymen: chronology
March, 1957: John (aged 16) and school friends
form a skiffle group, The Quarrymen
July, 1957: Paul (aged 15) met John,
joined The Quarrymen
February, 1958: George (aged 14) auditioned,
joined in March
January, 1959: John at Liverpool College of Art,
playing with Paul and George (others quit)
July 6, 1957: The Quarrymen play in Woolton,
at the St. Peter’s church fete
L to r: Eric Griffiths, Colin Hanton, Rod Davis, John Lennon, Pete Shotton, Len Garry
November 23, 1957
L-r: Colin Hanton, Paul McCartney,
Len Garry, John Lennon, and Eric Griffiths
George (15, almost 16), John (18), & Paul (16 ½)
Playing at Paul’s cousin’s wedding reception,
March 8, 1958. Photo by Mike McCartney
Playing at The Casbah Coffee Club, 1959
Becoming The Beatles
January, 1960: John’s friend Stu Sutcliffe bought a
bass, joined the group. Stu suggested the
name “Beatals” after Buddy Holly’s Crickets.
May: Silver Beetles
July: Silver Beatles
August: The Beatles
August, 1960: offered a job in Hamburg, 3 ½
months. They hired Pete Best to play drums.
Liverpool to Hamburg = 535 miles
Three Trips to Hamburg
1. August – September 1960: Indra Club
– 205 hours on stage
October – early December, 1960: Kaiserkeller
– 210 more hours on stage
They met Ringo Starr at the Kaiserkeller.
2. April – early July 1961: Top Ten Club
– 92 nights, 503 hours on stage
Total = 918 hours of performance experience
3. April – early June 1962: Star-Club
back in London, Brian Epstein was arranging
their first recording contract.
Playing in Hamburg
First night, August 17, 1960
1961 (2nd trip):
In leather jackets,
and Paul is playing
his new bass.
German Art Student Friends in Hamburg
Klaus Voormann
(b. 1938)
Jürgen Vollmer
(b. 1939)
in Paris
Astrid Kirchherr
(b. 1938)
Photos by Astrid Kirchherr,
November 1960
(John has a
new American
guitar, while
Paul is using
John’s old guitar,
restrung for
left-handed
playing.)
Photos by Astrid Kirchherr,
November 1960
Astrid and Stuart
Photo by Jürgen Vollmer
Ringo was also playing in Hamburg
Ringo!
Rory Storm & The Hurricanes
Poster from 1960
Top Ten Club, 1961
Top Ten Club, 1961
Top Ten Club, 1961
“Macht schau!”
1961 Photos by Jürgen Vollmer
Stu & John
George, Paul, John
At the Cavern Club, 1961
Leather jackets & trousers from Hamburg, new haircuts (Pete wouldn’t cut his hair);
Paul has his new Hoffner “violin” bass
Brian Epstein (1934-1967)
NEMS (North End Music Stores),
a branch of the Epstein family
furniture shops in Liverpool
1961 Publicity Photos
Hamburg
leather
New Suits!
George Martin (1926-2016)
At the Cavern Club, 1962
Notice
Ringo’s
name
on his
drums
“Some Other Guy” (Stoller/Leiber)
written by Jerry Leiber (composer, 1933-2011),
Mike Stoller (lyricist, b. 1933), & Richard Barrett (singer, 1933-2006)
[instrumental verse, as an introduction]
Some other guy, now
Is taking my love away from me, oh, now
Some other guy, now
Is taking away my sweet desire, oh, now
Some other guy, now
I just don’t wanna hold my hand, oh, now
I’m the lonely one, as lonely as I can feel, all right.
“Some Other Guy” (Stoller/Leiber)
Some other guy
Is tipping up behind me like a yellow dog, oh, now
Some other guy, now
Has taken my love just like a hog, oh, now
Some other guy, now
Has taken my love away from me, oh, now
I’m the lonely one, as lonely as I can feel, all right.
Oh oh oh oh
[instrumental verse]
“Some Other Guy” (Stoller/Leiber)
Some other guy
Is making me very, very mad, oh, now
Some other guy, now
Is breaking my padlock off my pad, oh, now
Some other guy, now
She was the first best girl I ever had, oh, now
I’m the lonely one, as lonely as I can feel, all right.
