Misery (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Misery" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Song by the Beatles | ||
| from the album Please Please Me | ||
| Released | March 22, 1963 (mono) April 26, 1963 (stereo) |
|
| Recorded | February 11, 1963 | |
| Genre | Pop Rock | |
| Length | 1:47 | |
| Label | Parlophone | |
| Writer(s) | McCartney/Lennon | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Please Please Me track listing | ||
|
||
"Misery" is a song performed by the Beatles on their album Please Please Me. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. According to Lennon, "it was kind of a John song more than a Paul song, but it was written together."[1]
In February 1963, the Beatles were fifth on the bill for the Helen Shapiro tour. Shapiro had first achieved chart success in 1961 at the age of 14, and Lennon and McCartney saw an opportunity to have her record one of their songs. "Misery" was written especially for her and was started backstage before their performance at the King's Hall, Stoke-on-Trent on 26 January and later completed at McCartney's Forthlin Road home. Shapiro's A&R Manager, Norrie Paramor rejected the song, but Kenny Lynch, who was on the same tour, did record it, and became the first artist to cover a Lennon/McCartney composition.[2] When the Beatles needed original material for their Please Please Me LP they recorded it themselves, giving it a droll-deadpan treatment.[3]
It was credited to McCartney and Lennon in that order, as were all other Lennon & McCartney originals on the Please Please Me album. The songwriting credit was changed to what would become the more familiar "Lennon & McCartney" for their second album, With the Beatles.
[edit] Credits
- John Lennon — rhythm guitar, lead vocal
- Paul McCartney — bass, lead vocal
- George Harrison — lead guitar
- Ringo Starr — drums
- George Martin — piano
- Credits per Ian MacDonald[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press, 169. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- ^ Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 94. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- ^ a b MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, Second Revised Edition, London: Pimlico (Rand), 70-71. ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
