Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away

Throughout their legendary careers, John Lennon and Paul McCartney solidified their place as one of the greatest songwriting duos in history. With 20 Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, their songwriting genius wasn’t limited to just the Beatles' catalog - Lennon and McCartney's creative output was so prolific that they also gave hit songs to other artists. Recently, I stumbled upon a fascinating record in my collection called The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away, which showcases some of these great songs. Let’s discover the album together and explore some of the songs not included in this compilation.

You can find copies of the album on eBay, but I’ll leave a link to the playlists on Spotify for you to listen to.

This record was released in the UK in 1979 and had a very interesting liner note on the sleeve by Tony Barrow, Beatles’ press officer. Those notes became the basis for this article.

At the beginning of the 1960s, Tony Barrow was a liner note writer working at “Decca Records” and also had a weekly record column at the “Liverpool Echo“ newspaper. After signing the Beatles, Brian Epstein asked him to write about the band there. Barrow also arranged an audition with Decca for the band (who rejected them). Epstein invited him to his newly opened artist management company, NEMS Enterprises, after which he was tightly connected with the Beatles, accompanying them on their tours, organizing their press conferences, and setting up their interviews and photo shoots. He authored the phrase “The Fab Four”.

The Beatles released their debut single, “Love Me Do,” on 5 October 1962, and it reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. Initially, producer George Martin insisted on releasing a song called "How Do You Do It?" initially composed for Adam Faith by Mitch Murray. Eventually, to Martin's surprise, they released “Love Me Do,” which became a commercial success.

The following year, songs composed by Lennon and McCartney topped the UK charts and stayed there for a long time, not only thanks to the Beatles’ hits “Please Please Me” and “From Me To You” but also thanks to songs they wrote for other artists managed by Brian Epstein.

Do You Want To Know A Secret / I’ll Be On My Way - Billy J. Kramer

As soon as they left the top with “From Me To You,” Billy J. Kramer came in with the song “Do You Want To Know A Secret.”

The single's B-side was “I’ll Be On My Way.” Both songs were written by, you guessed it, Lennon and McCartney. The single reached number 2 in the UK.

Another six songs followed in 1963: “Bad To Me” by Billy J. Kramer With The Dakotas, “Tip Of My Tongue” by Tommy Quickly, “Hello Little Girl” by the Fourmost, “Loved Of The Loved” by Cilla Black, “I’ll Keep You Satisfied” again by Billy J. Kramer With The Dakotas, and “I’m In Love” by the Fourmost.

A World Without Love - Peter and Gordon

These were all artists managed by Brian Epstein. The first act that was not associated with Epstein’s NEMS Enterprises but got a song from Lennon and McCartney was a British duo called Peter And Gordon. Peter (Asher) was the brother of Jane Asher, Paul McCartney’s girlfriend. Their first single became a song called “A World Without Love”, released in February of 1964. McCartney wrote the song when he was 16, and while he was living in his girlfriend's home in London sharing a room with Peter, Peter asked Paul, if he could use the song, as he and Gordon Waller had just signed a recording contract. McCartney didn't think the song was good enough for the Beatles, and Lennon found it too old-fashioned, so the Beatles didn’t record it. For Peter And Gordon, however, it became a massive hit, reaching number one in the US, UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada. Even though John Lennon didn’t co-write the song, it was still attributed to Lennon-McCartney.

Two years later, Paul McCartney would write another song for the duo, “Woman.” It, however, was credited to a fictitious songwriter, Bernard Webb, as McCartney wanted to see if the song could become a hit without being associated with the Beatles. Eventually, it became public who the real author was, and the song became a minor hit.

Cat Call - The Chris Barber Band

The only song on the album for which McCartney is credited as the sole author is “Cat Call” by The Chris Barber Band. It was an instrumental written by Paul in 1959, then called “Catswalk,” which The Beatles used to play and even made an amateur recording of in 1962 at the Cavern Club. Since then, they have not performed that song, so in 1967, Paul offered it to bandleader and trombonist Chris Barber. It was recorded by Chris Barber's Jazz Band and released as a single but failed to chart.

