A Hard Days Night – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Beatles – Any Time At All

I’m 8-9 years old again when I hear this song. It’s not a deep meaningful song but it’s just catchy and good. I heard it first in 1976 on the Beatles compilation album Rock and Roll Music. That was terrible packaging…not the albums but the packaging itself. It made the Beatles look like they were popular in the 1950s.

Ringo Starr said: “It made us look cheap and we never were cheap. All that Coca-Cola and cars with big fins was the Fifties!” John Lennon told Capitol that the cover looked like a Monkees reject. He offered to design the cover but was declined. That doesn’t mean the album didn’t contain great music…a double album full of some great songs.

This song was on the UK version of A Hard Day’s Night album. In America, it was on the Something New album. They were pressed for time and John finished the song off while on vacation and brought it to the studio. Lennon is believed to be the only writer of this song. This one was known then as an album track but it’s not like it doesn’t have a nice hook.

We know that Paul is very active in songwriting but on this album, John ended up writing 10 of the 13 songs. I had a book that measured each of them in the Lennon/McCartney songs and Lennon wrote a larger percentage, most of that because of the early days.

John later said it was an effort in re-writing It Won’t Be Long (my first favorite Beatle song) and it’s true. It’s also got some of All I’ve Got To Do theme in it.

On the albums in America. Something New peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100 and #2 in Canada. The reason it peaked at #2? A Hard Day’s Night was released in America on June 26, 1964, and peaked at #1 in America and Canada. Something New was released less than a month later on July 20, 1964. A Hard Days Night held its sister album off. There were 6 Beatles albums released in America and 5 in Canada in 1964. In the UK there were 2 released in 1964. Capitol pulled songs from 1962-1963 and all of them came rolling out.

I’ve also included the song It Won’t Be Long. A very underrated Beatles early rocker which they never played live for some reason. When you are 8 years old…that guitar riff sounded so cool…wait a minute…it does now also!

John Lennon: “An effort in writing ‘It Won’t Be Long’ – same ilk. C to A minor, C to A minor with me shouting.”

George Harrison: “Paul and John write a song, bring it into the studio and usually, nine times out of ten, Ringo and I haven’t heard the song before, and we get into the studio and try all different arrangements. We all stick little bits here and there, you know.”

My first favorite Beatles song It Won’t Be Long

Any Time At All

Any time at all, any time at all
Any time at all, all you gotta do is call
And I’ll be there

If you need somebody to love
Just look into my eyes
I’ll be there to make you feel right
If you’re feeling sorry and sad
I’d really sympathize
Don’t you be sad, just call me tonight

Any time at all, any time at all
Any time at all, all you gotta do is call
And I’ll be there

If the sun has faded away
I’ll try to make it shine
There is nothing I won’t do
When you need a shoulder to cry on
I hope it will be mine
Call me tonight and I’ll come to you

Any time at all, any time at all
Any time at all, all you gotta do is call
And I’ll be there

Any time at all, any time at all
Any time at all, all you gotta do is call
And I’ll be there
Any time at all, all you gotta do is call
And I’ll be there

…

Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night

This is probably one of the most studied songs by the Beatles in their entire catalog. Why is it studied? That opening chord or chords. It baffled musicians for years on how to duplicate it. It took around 40 years to figure it out to be exact. It’s probably one of the most recognizable intros in rock. A musician didn’t figure it out…that took a Dalhousie mathematician. None of the Beatles could remember exactly how they did it.

Here is a PDF you can download. A Hard Days Night Chord . It’s called Mathematics, Physics and A Hard Day’s Night. Here is what Wiki said: George Harrison: Fadd9 in 1st position on Rickenbacker 360/12 12-string electric guitar. John Lennon: Fadd9 in 1st position on a Gibson J-160E 6-string acoustic guitar. Paul McCartney: high D3 played on the D-string, 12th fret on Hofner 500/1 electric bass. George Martin: D2-G2-D3 played on a Steinway Grand Piano.

