I Saw Her Standing There
Encyclopedia
"I Saw Her Standing There" is a song written by Paul McCartney
and John Lennon
, and is the opening track on The Beatles
' debut album
, Please Please Me
, released in the United Kingdom by Parlophone
on 22 March 1963.
In December 1963, Capitol Records
released the song in the United States as the B-side
on the label's first single
by The Beatles, "I Want to Hold Your Hand
". While the A-side topped the US Billboard
charts for seven weeks starting 18 January 1964, "I Saw Her Standing There" entered the Billboard Hot 100
on 8 February 1964, remaining there for 11 weeks, peaking at #14. The song placed on the Cashbox charts for only one week at #100 on the same day of its Billboard debut. In 2004, "I Saw Her Standing There" was ranked #139 on Rolling Stone
s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
with Lennon. McCartney later described in Beat Instrumental how he went about the song's composition: "Here’s one example of a bit I pinched from someone: I used the bass riff
from 'Talkin’ About You' by Chuck Berry
in 'I Saw Her Standing There'. I played exactly the same notes as he did and it fitted our number perfectly. Even now, when I tell people, I find few of them believe me; therefore, I maintain that a bass riff hasn’t got to be original". The lyrics were written on a Liverpool Institute exercise book. Remember, a book by McCartney's brother Mike McCartney
, includes a photograph of Lennon
and McCartney writing the song while strumming guitars and reading the exercise book. It was typical of how Lennon and McCartney would work in partnership, as McCartney later commented: "I had 'She was just seventeen,' and then 'Beauty queen'. When I showed it to John, he screamed with laughter, and said 'You're joking about that line, aren't you?'" "It was one of the first times he ever went 'What? Must change that...'" The songwriting credit on the Please Please Me liner notes is "McCartney/Lennon" which differs from the more familiar "Lennon/McCartney" that appears on subsequent releases.
on 11 February 1963, as part of the marathon recording session that produced 10 of the 14 songs on Please Please Me. The Beatles were not present for the mixing
session on 25 February 1963. It was not common practice for bands to be present at such sessions at that time.
On the album, the song starts with a rousing "One, two, three, four!" count-in by McCartney. Usually, these count-ins are edited off the final audio mix. However, record producer
George Martin
wanted to create the effect that the album was a live performance: "I had been up to the Cavern and I’d seen what they could do, I knew their repertoire, and I said 'Lets record every song you’ve got, come down to the studios and we’ll just whistle through them in a day'". Martin took the count-in from take 9, which was considered 'especially spirited' and spliced it onto take 1. Music journalist Richard Williams
suggested that this dramatic introduction to their debut album was just as stirring as Elvis Presley
's "Well, it's one for the money, two for the show…" on his opening track, "Blue Suede Shoes
", for his debut album seven years earlier. In addition it also made the point that The Beatles were a performing band as, at that time, they opened their live set with this song. On the first American release of the song, issued on Vee Jay Records, the count was edited out—but the "Four!" is still audible.
's "Move It
" and Johnny Kidd's "Shakin' All Over
".
as the B-side to the latter's "Philadelphia Freedom" single. The song is available on the Lennon
box set, and on Elton John's To Be Continued...
box set as well as the expanded CD edition of his 1976 live album Here and There. Lennon's introduction:
This was the last major live performance by John Lennon.
McCartney included "I Saw Her Standing There" on his live albums Tripping the Live Fantastic
(1990), Back in the US (2002) and Back in the World
(2003). In 1987, he recorded a new version for his album CHOBA B CCCP, but left it to outtakes. The song has become a mainstay of McCartney's live sets, and a special version was played when McCartney and his band returned to Liverpool
in June 2008. It featured special guest drummer Dave Grohl
, the lead singer of the Foo Fighters
.
McCartney performed "I Saw Her Standing There" at the 1986 Prince's Trust Rock Gala, as part of the 10th anniversary celebration of HRH Prince Charles' charity. He was supported by an all-star band featuring Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, and Ray King. . Interviewed at the time, McCartney said: "It is a good thrill playing with musicians of this calibre...since it was a birthday thing, they wanted to do something silly at the end, and that's me!!" This performance was released to iTunes Stores in October 2009 as part of the Digital Video Singles label. Paul McCartney also performed a duet of this song with Billy Joel during the inaugural concert at Citi Field in Flushing, New York.
