Please Please Me is the debut studio album by The Beatles, recorded almost entirely in a single exhausting session at EMI Studios, London, on February 11, 1963, and produced by George Martin. The album features eight Lennon-McCartney originals alongside six covers, including 'Twist and Shout' (Medley/Berns) and 'Boys' (Dixon/Farrell), establishing the pair as the band's primary songwriting force from the very first release. George Harrison and Ringo Starr received no composer credits on this album, a distribution of creative ownership that would gradually shift over the next six years. The six cover tracks illustrate the early Beatles' dual identity as a Hamburg-era covers band and an emerging original songwriting act, a tension that would resolve decisively in favor of self-written material after Beatles for Sale. Please Please Me spent 30 weeks at number one on the UK albums chart and stands as the opening document of one of the most statistically comprehensive songwriting catalogs in popular music history.
Track Listing & Credits
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Saw Her Standing There | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Martin |
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| 2 | Misery | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Martin |
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| 3 | Anna (Go to Him) | Arthur Alexander | Arthur Alexander | George Martin |
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| 4 | Chains | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | George Martin |
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| 5 | Boys | Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell | Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell | George Martin |
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| 6 | Ask Me Why | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Martin |
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| 7 | Please Please Me | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Martin |
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| 8 | Love Me Do | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Martin |
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| 9 | P.S. I Love You | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Martin |
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| 10 | Baby It's You | Mack David, Burt Bacharach, Barney Williams | Mack David, Burt Bacharach, Barney Williams | George Martin |
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| 11 | Do You Want to Know a Secret | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Martin |
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| 12 | A Taste of Honey | Ric Marlow | Bobby Scott | George Martin |
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| 13 | There's a Place | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | George Martin |
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| 14 | Twist and Shout | Phil Medley, Bert Russell | Phil Medley, Bert Russell | George Martin |
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Data note: Track credits compiled from Wikipedia and Discogs; should be verified against original liner notes.