On March 22, 1963, the debut album of "The Beatles" - the most important and influential band in the history of modern music, was released. An album whose 32 minutes changed the history of music as we know it.
So here are some interesting facts about "Please Please Me":
1. Most of the album was recorded over 12 hours in one long session held on Monday, February 11, 1962, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 p.m.
2. The total cost of the recordings was only £ 400.
3. The album features 8 original songs and 6 cover versions of songs that the band member loved.
4. The credit for writing all the original songs on the album was given to "McCartney-Lennon", regardless of the identity of the actual writer. This is the only album whose credit will be noted in that order. In all the other albums and songs released by "the Beatles", the credit for writing the songs was recorded as "Lennon-McCartney".
5. John was sick on the day of the recordings. The last song recorded was "Twist and Shout" because producer George Martin wanted to keep his voice. The song was recorded in one take after John Lennon was singing for 13 consecutive hours of recordings and the result can be heard in the version featured on the album.
6. The session was so fruitful that the band managed to record another song - "Hold Me Tight", which eventually did not enter the album and was used for the next album - "With the Beatles".
7. The entire album was recorded on 2-channel tape with the instruments compressed into one channel, while the vocal parts are crammed into the other channel. This made it easier for George Martin to balance the recordings for the mono version that was customary at the time.
8. Martin also performed a mix for a stereo version, except for the songs "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You".
9. George Martin initially asked to record the album in a live performance at the Cavern Club, which was the Beatles' home club in Liverpool.
10. He initially thought of giving the album the name "Off the Beatle Track". His offer was rejected and he used the name for a symphonic album of "The Beatles" songs, which he released in 1964.
11. George Martin was an honorary member of the London Zoo, so he wanted the album cover photo to be taken at the zoo. Luckily the zoo did not like the idea.
12. The photo was eventually taken by photographer Angus McBean on the inside stairs of the EMI building in Manchester Square, London.
13. The band approached Angus again in 1969 with a request to recapture the moment with a photo for the cover of the album "Get Back". The album was finally released a year later as "Let It Be" and other photos were chosen for the album cover.
14. Eventually the photo taken in 1969 was used for the double collection album "Retrospective 1967-1970" which was released in 1973, while another photo taken in the original session of 1963 was used for the first collection "Retrospective 1962-1966".
15. The song "Please Please Me" is Keith Richards' favorite song of "the Beatles". An acoustic cover version of Richards playing the song can be heard here:
16. The song was influenced by an old Bing Crosby song called "Please".
17. The first version of the song sounded like a ballad by Roy Orbison. George Martin did not like the way the song sounded and he request that the song will be more rhythmic and happy to fit the lyrics.
18. The album in its original configuration was released in the United States only in 1987. In its place, the band released in 1964 the album "Introducing ... The Beatles", which included a different list of songs.
19. Believe it or not, Paul McCartney admitted coping the bass role for the song "I Saw Her Standing There" from Chuck Berry's song "Talkin 'About You".
20. "Love Me Do" was recorded twice before the album recordings. The first time on June 6, 1962 when the drummer was Pete Best and the second time on September 4, 1962 with Ringo Starr on drums.
21.For the album's version drummer Andy White was recruited by producer George Martin, who did not like the previous two versions. George Martin later apologized to Ringo Starr for replacing him.
22. Andy White was also the drummer in the song "P.S I Love You".
23. The album reached number 39 on the "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of 500 greatest albums of all time.
24. Two songs from the album entered the list of 500 greatest songs of all time: "Please Please Me" and "I Saw Her Standing There".
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