Lennon–McCartney facts for kids

Paul McCartney (left) and John Lennon (right) in 1964

Lennon–McCartney was a famous songwriting team made up of English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942). They were both members of the Beatles. This partnership is known as one of the most successful in music history. The Beatles sold over 600 million records worldwide by 2004.

Between October 5, 1962, and May 8, 1970, Lennon and McCartney wrote about 180 songs together. Most of these songs were recorded by the Beatles and became a huge part of their music collection.

Unlike many songwriting teams where one person writes words and another writes music (like Elton John and Bernie Taupin), both Lennon and McCartney wrote lyrics and melodies. Sometimes, especially when they first started, they worked very closely on songs, calling it "eyeball to eyeball." Later on, it was more common for one of them to write most of a song alone, with the other adding only a few ideas. They had an agreement from before the Beatles became famous: any song either of them wrote while they were partners would be credited to both Lennon and McCartney.

Many artists have recorded cover versions of Lennon–McCartney songs. Guinness World Records says that "Yesterday" is the most recorded song by different musicians ever.

How the Songwriting Began

Early Days with the Quarrymen

John Lennon and Paul McCartney both started writing songs before they even met. Paul wrote his first song ideas in 1956 when he was almost 14. One of these ideas later became the song "When I'm Sixty-Four." John wrote his first song, "Calypso Rock," around March 1957.

John and Paul first met on July 6, 1957, at a church fair. John, who was 16, was playing with his skiffle band, the Quarrymen. Paul, 15, impressed John with his guitar skills and his performance of Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock." Soon after, John asked Paul to join the Quarrymen, and Paul said yes.

Their first music heroes were the Everly Brothers, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. They learned many of their songs and tried to sound like them. John and Paul wrote their first songs at Paul's home, John's aunt Mimi's house, or at the Liverpool Institute.

The first song John and Paul wrote together was "Too Bad About Sorrows" in January 1958, followed by "Just Fun." They kept their song ideas in a notebook, writing "another Lennon–McCartney original" at the top of each page. This idea came from famous writing teams like Rodgers and Hammerstein. They often invited friends to hear their new songs, but they didn't play these songs with the Quarrymen. They kept writing through 1958 and 1959. By summer 1959, they mostly wrote songs separately and then showed them to each other for approval. Many early Beatles songs, like "Love Me Do" and "I'll Follow the Sun," came from this time.

A Short Break in Songwriting

In May 1960, Stuart Sutcliffe, a friend from John's art college, joined the group, which soon became known as the Beatles. Stuart's close friendship with John made Paul a bit jealous and changed how John and Paul wrote songs together. They didn't write any new songs in 1960, even though they needed many songs to play during their long shows in Hamburg. This quiet period continued into 1961.

They kept their songwriting a secret from friends and fans. If they did play one of their own songs, they wouldn't tell the audience it was an original. It wasn't until late 1961, when the Beatles met Brian Epstein, that they started playing their original songs regularly.

New Songs and Music Deals

The Lennon–McCartney songwriting team became strong again in 1962. At their first audition for Decca Records on January 1, 1962, the Beatles played three of their old original songs: "Like Dreamers Do," "Love of the Loved," and "Hello Little Girl."

Soon after, a recording of "Like Dreamers Do" was played for EMI song publishers. They wanted EMI to sign the Beatles so they could get the rights to Lennon–McCartney songs. Around March 1962, John and Paul each wrote their first new songs since 1959. In May, Paul wrote "P.S. I Love You."

At the Beatles' first recording sessions with EMI, they played almost only Lennon–McCartney songs. However, their producer, George Martin, wasn't sure at first if they could write hit songs. His mind changed after their first Lennon–McCartney single, "Love Me Do," became a top 20 hit in the UK. Martin then suggested some important ideas: to release "Please Please Me" as their next single (which became a huge hit), to record an album mostly of Lennon–McCartney songs, and to use Dick James as their song publisher.

In late 1962 and early 1963, their partnership became official with legal papers. On October 1, 1962, John, Paul, and Brian Epstein signed a publishing agreement. In February 1963, a new company called Northern Songs was created for Lennon–McCartney songs. John, Paul, and Brian Epstein together owned 50% of this new company.

How They Wrote Songs Together

John Lennon said that the main goal of the Beatles' music was to connect with people. He felt that he and Paul shared this goal. Many Lennon–McCartney songs use the words "you" or "your" in the very first line.

In an interview John gave in 1980, he talked about their partnership:

[Paul] brought a lightness, a hopeful feeling, while I usually went for the sadness, the disagreements, the bluesy sounds. There was a time when I thought I didn't write melodies, that Paul wrote those and I just wrote loud rock 'n' roll. But, of course, when I think of some of my own songs—"In My Life", or some of the early stuff, "This Boy"—I was writing melodies just as well as anyone.

It's true that Paul often brought a more hopeful feeling to their songs. However, some of Paul's most famous songs are sad or about feeling alone, like "Yesterday," "She's Leaving Home," "Eleanor Rigby," or "For No One."

