Boys (The Shirelles song)
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| “Boys” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles | ||
| Album | Please Please Me | |
| Released | March 22, 1963 (mono) April 26, 1963 (stereo) |
|
| Recorded | February 11, 1963 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 2:24 | |
| Label | Parlophone | |
| Writer | Luther Dixon/Wes Farrell | |
| Producer | George Martin | |
| Please Please Me track listing | ||
|
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"Boys" is a song by Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell, originally performed by the Shirelles and released as the B-side of their "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" single in November 1960.
[edit] The Beatles version
The Beatles covered "Boys" on their first album released in the UK, Please Please Me. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios on February 11, 1963 in a single take, and is Ringo Starr's first recorded lead vocal with the Beatles.[1] February 11 was a marathon day for the Beatles; they recorded 10 of the 14 tracks they needed for Please Please Me.[2] The Beatles included two songs by the Shirelles on their first album, "Boys" and "Baby It's You."[3][4]
In the early 1960s, the Beatles didn't concern themselves about the possible homosexual connotations in singing a song about boys, although the Beatles altered the gender pronouns employed on the Shirelles' version (i.e. "My girl says when I kiss her lips..."). In an October 2005 Rolling Stone interview, Paul McCartney stated: "Any one of us could hold the audience. Ringo would do 'Boys', which was a fan favourite with the crowd. And it was great - though if you think about it, here's us doing a song and it was really a girls' song. 'I talk about boys now!' Or it was a gay song. But we never even listened. It's just a great song. I think that's one of the things about youth - you just don't give a shit. I love the innocence of those days."[5] (The lyrics talk specifically about boys kissing girls, not "each other".)
"Boys" had always been the Beatles' 'drummer' song during their Cavern days, the drummer then being Pete Best.[6] Coincidentally, Starr also sang this for his solo spot with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes; Cilla Black would sometimes join him on stage, sharing the same microphone.[7]
[edit] Credits
- Ringo Starr – drums, lead vocal
- John Lennon – rhythm guitar, backing vocal
- Paul McCartney – bass guitar, backing vocal
- George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocal
- Credits per Ian MacDonald[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books, 26. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- ^ Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions, 25-26.
- ^ Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated. London: Virgin Publishing, 999. ISBN 0-7535-0481-2.
- ^ Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions, 200.
- ^ Binelli, Mark (2005-10-20). "Sir Paul Rides Again". Rolling Stone 985.
- ^ Harry, Bill. The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia, 118.
- ^ Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated, 202.
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, Second Revised Edition, London: Pimlico (Rand), 73-74. ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
