Behka’s Breakfast with The Beatles Recap: Week of March 10

Here's a look at all the songs I played at the beginning of the morning show on my segment, Breakfast with Behka and The Beatles. On Monday, I played "Hello Goodbye".

The song was released as a single in November 1967, and topped the charts in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Norway. The song also was a number two hit in both Austria and Switzerland. Alistair Taylor, who worked for the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, had asked McCartney how he wrote his songs, and McCartney took him into his dining room to give him a demonstration on his harmonium. He asked Taylor to shout the opposite of whatever he sang as he played the instrument—black and white, yes and no, stop and go, hello and goodbye.

On Tuesday, I played "Lady Madonna".

In March 1968, it was released as a single, backed with "The Inner Light." The song was recorded on 3 and 6 February 1968 before the Beatles left for India. John Lennon helped write the lyrics, which give an account of an overworked, exhausted (possibly single) mother, facing a new problem each day of the week. McCartney explained the song by saying it started off as the Virgin Mary, then it was a working-class woman, of which there's many in Liverpool.

On Wednesday, I played "I'm a Loser".

This one was originally released on Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom, later released on Beatles '65 in the United States. Written by John Lennon, it was considered for release as a single until Lennon wrote "I Feel Fine".

On Thursday, I played "Something".

This one is featured on their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was released that same year as a double A-sided single with another track from the album, "Come Together". "Something" was the first Beatles song written by lead guitarist George Harrison to appear as an A-side, and the only song written by him to top the US charts while he was in the band. The single was also one of the first Beatles singles to contain tracks already available on an LP album. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the band's principal songwriters, both praised "Something" as one of the best songs Harrison had written, or that the group had to offer. As well as critical acclaim, the single achieved commercial success, topping the Billboard charts in the United States and making the top five in the United Kingdom. The song has been covered by over 150 artists, making it the second-most covered Beatles song after "Yesterday".

On Friday, I played "Please Please Me".

This song was the second single released by the Beatles in the United Kingdom, and the first to be issued in the United States. It was also the title track of their first LP, which was recorded to capitalize on the success of the single. George Martin has stated that the original version of this song was "rather dreary", was too slow and consequently had little prospect of being the big hit the band were looking for. So, they sped up the tempo, and a hit it became.

Let me know if there's something you want to hear next week!  We start promptly at 6:00 a.m. on Monday.

Beatley yours,
Behka