All My Loving
Encyclopedia
"All My Loving" is a song by The Beatles
, written by Paul McCartney
(credited to Lennon/McCartney
), from the 1963 album With The Beatles
. Though it was not released as a single in the United Kingdom or the United States, it drew considerable radio airplay, prompting EMI
to issue it as the title track of an EP
. The song was released as a single in Canada, where it became a number one hit. The Canadian single was imported into the US in enough quantities to peak at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100
in April 1964.
, McCartney thought of the lyrics whilst shaving, though McCartney told biographer Barry Miles
that he wrote them while on a tour bus. He also said, "It was the first song I'd ever written the words first. I never wrote words first, it was always some kind of accompaniment. I've hardly ever done it since either." The lyrics follow the "letter song" model as used on "P.S. I Love You
", the B-side
of their first single. After arriving at the location of the gig
, he wrote the music on a piano backstage.
McCartney originally envisioned it as a country & western song, and George Harrison
added a Nashville
-style guitar solo. John Lennon
's rhythm guitar track uses quickly strummed triplets similar to "Da Doo Ron Ron
" by The Crystals
, a song that was popular at the time.
Lennon expressed his esteem for the song in his 1980 Playboy interview:
) and 29 October (stereo
).
A slightly longer stereo edition of the song, featuring a hi-hat
percussion introduction not found on the common stereo or mono mixes was released in Germany
and the Netherlands
in 1965 on a compilation album entitled Beatles' Greatest.
, released 20 January 1964. The song was the title track of the All My Loving
EP released in the UK on 7 February 1964.
"All My Loving" was the Beatles's opening number on their debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show
on 9 February 1964; the recording was included on Anthology 1
. The group also performed "All My Loving" three times for BBC radio, once in 1963 and twice in 1964. The final version, which was recorded on 28 February 1964, was included on Live at the BBC
.
The song was used twice in films by the group - it plays in the background at the end of the nightclub scene in A Hard Day's Night
(though without the drum opening and the coda), while an instrumental version appears in the movie Magical Mystery Tour
.
According to Alan Weiss, a TV producer who happened to be there, "All My Loving" was playing on the sound system at Roosevelt Hospital
emergency room when Lennon was pronounced dead after being shot on 8 December 1980.
said, "The innocence of early Sixties British pop is perfectly distilled in the eloquent simplicity of this number" and described the song as helping McCartney be seen as more of an equal to Lennon. Richie Unterberger
of Allmusic said it "was arguably the best LP-only track The Beatles did before 1964" and that if it was released as a single in America it would have been a huge hit.
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...
, written by 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...
(credited to Lennon/McCartney
Lennon/McCartney
The Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
), from the 1963 album With The Beatles
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...
. Though it was not released as a single in the United Kingdom or the United States, it drew considerable radio airplay, prompting EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
to issue it as the title track of an EP
Extended play
An 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 song was released as a single in Canada, where it became a number one hit. The Canadian single was imported into the US in enough quantities to peak at number 45 on 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...
in April 1964.
Composition
According to journalist Bill HarryBill Harry
Bill Harry is the creator of Mersey Beat, an important newspaper of the early 1960s, which focused on the Liverpool music scene...
, McCartney thought of the lyrics whilst shaving, though McCartney told biographer Barry Miles
Barry Miles
Barry Miles is an English author known for his participation in and writing on the subject of the 1960s London underground. He has written numerous books and his work has also regularly appeared in left-wing papers such as The Guardian...
that he wrote them while on a tour bus. He also said, "It was the first song I'd ever written the words first. I never wrote words first, it was always some kind of accompaniment. I've hardly ever done it since either." The lyrics follow the "letter song" model as used on "P.S. I Love You
P.S. I Love You (The Beatles song)
"P.S. I Love You" is a song composed principally by Paul McCartney and recorded by The Beatles. It was released on 5 October 1962 as the B-side of their debut single "Love Me Do" and is also included on their 1963 album Please Please Me...