Oh oh oh oh
I’m talking to you, right now.
32-bar song form
• A bar (or measure) is one unit of the meter.
In duple meter with 4 beats, one bar = 4 beats.
• Two sections of music, one which repeats
and one which doesn’t: A A B A
• The “A” section is called the “verse” and
the “B” section can be called either
the “bridge” or the “middle 8”
• Four sections x 8 bars per section = 32 bars.
“Love Me Do” (1962)
Love, love me do
VERSE: Written by Paul
You know I love you
I’ll always be true
So please, love me do. (Woah, love me do)
Love, love me do
VERSE
You know I love you
I’ll always be true
So please, love me do. (Woah, love me do)
“Love Me Do” (1962)
Someone to love,
Somebody new.
Someone to love,
Someone like you.
“MIDDLE EIGHT”: written by John
Love, love me do
VERSE
You know I love you
I’ll always be true
So please, love me do. (Woah, love me do)
November
1962
Working on
“I saw her
standing
there”
(photo by
Mike
McCartney)
Second Single: “Please Please Me”
recorded 11/26/1962, released 1/11/1963
“Please Please Me” (1963)
Last night I said these words to my girl,
I know you never even try, girl.
Come on (C’mon) Come on (C’mon) [x2]
Please please me, whoa yeah, like I please you.
VERSE
You don’t need me to show the way, love
Why do I always have to say, love:
Come on (C’mon) Come on (C’mon) [x2]
Please please me, whoa yeah, like I please you.
VERSE
(Refrain)
(Refrain)
I don’t wanna sound complaining,
BRIDGE
But you know there’s always rain in my heart (in my heart).
I do all the pleasing with you
aka “middle eight”
it’s so hard to reason with you,
whoa yeah, why do you make me blue?
REPEAT 1st VERSE
Album: Please Please Me (released 3/22/63)
Ten of the album’s 14 tracks were recorded in three
3-hour sessions on a single day, February 11, 1963.
Please Please Me hit #1
on the UK album chart
in May 1963, and
stayed there for 30 weeks,
when it was replaced by
The Beatles’ second album,
With The Beatles. That one
stayed at #1 for 21 weeks,
for 51 weeks total!
Please Please Me
UK March 1963
Introducing the Beatles [VeeJay]
US January 1964
The Early Beatles [Capitol]
US 22 March 1965
Please Please Me: Side One
• I saw her standing there
(McCartney-Lennon)
• Misery (McCartney-Lennon)
written for UK pop singer Helen Shapiro
• Anna (Go to Him) (Arthur Alexander)
R&B cover, 1962
• Chains (Goffin/King): Girl Group cover
recorded by The Cookies, Nov. 1962
• Boys (Dixon/Farrell): Girl Group cover
recorded by The Shirelles, Nov. 1960
• Ask Me Why (McCartney-Lennon)
• Please Please Me (McCartney-Lennon)
Please Please Me: Side 2
• Love Me Do (McCartney-Lennon)
• P.S. I love You (McCartney-Lennon)
• Baby It’s You (David/Williams/Bacharach)
Girl group cover – The Shirelles, 1961
• Do you want to know a secret
(McCartney-Lennon) – sung by George
• A Taste of Honey (Scott/Marlow)
instrumental from a 1960 play.
• There’s a Place (McCartney-Lennon)
• Twist and Shout (Medley/Russell)
R&B cover –1961, the Isley Brothers, 1962
MH 68: The Beatles
Week 2 Class 2
Massive success in the UK, 1963
Beatlemania begins!
1962: Initial Success
• Summer of ‘62: signed with Parlaphone.
Live performances in Liverpool and out of town.
62 engagements in June and July!
• Ringo joined in August. 1st TV broadcast (“Some Other Guy”);
the next day, 8/23/62, John & Cynthia Lennon were married!
• “Love Me Do” b/w “P.S. I Love You”
recorded in September; released in October.
• Radio and TV appearances in October and November.
