Top of the Pops
There was competition between John Lennon and Paul McCartney in many ways while they were Beatles, not the least of which was to see who's song would be the next single. They brought out the best in each other, songwriting-wise, and it's generally acknowledged that there was a friendly sort of contest to see who could top the other in experimentation and quality. But the more practical side of that competition was whether or not the next Beatles single would be one by John or by Paul.
While George and Ringo were generally left out of consideration (until 'Abbey Road' and Harrison's song 'Something'- his first A-side), they each had a vote in what song would be released next, as did producer George Martin. Surprisingly perhaps, there appears to be practically no rancorous disagreement at any point; common sense seems to have won out on each occasion. The better song, regardless of the composer, was chosen and they closed ranks at that point.
Despite the famous 'Lennon/McCartney' credit, hardly any of their songs were really co-written in a 50/50 sense. Nearly all were mainly one or the other; the collaboration came in adding a line here and there, maybe a middle break, such as Paul's 'woke up, fell out of bed...' bit in John's 'A Day in the Life.'
Early on, most of the singles were Lennon's. McCartney had his share, such as 'Can't Buy Me Love', but such songs as 'Help,' 'I Feel Fine,' and 'Ticket To Ride' were the rule rather than the exception and they were John's. The tide began to turn in 1966, for reasons that are still not clear. Perhaps John stopped trying as hard. Beginning with 'Paperback Writer' and 'Lady Madonna,' McCartney seemed more and more to be the one that wrote their #1's. A clever way of dealing with the problem was to issue a double a-side single; in other words, neither song (and inevitably, one would be by Paul and the other by John) was officially designated the a-side. They would simply be released and fight it out on the charts.
But the Billboard charts don't lie. 'Penny Lane' hit #1, and John's 'Strawberry Fields Forever' peaked at #8. 'Hey Jude', the Beatles' biggest hit ever, spent 19 weeks in the top spot; 'Revolution' stopped at #12. 'Hello Goodbye' was another McCartney chart-topper; Lennon's psychedelic classic, 'I Am The Walrus' only made it to #56, believe it or not.
This of course has nothing to do with the quality of the songs mentioned, but it does show that even at this point, McCartney's songs were seen and proven to be the more commercially successful. Lennon's occasionally popped up, like 'All You Need Is Love,' which was a #1. All the others were Paul's, until 1969.
Two things had happened. Allen Klein was now their manager, and he and McCartney had made it official business not to get along, so Harrison's 'Something' and Lennon's 'Come Together' were chosen as the first single from 'Abbey Road.' As the songs made their individual ways up the charts, Billboard changed its policy and said that no longer would the two sides of a single record chart separately. They would now be considered the same record, at least as far as the charts were concerned. So 'Something/Come Together' were combined and hit #1.
The last Beatles song to make the top spot was 'The Long and Winding Road' in 1970, and it was Paul's. By that point, the Beatles had split; Lennon and McCartney, sadly, had much more to argue about than who would write their next #1 single.
While George and Ringo were generally left out of consideration (until 'Abbey Road' and Harrison's song 'Something'- his first A-side), they each had a vote in what song would be released next, as did producer George Martin. Surprisingly perhaps, there appears to be practically no rancorous disagreement at any point; common sense seems to have won out on each occasion. The better song, regardless of the composer, was chosen and they closed ranks at that point.
Despite the famous 'Lennon/McCartney' credit, hardly any of their songs were really co-written in a 50/50 sense. Nearly all were mainly one or the other; the collaboration came in adding a line here and there, maybe a middle break, such as Paul's 'woke up, fell out of bed...' bit in John's 'A Day in the Life.'
Early on, most of the singles were Lennon's. McCartney had his share, such as 'Can't Buy Me Love', but such songs as 'Help,' 'I Feel Fine,' and 'Ticket To Ride' were the rule rather than the exception and they were John's. The tide began to turn in 1966, for reasons that are still not clear. Perhaps John stopped trying as hard. Beginning with 'Paperback Writer' and 'Lady Madonna,' McCartney seemed more and more to be the one that wrote their #1's. A clever way of dealing with the problem was to issue a double a-side single; in other words, neither song (and inevitably, one would be by Paul and the other by John) was officially designated the a-side. They would simply be released and fight it out on the charts.
But the Billboard charts don't lie. 'Penny Lane' hit #1, and John's 'Strawberry Fields Forever' peaked at #8. 'Hey Jude', the Beatles' biggest hit ever, spent 19 weeks in the top spot; 'Revolution' stopped at #12. 'Hello Goodbye' was another McCartney chart-topper; Lennon's psychedelic classic, 'I Am The Walrus' only made it to #56, believe it or not.
This of course has nothing to do with the quality of the songs mentioned, but it does show that even at this point, McCartney's songs were seen and proven to be the more commercially successful. Lennon's occasionally popped up, like 'All You Need Is Love,' which was a #1. All the others were Paul's, until 1969.
Two things had happened. Allen Klein was now their manager, and he and McCartney had made it official business not to get along, so Harrison's 'Something' and Lennon's 'Come Together' were chosen as the first single from 'Abbey Road.' As the songs made their individual ways up the charts, Billboard changed its policy and said that no longer would the two sides of a single record chart separately. They would now be considered the same record, at least as far as the charts were concerned. So 'Something/Come Together' were combined and hit #1.
The last Beatles song to make the top spot was 'The Long and Winding Road' in 1970, and it was Paul's. By that point, the Beatles had split; Lennon and McCartney, sadly, had much more to argue about than who would write their next #1 single.
posted by gbj at 5:38 PM
4 Comments:
It's not too cool to be more of a McCartney person, but I've always been that way too. I have to agree, though, with George Martin who said, "I couldn't put a cigarette paper between them," in terms of songwriting.
To this day, I am amazed that they were in the same group together as collaborators. What are the odds of that happening in the first place, or ever happening again?
. . . and would either have reached such a high level of artistry without the other to play off of/strive against/take inspiration from? It takes all kinds to make a world (and music), and special results can occur when different types of people "Come Together."
I find Paul's music more enjoyable; John's has been more likely to make me think and moved me more in deep ways, though some of his music I find almost uncomfortable to listen to.
Were they the original two, coming together to form a band and then having others join -- or did one of them have a band first? I think I probably knew this at one point, but it's gone now.
John had the group first and he invited Paul to join. Years later,he said (and I'm paraphrasing), "I had a decision to make, whether to make myself stronger or the group stronger. I decided to make the group stronger." I always thought that was interesting.
I'd say he made the right call --
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