Other versions include:
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, and is the opening track on The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Please Please Me
Please Please Me
Please Please Me is the debut album by the English rock band The Beatles. Parlophone rush-released the album on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of singles "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do" .Of the album's fourteen songs, eight were written by Lennon–McCartney...
, released in the United Kingdom by Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
on 22 March 1963.
In December 1963, Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
released the song in the United States as the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
on the label's first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
by The Beatles, "I Want to Hold Your Hand
I Want to Hold Your Hand
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment....
". While the A-side topped the US Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts for seven weeks starting 18 January 1964, "I Saw Her Standing There" entered the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on 8 February 1964, remaining there for 11 weeks, peaking at #14. The song placed on the Cashbox charts for only one week at #100 on the same day of its Billboard debut. In 2004, "I Saw Her Standing There" was ranked #139 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Composition
The song was a Lennon and McCartney collaboration based on McCartney's initial idea. Originally titled "Seventeen", the song was apparently conceived by McCartney while driving home from a Beatles' concert in Southport, Lancashire and later completed at his Forthlin Road home20 Forthlin Road
20 Forthlin Road is a National Trust property in south Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is the house in which Paul McCartney lived for several years before he rose to fame with The Beatles. It was also the home of his brother Mike.- History :...
with Lennon. McCartney later described in Beat Instrumental how he went about the song's composition: "Here’s one example of a bit I pinched from someone: I used the bass riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
from 'Talkin’ About You' by Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
in 'I Saw Her Standing There'. I played exactly the same notes as he did and it fitted our number perfectly. Even now, when I tell people, I find few of them believe me; therefore, I maintain that a bass riff hasn’t got to be original". The lyrics were written on a Liverpool Institute exercise book. Remember, a book by McCartney's brother Mike McCartney
Mike McCartney
Mike McCartney , known professionally as Mike McGear, is a British performing artist and rock photographer and the younger brother of Paul McCartney...
, includes a photograph of Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and McCartney writing the song while strumming guitars and reading the exercise book. It was typical of how Lennon and McCartney would work in partnership, as McCartney later commented: "I had 'She was just seventeen,' and then 'Beauty queen'. When I showed it to John, he screamed with laughter, and said 'You're joking about that line, aren't you?'" "It was one of the first times he ever went 'What? Must change that...'" The songwriting credit on the Please Please Me liner notes is "McCartney/Lennon" which differs from the more familiar "Lennon/McCartney" that appears on subsequent releases.
Recording
The song was recorded at EMI StudiosAbbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
on 11 February 1963, as part of the marathon recording session that produced 10 of the 14 songs on Please Please Me. The Beatles were not present for the mixing
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
session on 25 February 1963. It was not common practice for bands to be present at such sessions at that time.
On the album, the song starts with a rousing "One, two, three, four!" count-in by McCartney. Usually, these count-ins are edited off the final audio mix. However, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
wanted to create the effect that the album was a live performance: "I had been up to the Cavern and I’d seen what they could do, I knew their repertoire, and I said 'Lets record every song you’ve got, come down to the studios and we’ll just whistle through them in a day'". Martin took the count-in from take 9, which was considered 'especially spirited' and spliced it onto take 1. Music journalist Richard Williams
Richard Williams (journalist)
Richard Williams is a British music and sports journalist.As a writer, then deputy editor, of the weekly rock magazine Melody Maker, he became an influential commentator on the rise of new forms of rock music at the end of the 1960s. Williams and MM, as it was known, helped to promote and...
suggested that this dramatic introduction to their debut album was just as stirring as Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's "Well, it's one for the money, two for the show…" on his opening track, "Blue Suede Shoes
Blue Suede Shoes
"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955 and is considered one of the first rockabilly records and incorporated elements of blues, country and pop music of the time...
", for his debut album seven years earlier. In addition it also made the point that The Beatles were a performing band as, at that time, they opened their live set with this song. On the first American release of the song, issued on Vee Jay Records, the count was edited out—but the "Four!" is still audible.
