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“P.S. I LOVE YOU” (Paul McCartney – John Lennon) The record charts in the United States were set up in a particular way in the sixties to allow both sides of a new single to have an individual chart listing. Only a relative few recording artists were of the caliber to have both sides of their latest single receive a listing on the top 40 charts. Elvis Presley was surely one of these, having done it 26 times in the fifties and sixties, five of these times achieving a top ten hit with both the A-side and B-side of the record. This achievement was not commonplace, even among the top recording artists of the time. Stevie Wonder, The Four Seasons and The Rolling Stones did this only once, while this privilege never occurred for powerhouses like The Supremes, The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. As you might expect, The Beatles were able to achieve this status right from their first national hit, “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” During their six year run on the charts in the sixties, they racked up 14 occurrences of both sides of their latest single appearing on the Billboard top 40 charts simultaneously. And like Elvis before them, five of these occurrences placed both sides of their singles in the top ten. “P.S. I Love You,” a song which they contemplated releasing as the A-side of their first British single, became the first occurrence in the US of having a top ten placement on the Billboard singles chart as the B-side of their number one single “Love Me Do.”
Songwriting History From interviews of John and Paul through the years, it can be determined that the song was written approximately in April of 1962. It has been stated that it was written shortly before their audition for George Martin at EMI studios, which occurred on June 6th, 1962. Lennon remembers the song being written either during their stay in, or “going to and from” Hamburg, Germany. These recollections coincide, since their third Hamburg gig was between April 11th and June 4th, which is the date Brian Epstein sent a telegraph encouraging the group to come home for their first “recording session” with EMI on June 6th. Another point of convincing evidence is that Lennon stated that this song was Paul’s attempt to mimic “Soldier Boy” by The Shirelles, which was a hit in April of 1962, so the song could not have been written earlier than this as some publications have suggested. As to the songs’ authorship, it is agreed by both parties that it was mostly, if not completely, Paul’s song. Lennon said that he “might have contributed something” but it couldn’t have been much. It has also been suggested that Paul had written this song as a letter to his girlfriend Dorothy "Dot" Rhone who was back in Liverpool while he was away in Hamburg. Paul denies this though, saying that the song is “not based in reality.” McCartney said the song was his attempt at writing a “theme song based on a letter,” which was popular in those days (witness “Soldier Boy”). He returned to this theme again later with “Paperback Writer.”
Recording History Session One: The first time the song premiered in the studio was during their audition at EMI studios with George Martin on June 6th, 1962 between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. It was the third of four songs auditioned that day, the number of takes not being known. George Martin apparently liked this song as the best of the four, saying that he liked the switches between major and minor chords throughout the song. This recording of “P.S. I Love You” made on this day (with Pete Best on drums) has apparently been lost or recorded over, although some of the tapes have resurfaced later, as has happened with the version of “Love Me Do” recorded this day (available on “Anthology 1”). As to whether this will too resurface, only time will tell. Session Two: Producer Ron Richards ran the Beatles (with Ringo) through a rehearsal session at EMI studios on September 4th, 1962, between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m., in order to determine which two songs would be recorded for their first single. Of the six songs rehearsed at this time, “P.S. I Love You” was undoubtedly one of them, being that they had already performed the song at their audition with George Martins’ approval, and knowing now that the following week they were to properly record the song for record release. This song was not chosen at this time because Martin hand-picked the song “How Do You Do It” to be recorded as the A-side and, at the Beatles insistence, “Love Me Do” would be the B-side. As events transpired later this day during their proper recording session, “How Do You Do It,” although being recorded, was also rejected because of strong opposition from the band. This left a big question mark as to what the A-side of the first Beatles record was to be. That question mark was still hanging in the air next week as they reconvened at EMI studios for their next recording session. Session Three: September 11th, 1962, was that session, with Ron Richards producing. The session ran from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Session drummer Andy White was hired by George Martin for this session and was present in the studio when the Beatles, not aware of this, showed up on this day. George Martin was not satisfied with Ringo’s abilities as demonstrated during their September 4th recording session, so hiring Andy White appeared to be the solution. The first line of business, starting at 10:00 a.m., was recording “P.S. I Love You,” which at that time was being considered, apparently at McCartney’s request, as being the A-side of their first single. Richards, knowing that Peggy Lee already had a song by that title, told Paul that he could only use it as a B-side. Ringo, discouraged by the presence of a “professional drummer,” sat in the control box with Richards until he was asked to play maracas on the song, which he dutifully did. Ringo also played tambourine on the second song recorded that day, the re-recording of “Love Me Do,” which ended up as the A-side of the single from September 1963 until the present. “P. S I Love You” was recorded live with no overdubs or edits and, after 10 takes, it was complete, take 10 being deemed best. The song was then mono mixed at the end of the session, which was adequate for its’ British release on October 5th, 1962. Stereo Mixing: February 25th, 1963, was the date chosen to create both mono and stereo mixes for the upcoming British album, “Please Please Me.” Since “P.S. I Love You” was also to be on the album, a stereo mix needed to be made for the song, the mono mix being deemed sufficient for the mono release of the album. Since the master tape had been previously scrapped, a “fake” stereo mix had to be made from the mono mix made on September 11th, 1962. Like “Love Me Do,” the song was rechanneled to have primarily all the treble frequencies on one side and all the bass frequencies on the other, creating a stereo effect. There has never been, nor ever will be, a true stereo mix of the song, since the original session tape no longer exists.
