"Please Mr. Postman" is a song written by

Georgia Dobbins The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who ...

, William Garrett,

Freddie Gorman Freddie Gorman (born Frederick Cortez Gorman, April 11, 1939 – June 13, 2006) was an American musician and record producer, most famous as a singer, songwriter for the Motown label in the late 1960s and mid 1970s. He was a native of Detroi ...

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous h ...

and Robert Bateman. It is the debut single by

the Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

for the Tamla (

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

) label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop singles chart. The single achieved this position in late 1961; it hit number one on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

as well. "Please Mr. Postman" became a number-one hit again in early 1975 when

the Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen's contr ...

' cover of the song reached the top position of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Please Mr. Postman" has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

several times, including by the British rock group

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

in 1963. The 2017 song

Feel It Still "Feel It Still" is a song by American rock band Portugal. The Man. The song, which interpolates the Marvelettes' 1961 hit "Please Mr. Postman", was written by the band along with John Hill and Asa Taccone, with the latter two serving as produc ...

by Portugal. The Man interpolates "Please Mr. Postman".

Original version

Background

In April 1961,

(then known as the Marvels) arranged an audition for

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

's Tamla label. Marvels original lead singer Georgia Dobbins needed an original song for their audition, and got a blues song from her friend William Garrett, which she then reworked for the group. Dobbins left the group after the audition and was replaced, Gordy renamed the group and hired "Brianbert" –

and Robert Bateman's songwriting partnership – to rework the song yet again. Freddie Gorman, himself a Detroit postman and another songwriting partner of Holland (before Holland became part of the

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. Du ...

team) was also involved in the final reworking.

Composition and recording

Songwriting credits for "Please Mr. Postman" have been inconsistent. Journalist

Ben Fong-Torres Benjamin Fong-Torres ( 方振豪; Cantonese: Fong Chan Ho; born January 7, 1945) is an American rock journalist best known for his association with ''Rolling Stone'' magazine (until 1981) and the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' (from around 1982). B ...

credits the song to Holland, Bateman, Gorman, Dobbins and Garrett. The original Tamla 45 single for the Marvelettes' version credits "Dobbins/Garett/Brianbert" as the songwriters, and credits "Brianbert" as producer. The original ''

With the Beatles ''With the Beatles'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, eight months after the band's debut '' Please Please Me''. Produced by George Mar ...

'' album cover credited it to just Brian Holland (the 1987 CD release credits it to "Dobbin-Garrett-Garman-Brianbert"). The 1976 Beatles discography book ''All Together Now'' credits the songwriting to Holland, Bateman, and Berry Gordy. The 1992 Motown

boxed set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

''Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection'' credits Dobbins, Garrett, Holland, Bateman, and Gorman as the composers. The

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

credits "Please Mr. Postman" to just Holland, Bateman, and Gorman. EMI Music Publishing, the current music publisher of the song, list all five writers in their catalog. Played in 4/4 time, the song features the common

I–vi–IV–V The 50s progression (also known as the "Heart and Soul" chords, the "Stand by Me" changes, the doo-wop progression and the "ice cream changes") is a chord progression and turnaround used in Western popular music. The progression, represented in Ro ...

chord progression. The

melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

hexatonic In music and music theory, a hexatonic scale is a scale with six pitches or notes per octave. Famous examples include the whole-tone scale, C D E F G A C; the augmented scale, C D E G A B C; the Prometheus scale, C D E F A B C; and the blues sc ...

, avoiding "blue" notes. The Marvelettes recording features lead singer

Gladys Horton The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who w ...

hoping that the

postman A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

has brought her a letter from her boyfriend. Holland and Bateman – dubbing themselves "Brianbert" – produced the session. The song's rhythm section is made up of piano, electric bass and drums. The commercial failure of

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

's 1961 debut album, ''

The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye ''The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye'' is the debut studio album by Marvin Gaye, released in 1961, and the second long-playing album (TM-221) released by Motown. The first was '' Hi... We're the Miracles'' (TM-220). It is most notable as the alb ...

'', led him to spend time as a studio musician for the remainder of the year. Among these efforts was "Please Mr. Postman", on which he plays the drums. Gaye's

backbeat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a p ...

is busy throughout the song, playing his snare on the two and four beats while tapping the ride cymbal each half beat. He uses fills to transition the song through sections. The bass mostly alternates between

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

and fifth chords. An electric rhythm guitar is buried in the mix, only occasionally audible, while handclaps are prominent.

Musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

Walter Everett suggests that the appearance of

reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...

on the lead vocal at 2:10 is possibly the result of a vocal

overdub Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

being "punched into a mismatched circuit".