Even though John and Paul often wrote songs on their own, it was rare for a song to be finished without some help from both of them. Often, one would have an idea or a small part of a song and take it to the other to finish or make better. Sometimes, two unfinished song ideas would be combined into one complete song. One of them might add a middle eight (a short section in the middle of a song) or a bridge to the other's verse and chorus. George Martin, their producer, believed that their friendly competition helped them write such high-quality songs.

As time went on, songs were more often mostly written by one person, with the other offering only a few words or a different chord. "A Day in the Life" is a good example of a later Beatles song where both John and Paul made big contributions. Paul's song idea ("Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head...") was used to fill out the middle of John's song ("I read the news today, oh boy...").

"Hey Jude" is another example of a later Paul McCartney song that John helped with. When Paul played the song for John, Paul said he would change the line "the movement you need is on your shoulder" because he thought it didn't make sense. John told Paul to leave the line as it was, saying it was one of the strongest parts of the song.

Even though John and Paul worked together less closely in later years, they still influenced each other. As John said in 1969, "We write how we write now because of each other. Paul was there for five or ten years, and I wouldn't write like I write now if it weren't for Paul, and he wouldn't write like he does if it weren't for me."

Song Credit Changes

Shared Credit

When Paul and John first met as teenagers and started writing songs, they agreed that all songs they wrote, whether alone or together, would be credited to both of them. John said in 1980 that this informal agreement was made when they were "fifteen or sixteen." Two songs John wrote in 1957, "Hello Little Girl" and "One After 909," were credited to the partnership when they were released years later. The earliest Beatles recording officially released with Lennon–McCartney credit is "You'll Be Mine," recorded at home in 1960 and released on Anthology 1 much later.

Some other early songs were not credited to both. "In Spite of All the Danger" (1958) was credited to Paul McCartney and George Harrison. "Cayenne" was a solo Paul McCartney song. "Cry for a Shadow" (1961), an instrumental, was written by George Harrison and John Lennon.

By 1962, the joint credit agreement was in full effect. From the Beatles' audition in January 1962 until John announced he was leaving the band in September 1969, almost all songs by Paul or John were published with both names. The only exceptions were a few Paul McCartney songs released by other musicians, like "Woman" by Peter and Gordon in 1966 (Paul used a different name for this one). John kept the joint credit for "Give Peace a Chance," his first song with the Plastic Ono Band.

After their partnership ended, John and Paul sometimes gave different stories about who wrote what in their jointly credited songs. Their memories often didn't match. In 1972, John gave a magazine a list of Beatles songs with notes on his and Paul's contributions. Paul only disagreed with one of John's notes at the time.

• "Help!" (1965)

* John said it was co-written in 1965. Later, he claimed he wrote it all. Paul said he helped with the "countermelody" and thought it was "70–30" in John's favor. In 1984, Paul said, "John and I wrote it at his house in Weybridge for the film."

• "Ticket to Ride" (1965)

* In 1965, John said it was "three-quarters mine and Paul changed it a bit." In 1980, John said Paul's help was only with "the way Ringo [Starr] played the drums." Paul said, "we sat down and wrote it together... give him 60 percent of it."

• "In My Life" (1965)

* This was the only song Paul disagreed with John about in 1972. John said Paul only helped with the "middle eight" (a short section). Paul said he wrote the whole melody, inspired by Smokey Robinson songs.

• "Eleanor Rigby" (1966)

* Paul remembered writing the music on a piano and playing it for Donovan, who confirmed it had no serious words yet. John said he wrote 70 percent of the words, but a childhood friend of John's said John contributed "absolutely nil." Paul later said John added "about half a line," but in other interviews, he described more help from John. George Harrison and Ringo Starr also helped with this song.

• "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" (1967)

* John said he wrote this song using words from a circus poster and didn't mention Paul's help. In 2013, Paul remembered spending an afternoon with John writing the song based on the poster.

Lennon–McCartney vs. McCartney–Lennon

In October 1962, the Beatles released their first UK single, "Love Me Do," credited to "Lennon–McCartney." However, on their next three releases, the credit was "McCartney–Lennon." Paul said that the decision to always put Lennon's name first was made at a band meeting in April 1963. With the "She Loves You" single, released in August 1963, the credit went back to "Lennon–McCartney," and all future Beatles songs used this order.

In 1976, Paul McCartney's band Wings released their live album Wings over America with the songwriting credits for five Beatles songs reversed, putting Paul's name first. John or his wife Yoko Ono didn't object at the time.

However, many years after John's death, in the late 1990s, Paul and Yoko Ono had a disagreement about the credit order. Paul's 2002 live album, Back in the U.S., also used "Paul McCartney and John Lennon" for all Beatles songs. When Yoko Ono objected to Paul's request to reverse the credit for the 1965 song "Yesterday," Paul said he and John had agreed in the past that the credits could be reversed if either of them wanted to. In 2003, he changed his mind, saying, "I'm happy with the way it is and always has been. Lennon and McCartney is still the rock 'n' roll trademark I'm proud to be a part of – in the order it has always been."

