MUSCLG 68- THE BEATLES MIDTERM #1

"Chains" Album

Please Please Me (1963)

"Chains" composers

Gerry Goffin and Carole King, 1962

"Boys" Album

Please Please Me (1963)

"Boys" composers

Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell, 1960

"Please Please Me" album

released as a single and on Please Please Me(1963)

"Please Please Me" composers

John Lennon, credited to Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership

"Love Me Do" album

released as a single and on Please Please Me (1963)

"Love Me Do" composers

Lennon-McCartney

"Twist and Shout" album

Please Please Me (1963)

"Twist and Shout" composers

Phil Medley and Bert Burns, 1961

"All My Loving" album

With the Beatles (1963)

"All My Loving" composers

Paul McCartney

"Till There Was You" album

With the Beatles (1963)

"Till There Was You" composers

Meredith Wilson, 1957

"Please Mister Postman" album

With the Beatles (1963)

"Please Mister Postman" composers

Dobbins/Garrett/Gorman/Holland/Bateman, 1961

"Roll Over Beethoven" album

With the Beatles (1963)

"Roll Over Beethoven" composers

Chuck Berry, 1956

"A Hard Day's Night" album

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

"A Hard Day's Night" composers

John Lennon, credited to Lennon-McCartney

"I Should Have Known Better" album

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

"I Should Have Known Better" composers

John Lennon, credited to Lennon-McCartney

"If I Fell" album

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

"If I Fell" composers

John Lennon, credited to Lennon-McCartney

"Can't Buy Me Love" album

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

"Can't Buy Me Love" composers

Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon-McCartney

How were songs on A Hard Day's Night used differently in the film?

Live performances: The Beatles perform songs on-screen, such as "And I Love Her" and "Tell Me Why," showing their identities as working musicians.

Background music (non-diegetic): Songs accompany action without the band visibly performing, such as "Can't Buy Me Love" during the scene where the Beatles run and play in a field. This emphasizes freedom, youth, and playfulness.

Recording or rehearsal scenes: Songs appear as part of the Beatles' professional activities, such as rehearsing or preparing for a television performance. Unlike traditional musicals, where characters often sing to express emotions or advance the plot, A Hard Day's Night uses songs as performances, background accompaniment, and musical sequences that highlight the Beatles' personalities and the excitement of Beatlemania.

"From Me to You" album

its a single, but on reserve on the Mono Masters or Past Masters albums

"From Me to You" year

1963

"She Loves You" album

its a single, but on reserve on the Mono Masters or Past Masters albums

"She Loves You" year

1963

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" / "This Boy" album

its a single, but on reserve on the Mono Masters or Past Masters albums

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" / "This Boy" year

1963

Live at the BBC

songs broadcast on the radio, not commercially released until 1994

"I Got A Woman" album

performed live at the BBC (1963)

"I Got A Woman" composer

Ray Charles, 1954

"Some Other Guy" album

performed live at the BBC (1963)

"Some Other Guy" composer

Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller/Richie Barrett, 1962

"Hotter Than That"

Louis Armstrong and his Hot Fives, 1927

"Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)"

Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, 1937

"Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" composer

Louis Prima

"Over the Rainbow"

Judy Garland, 1939

"Over the Rainbow" composer

Harold Arlen, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg

"St. James Infirmary Blues"

Miles Hillbillys, 2021, but recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1928

"St. James Infirmary Blues" composer

unclear who wrote it

"I Got A Woman" '54

Original, Ray Charles, 1954

"I Got A Woman" '56

Elvis Presley, 1956

"Long Tall Sally"

Little Richard, 1956

"Roll Over Beethoven" original

Chuck Berry, 1956

"Boys" original

The Shirelles, 1960

"Please Mr. Postman" original

The Marvelettes, 1961

"Chains" original

The Cookies, 1962

"Some Other Guy"

The Cookies, 1962

"Twist and Shout" original

The Isley Brothers, 1962

"Louie Louie"

The Kingsmen, single, 1963

"Dominique"

The Sining Nun, 1963

"There! I've Said It Again"

Bobby Vinton, single, 1963

"Forget Him"

Bobby Rydell, 1963

Constraints

rules or limitations that shape creativity, taken as a collection they structure play space (rules in a game, physics in sports, laws in society, a genre in literature or music, script for a play/movie, score for a work of classical music)

cultural constraints

how a society uses music

historical constraints

what else is going on

economic constraints

financing music-making

technological constraints

instruments, recording

educational constraints

how people are learning about music

Play

"Play is free movement within a system of constraints" -Brian upton, The Aesthetic of Play (2015)