Release
- British LPLP albumThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
: Please Please MePlease Please MePlease Please Me is the debut album by the English rock band The Beatles. Parlophone rush-released the album on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of singles "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do" .Of the album's fourteen songs, eight were written by Lennon–McCartney... - British EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
: The Beatles (No. 1)The Beatles (No. 1)The Beatles is an EP released by The Beatles in the United Kingdom on the 1 November 1963. It is the Beatles third British EP and was only released in mono; its catalogue number is Parlophone GEP 8883. Containing songs from Please Please Me, the cover was taken in the same photoshoot as the Please... - American LPLP albumThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
: Introducing... The BeatlesIntroducing... The BeatlesIntroducing... The Beatles is the first Beatles album released in the United States. Originally scheduled for a July 1963 release, the LP came out on 10 January 1964, on Vee-Jay Records, ten days before Capitol's Meet The Beatles!... - American SingleSingle (music)In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
: "I Want to Hold Your HandI Want to Hold Your Hand"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment....
" - American LPLP albumThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
: Meet The Beatles!Meet the Beatles!-External links:*Bruce Spizer's *Bruce Spizer's *...
Personnel
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
– lead vocal, bass, handclaps - John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
– backing vocal, rhythm guitar, handclaps - George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
– lead guitar, handclaps - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
– drums, handclaps
- Personnel per Ian MacDonaldIan MacDonaldIan MacCormick was a British music critic and author, best known for Revolution in the Head, his forensic history of The Beatles which borrowed techniques from art historians, and The New Shostakovich, a controversial study of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich...
Critical acclaim
Carr and Tyler, in The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, claimed it was only the third all-British rock classic up to that time, the previous two being Cliff RichardCliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
's "Move It
Move It
"Move It" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard and the Drifters . Originally intended as the B-side to "Schoolboy Crush", it was released as Richard's debut single on 29 August 1958 and became his first hit record. It is credited with being one of the first authentic rock and roll songs produced...
" and Johnny Kidd's "Shakin' All Over
Shakin' All Over
"Shakin' All Over" is a rock and roll song originally performed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. It was written by frontman Johnny Kidd and reached #1 in the United Kingdom in August 1960...
".
Cover versions
A 1974 live version was released as a duet by Lennon and Elton JohnElton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
as the B-side to the latter's "Philadelphia Freedom" single. The song is available on the Lennon
Lennon (album)
Lennon is a four CD box set featuring many of John Lennon's solo songs and was released in 1990.Compiled by the foremost authority on The Beatles, Mark Lewisohn, Lennon emcompasses generous samples from his single-only releases, and his albums from Live Peace In Toronto 1969 to Menlove Ave.Lennon,...
box set, and on Elton John's To Be Continued...
To Be Continued
To Be Continued... is a 4 CD/4 cassette box set detailing Elton John's music from his days with Bluesology to the then-present day. Four new songs were recorded for the box set...
box set as well as the expanded CD edition of his 1976 live album Here and There. Lennon's introduction:
This was the last major live performance by John Lennon.
McCartney included "I Saw Her Standing There" on his live albums Tripping the Live Fantastic
Tripping the Live Fantastic
Tripping the Live Fantastic is Paul McCartney's first official live album and his first release of concert material since Wings' 1976 Wings over America live package. It was released in 1990 as triple LP, double cassette and double CD. Tripping the Live Fantastic reached #16 in the UK and #26 in...
(1990), Back in the US (2002) and Back in the World
Back in the World
Back in the World is a live album by Paul McCartney composed of highlights from his spring 2002 "Driving USA" tour in the United States in support of McCartney's 2001 release Driving Rain...
(2003). In 1987, he recorded a new version for his album CHOBA B CCCP, but left it to outtakes. The song has become a mainstay of McCartney's live sets, and a special version was played when McCartney and his band returned to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in June 2008. It featured special guest drummer Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
, the lead singer of the Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
.
McCartney performed "I Saw Her Standing There" at the 1986 Prince's Trust Rock Gala, as part of the 10th anniversary celebration of HRH Prince Charles' charity. He was supported by an all-star band featuring Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, and Ray King. . Interviewed at the time, McCartney said: "It is a good thrill playing with musicians of this calibre...since it was a birthday thing, they wanted to do something silly at the end, and that's me!!" This performance was released to iTunes Stores in October 2009 as part of the Digital Video Singles label. Paul McCartney also performed a duet of this song with Billy Joel during the inaugural concert at Citi Field in Flushing, New York.
