"Every Little Thing"

"Every Little Thing" is a song written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and performed by The Beatles on their 1964 UK album Beatles for Sale.

Composition

McCartney wrote the song in a music room at the home of Jane Asher where he was living at the time. He had hopes it would be released as a single, but it "didn't have quite what was required," and was released on Beatles for Sale instead.

The song is somewhat unusual for Lennon/McCartney in that the lead singer, John Lennon, was not the primary composer. McCartney sings harmony, although one can hear him better in the refrain. The song's composer is not in question: McCartney claimed the song as described above, and Lennon said in an interview with Playboy that McCartney wrote it.

Recording

The released version was recorded with 4 takes at Abbey Road Studios on 29 September 1964, and then five more on 30 September. The Beatles were enjoying themselves on the second night; take six was aborted due to McCartney burping his vocals, and take seven was finished but ended in loud laughter. It is one of the few early Beatles songs to feature an instrument that did not usually appear on rock 'n roll songs: Ringo Starr plays the timpani on the track to add punctuating one-two flourishes to the refrains. This appeared for the first time on the ninth take, along with a guitar intro and piano piece.

Personnel

* John Lennon – vocals, lead guitar, acoustic rhythm guitar
* Paul McCartney – vocals, bass
* Ringo Starr – drums, timpani
* George Martin – piano

Cover versions

* In 1966, the Richard Carpenter Trio, a precursor to The Carpenters, covered an instrumental version of this song. To this day, it is still unreleased
* In 1969, the progressive rock band Yes covered this song on their first album, Yes.
* In 1986, Lou Ann Barton did a version.
* In 2003, Peter Lipa included this song and 15 other Lennon/McCartney songs on his album Beatles in Blue(s)

Album: Beatles for Sale
Released: 4 December 1964
Recorded: Abbey Road 29-30 September 1964
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:01
Label: EMI, Parlophone, Capitol
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin

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