Later Paul McCartney live albums, Good Evening New York City (2009) and Amoeba Gig (2019), used the original Lennon–McCartney credit. However, the new Paul McCartney and Wings live album One Hand Clapping (2024) featured the reversed credits for the Beatles songs.

Lennon–McCartney and Others

A few songs written mostly by John and Paul but recorded by the Beatles were credited to more than just the two of them:

• "What Goes On" (1965): Lennon–McCartney–Starkey
• "Flying" (1967): Harrison–Lennon–McCartney–Starkey
• "Dig It" (1969): Lennon–McCartney–Harrison–Starkey
• "Maggie Mae" (1969): Arrangement by Lennon–McCartney–Harrison–Starkey
• "Free as a Bird" (1995): Original by John Lennon; Beatles version credited to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr
• "Now and Then" (2023): Original by John Lennon; Beatles version credited to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr

The German-language versions of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" also credited other songwriters for helping with the translation.

George Harrison's Role

John and Paul thought about including George Harrison in their songwriting partnership when it became official in 1962, but they decided not to. George later said that this made him and Ringo Starr feel less important: "An attitude came over John and Paul of 'We're the grooves and you two, just watch it'. They never said that or did anything, but it was over a period of time." George felt like an observer of the Beatles, even though he was in the band.

George (and Ringo, to a lesser extent) eventually started writing songs for the band too, but without much help from John or Paul. George said that his bandmates inspired him to write songs. However, he also admitted that the high quality of John and Paul's songs made him nervous about showing his own songs when he was still learning to write. In later years, Paul said that George made important, uncredited contributions to Lennon–McCartney songs, like the guitar part in "And I Love Her."

Lasting Impact

Influence on Music

Lennon–McCartney, along with other songwriters from the British Invasion, changed the music industry. They were bands that wrote and performed their own music, which was new. This trend challenged the professional songwriters who used to write most of the hit songs in America.

In 1963, The Sunday Times newspaper called Lennon and McCartney the greatest composers since Ludwig van Beethoven.

The Lennon–McCartney partnership became a model for other songwriting teams in rock. John Lennon himself said it inspired the Rolling Stones' Jagger–Richards partnership. Later songwriting teams that sounded like the Beatles were often compared to Lennon–McCartney. For example, the new wave band Squeeze's songwriters, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, were called the "new Lennon–McCartney" by music writers.

When Paul McCartney worked with Elvis Costello in 1989, Costello's sharp style led to comparisons to John Lennon. Paul said Costello had "a bit of Lennon in him" but called their pairing "a new thing."

The Beatles' Music Collection

The Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership makes up most of the Beatles' music collection. Their first two UK studio albums included 12 cover songs and 15 Lennon–McCartney songs. Their third UK album, A Hard Day's Night (1964), is the only Beatles album made entirely of Lennon–McCartney songs.

After this, George Harrison started contributing more songs, usually one to four songs per album. Ringo Starr wrote two songs in total and shared credit for a third, "What Goes On." Also, "Flying" and "Dig It" were credited to all four Beatles. The rest of the songs came from John and Paul.

John and Paul often gave songs to Ringo to sing, and to George before he started writing his own material. For the songs they kept for themselves, each usually sang his own song, often with the other adding harmonies. If they each contributed a part to a song, they might sing their own section, like in "I've Got a Feeling" and "A Day in the Life."

In January 2017, Paul McCartney filed a lawsuit in the United States to get back ownership of his share of the Lennon–McCartney song collection starting in 2018. Under US copyright law, authors can reclaim copyrights after 56 years for works published before 1978. Paul and Sony reached a private agreement in June 2017.

The sons of the duo, Sean Lennon and James McCartney, have also written a song together called "Primrose Hill."

Songs for Other Artists

Several songs credited to Lennon–McCartney were first released by bands other than the Beatles, especially those managed by Brian Epstein. Recording a Lennon–McCartney song helped new artists become famous. Many of these songs were on the 1979 album The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away. The Beatles did record their own versions of some of these songs, but many weren't released until after the band broke up.

In April 2024, James McCartney and Sean Ono Lennon, the sons of Paul and John, worked together on the song "Primrose Hill" for James McCartney's upcoming album.

Four songs and a soundtrack album were released during this time but credited only to Paul McCartney:

Unreleased Songs

The following songs are believed to have been written by Lennon and McCartney but were never officially released by the Beatles or other artists, except as noted. Many have appeared on Beatles bootlegs. This list includes some of their earliest joint works from the time of the Quarrymen. Several of these songs were looked at again during the Get Back sessions in early 1969.

See also

In Spanish: Lennon-McCartney para niños

• Outline of the Beatles
• The Beatles timeline
• List of songs recorded by the Beatles
• List of songwriter collaborations