Other versions include:
- The SupremesThe SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
recorded a version of the song under the title "I Saw Him Standing There." It was recorded during the sessions for their A Bit of LiverpoolA Bit of LiverpoolA Bit of Liverpool is an album by singing group The Supremes, released in the fall of 1964 on the Motown label.-Track listing:#"How Do You Do It?" #"A World Without Love"...
album, but remained unreleased until 2008. - The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
filmed and recorded a version of the song for their film The Kids Are AlrightThe Kids Are Alright (film)The Kids Are Alright is a 1979 rockumentary film about the English rock band The Who, including live performances, promotional films and interviews from 1964 to 1978.-Production:...
; Keith MoonKeith MoonKeith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
sang the lead vocal. However, this was not released on the film or soundtrack album, and has only been available on bootleg recordingBootleg recordingA bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
s. The Who also performed the song on their 1982 Farewell Tour, with John EntwistleJohn EntwistleJohn Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
on lead vocal, including a performance at Shea StadiumShea StadiumWilliam A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
. - Alvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
recorded a version of the song for their 1964 album The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles HitsThe Chipmunks Sing The Beatles HitsThe Chipmunks Sing the Beatles Hits is a tribute album of Alvin and the Chipmunks singing the hits of The Beatles. It was originally released in 1964 by Liberty Records on vinyl record, and consists of Chipmunk renditions of early Beatles hits. The reorganized Liberty Records reissued the album in...
. - Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
performed the song live on 4 September 1970 at the Los Angeles Forum as a "Communication BreakdownCommunication Breakdown"Communication Breakdown" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin.- Structure :The pounding guitar riff was played by Page through a small, miked Supro amplifier throughout; and ran his Fender Telecaster through a fully closed Vox wah pedal to...
" medley featuring "Good Times Bad TimesGood Times Bad Times"Good Times Bad Times" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured as the opening track on their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin....
" and "For What It's Worth" on the Live on Blueberry HillLive on Blueberry HillLive on Blueberry Hill is a bootleg recording of the English rock group Led Zeppelin's performance at the Los Angeles Forum on September 4, 1970, which took place during their Summer 1970 North American Tour....
bootleg. - Daniel JohnstonDaniel JohnstonDaniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....
covered "I Saw Her Standing There" on his album Continued Story with Texas Instruments. - In 1988, TiffanyTiffany (singer)Tiffany Renee Darwish , known popularly as Tiffany, is an American singer and former teen icon. She is most notable for her 1987 cover version of "I Think We're Alone Now", originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells in 1967. Released as the second single from her eponymous album, Tiffany,...
released "I Saw Him Standing There" as a single and as a track on her self-titled debut albumTiffany (album)-B-sides:*"No Rules" *"The Heart Of Love" *"Mr. Mambo" *"Gotta Be Love" *"Out Of My Heart"...
, which reached the top ten in Australia, Ireland, the UK and the US. - Santo & JohnnySanto & JohnnySanto & Johnny were an Italian-American rock and roll duo from Brooklyn, New York, comprising brothers Santo and Johnny Farina.They are best known for their instrumental "Sleep Walk", which became a regional hit and eventually reached the top of the Billboard pop chart when it was released...
did a version (which features steel guitar) on an LP of Beatle songs. - In 1977, The TubesThe TubesThe Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band, whose 1975 debut album included the hit single, "White Punks on Dope". During its first fifteen years or so, the band's live performances combined quasi-pornography with wild satires of media, consumerism, and politics...
covered "I Saw Her Standing There" on their live CD What Do You Want From LiveWhat Do You Want From LiveWhat Do You Want from Live is the fourth album released by The Tubes. It is a live album, recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.-Track listing:#"Overture"#*"Up from the Deep" – 2:00#*"Young and Rich" – 1:27#*"Madam I'm Adam" – 0:49...
. - In 1988, Yugoslav band AzraAzraAzra was a rock band from Zagreb that was popular across Yugoslavia in the 1980s. Azra was formed in 1977 by its frontman Branimir "Johnny" Štulić. The other two members of the original line-up were Mišo Hrnjak and Boris Leiner . The band is named after a verse from "Der Asra" by Heinrich Heine...
covered "I Saw Her Standing There" on their live album Zadovoljština. - Carmaig de ForestCarmaig de ForestCarmaig de Forest is a singer-songwriter, mainly on the ukulele, but also the guitar, originating from Los Angeles, California. Since starting his career as a ukulele singer-songwriter, he has mostly stayed in the creative musical underground of California and Baltimore, at one time touring with...
