My Ten Favorite Beatles Songs

Actually there'll be 10 - all by The Beatles.

This is the list of my 10 favorite Beatles songs.

Not an easy task given the fact that The Fabs recorded nearly 400 songs. I've given this one some serious thought and let me tell you, it was tough. For three days I listened to nothing but Beatles music in my car and I realized something...it would be much easier to pick ten Beatles songs that aren't great. Let's face it, they were, and still are, the greatest band in history. Not just for their musical talent, but for the effect they had on the world. So to only pick 10...tough task.

But I finally did it. (I think) So let's get to it...my top 10 favorite Beatles songs are;

#10 - Long Tall Sally;

A great rocker belted out by Paul proving that he was more than a crooner. Long Tall Sally was not released on any of the UK albums, but it did make it onto the US album Beatles Second Album. It can now be found on the CD Past Masters - Vol. I.

This song just rocks from start to finish. In the early days when the boys were playing 16 hour gigs in Germany they had plenty of time to sharpen their chops and Sally is proof of that. Lennon plays a flawless backing rhythm that would make Chuck Berry proud and George Harrison plays a solo that defies his young age. (he was 21 at the time.) Not only did Paul put down some great howls and screams, he plucked a fantastic bass line in perfect counter-point to Ringo's solid back beat.

Listen to this song and tell me it doesn't hold up pretty well considering it's 46 years old.

#9 - The Ballad of John and Yoko;

I was nine when this song was released and already a dyed-in-the-wool Beatles fan. I remember loving the infectious bass riff but the lyrics didn't make much sense to my nine-year-old brain. It wasn't until I learned that the song was an account of John and Yoko's marriage, honeymoon and subsequent activities that I came to appreciate its brilliance.

At the time Yoko was not very popular and Lennon was feeling fairly persecuted as well, hence the "Christ, they're gonna crucify me" line.

Also noteworthy is the fact that John recorded the track almost completely by himself. According to the Beatles biography The Love You Make by Peter Brown (who is mentioned by name in the song) the boys were not getting along very well at the time and "Paul was the only one still gracious enough to...help" by playing the drums.

John Lennon was, at heart, a rocker and this song is an excellent example of how good he was at it.

The song was banned on the BBC because of the "Christ" reference and also on some of the Bible belt radio stations in America thanks to the earlier controversy surrounding Lennon's Jesus remark.

#8 - Drive My Car;

From the opening guitar lick, this song begs to be heard - a finger snapping, toe-tapping feel good melody with a great comic twist. The singer is told by a woman that someday she's going to be famous and "a star of the screen" and she'd like him to be her chauffer.

Not very many songs in 1965 took an approach to story telling quite like that.

The song has another unique quality, aside from the drums and bass there is very little musical accompaniment (some piano fills and a guitar solo). Nevertheless, it's a wonderfully musical song. Paul's vocals are great and the harmonies provided by John are like another instrument.

My favorite line in the song comes at the end when the woman tells the singer that she's "got no car and it's breakin' my heart, but I found a driver and that's a start." Who didn't love their sense of humor?

I still hear radio stations using the classic "beep, beep, mmm, beep, beep, yeah" line to introduce their drive-time traffic reports.

#7 - Something;

Not only is this one of the most popular Beatles songs, it is one of the few not written by Lennon and/or McCartney. Something was George Harrison's breakthrough song.

There are conflicting reports about who it was written for. His wife at the time, Pattie Boyd, claims that George told her it was written about her. George himself denied that claim, saying that when he wrote it he was actually thinking of Ray Charles.

Regardless of the inspiration, Something remains one of the greatest love songs ever written. It evokes powerful emotions and builds to a beautifully understated crescendo. True musical craftsmanship at its finest.

Harrison captures the very essence of what it feels like to be in love with someone to the point where just thinking about them gives you butterflies. Sure there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of good love songs - but something about this one is special.

#6 - Twist and Shout

Another great one from the early years, Twist and Shout is two-and-a-half minutes of raucous and guttural rock and roll the way it was meant to be.

The instrumentation on this song is fairly basic and almost un-remarkable, although it's as solid as most bands could ever hope to be. The guitar hook put's the music in drive and Ringo's drumming put's it into overdrive.

It's John Lennon's vocals that grab the spotlight on this one.

Legend has it that the boys went into the studio that day to record an entire eleven song album (Please Please Me) in one continuous ten hour session.

Producer George Martin knew that once John sang the song his voice would be useless so it was recorded last. Some say that John was also suffering from a cold and eating cough drops all day to sooth his sore throat. If that story is true, Lennon's vocal performance is even more remarkable.

With only fifteen minutes of recording time left, John sang his heart out and left nothing on the table, nailing the song in one take.

The next time you're in your car and you hear this song, try to sing it with everything you've got. Just don't plan on talking for a couple of hours afterward.

#5 - Paperback Writer;

You might think the only reason this song made my list is my aspirations of being a novelist. If you do, you're half right.

