It Won't Be Long
Encyclopedia
"It Won't Be Long" is the opening track on With The Beatles
, The Beatles
' second UK album, and was the first original song recorded for it. Although credited to Lennon/McCartney
, it was primarily a John Lennon
composition, with Paul McCartney
assisting with the lyrics and arrangement.
s. Typical also of this phase of Beatles' song writing is the melodramatic ending (similar to "She Loves You
", which had just been recorded and was about to be released) where the music stops, allowing Lennon a brief solo vocal improvisation before the song finishes on a major seventh
chord ("She Loves You" ends on a major sixth
). There is an unusual middle eight—for what is, essentially, a rock and roll
song—that uses chromatically descending chords.
John Lennon, in his last interview, told Playboy
magazine that the song was the beginning of a wider audience for Beatles' music than the youthful throngs that had fervently followed them from their Liverpool clubbing days. "It was only after a critic for the {London} Times said we put 'Aeolian cadences' in 'It Won't Be Long' that the middle classes started listening to us. ... To this day, I have no idea what "Aeolian cadences" are. They sound like exotic birds." Actually the critic, William Mann, said this about the song "Not A Second Time
."
The original release in the UK was on With The Beatles, 20 November 1963. In the US, "It Won't Be Long" first appeared on Meet the Beatles!
, released 20 January 1964.
The song was never performed live or at any of the group's BBC sessions, although they did lip-synch to the track on an edition of Ready Steady Go!
in March 1964.
With the Beatles
With The Beatles is the second studio album by the English rock group The Beatles. It was released on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, and was recorded four months after the band's debut Please Please Me...
, 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...
' second UK album, and was the first original song recorded for it. Although credited to Lennon/McCartney
Lennon/McCartney
The Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
, it was primarily a 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...
composition, with Paul McCartney
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...
assisting with the lyrics and arrangement.
Composition
The chorus is a play on the words "be long" and "belong". The song features early Beatles' trademarks such as call-and-response yeah-yeahs and scaling guitar riffRIFF
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....
s. Typical also of this phase of Beatles' song writing is the melodramatic ending (similar to "She Loves You
She Loves You
"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney based on an idea by McCartney, originally recorded by The Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record in the United States by being one of the...
", which had just been recorded and was about to be released) where the music stops, allowing Lennon a brief solo vocal improvisation before the song finishes on a major seventh
Major seventh
In classical music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions , and the major seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. It is qualified as major because it is the larger of the two...
chord ("She Loves You" ends on a major sixth
Major sixth
In classical music from Western culture, a sixth is a musical interval encompassing six staff positions , and the major sixth is one of two commonly occurring sixths. It is qualified as major because it is the largest of the two...
). There is an unusual middle eight—for what is, essentially, a rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
song—that uses chromatically descending chords.
John Lennon, in his last interview, told Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine that the song was the beginning of a wider audience for Beatles' music than the youthful throngs that had fervently followed them from their Liverpool clubbing days. "It was only after a critic for the {London} Times said we put 'Aeolian cadences' in 'It Won't Be Long' that the middle classes started listening to us. ... To this day, I have no idea what "Aeolian cadences" are. They sound like exotic birds." Actually the critic, William Mann, said this about the song "Not A Second Time
Not a Second Time
"Not a Second Time" is a song by John Lennon performed by The Beatles on their second United Kingdom album, With the Beatles...
."
Recording and release
The Beatles recorded this song on 30 July 1963 in two sessions. The first session was in the morning, where they recorded 10 takes. The second session was in the afternoon, where they recorded seven takes, misnumbered as takes 17–23. The final product was a combination of takes 17 and 21, put together on 21 August.The original release in the UK was on With The Beatles, 20 November 1963. In the US, "It Won't Be Long" first appeared on Meet the Beatles!
Meet the Beatles!
-External links:*Bruce Spizer's *Bruce Spizer's *...
, released 20 January 1964.
The song was never performed live or at any of the group's BBC sessions, although they did lip-synch to the track on an edition of Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go! or simply RSG! was one of the UK's first rock/pop music TV programmes. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan was assisted by record producer/talent manager Vicki Wickham, who became the producer. It was broadcast from August 1963 until December 1966...
in March 1964.
Personnel
- 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...
– double-trackedDoubletrackingDouble tracking is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or "bigger" sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. It is a form of overdubbing; the distinction comes from the...
vocalLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - 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...
– backing vocalBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - 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...
– backing vocal, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - 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...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - George MartinGeorge MartinSir 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...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Norman Smith – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- 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...
Covers
- Performed by Evan Rachel WoodEvan Rachel WoodEvan Rachel Wood is an American actress and singer. She began her acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in several television series, including American Gothic and Once and Again...
in the 2007 film Across the UniverseAcross the Universe (film)Across the Universe is a musical romantic drama film directed by Julie Taymor, produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film's plot is centered around songs by The Beatles. It was released in the United States on October 12, 2007. The script is based on an original...
. - Covered by House of HeroesHouse of HeroesHouse of Heroes is an alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio. They were also known by the name No Tagbacks. They are generally considered to be Christian rock, though their lyrics are not always transparently Christian...
on their 2009 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...
, House of Heroes Meets The Beatles. - Covered by Indie rockIndie rockIndie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Franz FerdinandFranz Ferdinand (band)Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in... - Covered by Power PopPower popPower pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
band The Quick on their 1976 album Mondo Deco.