selenak

onyxlynx has reminded me that it was 50 years ago that the Beatles recorded She Loves You, which is perhaps THE song that defined them in the first stage of Beatlemania. Its history from the moment of composition to the recording is also very well documented; Slate put up an article which is an excerpt of Ian McDonald's Revolution in the Head.

We also have, courtesy of Paul's younger brother Mike, a photo of Lennon & McCartney when they were finishing composing this song at the McCartney house in Forthlin Road (note the school exercise book with the lyrics on the floor in front of them - they were so freakin' YOUNG - and John wearing glasses, which at this point he only did when not in public):

And here's a bit Ian McDonald doesn't quote in his notes but which I already mentioned in an earlier post of mine, because it's a story that still amuses me, a Paul quote:

We sat in there one evening, just beavering away while my dad was watching TV and smoking his Players cigarettes, and we wrote 'She Loves You'. We actually just finished it there because we'd started it in the hotel room. We went into the living room - 'Dad, listen to this. What do you think?' So we played it to my dad and he said, 'That's very nice, son, but there's enough of these Americanisms around. Couldn't you sing, "She loves you. Yes! Yes! Yes!"' At which point we collapsed in a heap and said, 'No, Dad, you don't quite get it!' That's my classic story about my dad.

Also qoted by me before, though in a different post, and yet apropos for a requote here, is a story about the recording the song, from their later engineer Geoff Emerick who at this point was still lower in the ranks at EMI (the "Norman" in the story is the actual engineer for She Loves You) :

As John, Paul and George tuned up in the studio, Norman noticed that the microphone on the bass amplifier was distorting, so he asked me to go downstairs and move it back a few inches. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mal and Neil go out of hte studio door, no doubt heading for the canteen to fetch the first of an endless tream of cups of tea for the four musicians. On this day, though, they wouldn't be gone for long.
"FANS!"
There was no mistaking Big Mal's booming voice as he shot back through the door, tailed closely by a breathless Neil. The four Beatles stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
"What the bloody hell are you on about?" Lennon demanded.
Before Mal could get the answer out, the studio door flew open again and a determined teenage girl sprinted in, heading straight for a bewildered-looking Ringo hunched behind his drum kit. Instinctively, Neil launched himself at her in a perfect American football-style tackle and brought her to the ground before she could reach her quarrry. It all seemed to be happening in slow motion before my widened eyes.
As Mal dragged the sobbing teenager out the door, Neil caught his breath and broke the news: somehow the huge crowd of girls that had been gathered outside had overpowered the police and broken through the front door. The canteen was swarming with them, and dozens of rabid fans were racing around the EMI facility in desperate search of the Fab Four.
"It's a bloody madhouse out there," Neil shouted. "You've got to see it to believe it!"
I stood rooted to the ground, not sure what do do. Looking up at the control room, I could see George, Norman, and Brian staring down at us with great concern. Brian was the first down the steps. (..) Curious as to what the fuss was all about, I poked my head out the door. What I saw astounded, amazed and frightened me - but it also made me burst out in laughter. It was an unbelievable sight, straight out of the Keystone Kops: scores of hysterical, screaming girls racing down the corridors, being chased by a handful of out-of-breath, beleaguered London bobbies. Every time one would catch up with a fan, another two or three girls would appear, racing past, screeching at the top of their lungs. The poor coppers wouldn't know whether to let go of the nutter he was struggling with and go after the others, or whether to keep his grip on the bird in hand.
As I wandered down the hallyway, I could see the scene being repeated everywhere. Doors were opening and slamming shut with alarming regularity, terrified staffers were having their hair pulled (just in case they happened to be a Beatle in disguise), and everyone in sight was running at top speed. The fans were totally out of control - Lord knows what they would have done to the four Beatles if they had actually gotten their hands on them. The grim determination on their faces, punctuated by squalls of animal-like screaming, made the whole thing even m ore bizarre.
I returned to the studio, which seemed strangely calm in comparison, like the eye of the hurricane; things did seem to be somewhat more in control there. Neil had decided to do reconnaissance, prmising to keep us informed, and a grim Mal was stationed at the doorway, literally standing there with arms crossed; he reminded me of one of the Queen's guards at Buckingham Palace. Ringo, still on his drum stool, seemed a bit shaken, but John, Paul and George Harrison soon began taking the piss, racing around the room, giggling and screeching in imitation of the poor fan who had launched herself at him.
George Martin, flustered at first, finally regained his schoolmasterly disposition and, with a good deal of formality, announced that the nonsense was over and that the session would now begin.

So what is it about She Loves You? To go all often repeated cliché on you, it's bursting with vitality, it tells an inclusive story (instead of one singer declaring/mourning his love, as was usual until that point, you have a friend talking to anothe - talking sense into each other, you could say - and the song is also sung by not one singer but John and Paul harmonizing and almost creating a third voice like that) , and it's damn near irresistable as a cheering up method. Also? It has the most bizarre real life repetition in Beatledom when it comes to its composers' lives. Because what else is that tale, told by both Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney, of how during John's 18 months lasting "Lost Weekend" in the mid 70s Paul played least likely marriage guidance counsellor ever?

(The one thing Paul and Yoko disagree on is who came to whom asking/offering help, which cracks me up, because that is, err, very them.)

So, real life "She Loves You", Yoko Ono version:

"Paul told me he was going to see John in L.A. He asked what it would take for me to go back to John, and I said, 'Well, maybe if he courted me.'

"I want the world to know that it was a very touching thing that he did for John. He'd heard the rumours that John was in a bad way, in a rough situation, and he was genuinely concerned about his old partner... It was so sweet that he wanted to save John. Sure, they were two macho, very talented guys who had strong opinions, arguments, like most brothers. But when it came to the crux of the matter, when Paul thought John was in dire straights, he helped... John often said he didn't understand why Paul did this for us, but he did.

"John told me later he'd said, 'You want to know how to get Yoko back?'... The fact that John immediately tried to court me, and came back to New York, had some meaning."

Real life "She loves You", Paul McCartney version:

“When they split up, Yoko came to London, a little diminutive sad figure in black. She came round to Cavendish, and she said, ‘John’s left, he’s off with May Pang.’ So, being friendly and seeing her plight, Linda or I said to her, ‘Do you still love him? Do you want to get back with him?’ She said, ‘Yes’. We said, ‘Well, what would it take then?’ because we were going out LA way. I said, ‘I can take a message. What would I have to tell him?’. And she gave me this whole thing: ‘He would have to come back to New York. He can’t live with me immediately. He’d have to court me, he’d have to ask me out. He’d have to send me flowers, he’ll have to do it all again. (...) (In Los Angeles) I took John in the back room of the house, and I said, ‘Yoko was through London and she said she wouldn’t mind getting back together. How about you. Would you be interested in that?”

In conclusion: "...and you know you should be glaaaaaaad..."