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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 05 January 2011 at 11:07pm | IP Logged
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In the database, some CD appearances of the Beatles "Love Me Do" contain the comment: "Ringo Starr on drums but this was not the U.S. hit version". Wasn't this actually the U.K. single version, or at least on early U.K. 45 pressings?
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KentT
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| Posted: 16 January 2011 at 11:25am | IP Logged
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Yes, UK first pressings featured Ringo on drums. Second pressings on have the session drummer as did the US hit.
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 16 January 2011 at 11:40pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for the confirmation, KentT. In light of this information, perhaps the database CDs containing Ringo Starr on drums could be slightly revised to read something like: "early U.K. 45 version with Ringo Starr on drums".
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Paul C
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| Posted: 17 September 2022 at 10:30am | IP Logged
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The discussion in the Gavin Report thread about the
Capitol of Canada "All My Loving" single got me thinking
about the song "Love Me Do".
For the first three weeks that "Love Me Do" charted on
the Hot 100, starting on April 11, 1964, the label was
shown as Capitol Of Canada 72076, which had first been
issued on February 18, 1963 and then reissued in January
1964 with the same catalogue number. (Two other Capitol
of Canada 45s, "All My Loving" and "Roll Over Beethoven"
were also on the Hot 100 that week.) After getting as
high as #67 on April 25, the Hot 100 showed the label the
following week (when the song shot up to #32) as "Tollie
9008/Capitol Of Canada 72076". Starting the following
week, the label would be shown only as "Tollie 9008".
The reason I'm bring all this up is that Capitol of
Canada 72076 and Tollie 9008 are different versions of
the song. Capitol of Canada 72076 is the Ringo on drums
version of the song (mastered directly from a UK
Parlophone 45, as would be the next three Canadian
Beatles singles). Tollie 9008 is the Andy White on drums
version. I believe that the Ringo on drums version was
not issued in the US until the March 1980 Rarities
album, some sixteen years after this version had spent
three weeks on the Hot 100!
The database states that early UK 45s were the Ringo on
drums version. It is my understanding that all UK 45s
were the Ringo version until reissues many years later,
when the Andy White version started to appear on UK 45s
because no tape of the Ringo version has survived. I'm
not aware of any evidence that a tape of the Ringo
version ever left the UK.
Edited by Paul C on 17 September 2022 at 10:49am
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mjb50
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| Posted: 17 September 2022 at 7:02pm | IP Logged
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Let me see if got this right:
In early 1963, Canada got the 1962 UK single version with Ringo drumming. This was on Capitol and was a dub of the UK 45. This was reissued in early 1964, and some copies were exported to the U.S, generating sales & airplay.
Then, as this import single was climbing the Hot 100 and entering the top 40, it was replaced by the Introducing... The Beatles 1st-edition album version with Andy White drumming. This 2nd 45 was on Tollie, a U.S. label. This is the version that was used on the Please Please Me album.
Is that correct? IMHO this means both versions were the "hit" in the U.S., but most people would have heard the 2nd version, and over time, the Ringo version faded from memory.
Edited by mjb50 on 18 September 2022 at 12:17am
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PopArchivist
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| Posted: 17 September 2022 at 7:28pm | IP Logged
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I always thought the White 45 was the hit.
Ron would love your analysis for this massive Beatles hit if you could do it.
Anthology 1 Track 22 is the original recording from June 1962.
Anthology 1 Track 24 is the EMI session with drummer Andy White in place of Ringo and is on the Please Please Me UK album and on the 1964 Tollie single and the Beatles US albums Introducing The Beatles and The Early Beatles.
The Second version with Ringo was on the original Paralophone single.
Edited by PopArchivist on 17 September 2022 at 7:28pm
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mjb50
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| Posted: 18 September 2022 at 12:16am | IP Logged
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I only know what I've read. My main reference for who did what, and what record it's on, is The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations: version 2 (HTML) or version 3 (PDF). This is an invaluable resource for sorting out the many versions of Beatles songs.
Here's what it says about "Love Me Do":
Quote:
When the Beatles first signed with EMI and began to work with George Martin, the producer preferred to record single tracks “live” into the twin-track machine. According to John, he had been playing the harmonica on “Love Me Do,” but he usually didn’t play it across the solo line “Love me do” at the end of each verse. Instead, John stopped in the middle of the line, singing it as “Love me….” Since John is playing harmonica across his vocal in their rehearsal of June 6, 1962 – when Pete Best was still the Beatles’ drummer, it must have been the case that they were allowed to overdub the harmonica. For the single, George Martin wanted to play the song completely live. Therefore, he asked Paul to sing that line solo.
Paul McCartney remembers it that way, too: “The lyrics crossed over the harmonica solo so I suddenly got thrown the big open line, ‘Love me do’, where everything stopped. Until that session John had always done it; I didn’t even know how to sing it. I’d never done it before. George Martin just said, ‘You take that line, John take the harmonica, you cross over, we’ll do it live’…” (Miles, Many Years from Now). A direct-to-tape recording would not allow for many mix differences, but of course, the Beatles’ famously recorded the A-side twice.
It is clear, then, that Martin preferred not to create a second-generation tape, due to a potential loss of sound quality. [...]