I just don’t see how they thought it up…it was most likely helped by George Martin. Anyway, it’s a great song and a hugely popular one from their early years. The title came from something Ringo said and John remembered it. They all called Ringo’s odd phrases Ringoisms. Ringo said “We went to do a job, and we’d worked all day and we happened to work all night. I came up still thinking it was day I suppose, and I said, ‘It’s been a hard day…’ and I looked around and saw it was dark so I said, ‘Night!’ So we came to ‘A Hard Day’s Night.”

A Hard Day’s Night was written and recorded in less than 24 hours. It only took them 3 hours to finish the song. It was another song that was written under pressure. The movie production had begun and this was the last song to be recorded. On the way to the studio, John Lennon was talking to a journalist Maureen Cleave who was sharing a cab with him.

He showed her the lyrics to A Hard Day’s Night. They were scrawled down on a birthday card sent from a fan to his son Julian. What the lyrics were was “When I get home to you / I find my tiredness is through …” and Cleave didn’t like the word tiredness and told John…so he grabbed her pen and wrote, “When I get home to you / I find the things that you do / Will make me feel all right.” Today Julian’s birthday card is in the British Library.

The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #1 in New Zealand, and #1 in the UK in 1964.

The album peaked at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, and #1 in the UK.

A fun fact about the movie. Phil Collins was one of the school kids brought in as extras for a scene in the movie where The Beatles perform. He didn’t make the cut, but years later, the film’s producer gave Collins the outtake footage with him in it and had Collins add commentary to the DVD release.

They won their first Grammy with this song.

A Hard Day’s Night

It’s been a hard day’s night
And I’ve been workin’ like a dog
It’s been a hard day’s night
I should be sleepin’ like a log
But when I get home to you
I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright

You know I work all day
To get you money to buy you things
And it’s worth it just to hear you say
You’re gonna give me everything
So why on Earth should I moan?
‘Cause when I get you alone
You know I feel okay

When I’m home
Everything seems to be right
When I’m home
Feeling you holding me tight, tight, yeah

So why on Earth should I moan?
‘Cause when I get you alone
You know I feel okay

When I’m home
Everything seems to be right
When I’m home
Feeling you holding me tight, tight, yeah

Oh, it’s been a hard day’s night
And I’ve been workin’ like a dog
It’s been a hard day’s night
I should be sleepin’ like a log
But when I get home to you
I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright
You know I feel alright
You know I feel alright

…

Beatles – You Can’t Do That

I love B-sides and this is a good one. I liked You Can’t Do That much better than the A-side Can’t Buy Me Love.

John Lennon never liked his voice. He always wanted George Martin to add echo or anything else to cover it up. I never understood that…for me John was one of the best rock and roll singers out there. His thin nasal voice cut through the music and cuts into you.

I first heard this song on a 1976 compilation album Rock and Roll Music. That was my second ever Beatles album. Capital put together one of the worse covers ever for that album.

The cover made the Beatles look like they were from the 50s. A very few of the songs on the album were covers of 50s songs. Ringo Starr said: “It made us look cheap and we never were cheap. All that Coca-Cola and cars with big fins was the Fifties!” John Lennon told Capitol that the cover looked like a Monkees reject. He offered to design the cover but was declined. That doesn’t mean the album didn’t contain great music…a double album full of some great songs.

You Can’t Do That helped popularized the two-measure guitar riff…. a guitar riff that opens a song and continues through it. It laid the foundation for modern rock… with artists such as The Stones to Nirvana. The Beatles would use this frequently in songs such as I Feel Fine, Ticket To Ride, Day Tripper, If I Needed Someone, Paperback Writer and I Want To Tell You. The Stones made a career of it.

The song originally appeared on the UK soundtrack of A Hard Days Night. They recorded this in nine takes on George Harrison’s 21st birthday (February 25, 1964). The song was the B side to Can’t Buy Me Love but managed to peak at #48 in the Billboard 100 and #33 in Canada in 1964. Harry Nilsson covered it in 1967 and that version peaked at #10 in Canada.

