Thank You Girl
"Thank You Girl" | ||||
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Single by the Beatles | ||||
A-side | "From Me to You" (UK & US 1st release) | |||
Released |
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Recorded | 5 & 13 March 1963 | |||
Studio | EMI, London | |||
Genre | Merseybeat[2] | |||
Length | 2:01 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | McCartney–Lennon | |||
Producer(s) | George Martin | |||
The Beatles singles chronology | ||||
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"Thank You Girl" is a song recorded by the English rock band
Background
Originally titled "Thank You, Little Girl",[3] the song was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney as a tribute to the band's many female fans. McCartney said, "We knew that if we wrote a song called, 'Thank You Girl', that a lot of the girls who wrote us fan letters would take it as a genuine 'thank you'. So a lot of our songs were directly addressed to the fans."[4] Written “eyeball to eyeball", a phrase Lennon and McCartney would later use to describe their early formulaic writing sessions, "Thank You Girl" demonstrates how they were able to produce a song from scratch by working in total partnership. Lyrically, Ian MacDonald suggests that Lennon probably wrote the first line of each verse, allowing McCartney to use his flair for word play and inner-rhyming in completing it.[5]
Lennon said the song was originally intended as a single: "'Thank You Girl' was one of our efforts at writing a single that didn't work. So it became a B-side or an album track."[6] In April 1972, he told Hit Parader, "[The song was written by] Paul and me. This was just a silly song we knocked off." McCartney seemed to agree describing it as "a bit of a hack song, but all good practice."
Both "From Me to You" and "Thank You Girl" were credited to "McCartney–Lennon", as were eight of the songs on the Please Please Me album. It would be permanently changed to the more familiar "Lennon–McCartney" songwriting credit for their next single release, "She Loves You".
Recording
The song was recorded in thirteen takes, the same number of takes needed to perfect "From Me To You" on 5 March 1963. This recording session is also notable because it marks the first studio appearances of two Lennon–McCartney songs that would not be released until much later in the band's career: "
John Lennon overdubbed the harmonica without the other Beatles eight days later. According to multiple sources, John came to the session directly from bed due to a severe cold. Engineer Geoff Emerick said it took John numerous takes to produce a satisfactory result because he was so unsteady.
The stereo mix of the song (included on the Capitol LP
Cover versions
The song was covered by the Smithereens on their 2008 album B-Sides The Beatles.[8][importance?]
Personnel
- double-tracked vocal, rhythm guitar, harmonica
- Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass guitar
- George Harrison – lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[9]
Notes
- ^ Wallgren 1982, p. 17.
- ^ "Pop/Rock " British Invasion " Merseybeat". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 28.
- ^ The Beatles Interview Database 2007.
- ^ MacDonald 1997, p. 71.
- ^ Sheff 2000, p. 169.
- ^ Brennan 2000.
- AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 80.
References
- Brennan, Joseph (17 May 2000). "The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations: 1963".
- ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- ISBN 1-84413-828-3.
- ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- "Thank You Girl". The Beatles Interview Database. 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
- Wallgren, Mark (1982). The Beatles on Record. New York: ISBN 0-671-45682-2.
- ISBN 0-7126-6697-4.