________________________________________
LOVE ME DO [outtake]
basic recording- 6 Jun 1962
additional recording- none?
master tape- twin track [no longer exists]
• [a] mono 6 Jun 1962.
CD: Apple 34445-2 Anthology 1 1995.
The Anthology notes say a copy of this otherwise lost recording was found on a private reel in 1994, and another insider report identifies the source as a disk found in George Martin's home.
________________________________________
LOVE ME DO [1]
basic recording- 4 Sep 1962
additional recording- 4 Sep 1962
master tape- twin track 2d generation [no longer exists]
• [a] mono 4 Sep 1962.
UK: Parlophone R4949 single 1962.
Canada: Capitol 72076 single 1962.
• [a1] mono copy from vinyl disk, 1980.
US: Capitol SHAL-12060 Rarities 1980.
• [a2] mono copy from vinyl disk, 1982.
CD: EMI CDP 7 90044 2 Past Masters 1 1988.
• [a3] mono copy from vinyl disk, 2009.
CD: EMI 99463 2 Mono Masters 2009.
Ringo is drumming, and the recording features no tambourine (see Love Me Do [2]). EMI practice at this time was not to keep the session master once mixing was complete, and in this case the mono mix master tape [a] was destroyed – at least after the LP was released; this version replaced by Love Me Do [2] on single releases from 1976 to 1982. The Canadian single is supposed to have been made from a record rather than a tape.
The vinyl transfer [a1] on Capitol's Rarities LP is from a 45rpm copy owned by EMI and sent to Capitol as a reference; it was the best available copy. In 1982 a better 45rpm vinyl copy was made available to EMI by a collector just after EMI issued Love Me Do [2] as a 20th anniversary single (They were unhappy with the quality of Love Me Do [1], which was used for authenticity.) The master [a2] made from this disk immediately became the standard and has been used ever since, most easily available on Past Masters. Oddly considering its generally better quality, [a2] has a little distortion noticeable on harmonica not heard on [a1], apparently caused during "declicking", so a further improved copy was made for the 2009 remasters.
________________________________________
LOVE ME DO [2]
basic recording- 11 Sep 1962
additional recording- 11 Sep 1962
master tape- twin track 2d generation [no longer exists]
• [a] mono 11 Sep 1962.
UK: Parlophone R4949 reissue single, Parlophone PMC-1202 Please Please Me 1963.
US: Vee Jay VJLP 1062 Introducing first issue 1964, Tollie 9008 single 1964.
CD: EMI 46435-2 Please Please Me 1987, EMI single 1988, Apple 97036-2 The Beatles 1962-1966 1993.
• [a1] mock stereo made from [a] 25 Feb 1963.
UK: Parlophone PCS-3042 Please Please Me 1963, Apple PCSP 717 The Beatles 1962-1966 1973.
US: Vee Jay VJSR 1062 Introducing first issue 1963, Capitol ST-2309 The Early Beatles 1965,
Apple SKBO-3403 The Beatles 1962-1966 1973.
CD: Apple 57497 2 The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2 2006.
• [a2] mono made from [a1] 1965, by Capitol.
US: Capitol T-2309 The Early Beatles 1965.
CD: Apple 57497 2 The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2 2006.
Ringo plays the tambourine (see Love Me Do [1]) on this version. Beginning in 1976, it began to appear on singles and not just on the LP. This was the "common" version until Past Masters 1 made the other version also easily available.
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(It seems to be an error in this guide that "Introducing first issue" is sometimes said to be from 1963. It was planned for 1963 but actually came out January 10th, 1964, per the Wikipedia article, and was quickly replaced by the 2nd issue with no "Love Me Do" on February 10th. Just now, I've reported this to the maintainer of the guide.)
Edited by mjb50 on 18 September 2022 at 12:31am
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 18 September 2022 at 1:41pm | IP Logged
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That's a lot of detail!
I think it's consistent with the way I've always thought about "Love Me Do":
1st of 3 recorded versions: Pete Best on drums, unreleased until 1995, found on Anthology 1
2nd of 3 recorded versions: Ringo Starr on drums, UK 45 version, found on Mono Masters Vol. 1
3rd of 3 recorded versions: Andy White on drums: LP version mono mix, US 45 version, found on Please Please Me 2009 mono
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LunarLaugh
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| Posted: 18 September 2022 at 2:44pm | IP Logged
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Given the choice between the two, I usually go for the Andy
White on drums with Ringo on tambourine version. One could
argue that the White version is what went number one in
America in the midst of the British Invasion (note: Love Me
Do was only a modest top 20 hit upon initial release in the
UK).
I've heard both played on oldies format radio but most
stations seemed to favor the White recording. The compilers
of The Beatles 1 also favored the Andy White recording
(again, most likely because that's the version that was on
the US 45 when it was number 1 in the US).
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TallPaulInKy
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| Posted: 29 September 2022 at 5:46am | IP Logged
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LunarLaugh wrote:
Given the choice between the two, I
usually go for the Andy White on drums with Ringo on
tambourine version. One could argue that the White version
is what went number one in America in the midst of the
British Invasion (note: Love Me Do was only a modest top 20
hit upon initial release in the UK). |
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Besides the Andy White version being the "hit version" in
the United States, I honestly think it is the best version.
The addition of the tambourine on the record makes it for
me.
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Topic: "Love Me Do" - The Beatles
