Please Please Me (song)

"Please Please Me"
Black & white photo of US original picture sleeve showing the group in matching dark suits with their name & the songs' names in large letters
US picture sleeve (Vee-Jay 1964)
Single by the Beatles
from the album Please Please Me
B-side"Ask Me Why" (UK & US 1st release)
"From Me to You" (US re-release)
Released
  • 11 January 1963 (1963-01-11) (UK)
  • 25 February 1963 (US)[1]
  • 3 January 1964 (US re-release)
Recorded26 November 1962[1]
StudioEMI, London
Genre
Length2:00
Label
Songwriter(s)McCartney–Lennon
Producer(s)George Martin
The Beatles UK singles chronology
"Love Me Do"
(1962)
"Please Please Me"
(1963)
"From Me to You"
(1963)
The Beatles US singles chronology
"Please Please Me"
(1963)
"From Me to You"
(1963)

"Please Please Me" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was their second single in the United Kingdom, and their first in the United States. It is also the title track of their first LP, which was recorded to capitalise on the success of the single.[4] It is a John Lennon composition (credited to McCartney–Lennon),[5][6][7] although its ultimate form was significantly influenced by producer George Martin.[8]

The single was released in the UK on 11 January 1963 and reached No. 1 on the New Musical Express and Melody Maker charts. However, it only reached No. 2 on the Record Retailer chart, which subsequently evolved into the UK Singles Chart. Because of this, it was not included on the Beatles' number ones compilation, 1.

The single, as initially released with "Ask Me Why" on the B-side, failed to make much impact in the US in February 1963, but when re-released there on 3 January 1964 (this time with "From Me to You" on the B-side), it reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also re-released on 6 December 1982 by Parlophone in the UK.

  1. ^ a b Dowlding 2009, eBook.
  2. ^ "Merseybeat". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  3. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "The Beatles: Please Please Me – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. ^ Norman 1993, p. 169.
  5. ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 62.
  6. ^ Harry 1992, p. 528.
  7. ^ Miles 1997, p. 91.
  8. ^ The Beatles 2000, p. 90.