"Bad to Me" is a song credited to

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...

. In late interviews,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

said that he wrote it for Billy J. Kramer with the DakotasDavid Sheff, ''All We Are Saying''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000, , p. 170 while on holiday in Spain. However, in a 1964 interview he said that he and

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

wrote it in the back of a van, declaring McCartney a contributor. Lennon's original demo of the song was released on iTunes in December 2013 on the album '' The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963''. It became one of the first occasions a Lennon–McCartney composition made the US Top 40 recorded by an artist other than

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

(the first being " A World Without Love" by Peter & Gordon).

Chart performance

Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas released their recording of the song in 1963 and it became their first number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.

was present during the recording session at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

. The single was released in the US the following year, and was a top-ten hit there, reaching number 9. In Canada "Bad To Me' reached number 12 on both the CHUM and

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

charts.

Cover versions

* Terry Black released a version of the song on his 1965 debut album, '' Only 16''. * Graham Parker recorded a version of the song for the 2003 album ''Lost Songs of Lennon & McCartney'', new versions of 17 Lennon–McCartney songs that were originally released by other artists. Leif Garrett also recorded a version of the song for his self-titled debut album. Finnish rock band Hurriganes covered this song in their third album, ''Crazy Days''. *Recordings of "Bad to Me" as the Beatles may have performed it are available on the 1989 album by Bas Muys entitled ''Secret Songs: Lennon & McCartney'' and on the 1998 release ''It's Four You'' by the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band, tribute group or tribute artist is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the so ...

The Beatnix.

References

External links

* 1963 songs 1963 singles 1964 singles Songs written by Lennon–McCartney The Beatles songs Billy J. Kramer songs Terry Black songs Leif Garrett songs Song recordings produced by George Martin UK singles chart number-one singles Parlophone singles {{Beatles-song-stub