On This Day in 1962, The Beatles Recorded the US Version of Their Debut Single—Written by Lennon and McCartney Before the Band Formed

On this day (September 11) in 1962, the Beatles recorded the third version of “Love Me Do.” It was their debut single in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 17. The song was also originally meant to be their debut single in the United States. However, the label balked and refused to release it until 1964, when it became their fourth consecutive chart-topper.

The Beatles recorded the first version of “Love Me Do” in June 1962 with Pete Best on drums. This recording didn’t see the light of day until it was included on Anthology 1 in 1995. Then, on September 4, they recorded it again, with Ringo Starr on drums. They released this version as their debut UK single in October 1962. Finally, on September 11, 1962, they cut the song a third time. This time, session musician Andy White played drums, and Starr played tambourine. The tambourine is an easy way to tell the two popular versions apart.

According to Songfacts, Parlophone Records issued “Love Me Do” as a single in the United Kingdom. Sales, especially in the Liverpool area, were good enough to take the song to No. 17. Capitol Records, Parlophone’s US partner, refused to release the single, fearing it would flop. Tollie finally released the song in the US in April 1964. By that time, “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love” had all reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Love Me Do” Is Older Than the Beatles

When John Lennon and Paul McCartney were teenagers, they would skip school to write songs together. The duo wrote several songs before “Love Me Do,” but this was the first they liked enough to record.

While the song is officially a Lennon-McCartney co-write, there was some debate about the actual authorship of the song. “Paul wrote the main structure of this when he was 16, or even earlier,” Lennon said. “I think I had something to do with the middle.”

[RELATED: John Lennon Was Incredibly Ill When The Beatles Recorded One of Their Biggest Hits: “John’s Voice Was Almost Completely Gone”]

McCartney remembered things differently. He said the song was “completely co-written” with Lennon. “It might have been my original idea, but some of them really were 50-50s, and I think that one was,” he said.

Featured Image by David Redfern/Redferns

The post On This Day in 1962, The Beatles Recorded the US Version of Their Debut Single—Written by Lennon and McCartney Before the Band Formed appeared first on American Songwriter.