", 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...
of their first single. After arriving at the location of the gig
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
, he wrote the music on a piano backstage.
McCartney originally envisioned it as a country & western song, and George Harrison
George Harrison
George 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...
added a Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
-style guitar solo. 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...
's rhythm guitar track uses quickly strummed triplets similar to "Da Doo Ron Ron
Da Doo Ron Ron
"Da Doo Ron Ron" is a 1963 hit single by The Crystals, produced by Phil Spector in his Wall of Sound style. The song was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Spector. The drummer was Hal Blaine....
" by The Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
, a song that was popular at the time.
Lennon expressed his esteem for the song in his 1980 Playboy interview:
Recording
The Beatles recorded the song on 30 July 1963 in eleven takes with three overdubs. The master take was take fourteen overdubbed on take eleven. It was remixed on 21 August (monoMonaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
) and 29 October (stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
).
A slightly longer stereo edition of the song, featuring a hi-hat
Hi-hat
A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
percussion introduction not found on the common stereo or mono mixes was released in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1965 on a compilation album entitled Beatles' Greatest.
Releases and performances
"All My Loving" was originally released in the UK on 22 November 1963 on With the Beatles. The first US release was on Meet The Beatles!Meet the Beatles!
-External links:*Bruce Spizer's *Bruce Spizer's *...
, released 20 January 1964. The song was the title track of the All My Loving
All My Loving (EP)
All My Loving is an EP released by The Beatles in the United Kingdom on 7 February 1964 by Parlophone . It is the Beatles fourth British EP, features four tracks from their albums Please Please Me and With The Beatles and was released only in mono...
EP released in the UK on 7 February 1964.
"All My Loving" was the Beatles's opening number on their debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The 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....
on 9 February 1964; the recording was included on Anthology 1
Anthology 1
Anthology 1 is a compilation album by The Beatles, released by Apple Records in November 1995. It was released as the first part of the Anthology trilogy of albums with Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, all of which tie-in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. It contains "Free as a Bird",...
. The group also performed "All My Loving" three times for BBC radio, once in 1963 and twice in 1964. The final version, which was recorded on 28 February 1964, was included on Live at the BBC
Live at the BBC (The Beatles album)
Live at the BBC is a 1994 compilation album featuring performances by The Beatles that were originally broadcast on various BBC Light Programme radio shows from 1963 through 1965. The monaural album, available in multiple formats but most commonly as a two-CD set, consists of 56 songs and 13 tracks...
.
The song was used twice in films by the group - it plays in the background at the end of the nightclub scene in A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
(though without the drum opening and the coda), while an instrumental version appears in the movie Magical Mystery Tour
Magical Mystery Tour (film)
Magical Mystery Tour is an hour-long British television film starring The Beatles that originally aired on BBC1 on 26 December 1967...
.
According to Alan Weiss, a TV producer who happened to be there, "All My Loving" was playing on the sound system at Roosevelt Hospital
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
emergency room when Lennon was pronounced dead after being shot on 8 December 1980.
Reviews
"All My Loving" has been praised by multiple critics. Ian MacDonaldIan MacDonald
Ian 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...
said, "The innocence of early Sixties British pop is perfectly distilled in the eloquent simplicity of this number" and described the song as helping McCartney be seen as more of an equal to Lennon. Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
of Allmusic said it "was arguably the best LP-only track The Beatles did before 1964" and that if it was released as a single in America it would have been a huge hit.
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...
– 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...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, harmony and backing vocals - 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 vocalBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, 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... - 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...