Release

Motown's Tamla label released the song as a single in the US in August 1961, then on the album of the same name in November 1961. The single was a commercial success, becoming Motown's second ever million-selling record and its first number-one hit. The song was on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for 23 weeks, and peaked at number 1 the week of December 11, 1961. Producer

credited Barney Ales' PR effort with the commercial success of the song. The song's hit status left many at Motown expecting the Marvelettes to be the label's biggest act, though they failed to ever match their first effort. Journalist

describes the Marvelettes' next song, "

Twistin' Postman "Twistin' Postman" is a song recorded by Motown singing group The Marvelettes, who released it in 1961, and was the follow-up to their smash debut single, "Please Mr. Postman". Background Like their previous single, the vocals are led by origina ...

", as a "calculated follow-up". The song's success led to an expansion in Motown's efforts, with songs like

the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential group ...

" I'll Try Something New" and "

You've Really Got a Hold on Me "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" is a song written by Smokey Robinson, which became a 1962 Top 10 hit single for the Miracles. One of the Miracles' most covered tunes, this million-selling song received a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Award. It has al ...

" following in 1962.

Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a sub ...

released the song as a single in the UK in November 1961. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' listed the song as #22 on their 2017 list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it at No. 331 on their list of "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Personnel

According to ''The Complete Motown Singles – Vol. 1: 1959–1961''

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

, except where noted:

The Marvelettes

lead vocal *

Katherine Anderson The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who w ...

backing vocal *Wyanetta ("Juanita") Cowart backing vocal *

Georgeanna Tillman The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who ...

backing vocal * Wanda Young backing vocal

Additional musicians

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

: **

drums **

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases ...

bass ** Eddie Willis guitar **

Richard "Popcorn" Wylie Richard Wayne Wylie (June 6, 1939 – September 7, 2008), often known as Popcorn Wylie, was an American pianist, bandleader, songwriter, occasional singer, and record producer who was influential in the early years of Motown Records and was ...

piano

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

The Beatles version

Background and recording

The English rock band

displayed an early interest in the music of

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

s, covering songs by groups like

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFad ...

the Cookies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and the Donays. They added "Please Mr. Postman" to their live repertoire in December 1961, their third Tamla song after

' "

Who's Lovin' You "Who's Lovin' You" is a Motown soul song, written in 1960 by William "Smokey" Robinson. The song has been recorded by many different artists including The Miracles, who recorded the 1960 original version, The Temptations, The Supremes, Terenc ...

" and

Barrett Strong Barrett Strong (born February 5, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best known for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfi ...

's "

Money (That's What I Want) "Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, ...

". Having not made it into the British top fifty, few in the UK knew the song, allowing them to make it their own among all

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

groups.

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

sang lead vocal,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

and

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

providing backing vocals, while all three added handclaps at their head level. In 2004, Billy Hatton of the Four Jays recalled seeing one of the Beatles' first live performances of the song, saying it was "a ''Wow moment''. I was struck by how tight they were. As a semi-pro group, the Four Jays would take a month to start playing a new song really well." Without their knowing it at the time, the Beatles' 7 March 1962 performance of the song on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

's ''Here We Go'' was the first time any Tamla song was played over BBC radio. Beatles author

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

reflects: "Without even realising it (and they'd have been thrilled to know), the Beatles broke the Detroit 'Motown sound' to the British listening public." In 1963, Beatles

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

approached Gordy for the rights to record several Motown songs, including "Please Mr. Postman", "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Money (That's What I Want)". Rather than the industry standard of two cents, Epstein only offered one and a half cents per record sold. Gordy initially refused, only relenting two minutes before the offer was set to expire. On 30 July 1963, the band

the song for their second UK album, ''

''. Recorded in Studio Two of EMI Recording Studios,

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

produced the session, supported by balance engineer Norman Smith. The band recorded three takes in a similar style to their BBC performance, but found the results unsatisfactory. They altered the arrangement to sound closer to the Marvelettes' version, recording four more takes with a stop-time intro, drum

breaks Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...

and a

coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

, the final take seven deemed "best". Due to their different vocal range from the Marvelettes, the Beatles modulate their version into

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

. Between recording two takes of

overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

, the band added handclaps while Lennon double tracked his original vocal, take nine marked "best". Martin and Smith mixed the song for

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanes ...

and

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

on 21 August and 29 October, respectively.

Release and reception

EMI's

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

label released ''With the Beatles'' in the UK on 22 November 1963, with "Please Mr. Postman" sequenced as the final track on the first side, coming after

Till There Was You "Till There Was You" is a show tune written in 1950 by Meredith Willson, originally entitled "Till I Met You." It was originally recorded October 25, 1950, by Meredith Willson & his Orchestra and Eileen Wilson. The song was retitled and used ...