Play Space

the physical, social or imaginative environment where musical activity happens (stage, studio, club, listener's imagination)

composer play

creative experimentation when writing music (melodies, harmonies, lyrics, structures, and sounds)

performer play

musicians interpreting or experimenting with a composition through timing, expression, improvisation and technique

listener play

active engagement with music through interpretation, imagination, emotional response and associations

"cultural context"

collection of constraints that structure the play space within which the creation performance and experience of music take place

John Lennon musical role

vocals, rhythm guitar; co-founder and principal songwriter

John Lennon Background

1940-1980

Born in Liverpool; raised primarily by his Aunt Mimi after an unstable childhood. His mother Julia encouraged his interest in music but died in a car accident in 1958. Attended Liverpool College of Art. Founded the Quarrymen in 1956 and met Paul McCartney in 1957.

Paul McCartney musical role

vocals, bass; principal songwriter

Paul McCartney Background

Born in Liverpool; raised in a working-class family. His father Jim was an amateur musician, and his mother Mary was a nurse who died of breast cancer in 1956. Attended Liverpool Institute and met Lennon at a church fête in July 1957.

Ringo Starr musical role

drums, joined in August 1962 replacing Pete Best

Ringo Starr Background

Born Richard Starkey in Liverpool; grew up in a working-class household. Experienced serious childhood illnesses, including peritonitis and tuberculosis, which interrupted his schooling. Played with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes before joining the Beatles in August 1962.

George Harrison musical role

lead guitar; later increasingly important songwriter

George Harrison Background

Born in Liverpool; grew up in a working-class family. His father was a bus conductor and his mother supported his musical interests. Attended Liverpool Institute, where he knew Paul McCartney. Joined Lennon's group in 1958 at approximately age 15.

Lonnie Donegan

British skiffle star whose 1956 hit "Rock Island Line" became a major British hit that showed teenagers they didn't need expensive instruments or formal training to make music

Elvis Presley

1935-1977, major rock n roll store who combined influences from blues, country and gospel; his image, performances and popularity strongly influenced the Beatles; adapted Ray Charles 1954 original "I Got A Woman"

Chuck Berry

1926-2017, influential rock n roll guitarist and songwriter known for guitar riffs, storytelling and teenage themes; the Beatles covered his song including "Roll Over Beethoven"

Little Richard

1932-2020, Pioneer of energetic rock and roll known for powerful vocals and piano playing; influenced Paul's singing; the Beatles covered "Long Tall Sally"

Ray Charles

American musician who combined gospel, blues and R&B, helping shape soul music. influenced the Beatles' vocal style and musical approach, The Beatles covered "I Got A Woman"

The Quarrymen

John Lennon's skiffle group, formed in 1956, influenced by American rock n' roll, learning how to be a rock band, evolved into the Beatles (John Lennon, Eric Griffith, Colin Hanton, Rod Davis, Pete Shotton, and Len Garry

Stuart Sutcliffe

early beatles bassist and John's art school friend; left the band in 1961 and died in '62

Pete Best

Beatles drummer from 1960-1962, was replaced by Ringo Starr

Mona Best

Pete's mother, owned a teen club (Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool) that became the early Beatles performance venue, which is why Pete became the drummer

Rory Storm and the Hurricanes

Liverpool band in which Ringo Starr played drums before joining the Beatles

Klaus Voormann

German artist and friend of the Beatles from Hamburg; later designed the Revolver album cover (1966)

Jurgen Vollmer

German photographer and Beatles friend associated with the group's early Hamburg look and hairstyle

Astrid Kirchherr

German photographer who photographed the Beatles in Hamburg; Stuart Sutcliffe's fiancee; influential in their early visual identity

Brian Epstein

Became Beatles manager in 1962; helped refine their professional image and secure a recording contract

George Martin

Beatles producer at EMI/Parlophone; contributed arrangements, recording expertise, and musical guidance

The Cookies

American R&B girl group; recorded "Chains, later covered by the Beatles

The Shirelles

influential American girl group; recorded "Boys" and "Baby It's you" both covered by the Beatles

Berry Gordy

Founded Motown Records in Detroit in 1959; developed a major center of Black popular music

Smokey Robinson

Motown singer and songwriter; led the Miracles; the Beatles covered "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"

The Marvelettes

Motown girl group whose hit "Please Mr. Postman" (1961) was covered by the Beatles

Maureen Cleave

February 2, 1963 British journalist who interviewed and wrote about the Beatles in her article "Why the Beatles create all that mania", describes growing merseyside fan obsession, "Please Please Me" was selling ~50,000 copies a week, her 1966 interview with Lennon later sparked controversy over his remarks about Christianity

Princess Margaret

British royal who attended the Beatles' 1963 Royal Variety Performance, reflecting their growing mainstream acceptance