Do You Want to Know a Secret
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Do You Want to Know a Secret” | ||
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Sleeve of Vee-Jay 7" single, released a year after the album in March 1964
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| Song by The Beatles | ||
| Album | Please Please Me | |
| Released | 22 March 1963 (mono album) 26 April 1963 (stereo album) |
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| Recorded | Abbey Road Studios 11 February 1963 |
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| Genre | Rock and roll | |
| Length | 1:56 | |
| Label | Parlophone | |
| Writer | McCartney/Lennon | |
| Producer | George Martin | |
| Please Please Me track listing | ||
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| Music sample | ||
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" is a song by The Beatles from the 1963 album Please Please Me, sung by George Harrison.
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (see Lennon/McCartney), inspired by "I'm Wishing",[1] a tune from Walt Disney’s 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which Lennon's mother, Julia Lennon, would sing to him as a child.[2][3] McCartney said it was a "50-50 collaboration written to order," i.e., for Harrison to sing.[4]
In 1980, Lennon said that he gave "Do You Want to Know a Secret" to Harrison to sing because "it only had three notes and he wasn't the best singer in the world," but added "he has improved a lot since then."[3] Harrison sang two songs on Please Please Me, this song by Lennon and McCartney and "Chains" by Goffin/King. The Beatles did not record a song composed solely by Harrison until "Don't Bother Me" on With the Beatles.[5]
The song was recorded during a 10-hour session on 11 February 1963 along with 9 other songs for Please Please Me.[6]
Despite its popularity, it has yet to appear on any compilations.
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[edit] Credits
- John Lennon — rhythm guitar, backing vocal
- Paul McCartney — bass guitar, backing vocal
- George Harrison — lead guitar, lead vocal
- Ringo Starr — drums
[edit] The Billy J. Kramer version
The Beatles' version was never released as a single in the United Kingdom, where a cover version by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas (released b/w "I'll Be on My Way", Parlophone R5023, 26 April 1963)[7] reached number two in the Record Retailer chart, and hit number one in the NME chart (used by Radio Luxembourg) and the BBC's Pick of the Pops chart, which were more widely recognised at the time.
[edit] Single release
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" was a year later released as a single in the United States on 23 March 1964, reaching the number two spot behind another Beatles song, "Can't Buy Me Love" in Billboard, but reaching #1 for two weeks in the chart published by the Teletheatre Research Institute.
[edit] References
- ^ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Distant Melody. Retrieved on January 3, 2007.
- ^ Harry, Bill, The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia, p. 209
- ^ a b David Sheff, All We Are Saying (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000, ISBN 0-312-25464-4), p. 165
- ^ Barry Miles, Many Years From Now (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997, ISBN 0-8050-5249-6), p. 95
- ^ Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (London: The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, 1988, ISBN 0-681-03189-1), p. 35
- ^ Lewisohn, p. 24
- ^ http://www.jpgr.co.uk/col_r5023.html Billy J. Kramer single information
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