Song Structure and Style At first glance, this song seems to have an unorthodox structure, but after being analyzed, it is found to be of a similar structure as most of the early Beatles catalog. The structure consists of ‘verse/verse/bridge/verse’ (or aaba). The exception to this rule is the unique introduction to the song, which is an altered version of the bridge that is repeated twice later in the song. The introduction, although identical in lyrics and number of bars as the bridge, is different in chord structure as well as melody line. Whether this introduction was suggested by George Martin, as other early Beatles songs were subjected to introductory arrangements by Martin, or was McCartney’s original arrangement has not been revealed. Either way, this opens the song in a very unique and impressive way. After this eight bar introduction, the first verse commences, which consists of ten bars. McCartney is clearly singing lead with background harmony vocals from John and George, interestingly accentuating whatever syllable appears on the one beat of the first five bars, which turn out to be, “Treasure these few words till we’re together, keep all my love forever.” An interesting chord (B flat) is played during the first occurrence of the word “you,” adding anticipation which leads back to the resolve chord (D). McCartney’s adept and effective songwriting skills are shown to be on display even this early in the Beatles’ songwriting career. Each verse consists of an alternating between major and minor chords, which is what attracted George Martin to this song, and characteristically concludes with the title of the song, which becomes the hook-line. After a second verse which is identical in structure, the first actual occurrence of the bridge takes place, which consists of eight bars and features full three-part harmony from Paul, John and George. This is followed by an identical repetition of the first verse before segueing into the bridge once again. This time the bridge is accentuated by McCartney in between each lyric gap, which differentiates it from the first time the bridge is heard. The final verse, which is a repetition of the second verse, is different this time in that the background vocals harmonize throughout the first five bars instead of the first syllable, as was done with each preceding verse. Four additional bars are added to the end as the harmonies rise, which creates a suitable climatic conclusion. So ends a satisfying and cleverly arranged production. Andy White’s drum style on the song hints at a rumba or cha-cha style (one even wants to say ‘cha-cha-cha’ at the end of the song) utilizing rim shots instead of the normal use of the snare drum. And with Ringo’s maracas, we get a full Latin flavor to the song. Many may dismiss White’s drumming style on this song, saying that he misses the mark by not incorporating the Beatles driving beat. The big picture, no doubt, probably rests on either Paul McCartney or George Martin who instructed the song to sound that way. George Martin is probably the one favored here, since the Beatles were bowing to his expertise in the studio this early in the game. It should also be noted that White’s drumming on “Love Me Do,” also recorded this day, incorporated the rock/r&b style that the Beatles previously played on the song (witness Pete Best playing on Anthology 1 and Ringo Starr’s released version on Past Masters Volume 1). We may never to be able to settle this argument fully because, even though Best and Ringo had played the song in the studio prior to Andy White, neither of those versions have survived for our ears to hear. Ringo’s performances of the song after this, such as on the BBC, were mimicking Andy White’s drumming as heard on the released record.