This was the first Beatles song on which George Harrison played a 12-string guitar… John played the lead. Lennon said that Wilson Pickett was an influence on this song.

You Can’t Do That

I got something to say that might ’cause you pain
If I catch you talking to that boy again
I’m gonna let you down
And leave you flat
Because I told you before, oh
You can’t do that

Well, it’s the second time I’ve caught you talking to him
Do I have to tell you one more time, I think it’s a sin
I think I’ll let you down (let you down)
And leave you flat
(Gonna let you down and leave you flat)
Because I’ve told you before, oh
You can’t do that

Everybody’s green
‘Cause I’m the one, who won your love
But if they’d seen
You’re talking that way they’d laugh in my face

So please listen to me, if you wanna stay mine
I can’t help my feelings, I’ll go out of my mind
I’m gonna let you down (let you down)
And leave you flat
(Gonna let you down and leave you flat)
Because I’ve told you before, oh, you can’t do that

You can’t do that
You can’t do that
You can’t do that
You can’t do that
You can’t do that

Everybody’s green
‘Cause I’m the one who won your love
But if they’d seen
You’re talking that way they’d laugh in my face

Beatles Movies

Beatle Movies: A Hard Days Night, Help, Magical Mystery Tour and Let It Be.

A Hard Day’s Night – The plot was the Beatles on their way to a television appearance and the chaos that happens on the way there. Fans are chasing them everywhere and this part was in real life identical. Throw in Paul’s movie grandfather and you have the movie. The film is rated in the top 100 of some movie lists. The sound track is great and the Beatles were natural comedians and they had a witty script. A Hard Day’s Night was very close to real life because it was partly written by someone who went on tour with the Beatles and wrote some first hand information.

The Beatles were compared to the Marx Brothers when the movie came out. This movie is where their image was set in the public’s eye…John the intellectual, Paul the cute one, George the quiet one and Ringo the funny one (all of them were funny) of course it wasn’t that simple in real life.

This is the best movie they made and it fit them perfectly. I was fortunate enough to see this at a movie theater when it was re-released in 2000. Seeing the movie they way it was shown in 1964 was a great experience.

Help – A religious cult lost a ring that they had to have for a sacrifice ritual… Guess who had the ring? Ringo of course… the ring would not come off of his hand so they made trips to various places to help Ringo including Scotland Yard and mad scientists. The film looks great restored with vivid color. The filming locations included England, Austria and the Bahamas. The cinematography of the movie was great.

This was my introduction to Beatles movies and although not critically acclaimed it still is a good movie. John didn’t think much of the movie…his quote was “it was like being a frog in a movie about clams.”…it is enjoyable all the same. I’ve probably watched it more than any of their movies.

Magical Mystery Tour – The Beatles making a colorful home movie is the best way to describe it. The music makes the movie. It was a psychedelic trip that most Beatles fans enjoy. Where else can you see a video of I Am the Walrus, Blue Jay Way and The Fool on the Hill? They play 4 wizards that…well…. they play 4 wizards. I have seen this movie multiple times and every time I think maybe I missed something previously and its better than I remember…no… except you get to see them in their psychedelic phase and above all else the music. I can’t say I don’t enjoy it but only a little at a time.

It has been restored with a “making of” included with it. I enjoyed the documentary more than the movie, It’s not for non Beatles fans but for Beatles fans its a fascinating look an interesting time for them. I have to admit I like scenes from this movie more than the whole movie like Lennon’s spaghetti scene I Am the Walrus scene… The ending with the tuxedos is pretty cool also.

Yellow Submarine – A beautiful animated movie with the Beatles looking for Pepperland. I saw this as a kid and was mesmerized by the colors and these strange talking characters. Most of the soundtrack are older songs and orchestrated music by George Martin. The Beatles didn’t even do the voices because they were not really interested but ended up loving the movie. They did appear at the end of the movie in person.

