Producer George Martin hated The Beatles’ “Love Me Do.” In addition, he wasn’t a big fan of some of the band’s early covers of classic songs.
Producer George Martin hated The Beatles‘ “Love Me Do.” In addition, he wasn’t a big fan of some of the band’s early covers. Notably, John Lennon had quite a bit to say about “Love Me Do.”
During a 1995 interview with The Christian Science Monitor, Martin discussed hearing The Beatles’ demo tape. It included covers of “Over the Rainbow” and “Your Feet’s Too Big,” as well as the original compositions “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You.” “Pretty rotten songs, really and they still are,” he opined. “You could hear a certain vitality there, but it was pretty rough. Most people who [first] heard The Beatles thought they weren’t much use.”
The Beatles put ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘Over the Rainbow’ on their demo tape
During a 1995 interview with The Christian Science Monitor, Martin discussed hearing The Beatles’ demo tape. It included covers of “Over the Rainbow” and “Your Feet’s Too Big,” as well as the original compositions “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You.” “Pretty rotten songs, really and they still are,” he opined. “You could hear a certain vitality there, but it was pretty rough. Most people who [first] heard The Beatles thought they weren’t much use.”
Martin’s take on “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You” is all wrong. Neither of the songs are among The Beatles’ best or most revolutionary songs. However, as bubblegum pop songs, they accomplish everything they set out to do. “Love Me Do” is especially appealing because it combines elements of bubblegum pop, rock ‘n’ roll, and country music into one great song. The tune’s eclecticism is a predecessor to the genre-hopping of the Fab Four’s later work.
The Beatles put ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘Over the Rainbow’ on their demo tape
During a 1995 interview with The Christian Science Monitor, Martin discussed hearing The Beatles’ demo tape. It included covers of “Over the Rainbow” and “Your Feet’s Too Big,” as well as the original compositions “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You.” “Pretty rotten songs, really and they still are,” he opined. “You could hear a certain vitality there, but it was pretty rough. Most people who [first] heard The Beatles thought they weren’t much use.”
Martin’s take on “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You” is all wrong.
Neither of the songs are among The Beatles’ best or most revolutionary songs. However, as bubblegum pop songs, they accomplish everything they set out to do. “Love Me Do” is especially appealing because it combines elements of bubblegum pop, rock ‘n’ roll, and country music into one great song. The tune’s eclecticism is a predecessor to the genre-hopping of the Fab Four’s later work.
John Lennon wasn’t sure if he helped Paul McCartney write ‘Love Me Do’
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, John was asked about “Love Me Do.” In John’s memory, Paul McCartney wrote “Love Me Do” as a teenager.
The “Imagine” singer said Paul composed the song before the start of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership. John couldn’t recall if he helped write the tune’s bridge or not.