Rehearsing “Love Me Do”, Sept. 24, 1962
1962: Initial Success
• November: recorded second single,
“Please Please Me”
b/w “Ask Me Why”
recorded 11/26/1962,
released 1/11/1963
• December: One last trip to Hamburg
“Please Please Me” (1963)
Last night I said these words to my girl,
VERSE
I know you never even try, girl.
Come on (C’mon) Come on (C’mon) [x2]
Please please me, whoa yeah, like I please you. (Refrain)
You don’t need me to show the way, love
VERSE
Why do I always have to say, love:
Come on (C’mon) Come on (C’mon) [x2]
Please please me, whoa yeah, like I please you. (Refrain)
“Please Please Me” (1963)
I don’t wanna sound complaining,
BRIDGE
But you know there’s always rain in
aka
my heart (in my heart).
“middle eight”
I do all the pleasing with you
it’s so hard to reason with you,
whoa yeah, why do you make me blue?
“Please Please Me” (1963)
Last night I said these words to my girl,
VERSE
I know you never even try, girl.
Come on (C’mon) Come on (C’mon) [x2]
Please please me, whoa yeah, like I please you. (Refrain)
(repeat Refrain as a Coda)
November
1962
Working on
“I saw her
standing
there”
(photo by
Mike
McCartney)
1963: Please Please Me, single and album
• January 11: Second single released: “Please Please Me”
• Monday, February 11: recorded the whole album,
from 10 am to 10:45 pm
Monday, February 11,1963
Morning session: 10 am – 1 pm
“There’s a Place” and “I Saw Her Standing There”
Break: 1 pm – 2:30 pm
Afternoon session: 2:30 pm – 6 pm
“A Taste of Honey” / “Do You Want to Know a Secret”
“A Taste of Honey” overdubs
“There’s a Place” overdubs
“I Saw Her Standing There” overdubs (handclaps)
“Misery”
Evening session: 7:30 pm – 10:45 pm
“Hold Me Tight” / “Anna” / “Boys” / “Chains”
“Baby It’s You” / “Twist and Shout”
Please Please Me UK March 1963
Photo:
Angus McBean
(1904-1990)
Taken at EMI
Headquarters,
London
(in the
stairwell!)
Introducing the Beatles [VeeJay]
US January 1964
The Early Beatles [Capitol]
US 22 March 1965
Photo: Angus McBean
Back cover photo
from Beatles for Sale (1964)
Please Please Me: Side One
1. I saw her standing there
(McCartney-Lennon)
2. Misery (McCartney-Lennon)
Paul
John & Paul
written for UK pop singer Helen Shapiro
3. Anna (Go to Him)
John
R&B cover – Arthur Alexander, 1962
4. Chains (Goffin/King):
George
Girl Group cover – The Cookies, Nov. 1962
5. Boys (Dixon/Farrell):
Ringo
Girl Group cover – The Shirelles, Nov. 1960
6. Ask Me Why
John
(McCartney-Lennon)
7. Please Please Me
John & Paul
(McCartney-Lennon)
Please Please Me: Side 2
1. Love Me Do (McCartney-Lennon) John & Paul
2. P.S. I love You (McCartney-Lennon)
Paul
3. Baby It’s You (David/Williams/Bacharach) John
Girl group cover – The Shirelles, 1961
4. Do you want to know a secret
George
(McCartney-Lennon)
5. A Taste of Honey (Scott/Marlow)
Paul
instrumental from a 1960 play.
6.There’s a Place
John & Paul
(McCartney-Lennon)
7.Twist and Shout (Medley/Russell)
John
R&B cover – orig.1961, the Isley Brothers, 1962
Please Please Me: Sleeve Notes
“This record comprised eight Lennon-McCartney
compositions in addition to six other numbers
which have become firm live-performance favourites
in The Beatles’ varied repertoire.
“The group’s admiration for the work of The Shirelles
is demonstrated by the inclusion of BABY IT’S YOU
(John taking the lead vocal with George and Paul
supplying the harmony), and BOYS (a fast rocker
which allows drummer Ringo to make his first
recorded appearance as a vocalist).
