“Love Me Do” The Beatles First Single!

Ah, one of my most favorite Beatles songs of all time, “Love Me Do.” This song was actually one of the Beatles first singles, which was originally released on October 5th of 1962. The song was a single that was backed by another Beatle favorite, “P.S. I Love You.” The song intros with a bluesy, almost Rolling Stones styled, harmonica blasts that coyly lead the listener into the smooth ballad riff that creates the undertone for this fabulous rock ballad. When the single debuted in the United States, despite a lackluster number 17 performance on the United Kingdom rock charts, it took a surprising fourth place on the top ten charts, almost immediately in 1964. The cool thing about “Love Me Do” is that Paul McCartney and John Lennon share vocals throughout the song. Lennon penned the middle eight of this tune and sings harmony vocals with McCartney during the choruses. McCartney sings the intro vocals for each verse, and it is a one of the rarer tunes where you see Lennon and McCartney sharing vocal duties on the middle eight of a song. Additionally, it is also one of those rare Beatles tunes that you will actually hear a harmonica blaring in the background. If you are wondering where the harmonica came from in this tune, that addition is actually attribute to the producer of the tune, George Martin. Who thought that by adding a harmonica to the song it would bring out more flare and offer a better delivery of the overall tone. The addition of this instrument was made during the recording of the song in the studio. But unlike “Please Please Me,” this song does not superimpose the harmonica, it’s recorded by Lennon live in the studio as he plays guitar! What kind of monster and tycoon would I be if I didn’t add some live footage of the greatest band of all time, The Beatles, for you to enjoy post entry? Unlike many other posts I will write for this blog, which are of a very technical nature, I like to shy away from the educationally norm every once in a while and have some true fun. That being said, I have found an old school clip of the Beatles performing this tune live on a TV show; don’t ask me which show, as I don’t have a clue. However, the clip features a full performance of the song and is below for your enjoyment!