"Ask Me Why" is a song by the English rock band

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

originally released in the United Kingdom as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of their single "

Please Please Me ''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two s ...

". It was also included on their 1963 debut album ''

''. It was written primarily by

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 ...

and credited to the

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

partnership.

Composition

Written in early 1962, "Ask Me Why" is principally a

composition, but was credited to Lennon and

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. On ...

, as were all other

originals on the first pressings of ''Please Please Me'' album. McCartney said, "It was John's original idea and we both sat down and wrote it together, just did a job on it. It was mostly John's."Ask Me Why , The Beatles Bible
/ref> It was part of their live act prior to their recording contract, and was one of the songs performed at their first

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 19 ...

recording session in EMI's

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although '' Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly ...

studio two on 6 June 1962. The song emulates the style of

Smokey Robinson and 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 ...

, by whom Lennon was influenced, and draws its opening

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

phrase from the Miracles' "What's So Good About Goodbye" (1961).

Structure

The song is in the key of E major, with some leaning to its relative minor of C#, and is in 4/4 time. Structurally, the song is complex and, as Alan Pollack states, contains three different variants of the verse. The song also contains "jazzy parallel sevenths" in most of the chords, and has a live ending.

Recording

"Ask Me Why" was originally recorded at Abbey Road studios on 6 June 1962 with drummer

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (né Scanland; born 24 November 1941) is an English musician known as the drummer of the English rock band the Beatles who was dismissed immediately prior to the band achieving worldwide fame. Fired from the group in 1962 ...

. As the session was a 'commercial test', none of the performances recorded that day were deemed suitable for release, and the two quarter-inch tape reels from that session were thought to be destroyed by EMI. However, two songs survived; " Besame Mucho" and "

Love Me Do "Love Me Do" is the official debut single by the English rock band the Beatles, backed by " P.S. I Love You". When the single was originally released in the United Kingdom on 5 October 1962, it peaked at number 17. It was released in the Unite ...

" were later discovered on acetate discs. The group performed "Ask Me Why" for the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

's ''Teenager's Turn – Here We Go'' on 15 June 1962, nine days after the EMI session. It was recorded again, along with "Please Please Me", on 26 November 1962 with

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 ...

on drums. The Beatles also rehearsed " Tip of My Tongue", another Lennon and McCartney song which was also being considered for the B-side of the "Please Please Me" single. However, producer

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 B ...

felt that "Tip of My Tongue" still needed some work, and it was eventually given to Tommy Quickly to record.

Other releases

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, EMI's American counterpart to

, initially refused to distribute Beatle music in the US and so the "Please Please Me"/"Ask Me Why" single was released by

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

on 25 February 1963. * Vee-Jay included "Ask Me Why" on version 2 of '' Introducing... The Beatles''. * Capitol eventually released "Ask Me Why" in 1965 on '' The Early Beatles'' when Vee-Jay's rights expired. * A live version from December 1962 was released on the German/UK version of ''

Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'' album in 1977, but was left off the initial US version. * A version was recorded for the BBC on 3 September 1963. It was released on ''

On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 ''On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2'' is a 2013 live/compilation album featuring 40 previously unreleased tracks from the Beatles' 1963–1964 BBC Radio broadcasts (accompanied by 23 interview tracks from the associated broadcasts). It was ...

'' in 2013.

Cover versions

The song was covered by

the Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drum ...

on their 2008 album '' B-Sides The Beatles''.

Personnel

– vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar *

– bass, backing vocals * George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocals *

– drums Engineered by Norman Smith :Personnel per

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 ...

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{authority control The Beatles songs 1963 songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Parlophone singles Vee-Jay Records singles 1963 singles it:Please Please Me/Ask Me Why#Ask Me Why