Cover versions
| Group or artist’s name | Release date | Album | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annette Funicello Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:... |
1964 | Something Borrowed Something Blue | |
| Amy Winehouse Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize... |
2004 | unofficial release | |
| Scotty Anderson | 2003-09-23 | Classic Scotty | |
| Hollyridge Strings Hollyridge Strings The Hollyridge Strings was a studio orchestra that specialized in easy-listening music and recorded for the Capitol Records label in the 1960s and 1970s.... |
1964-07-04 | (single) | One week at #93 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (4 July 1964) |
| The Trends | 1964 | (single) | |
| Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass | 1964-10 | South of the Border | |
| Mike Baiardi | 2009-01-27 | Rockabye Baby! More Lullaby Renditions of The Beatles | |
| Suzy Bogguss Suzy Bogguss Susan Kay "Suzy" Bogguss is an American country music singer. In the 1980s and 90s she released one platinum and three gold albums and charted six top ten singles, winning the Academy of Country Music's award for Top New Female Vocalist and the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.After... & Chet Atkins Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle... |
1995 | Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles is a tribute album to The Beatles. Released in 1995 on Liberty Records, the album features covers of various Beatles songs, as performed by country music artists. The album cover features artwork by John Lennon.-Track listing:-Chart performance:... |
|
| The Ballroom Band | 1999-07-13 | Swing | |
| Helloween Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in the mid 1980s by members of Iron Fist and Powerfool. The band was a pioneering force in the European Power Metal movement and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt... |
1999 | Metal Jukebox Metal Jukebox -Personnel:*Andi Deris - vocals*Michael Weikath - guitar*Roland Grapow - guitar*Markus Grosskopf - bass*Uli Kusch - drums... |
|
| The Punkles The Punkles The 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!.... |
2002 | Punk | |
| Jim Sturgess Jim Sturgess James Anthony "Jim" Sturgess is an English actor and singer-songwriter. His breakthrough role was appearing as Jude in the musical romance drama film Across the Universe .-Early life:... |
2007-09-18 | Across the Universe | |
| Emilie Autumn Emilie Autumn Emilie Autumn Liddell , better known by her stage name Emilie Autumn, is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and violinist. Autumn draws influence for her music—the style of which she has alternatively labeled as "Victoriandustrial" and glam rock—from plays, novels, and history, particularly the... |
2007-08-03 | A Bit o' This & That A Bit O' This & That A Bit o' This & That is a rarities, b-sides, remixes, and covers album by Emilie Autumn that includes music from her early years. It was released on iTunes on April 23 2007, and on August 17 later that year in a Limited Edition Digipak format, with just 3000 copies being distributed worldwide.It... |
|
| Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in 1995. The Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band. The band is named after a children's book of the same name by Gerald G. Jampolsky and Diane V. Cirincione... |
2001-03-20 | Blow in the Wind | |
| Johnny Young Johnny Young Johnny Young is an Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. Originally from Netherlands, his family settled in Perth, Western Australia in the early 1950s... |
1967 | (single) | Top 10 hit in Australia |
| The Dowlands | 1964-01 | (single) | Charted #33 January 1964 (UK) |
| Fancy Fancy (singer) Fancy is a German Eurodance and Euro Disco artist who was popular in the mid to late 1980s.-Career:... |
1989 | All My Loving | Appeared as all four Beatles in a music video for his cover version |
| Tim Urban Tim Urban Timothy Joseph "Tim" Urban is an American singer-songwriter from Duncanville, Texas, who was the seventh place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol. Urban's debut album and EP titled Heart of Me is due for a November 8, 2010, iTunes release. Hard copies of the EP are on sale on his... |
2010-04-06 | All My Loving | Sang during American Idol American Idol (season 9) The ninth season of American Idol premiered on January 12, 2010 and concluded on May 26, 2010 on Fox. Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi all returned as judges, and Ellen DeGeneres permanently replaced Paula Abdul as the fourth judge. Idol Gives Back also returned for the season and was... . |
| Los Manolos | 1991 | (single) | Also on album RCA-1991 Pasión Condal |
| Alvin & The Chipmunks | 1964 | The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits The 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... |
See also
- All My Love (disambiguation): group of similarly titled songs