American Releases The first time the song was heard on American shores was with the initial release of the Vee Jay album “Introducing…The Beatles” on January 6th, 1964. This version was only available for three weeks because of the Capitol records injunction concerning this song, as well as “Love Me Do,” being licensed to Beechwood Music, a subsidiary of EMI. Therefore, on January 27th, the Vee Jay album was re-released substituting “P.S. I Love You” and “Love Me Do” with “Please Please Me” and “Ask Me Why,” which were not licensed to Beechwood Music. A settlement was reached between Beechwood and Vee Jay in April of 1964, which allowed them to release the two songs as they saw fit. Vee Jay wasted no time in releasing “Love Me Do” with “P.S. I Love You” as the B-side on April 27th, 1964 on the newly formed Tollie record label. This was the first occurrence of the Beatles achieving a top 10 placement on the Billboard charts with both sides of a single. “Love Me Do” charted at number one on May 30th, while “P.S. I Love You” charted simultaneously at number 10. A very noble achievement, especially when neither of these songs made it past number 17 in Britain. In August of 1964, Vee Jay re-released this single on the short lived “Oldies 45” label, which makes it the third official release of the song in the US. The fourth US release would be when Capitol gained full control of the early Beatles catalog and released the album “The Early Beatles” on March 22nd, 1965. To continue the song’s sale as a single, Capitol released the original Tollie single on their “Starline” label on October 11th, which marks the fifth release of the song. The ‘70s brought a new wave of Beatlemania and with it a number of ‘greatest hits’ packages. Although “P.S. I Love You” was a top ten hit in America, it was not included in the “1962-1966” album (better known as the “Red Album”) because the track list was compiled with their British hits in mind. It is a curious fact that, since the album was put together by Capitol records in the US, they omitted huge American hits, such as “Twist And Shout,” “Do You Want To Know A Secret,” as well as “P.S. I Love You” in favor of album tracks, such as “Girl,” “Drive My Car” and “In My Life.” “P.S. I Love You” was also not included in the catch-all compilation album of June 1976 “Rock And Roll Music” because of the song not fitting in with the ‘rock and roll’ theme of the album. October 21st, 1977, did see the inclusion of the song on the Beatles compilation album “Love Songs,” in which it fitted in quite well with the romantic theme of the album. “P.S. I Love You” became the fitting conclusion of the double album, which became the sixth release of the song in the US. On February 26th, 1987 the original British "Please Please Me" album, which contains the song, was first released on compact disc in mono. The re-mastered stereo version of the same disc came out on September 9th, 2009 and, although the song sounds far more vibrant and punchy, no true stereo mix of the song exists. The song is also contained on the April 11th, 2006 released box set “The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2,” which contains the original American album "Early Beatles."
Live Performances It can be assumed that the Beatles performed this song during their third visit to Hamburg between April and June of 1962, although there is no direct evidence of such. The assumption comes from the song being written during this time period and their long performance hours (sometimes 12 hours a day) which would allow for them to premier newly written material. They then returned to Hamburg in November and then December of 1962, which was just after the release of the record. It also seems likely, although unconfirmed, that they would have performed the song during these gigs as well. The first known performance of the song was for the BBC show “Here We Go,” which was recorded on October 25th and aired on October 26th, 1962. They also recorded the song on November 27th for the BBC show “The Talent Spot,” which aired on December 4th. The third and final BBC performance was on June 17th, 1963 for the show “Pop Go The Beatles,” which aired on June 25th. Since the song was not included in their set lists during their national British tours of 1963, nor was included in any performance since noted above, the date for the final BBC performance (June 17th, 1963) appears to be the last time the song was ever performed by the group. As of the date of this writing, McCartney has not included this song in his live repertoire throughout his performance career.
Conclusion Although “P.S. I Love You” may be very well stuck in American minds as just another slice of Beatlemania, it proves itself as an indication of the true diversity the band had to offer. The middle age and older population, as revealed in the press, viewed the Beatles as long-haired talentless “youngsters from Liverpool” that infiltrated the minds of American teenagers with their unconventional din of sound. If these older ones would have listened carefully to this top ten hit, for instance, they would have seen that their songwriting and performance style could be reminiscent of any and all music styles. No doubt, many middle-aged Americans grew to like this song, only later to find out that this was the same ‘long-haired weirdos’ they scoffed at when on the Ed Sullivan Show. Whatever the effect the song had, one thing that is evident is McCartney’s natural ability, even at this early stage, to write a well-crafted and impressively structured song. Its’ effective major–to-minor chord structure, its’ haunting melody line, and its’ simple but convincing lyrics, make for an indication of the potential for better things to come.
Song Summary “P.S. I Love You” Written by: Paul McCartney / John Lennon
Instrumentation:
Written and compiled by Dave Rybaczewski
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