I do love the song for the story of a man begging for the chance to have his manuscript read by someone who will appreciate the effort he's put into it and give him that big break. It hits home with me.

However - I have always loved it for its merits as a great song. It has everything - great guitar hook, bass and drums as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, vocals that make you feel his anguish and harmony vocals worthy of the Tabernacle Choir.

Paperback Writer was something new for The Beatles in the sense that it was one of their first forays into heavy (for the time) throbbing electric music.

Written and sung by Paul McCartney, Writer was, at the time of it's release, on the cutting edge of the direction The Beatles music (and by default everybody elses) was heading.

Nothing would be the same afterward.

#4 - Help!

It is said that Help! Was John Lennon's subconscious plea for help dealing with the pressures of being a Beatle and the unpleasant circumstances of his own personal life.

In The Beatles Anthology series John said that Help! was indeed his favorite Beatles song, but he also expressed displeasure at the songs tempo. He wanted it to be slower and more melancholy (befitting his state of mind) but the band convinced him that an up-tempo version would have a stronger commercial appeal.

Help! Also served as the title track to their second film. Watching the film it is fairly obvious that it also coincided with the beginnings of their use of drugs, mainly marijuana at that time.

For me, the meaning of this song is not it's most important quality. I have always thought that the vocals on Help! were flawless.

John sings the lead vocals with a masterful combination of emotion and urgency (something I don't think would have worked as well if it had been done slower) while Paul and George provide brilliant backing vocals, not that John needed any help.

#3 - The Abbey Road Medley;

OK - So this one may seem like cheating since technically there are nine songs included in this selection. I'm fairly certain that Beatles fans will understand.

When the band went into the studio to record what would be their last album (Let It Be was released after Abbey Road, but recorded and shelved before) John and Paul had several partially written songs. During the sessions they recorded the bits and pieces and left them in the capable hands of George Martin to string together.

The task was accomplished with such perfection that the nine songs are often mistaken for one long track and even played that way on AOR (Album Oriented Rock) stations.

One long track or nine little ones, the piece has everything. Lyrics that range from introspective to comical, outstanding instrumentation from every member and some of the best vocal harmonies ever recorded. It also contains the only drum solo ever performed by Ringo (as a Beatle) on an album (that I'm aware of).

To me, the crowning jewel in this masterpiece is the dueling guitar solos between McCartney, Harrison and Lennon during The End. Each one showcasing his incredible musicianship.

Another interesting note about this medley, it contains the last lyric recorded by the Beatles before their breakup..."and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

That about says it all.

#2 - In My Life;

The thing I love about this song is it is timeless both musically and lyrically.

The music is simple yet beautiful and the lyrics, while also simple, are deep and meaningful. The union of minimalism and introspection create, what I consider to be, Lennon's most poignant song.

Once again using his music as a tool of self-exploration, John told the people he loved how much they meant to him despite the fact that he may never have said it out loud - hence it's universal appeal. There are probably very few people who can listen to this song and not find themselves pondering an emotion that they should have expressed to someone along the way.

Although John lacked the naturally pleasing voice of Paul, his singing on In My Life is perfect. An absolutely perfect cross between sincere and mournful.

I have always been fascinated with John Lennon because he seemed to be on a never ending quest of self-realization, but he was never afraid to share his findings with us...the other people in his life.

#1 - All You Need is Love;

I hope you didn't see this one coming, but I'm sure some of you did.

Was All You Need is Love The Beatles' best song?

Not by a long shot - but it is my favorite for one simple reason. It's the truth.

It is a song of eternal optimism, one that tells us the glass is always half-full if you believe it is. It also attempts to give us an alternate way of looking at life.

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done, nothing you can sing that can't be sung. Nothing you can say but you learn how to play the game. It's easy."

Now maybe those words are nothing more than naive drug induced gibberish...but like all true art they speak differently to everyone who hears them.

To me, they say there's nothing new under the sun and if you have love, it's all good. Is that such a bad thing?

The song was recorded and broadcast live to hundreds of millions of viewers in one of the first-ever global satellite link-ups in the summer of 1967. (coincidentally dubbed The Summer of Love.) An all star cast of extras joined in the singing of the chorus, including Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash and Marianne Faithful.

There is very little question that John Lennon was an idealist. Ironically it's a trait that has earned him the adoration of millions and the scorn of millions more. While some see him as a guru of sorts, others see him as a pot smoking hippie who thought peace and love could change the world.

Perhaps he didn't bring about world peace, but he certainly did everything he could to give it a chance, and millions of people still feel the same way because of him. Imagine that...

As I stated earlier, The Beatles were so much more than a rock band (although you can now buy Beatles Rock Band for your Wii, which means there are kids listening to Beatles music now whose parents weren't born when The Beatles broke up.) they were a phenomenon. They were four people who came together at the perfect time under the perfect circumstances to create something that will probably never happen again.

How can you sum up their work in ten songs?

You can't, but I've picked ten that I love, why don't you give it a try...it's easy.