A Hard Day’s Night is the only Beatles album where all of the songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It is also the first Beatles album to contain only original compositions, and no cover songs. A Hard Day’s Night was released on July 10, 1964, as the soundtrack to the Beatles’ film of the same name.
Most of the band’s earlier albums contain at least a few covers, and most of their albums have at least one George Harrison composition, but A Hard Day’s Night had neither. Harrison does get to sing lead vocals on the Lennon/McCartney penned “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You”.
A Hard Day’s Night is one of three Beatles albums that do not feature Ringo Starr on vocals on at least one track (Magical Mystery Tour and Let It Be are the others). But Starr is credited with the accidental creation of the movie/album’s title. During an interview with Playboy magazine in 1980, John Lennon said: “I was going home in the car and Dick Lester [director of the movie] suggested the title, ‘Hard Day’s Night’ from something Ringo had said. I had used it in ‘In His Own Write’, but it was an off-the-cuff remark by Ringo. You know, one of those malapropisms. A Ringo-ism, where he said it not to be funny… just said it. So Dick Lester said, ‘We are going to use that title.’”
“Something” was the first George Harrison composition to be featured as an A-side of a Beatles single. The B-side was “Come Together” (credited to Lennon/McCartney). Both songs were recorded and released in 1969, and appear as the first two tracks on the Abbey Road album.
Frank Sinatra was particularly fond of “Something;” declaring it “the greatest love song ever written”. It became a regular part of his repertoire and he sang it hundreds of times during his concerts. Sinatra mistakenly called “Something” his all-time favorite Lennon/McCartney song!
“Something” was the only George Harrison penned song to top the American charts while he was a member of The Beatles. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the principal songwritings of the band, praised “Something” as one of the best songs Harrison had written.
“Flying”, from the 1967 release Magical Mystery Tour, was the first song credited as being written by all four members of The Beatles. The writing credit is attributed to “Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starr”. It’s a simple 12-bar blues chord progression instrumental track, though it does include some chanting.
It was rare for The Beatles to record instrumentals, and it was also rare for a song to be credited to all four members of the band.
“Flying” was originally titled “Aerial Tour Instrumental”.
“We Love You Beatles” was the only Beatles novelty record to reach the Top 40. It was released in 1964 by The Carefrees, a British group made up of session vocalists Lynn Cornell, Betty Prescott and Barbara Kay. This musical tribute to The Beatles was their only charted single, where it peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song was based on “We Love You Conrad” from the musical Bye Bye Birdie. Each Beatle is named separately in individual verses. Sprinkled in the song are bits mymicing the Beatles themselves, such as some “woos” and “yeah, yeah, yeahs” similar to “She Loves You”.
Curiously, vocalist Cornell was married to Andy White, best known for playing drums on The Beatles’ first single, “Love Me Do”.
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The Lucy that inspired John Lennon to write “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was Lucy O’Donnell. She was a classmate of John’s son Julian at Heath House School. Lucy came to the attention of John when Julian came home from school one day with a drawing that he showed his father. Julian described the picture as “Lucy — in the sky with diamonds.” Julian later said, “I don’t know why I called it that or why it stood out from all my other drawings, but I obviously had an affection for Lucy at that age. I used to show dad everything I’d built or painted at school, and this one sparked off the idea for a song about ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’.”
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was included on The Beatles’ critically acclaimed 1967 album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
In 2009, Julian Lennon reached out to Lucy (married name Lucy Vodden) after learning that she suffered from the immune system disease lupus. She had been battled the disease for 15 years and her health was declining. He sent her flowers with a personally written card and gift vouchers for a garden center, as she took solace from gardening and plants. She reacted by saying, “It was lovely of Julian.” In a recent interview she said “The last time I saw Julian was when we were in our early 20s and he asked me, “So how’s Lucy in the sky getting on?”‘
Sadly, Lucy O’Donnell Vodden died on September 22, 2009, at the age of 46. After her passing, Julian said that he is “shocked and saddened” by the death of his former classmate.
