| McCartney describes
this song as "completely co-written" (Miles 1997: 36). He has also described
it as "the blues" (Miles 1997: 91). Lennon claimed: "Paul wrote the
main structure of this when he was sixteen, or even earlier. I think I
had something to do with the middle" (Dowlding 1989: 30, quoting Hit Parader, April 1972). |
| The song and
the recordings are good examples of Lennon, McCartney, and Martin's approach
to transforming existing material into new material. According to McCartney,
the idea of including the harmonica was Martin's. "Can anyone play harmonica?
It would be rather nice. Couldn't think of some sort of bluesy thing,
could you, John?" (Miles 1997: 91). McCartney says, "I was very nervous,
I remember. John was supposed to sing the lead, but they changed their
minds and asked me to sing lead at the last minute, because they wanted
John to play harmonica. Until then, we hadn't rehearsed with a harmonica;
George Martin started arranging it on the spot. It was very nerve-wracking."
(Dowlding 1989: 31) |
| One of the big
hits of that spring had been Bruce Channel's "Hey! Baby" which featured
a Delbert McClinton harmonica solo. Bronson (1985: 105) observes that
Channel with McClinton toured England that year. "McClinton spent about
15 minutes with [the Beatles], and John Lennon was particularly impressed
with his distinctive harmonic introduction to 'Hey! Baby.' John asked
Delbert to show him how to play it...." Lennon's harmonica introduction
to "Love Me Do" is in a slightly lower register and is much simpler than
McClinton's solo, but the descending shape and tone quality are very reminiscent
of the earlier recording. |
| The song itself
may have a slightly bluesy feel in its use of flatted sevenths, but its
structure is more pop. Indeed, you could almost describe the composition
as minimalist. There are only three chords (as one would find in the blues),
and the verse has only two chords (I-IV). There are very few words and
the name of the song appears repeatedly. |
| Lennon: When
we went to London for the first recording, "Love Me Do" was
a slower number like "Halfway to Paradise," you know, Dum-di-di-di-Dum;
but George Martin, the recording manager, suggested we do it faster. I'm
glad we did. [Chris Roberts. 9 February 1963. "It's All Happening
Beatlewise." Melody Maker p. 9.] |
| Several authors
have commented that Brian Epstein helped in the success of the record
by ordering copies for his stores. The number usually quoted is ten-thousand
copies. He also rallied Liverpudlians to write letters to the influential
Radio Luxembourg and BBC asking for the record to be played. EMI also
placed significant advertising for the song in entertainment industry
papers. (See Dowlding 1989: 29-30) |
| One unusual aspect of this recording lies in the reality of who the Beatles were at this time. The first version (recorded 6 June 1962) comes during their first session at EMI with drummer Pete Best. Consequent to their unceremonious dumping of the fan-popular Best, they arrived on 4 September 1962 with the best drummer in Liverpool: Ringo Starr. However, George Martin still had complaints about the drumming and had his assistant Ron Richards record a third version, this time with session musician Andy White. A comparison of the three drummers shows why producers often preferred to use session musicians. |