This movie is very enjoyable for kids and adults. I pull it out every year and watch it. My favorite character is Jeremy who helps and hinders and is a unique character in the movie to say the least. The animation is terrific and ahead of it’s time. To some people this is their favorite Beatles movie. Watch this movie if you can… it is enjoyable.

Let It Be – A record of the Beatles breaking up. They stayed together for another year but this is a glimpse of the tensions that were happening. I’m a huge Beatles fan but it is hard watching this movie at times but I do like it. The first half is somewhat depressing but the second half lightens up when Billy Preston starts playing keyboards and they move the recording to the Apple headquarters. The rooftop scene is great and it is the last live performance of them and I would like to see the complete performance. Every time I watch I hope they will work it out… of course it won’t happen. You see George and Paul have a small fight and you see Yoko sticking to John like glue.

The music is great of course… from Let It Be to I Dig a Pony. You get the rawest Beatles performance since they played in Hamburg warts and all. I have a bootleg copy of this and it was actually released on laser disc but a blue ray release will not happen anytime soon because from what I’ve read the Harrison and Lennon (Yoko) estate does not want it released. I’ve also read where Paul and Ringo don’t like it and I’ve read where they don’t care. They have released so much…why not finish the story and release this…

It’s been so many years ago and it’s not like it hasn’t been documented that they were not getting along. This is for Beatles fans only.

Why The Beatles are still Relevant

This is the post excerpt.

“They have been gone for such a long time” sure but their music is timeless. I first found the Beatles in the 1970’s growing up and as a young kid, I bought that terrible repackaged album that Capital released called Rock and Roll music…some great music but a truly terrible silver cover that made the Beatles look like they came from the fifties. I first bought the Hey Jude Again album in 2nd-grade in 1975. I was transformed. When I heard those songs I started to buy more of their albums and I could not believe the quantity and the quality of the songs….the great songs kept coming like a well that never runs dry. I missed them of course when they were active but I could not believe one group could have so many great songs. I felt…and still feel that I was born too late and missed out on something great. I could not imagine listening to Sgt Peppers on the radio in 1967 when it was all new. I did find other groups…On my 3rd grade notebook, I would write the names of bands like others did… that I was just finding out about…The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds. A little late but better late than never.

Now getting back to the title of this post…In the 1980s being a Beatle fan was not a popular thing…not that I cared…but…since the 1990s the Beatles are current again and remain current in 2018. My son is 18 and him and his friends all like them. They also like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, The Stones. Beatles albums still sell consistently. Here is a youtube video of different people from Rap Artists to Ozzy Osborne talking about the Beatles…

Here is an interesting one with Lemmy from Motorhead talking about the Beatles.

Most have read about their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show on February 9, 1964.. I recently was with a friend who bought two Kustom bass cabinets from an older country drummer. The Beatles got brought up in conversation and he told me about that night when he sat on the couch and watched them. He said the next day the world was a different place. Not just hairstyles but attitudes. I asked him to compare the mania to something since then….his answer was Michael Jackson in the 1980s times 1000 or maybe more…Now that is a statement. Is it coming from someone famous? No, but he was there. I have talked to others who say the same that was there.

An answer from Mick Jagger about being compared with the Beatles…

The Beatles were so big that it’s hard for people not alive at the time to realize just how big they were. There isn’t a real comparison with anyone now. I suppose Michael Jackson at one point, but it still doesn’t seem quite the same. They were so big that to be competitive with them was impossible. I’m talking about in record sales and tours and all this. They were huge.

Of course, I’m a fan and have read a lot about them so I am biased (I recommend Tune In) and a great website…their story is almost as great as their music. I’ve had fun arguments with friends about Beatles vs Elvis… Beatles vs Stones etc. It’s all in good fun though…although I have always been right…