I’m The Greatest - Ringo Starr

John Lennon also has a song credited solely to him. It is the song “I’m The Greatest” which he wrote in 1973 and gave to Ringo Starr. “I’m The Greatest” became the opening track on his album “Ringo”. The song is also notable for the fact that it was recorded by John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, making it the only time three former Beatles recorded together between the band’s break-up and the Anthology Sessions in 1994. The great lineup was completed by Klaus Voormann on bass and Billy Preston on keyboards.

Here is the full tracklist of the album:

Side One:

1. I’m The Greatest - Ringo Starr (1973)

2. One & One Is Two - The Strangers With Mike Shannon (1964)

3. From A Window - Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas (1964)

4. Nobody I Know - Peter And Gordon (1964)

5. Like Dreamers Do - The Applejacks (1964)

6. I’ll Keep You Satisfied - Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas (1963)

7. Love Of The Loved - Cilla Black (1963)

8. Woman - Peter And Gordon (1966)

9. Tip Of My Tongue - Tommy Quickly (1963)

10. I’m In Love - The Fourmost (1963)

Side Two:

1. Hello Little Girl - The Fourmost (1963)

2. That Means A Lot - P. J. Proby (1965)

3. It’s For You - Cilla Black (1964)

4. Penina - Carlos Mendes (1969)

5. Step Inside Love - Cilla Black (1968)

6. World Without Love - Peter And Gordon (1964)

7. Bad To Me - Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas (1963)

8. I Don’t Want To See You Again - Peter And Gordon (1964)

9. I’ll Be On My Way - Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas (1963)

10. Cat Call - The Chris Barber Band (1967)

Here is the Spotify playlist with all these songs except for “One & One Is Two” and “Cat Call” which are not on Spotify.

I Wanna Be Your Man - The Rolling Stones

I would also like to talk about some other songs, that are not on this album. Perhaps one of the most popular songs that Lennon and McCartney gave away (although they would record their own version of it as well), is “I Wanna Be Your Man”, which they penned for The Rolling Stones. The bands knew each other, and once, when they ran into each other, Lennon and McCartney learned that The Rolling Stones were in need of a song for a single. McCartney thought that a song called “I Wanna Be Your Man” that he started writing would suit them, so he and John Lennon would finish writing it while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were conversing. It would become their first Top-20 hit in the UK, reaching number 12 in the charts.

Since 1964, when Beatlemania conquered the whole world, they became too busy to writing songs for other artists. However, things changed when the Beatles created their record label “Apple Records” in 1968. Apple Records signed several young artists who they wanted to support. So Beatles would write songs for these artists to help them become popular.

Come and Get It - Badfinger

Paul McCartney wrote the song “Come and Get It“ for the Apple band Badfinger. Once, during the White Album sessions, he arrived early at the studio and recorded a multitrack demo, playing all the instruments and singing the vocals. He then played the demo to the band and offered to produce the song for the film The Magic Christian. It became a top-ten hit song in the US, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and Canada.

Thingumybob - Black Dyke Mills Band

In 1968, Paul McCartney wrote the theme song for the TV comedy series “Thingumybob” and produced the recording session. It was performed by the “Black Dyke Mills Band” in the studio. It was based on an unreleased song, “Etcetera,” that McCartney composed during the White Album sessions.

Goodbye - Mary Hopkin

In 1969, two songs written by Paul McCartney (both credited to Lennon-McCartney) took the first two positions on the UK charts. The Beatles' single "Get Back" took the first position, and in the second position was the song “Goodbye” written for Mary Hopkin. Hopkin sang and played the acoustic guitar on the record, while Paul McCartney played the bass. To help Hopkin learn the song, McCartney recorded a demo, which was eventually released in 2019 as part of the Abbey Road Super Delux edition.

Sour Milk Sea - Jackie Lomax

The last song I wanted to talk about is a bonus, as George Harrison had actually written it. The song “Sour Milk Sea” was penned for Apple Records artist Jackie Lomax becoming his first single. It didn’t have a lot of success, reaching the Top 30 in Canada. Still, it’s a great song nevertheless, and what a line-up gathered to record it: the artist himself, Jackie Lomax, on vocals, George Harrison on acoustic and lead guitars, Eric Clapton on lead guitar, Nicky Hopkins on piano, Paul McCartney on bass and Ringo Starr on the drums!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have discovered some new songs and artists. Have a pleasant listen, and if you aren’t a subscriber yet, subscribe to receive more articles like this.