Please Please Me: Sleeve Notes
“ANNA, ASK ME WHY and TWIST AND SHOUT also
feature stand-out solo performances from John,
whilst DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET hands
the audio spotlight to George. MISERY may sound as
though it is a self-duet produced by the fine matching
of two voices belonging to John and Paul. There is only
one ‘trick duet’ and that is on A TASTE OF HONEY
featuring a dual-voiced Paul.
John and Paul get together on THERE’S A PLACE and
I SAW HER STANDING THERE;
George joins them for CHAINS, LOVE ME DO
and PLEASE PLEASE ME.”
1963: Meteoric Success in Britain!
Maureen Cleave (b. 1941), “Why the Beatles Create All that Frenzy,”
Evening Standard, February 2, 1963
[Gould, p. 145; full article on course webpage]
“The Beatles are the darlings of Merseyside.
The little girls of Merseyside are so fiercely possessive
about their Beatles that they forced Granada to put them
on television, and they wouldn’t buy their first record in
case they should become famous and go away to London
and leave them.
Fortunately others did buy it, and now they are
buying the second one, ‘Please Please me’, at the rate of
50,000 a week.”
1963: Meteoric Success in Britain!
Cleave: “John Lennon has an upper lip which is brutal in a devastating way.
George Harrison is handsome, whimsical and untidy. Paul McCartney
has a round baby face, while Ringo Starr is ugly but cute. (He’s called
Ringo because he wears two on each hand.)
‘Their physical appearance… inspires frenzy. They look beat-up and depraved
in the nicest possible way.’
They are very friendly and charming. They like each other and everybody else,
and are seen around a good deal. They also write their own songs.”
• March: Recorded third single, “From Me To You” b/w “Thank you Girl”.
Touring, Radio.
• April: Third single released (20 weeks on charts, 7 at #1).
TV. First London concert (with others), broadcast live on radio
– April 8th: Julian Lennon born
1963: Meteoric Success in Britain!
• April – June: touring, TV, radio broadcasts.
For their own BBC radio series, “Pop Go The Beatles,” they recorded 56 songs,
both covers and originals, between June and September, 1963. Many of the
“Live from the BBC” recordings were made for this series.
John wearing his glasses,
preparing for a BBC
broadcast on “Saturday
Club,” 21 December, 1963
Summer, 1963
• July: The Beatles record 4th single, “She Loves You,”
plus 8 tracks for their second album.
Taped more cover songs for their radio show.
• August: “She Loves You” released,
it becomes the fastest-selling record ever in Britain.
Half a million copies sold by Sept. 3rd,
1 million copies sold by the end of November!
Also, filmed for a TV documentary about the
“Mersey Beat” phenomenon.
And, their last performance at the Cavern Club.
“She Loves You” (1963)
• Recorded July 1, 1963
• Released in the UK
August 23, 1963
• Entered the charts 8/31,
hit #1 Sept. 14th
• Remained in the charts
for 31 consecutive weeks,
18 weeks in top 3.
• Best-selling single of 1963 in UK, best-selling single in
UK for 14 years (until surpassed by “Mull of Kintyre,”
by Paul McCartney and Wings)
“She Loves You” (1963)
She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah
CHORUS
She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah
(Intro)
She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You think you’ve lost your love
Well I saw her yesterday
It’s you she’s thinking of
And she told me what to say:
She said she loves you,
and you know that can’t be bad
Yes, she loves you,
And you know you should be glad
VERSE
Refrain
“She Loves You” (1963)
She said you hurt her so,
VERSE
She almost lost her mind,
And now she says she knows
You’re not the hurting kind,
She said she loves you
Refrain
And you know that can’t be bad
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad, OOH! (Falsetto)
She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah
And with a love like that
You know you should be glad!
CHORUS
“She Loves You” (1963)
You know it’s up to you,
VERSE
I think it’s only fair,
Pride can hurt you too,
Apologize to her,
Because she loves you
Refrain
And you know that can’t be bad
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad, OOH! (Falsetto)
She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah
And with a love like that
You know you should be glad!
CHORUS
“She Loves You” (1963)
With a love like that,
You know you should be glad!
With a love like that,
Y…
Purchase answer to see full
attachment