Of course, no discussion of songwriting teams would be complete without talking about one of the best-known teams in rock, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They wrote most of their hits for The Beatles, of course, but at one time they wanted to be a songwriting team like Gerry Goffin and Carole King or Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller and write songs for other artists.
While the songs were credited to Lennon-McCartney, it was common knowledge that they wrote separately, then solicited the opinion of the other. Most of the songs they wrote for The Beatles were recorded and released by the band, but there were also songs that the band recorded but didn’t release, songs they decided weren’t worth recording and offered to other artists, and songs they wrote specifically for other artists. It’s the songs in the last two categories we’ll focus on today.
EMI, their record label in the UK, compiled an album of Lennon-McCartney compositions and called it The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away. It was released in 1971 and reissued in 1979 with the addition of one song, “I’m The Greatest,” written by John and performed by Ringo Starr on his 1973 album, Ringo. All of the other tracks on the album were released as singles by artists including Cilla Black, Peter & Gordon, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, and others. These two tracks come from that album, and were the first hits in the US for Lennon and McCartney not performed by The Beatles.
First is “World Without Love,” written by Paul and recorded by Peter & Gordon in 1964. It reached #1 in both the US and UK that year.
Second is “Bad To Me,” written by John for Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas. Billy took the song to #1 in the UK in 1966 and #9 in the US a year later.
The album is out-of-print; I found a vinyl copy on Amazon for over $100, a little rich for my blood (and besides, I don’t have a turntable). The songs are generally available on YouTube, so it might be possible to build a reasonable facsimile there. I haven’t tried it yet…
John Lennon and Paul McCartney, your Two for Tuesday, October 6, 2015.
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
I probably like about 95%-98% of all Lennon & McCartney songs. LOL I’ve really never liked World Without Love. But I love Bad to Me. I think they sound a LOT like the Beatles in this song. Definitely Beatles style. I would love to have that album. But $100? Um…no. I’ll have to check out YouTube.
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I hear these songs and wonder what it would have sounded like if The Beatles had done them. I think there are a couple of examples on one or more of the Anthology albums. I know there’s their version of “How Do You Do It,” which was a big hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers.
I think all the music is out on YouTube.
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Great songs by some wonderful artists. “From a Window” was my favorite Billy J Kramer song penned by Lennon/McCartney
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
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They did a lot for a number of careers: Billy J., Cilla Black, and Peter & Gordon. Peter Asher’s sister Jane was McCartney’s main squeeze for a while, which might have been why he wrote a song for them.
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I did not know McCartney wrote World Without Love! One of my favorite songs from childhood.
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Likewise, I just learned today John Lennon wrote “Bad To Me.” I really like that song.
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And…this is what happens when I start a thought at the middle. This SHOULD read, Peter Asher was Paul McCartney’s girlfriend Jane Asher’s BROTHER, and I always wondered if that’s how they got the song…
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I do that all the time. Don’t worry, I knew what you were talking about. I was going to mention Peter’s relationship with Jane, and totally forgot about it.
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Thanks for this! I remember a good share of those songs! Peter Asher was Paul McCartney’s girlfriend (bird…) Jane Asher and I always wondered if that’s how they got the songs. AFter he and Gordon Waller broke up, he became A&R man at Apple and signed this guy named James Taylor…ever heard of him?
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I might have….
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