". In the US,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

released '' The Beatles' Second Album'' on 10 April 1964, with "Please Mr. Postman" sequenced as the ninth track, between "

I Call Your Name "I Call Your Name" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Beatles and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was written primarily by John Lennon, with assistance from Paul McCartney. It was released in the US on '' The Beatles' Second Al ...

" and " I'll Get You". Both releases credit the song only to Holland. Capitol also included the cover as the final track on the US-only four-song EP, '' Four by the Beatles'', released 11 May 1964. Writing about ''The Beatles' Second Album'', music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

considers the covers of "Please Mr. Postman" and "Money (That's What I Want)" as two of the Beatles' best ever recordings, "both surpassing the superb Motown originals". Music critic Tim Riley calls the song's beat "tremendous", and that "like all great rock 'n' roll, it sounds perilously close to falling apart at any minute". He writes it is the "most reckless and completely irresistible playing" on the first side of ''With the Beatles'', and "the most flammable rock 'n' roll they've given us since "

She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock band the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record i ...

". Musicologist Alan W. Pollack sees the opening shout of "Wait!" as anticipating as the opening shout of "Help!" in the Beatles' 1965 song of the same name. Writer Chris Ingham calls the song "a dense curtain of guitars and harmonies" supported by "a delicious, elastic groove". Writer Jonathan Gould writes that Lennon's strong vocal overpowers the weak lyric, while the band's backing " xplodesoff the record", ultimately " pitomizingall that is best about the Beatles' second album." He further writes that, among the covers on ''With the Beatles'', it is the only one that approaches the quality of "

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...

" from '' Please Please Me''. Writer

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from ...

dismisses the cover as " cking the loose-limbed playfulness of the original", with a "

wall of sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of sessio ...

that quickly weights on the ear".

Personnel

According to MacDonald, except where noted: *

double-tracked Double tracking or doubling 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. ...

vocal, rhythm guitar *

backing vocal, bass *

backing vocal, lead guitar *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

drums *uncredited (played by the Beatles) handclaps

Carpenters version

A hit cover of "Please Mr. Postman" was recorded by the

Carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

, whose version took the song again to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in early 1975. The Carpenters' version resembles an old 1950s rock & roll song. The single was released in late 1974, reached number one on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

charts in January 1975, and was the duo's 10th and final million-selling single. The corresponding ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

'' album was belatedly released in June 1975 and went Platinum. The Carpenters' cover version was also

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Juelz Santana LaRon Louis James (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 si ...

for his single "

Oh Yes "Oh Yes" is the third single by rapper Juelz Santana from his second studio album ''What the Game's Been Missing!''. The song samples The Carpenters' cover version of the song "Please Mr. Postman "Please Mr. Postman" is a song written by Ge ...

". It is used by the ''

Rob, Arnie and Dawn Show ''The Rob, Anybody, and Dawn Show'' (Formerly: ''The Rob, Arnie, and Dawn Show'', and ''The Rob, Nobody, and Dawn Show'') is a morning radio show on KDOT (104.5 FM) from Lotus' building in Reno, Nevada. Rob Williams and Dawn Rossi are the show ...

'' to introduce their Listener Mail segment, and was sung by the presenters of British Saturday morning show ''

SMTV Live ''SMTV Live'' (an abbreviation of ''Saturday Morning Television Live'', and also stylised as ''SM: LIVE'') was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, produced by Blaze Television for ITV. Operating on a similar format to ...

'' to introduce the mailbag section. Reaching number two in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1975, in a UK television special on ITV in 2016 it was voted number one in '' The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Song''. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

of the song, filmed in

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

, can be found on the DVD '' Gold: Greatest Hits'' (released in 2002), originally packaged as ''Yesterday Once More'' (released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1985).

Personnel

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was prais ...

– lead and backing vocals, drums * Richard Carpenter – backing vocals, piano,

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

* Tony Peluso – guitar *

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simil ...

tubular bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

List of cover versions of ”Please Mr. Postman”
at SecondHandSongs.com {{Authority control Songs about occupations Songs about letters (message) 1961 debut singles 1974 singles The Marvelettes songs The Beatles songs The Carpenters songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Freddie Gorman Tamla Records singles A&M Records singles Helen Shapiro songs 1961 songs Songs written by Robert Bateman (songwriter) Capitol Records singles Polydor Records singles

Original version

Background

Composition and recording

Release

Personnel

The Marvelettes

Additional musicians

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

The Beatles version

Background and recording

Release and reception

Personnel

Carpenters version

Personnel

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

See also

References

Citations

Sources

External links