Rain – 9 of Swords (Lennon/McCartney) Released as a Single, 1966 Available on Past Masters This is the song that began the Beatles’ psychedelic period. “Rain” was recorded during sessions for the Revolver album and released as the B-side to Paul’s “Paperback Writer”. This song was written by John and includes some spectacular drumming by…
Act Naturally – The Fool (Morrison/Russell) Help!, 1965 As the Beatles were finalizing the Help! album, they realized it was still lacking a song sung by Ringo. The band had intended for their drummer to sing a Lennon-McCartney song called “If You’ve Got Trouble”, but everyone was unsatisfied with how it turned out. So Ringo…
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer – 10 of Swords (Lennon/McCartney) Abbey Road, 1969 “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is the silliest song you’re ever going to hear about a serial killer. Although Paul thought it was good enough to be considered for a Beatles single, his bandmates despised it. John, who doesn’t even appear on the final recording, said…
I Should Have Known Better – 2 of Cups (Lennon/McCartney) A Hard Day’s Night, 1964 “I Should Have Known Better” is the second song on the soundtrack for the film A Hard Day’s Night, released in the summer of 1964. The Beatles perform the song twice during the movie. The first time is in the…
Penny Lane – 6 of Cups (Lennon/McCartney) Magical Mystery Tour, 1967 The Beatles were at a creative peak following the mind-blowing Revolver album. For their next project, John and Paul planned to make an album of songs about their childhoods growing up in Liverpool. Although the original concept would soon morph into Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely…
Mean Mr. Mustard – 4 of Pentacles (Lennon/McCartney) Abbey Road, 1969 As an astute observer and storyteller, John was often inspired by things he read in the newspaper and saw on television. In June of 1967, the Daily Mirror and Daily Record both ran stories about a John Mustard, who was being divorced for being…