Songs the Beatles ripped off
There’s been a lot of stuff written about the Beatles in the wake of the release of their remastered catalogue. A lot of it - even stuff trying to demythologise them, like The Word’s spread from last month - still reinforces the idea that Lennon & McCartney’s talent dropped out of the clear blue sky, as if they were songwriting visionaries without precedent.
I love the Beatles (I even have the haircut), but this “they were untouchable geniuses” narrative actually obscures the more interesting story: that much of their talent lay in taking bits of other peoples’ songs they liked and transforming them, in the process creating what we think of as the ‘unique’ Beatles sound. Their gift for melody was, perhaps, unmatched - but it was married to a keen magpie eye (ear?), and a very pragmatic approach to songwriting. Here’s the evidence (much indebted to the best book ever written about the band, Ian MacDonald’s Revolution in the Head).
1. Watch Your Step - Bobby Parker (ripped off for I Feel Fine)
This one is obvious for anyone who bought the John Lennon’s Jukebox CD a few years back. Parker ripped off Ray Charles, The Beatles (and tons of others) ripped off Parker.
2. The Bells of Rhymney - The Byrds (ripped off for If I Needed Someone)
Self-explanatory, I would think.
3. It’s The Same Old Song - Four Tops (ripped off for You Won’t See Me)
As MacDonald points out, ironically the Four Tops were ripping off themselves here.
4. Sorrow - The Merseys (ripped off for And Your Bird Can Sing)
MacDonald suggests the influence of this in an aside, but it sounds more deliberate to me, don’t you think?
5. Daydream - The Lovin’ Spoonful (ripped off for Good Day Sunshine)
Everyone was writing songs about the sun in summer ‘66, so this is not such a surprising comparison (see also The Kinks’ Sunny Afternoon).
6. Bad Penny Blues - Humphrey Lyttleton (ripped off for Lady Madonna)
But you knew that already, right?
7. True Love - Cole Porter (ripped off for Goodnight)
More proof that the Beatles may have ushered in a musical revolution, but they did so with a huge set of old skool standards as their foundation.
8. Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan (ripped off for Old Brown Shoe)
Harrison’s love of Dylan actually rarely shone through in his work (beyond ripping off the chords to Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands for Long Long Long), but this one is undeniable.
9. To Keep My Love Alive - Ella Fitzgerald (ripped off for Maxwell’s Silver Hammer)
This is just my personal theory, but I’m sure you can hear the parallels.
10. You Can’t Catch Me - Chuck Berry (ripped off for Come Together)
…and this rip-off cost Lennon dearly ;)
