Help! cover art

  Soundtrack · No. 2

Help! Songwriting Credits by The Beatles

1965 Parlophone 14 tracks 34 min

Produced by George Martin

Parlophone Pop RockFolk Rock
86%
Authorship
Artist

Holds writing credit on 12 of 14 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 12 / 14 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 14 tracks with documented writers, by whether The Beatles carries a lyricist or composer credit.

86%
12 trackswritten by The Beatles 2 tracksoutside writers
The Beatles's roles on this album

Share of the 14 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist86%
Composer86%
Producer0%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

14
Tracks
6
Lyricists
1
Producers
2
No.1 Singles
1965
Released

Awards & Recognition 1

Grammy Award for Album of the Year (1966, Nominated)
Data Insight

Side one comprises original Lennon-McCartney songs written for the Richard Lester film soundtrack; side two mixes new originals with covers. George Harrison contributed "I Need You" and "You Like Me Too Much", his first songwriting contributions since "Don't Bother Me" on With the Beatles. "Yesterday" features only Paul McCartney with a string quartet arranged by George Martin, the first Beatles studio recording without any other band member performing. Help! was the first rock album nominated for Grammy Album of the Year, at the 8th Grammy Awards (1966).

Help! is the fifth studio album by The Beatles, released in July 1965 on Parlophone as the soundtrack to their second film, produced by George Martin at Abbey Road Studios. The album features seven new Lennon-McCartney originals alongside four cover songs and two George Harrison compositions, 'I Need You' and 'You Like Me Too Much', marking a significant expansion of Harrison's role as a songwriter within the group. Lennon later recalled that the title track was among the most personally authentic songs he ever wrote, expressing genuine emotional distress beneath the uptempo arrangement at a period when he felt overwhelmed by the scale of Beatlemania and his personal life. Cover selections, Larry Williams's 'Dizzy Miss Lizzie' and the country standard 'Act Naturally' (sung by Ringo), represent the declining influence of outside material as Lennon and McCartney's songwriting accelerated toward the complexity of Rubber Soul. Help! captures the Beatles at an inflection point, their beat-pop period visibly straining toward the studio-era sophistication that would arrive with Rubber Soul later the same year.

Track Listing & Credits 14 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
Help! #1
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin John Lennon (Lead Vocals)
2
The Night Before
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin Paul McCartney (Lead Vocals)
3
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin John Lennon (Lead Vocals)
4
I Need You
George Harrison George Harrison George Martin George Harrison (Lead Vocals)
5
Another Girl
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin Paul McCartney (Lead Vocals)
6
You're Going to Lose That Girl
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin John Lennon (Lead Vocals)
7
Ticket to Ride #1
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin John Lennon (Lead Vocals)
8
Act Naturally
Johnny RussellVoni Morrison Johnny RussellVoni Morrison George Martin Ringo Starr (Lead Vocals)
9
It's Only Love
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin John Lennon (Lead Vocals)
10
You Like Me Too Much
George Harrison George Harrison George Martin George Harrison (Lead Vocals)
11
Tell Me What You See
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin Paul McCartney (Lead Vocals)
12
I've Just Seen a Face
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin Paul McCartney (Lead Vocals)
13
Yesterday
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney George Martin Paul McCartney (Lead Vocals)
14
Dizzy Miss Lizzy
Larry Williams Larry Williams George Martin John Lennon (Lead Vocals)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 8 contributors

More from The Beatles

Frequently Asked Questions Help!

Who wrote Yesterday on the Help! album?
"Yesterday" was written by Paul McCartney, credited as Lennon-McCartney. McCartney has consistently noted that Lennon had no involvement in writing the song. According to McCartney, the melody came to him in a dream; he initially used placeholder lyrics ("Scrambled eggs") until the final words came. "Yesterday" is the most-covered pop song in history according to Guinness World Records.
Did Help! by The Beatles receive a Grammy nomination?
Yes, Help! was nominated for Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 8th Grammy Awards in 1966, marking the first time a rock album had been nominated in that category. The award went to Frank Sinatra's September of My Years. The nomination acknowledged the growing artistic ambition and commercial significance of rock music.
Who played on Yesterday from the Help! album?
"Yesterday" was recorded by Paul McCartney alone, accompanied by a string quartet arranged by George Martin. No other Beatle performed on the track, Lennon, Harrison, and Starr do not appear. It was released in the US as a single in September 1965 (not as a single in the UK) and is the most-covered song in pop music history.
Did Ticket to Ride by The Beatles reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?
"Ticket to Ride" reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week in May 1965. John Lennon wrote the song; he and McCartney shared the lead vocal. In the UK, it reached number 1 for three weeks. "Ticket to Ride" was one of The Beatles' first experiments with a slower, heavier drum pattern, which Ringo Starr has cited as particularly influential.
Is the Help! album by The Beatles a soundtrack album?
Yes, Help! is the soundtrack to the 1965 Richard Lester film of the same name. The UK album features 14 tracks, side one contains original Lennon-McCartney film songs; side two adds further originals and covers. The US Capitol version differed, including film instrumentals by Ken Thorne and excluding some Beatles tracks.
Did Help! the song by The Beatles reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?
"Help!" reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in September 1965. The song was written by John Lennon; he later described it as a genuine cry for help during a difficult personal period. In the UK, "Help!" also spent three weeks at number 1 on the Singles Chart.
What George Harrison songs appear on Help! by The Beatles?
George Harrison wrote two songs on Help!: "I Need You" and "You Like Me Too Much." These were his first original contributions to a Beatles album since "Don't Bother Me" on With the Beatles (1963). Harrison was increasingly developing as a composer, and his contributions to subsequent albums grew, culminating in three tracks on Revolver (1966).

Sources