recorded an acoustic version of "I Saw Her Standing There" in his own kitchen in 1991. Halfway through the song, it turns into his own composition "Julie Among the Redwoods", but reverts back to "I Saw Her Standing There" in the end. - Peter GrantPeter Grant (singer)Peter Grant is a British singer of easy listening and jazz music. Peter also played the keyboard.He began singing at the age of six and played at working men's clubs from the age of 12...
recorded a jazz version on his debut album New Vintage released in 2006. - The PunklesThe PunklesThe Punkles were a band performing songs by The Beatles in punk style. They formed in 1998 in Hamburg, Germany and it was actually a side project of Prollhead!....
did a punk cover on their first album, Beat The Punkles. - AllisterAllisterAllister is an American pop punk band from Chicago, Illinois. The four-piece formed in 1996 and were one of the first bands to sign to Drive-Thru Records...
released a cover version on the Japanese-only EP, Guilty PleasuresGuilty Pleasures (EP)Guilty Pleasures is an EP by the American rock band Allister released only in Japan. Issued on November 29, 2006 via In-n-Out Records, the EP comprises cover versions of Japanese and American pop songs.-Track listing:# "Intro"...
. - In 1991, Mexican singer MimíFlansFlans was an all female Mexican pop music group, which enjoyed popularity from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s. Its members were the singers Ivonne Margarita Guevara García, Ilse María Olivo Schweinfurth and Irma Angélica Hernández Ochoa...
recorded a Spanish version of this song called "Te Ví Parado Ahí" and included it on her self-titled debut album. - SerbianSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
doo wop band VampiriVampiriVampiri were a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade. The band was formed in 1988, and performed music influenced by the 1950s doo-wop and rockabilly. After releasing two studio albums, they disbanded in 1993...
recorded a version with lyrics in Serbian languageSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
entitled "Poziv na ples" ("Dance Invitation"), on their 1993 album Bebe. - N.E.R.D's Pharrell WilliamsPharrell WilliamsPharrell Williams , commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music...
appeared at the 2004 Grammy Awards, performing the song on drums with Sting, Dave MatthewsDave MatthewsDavid John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
and Vince GillVince GillVincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
. - Little RichardLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
and Jerry Lee LewisJerry Lee LewisJerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
on Jerry Lee Lewis's 2006 CD Last Man Standing. - Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
recorded the song on his Run for the Roses album in 1982. - Pink FairiesPink FairiesPink Fairies were an English rock band active in the London underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug taking and anarchy and often performed impromptu gigs and other agitprop stunts, such as playing for free outside the gates at the Bath and Isle of Wight...
played the song on their 1972 album What a Bunch of SweetiesWhat a Bunch of SweetiesWhat a Bunch of Sweeties is a 1972 album by the UK underground group Pink Fairies.Twink had left the band before the recording of this album...
. - Bob WelchBob Welch (musician)Robert Lawrence "Bob" Welch, Jr. is a former member of Fleetwood Mac, who had a briefly successful solo career in the late 1970s. His singles included "Hot Love, Cold World", "Ebony Eyes", "Precious Love", and "Sentimental Lady"....
who played the song on his 1979 album Three HeartsThree HeartsThree Hearts is an album by rock musician and former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch.-Track listing:All songs by Bob Welch except "I Saw Her Standing There" by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and "Come Softly to Me" by Gary Troxel, Gretchen Christopher and Barbara Ellis...
.
In popular culture
- In the 1988 motion picture Rain ManRain ManRain Man is a 1988 drama film written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son,...
, the song is sung by Raymond (portrayed by Dustin HoffmanDustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
) to his younger brother Charlie (played by Tom CruiseTom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
).
- The CBS sitcom Petticoat JunctionPetticoat JunctionPetticoat Junction is an American situation comedy produced by Filmways which originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created by Paul Henning; the others are The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.The setting for the series...
featured it as a performance on 24 March 1964 by an all-girl group "The Ladybugs." Two nights earlier the cast members, in Ladybugs character, also performed the song on The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
.
- Seminal punk rockPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
group RamonesRamonesThe Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
began most of their songs live with the count "1-2-3-4", usually from Dee Dee RamoneDee Dee RamoneDee Dee Ramone was an American songwriter and musician, best known as founding member, bassist and main songwriter of the punk rock band the Ramones....
, and the count is included in many of their studio songs. They deliberately tried to hark back to "I Saw Her Standing There".