The Beatles were a rock band formed in Liverpool, England in the 1960s. The members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The Beatles is considered the most influential band of all time. They have mixed traditional pop with rock influencing a lot of the younger generation with their unique style. The Beatles have 13 albums and 227 songs. We at the Dope Lists present you the top ten Beatles songs from our perspective.
10. Help!
The song lyrics were created by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded in 1965. John Lennon is the main writer and McCartney is the main creator of the musical melodies. Ringo Starr was playing the drums and the tambourine, the lead guitarist was Harrison and also the back vocalist, the second background vocalist but also the bass player, was McCartney, and John Lennon was the lead singer and guitar player.
The song “Help!” was written by John Lennon for the Beatles movie. Lennon claims that the actual writing of the song was a cry for help as the title exclaimed. At that time the lead singer of the Beatles was feeling insecure and lost. He was singing to the younger version of himself trying to find what made him complete back then. The song is a reminder of the easiness of life at the beginning and how it became different at the time of the creation of the song. ”Help” was originally written as a ballad but had to be changed speeding it up to become more commercial. The recording of the song took only one night in April 1965. There were 12 takes and the final one was considered the most successful. It was released both in the UK and USA in July 1965. “Help” was at the top of the charts in both countries.
9. Hey Jude
“Hey Jude” was written by Paul McCartney and released in August 1968. The Beatles had a new label, Apple records, and this song was their first release with this label. McCartney was not only a vocalist, but also played the piano and bass guitar, John Lennon was a background vocalist and acoustic guitar player, Ringo Starr was playing the drums and the tambourine, and Harrison was the second back vocalist and electric guitar player.
The idea of the song is based on the times spent with Cynthia and Julian Lennon at their Weybridge house. McCartney was trying to present the good sides of a bad situation telling them that the thing would get better as time passed on.
The name “Julles” was eventually changed to “Jude”. Paul McCartney recorded a piano demo in London. He played the song for the first time for John Lennon in the middle of July. Lennon suggested some editing and after the song was released it was welcomed by the audience because of the optimistic character of the lyrics.
“Hey Jude” became the top-selling single in the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia in 1968.
8. Yesterday
“Yesterday” was created by Paul McCartney and first released in 1965 on the “Help!” album. It was also released as a single in the US in September and become number 1 on the American charts. The song is different from the others because Paul McCartney was the only original member of “The Beatles” participating in it. The other musicians were Tony Gilbert, Sidney Wax ( both playing the violin), Kenneth Essex playing on viola, and Francisco Gabarro on the cello,
The original title of the song was “Scrambled Eggs” and was created during the filming of “Help”.
The first recording was on June 14th, 1965. It took only two takes for McCartney to record his vocals and guitar. It was suggested by Martin to use a string quartet instead of the other instruments.
The Guinness Book of Records claimed that “Yesterday” was the most covered song of all time. BBC radio poll announced the song to be the best of the 20th century and the number one song in the history of music according to MTV in 2000. The song was also a huge part of the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1997.
7. Let it Be
“Let it Be” was released on March 6th, 1970 created by Paul McCartney. The idea is based on a dream of McCartney of his mother during a stressful period for him. Unfortunately, she died of cancer which was an inspiration for McCartney for the “Mother Mary” lyric.
He felt isolated as a band member and the song symbolized the disintegration of the group.
6. Strawberry Fields Forever
The song was written by John Lennon and proclaimed the change of the style of the band from the previous singles to a psychedelic genre.
“Strawberry Fields” was the name of a children’s home close to Lennon’s home in Woolton. He used to play with his friends in the area behind the home as a kid.
The beginning of the writing of the song was in Spain in 1966. The theme is nostalgia for the past of the group in Liverpool. The psychedelic character of the song is enriched with the LSD-infused lens used of by the cast.
5. I Want to Hold Your Hand
The song was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in London. The band wanted to create a pop song to become at the top of the charts in the US. It was successful. “The Beatles” used four-track technology for the first time for this song. Lennon was a vocalist and played the rhythm guitar, McCartney was also a vocalist and played the bass guitar, Harrison was the lead guitarist and hand-claps, and Ringo was the drummer.
The song was number one in the UK on the day of the release and also “The Beatles” first number one hit in the US. Most importantly, it became a bestseller worldwide with over 12 million copies sold.
4. In My Life
The song written mostly by John Lennon presented the memories of living in Liverpool. The vocalist defined the song as his major piece of work because he reviewed his real life in the lyrics. McCartney had a significant influence on the bridge of the song.
It was recorded on October 18th, 1965. Lennon was the lead singer and played the rhythm guitar, McCartney was playing the bass and harmonizing, Harrison was also harmonizing and playing the lead guitar, and Ringo Starr was playing the drums and bells. The producer of the band, George Martin, participated as a pianist and played the tambourine.
The song was in the 23-th place in “Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” –“Rolling Stone”.
3. Something
The writer of the song is George Harrison, the lead guitarist. That made it different from the previous songs of the group. It was written in 1968 but finished the next year. Harrison was influenced by Ray Charles and his voice was a tool for the melody and the notes.
The song became the second-most covered after “Yesterday”
2. Come Together
The song was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It was a support for the activist Timothy Leary. There were funk and blues features which made it suitable for dancing and popular for the audience.
The political side of the song was because it was created for Leary’s campaign against Reagan for the competition for the governance of California. John Lennon wanted to help with the campaign but Leary was put in prison for possessing marijuana.
The song topped the American charts and was 4-th in the UK.
1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
The song was written by George Harrison and it was part of the 1968 album. Harrison connected with Eric Clapton to contribute to the recording. Clapton participated as a guitarist which led McCartney and Lennon to join. Harrison played the acoustic guitar and was the lead vocalist, Lennon played the guitar, McCartney was a pianist, Starr was the drummer, and Clapton was the lead guitarist.
The song was listed in 136th place on “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. It also was 42nd in Guitar World’s List of “100 Greatest Guitar Solos” in 2008.