One and One Is Two

Last updated
"One and One Is Two"
Single by The Strangers with Mike Shannon
B-side "Time and the River"
Released8 May 1964
Genre Pop
Length2:15
Label Philips
Songwriter(s) Lennon–McCartney

"One and One Is Two" is a song by the musical group The Strangers with Mike Shannon, released as their debut single in 1964. It was composed by Paul McCartney and published under the author's credit Lennon/McCartney. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

The demo of "One And One Is Two" was probably recorded in Paris in mid-January/early February 1964, with McCartney singing to an acoustic guitar and piano. [3] It was recorded at the George V Hotel during the Beatles' concert series at the Olympia at the request of publisher Dick James. The demo has not yet been released legally. [2]

"One And One Is Two" was originally intended for Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, but the group declined. John Lennon reportedly exclaimed during the recording of the demo, "Billy J. will be done when he gets this song". In 1980, he commented, "This is another one of Paul's bad attempts at writing a song". [3] [2]

The song was also offered to fellow group The Fourmost, who, like the Dakotas, had previously recorded other Lennon/McCartney compositions. Brian O'Hara, guitarist and vocalist for The Fourmost later said of the offer, "McCartney came into the studio and played bass on "One and One Is Two", but there just wasn't any meat in the song and we couldn't get anywhere with it." [3]

The single "One and One is Two" with the B-side "Time and the River" was finally released on May 8, 1964, in the UK by The Strangers with Mike Shannon. [4] The song didn't get into the British charts. [3] The group released their second and final single, "Do You Or Don't You" / "What Can I Do", in December 1964, which also failed to enter the charts.

Covers

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Martin</span> English record producer (1926–2016)

Sir George Henry Martin 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 Beatles' original albums. Martin's formal musical expertise and interest in novel recording practices facilitated the group's rudimentary musical education and desire for new musical sounds to record. Most of their orchestral arrangements and instrumentation were written or performed by Martin, and he played piano or keyboards on a number of their records. Their collaborations resulted in popular, highly acclaimed records with innovative sounds, such as the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band—the first rock album to win a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

The Beatles Anthology is a multimedia retrospective project consisting of a television documentary, a three-volume set of double albums, and a book describing the history of the Beatles. Beatles members Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr participated in the making of the works, which are sometimes referred to collectively as the Anthology project, while John Lennon appears in archival interviews.

The Beatles' bootleg recordings are recordings of performances by the Beatles that have attained some level of public circulation without being available as a legal release. The term most often refers to audio recordings, but also includes video performances. Starting with vinyl releases in the 1970s, through CD issues in the late 1980s, and continuing with digital downloads starting in the mid 1990s, the Beatles have been, and continue to be, among the most bootlegged artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy J. Kramer</span> British pop singer

William Howard Ashton, known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney compositions never recorded by the Beatles, among them the UK number one "Bad to Me" (1963). Kramer and the Dakotas had a further UK chart-topper in 1964 with "Little Children" and achieved U.S. success as part of the British Invasion. Since the end of the beat boom, Kramer has continued to record and perform. His autobiography, Do You Want to Know a Secret, was published in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fourmost</span> English band

The Fourmost are an English Merseybeat band that recorded in the 1960s. Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">From Me to You</span> 1963 single by the Beatles

"From Me to You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in April 1963 as their third single. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The song was the Beatles' first number 1 hit on what became the official UK singles chart but the second, after "Please Please Me", on most of the other singles charts published in the UK at the time. "From Me to You" failed to make an impact in the United States at the time of its initial release. Instead, a 1963 cover version released by Del Shannon resulted in the song's becoming the first Lennon–McCartney tune to enter the US pop charts. The Beatles' original was rereleased in the US in January 1964 as the b-side to "Please Please Me", and reached number 41.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Saw Her Standing There</span> 1963 single by the Beatles

"I Saw Her Standing There" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It is the opening track on the band's 1963 debut UK album Please Please Me and their debut US album Introducing... The Beatles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free as a Bird</span> 1995 single by the Beatles

"Free as a Bird" is a single released in December 1995 by English rock band the Beatles. The song was originally written and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon. In 1995, 25 years after their break-up and 15 years after Lennon's murder, his then surviving bandmates Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr released a studio version incorporating the demo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A World Without Love</span> 1964 single by Peter and Gordon

"A World Without Love" is a song recorded by the British duo Peter and Gordon and released as their first single in February 1964. It was included on the duo's debut album in the UK, and in the US on an album of the same name. The song was written by Paul McCartney and attributed to Lennon–McCartney. The B-side was "If I Were You", written by Peter and Gordon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bad to Me</span> 1963 single by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas

"Bad to Me" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney. In late interviews, John Lennon said that he wrote it for Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas while on holiday in Spain. However, in a 1964 interview he said that he and Paul McCartney wrote it in the back of a van, declaring McCartney a contributor. Bootlegs exist of Lennon's original demo of the song, which was recorded on 31 May 1963. An acoustic demo from the same era 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.

"Tip of My Tongue" is a single by Tommy Quickly. Written by Paul McCartney and attributed to the songwriting partnership of Lennon–McCartney, it was one of their relatively few songs that were never officially released by the Beatles. Several takes of this song were recorded on 26 November 1962 at EMI Studios, although George Martin was dissatisfied with the results. This session has yet to emerge on any of the Beatles bootlegs.

"I'll Be on My Way" is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney, first released on 26 April 1963 by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas as the B-side of their hit debut single "Do You Want to Know a Secret", a song also written by Lennon–McCartney. The single reached number two in the UK charts while "From Me to You" by the Beatles occupied the number 1 position. The Beatles recorded a version of the song on 4 April 1963 for BBC radio, first released on the 1994 compilation album Live at the BBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Now and Then (Beatles song)</span> 2023 single by the Beatles

"Now and Then" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 2 November 2023. Dubbed "the last Beatles song", it appeared on a double A-side single, paired with a new stereo remix of the band's first single, "Love Me Do" (1962), with the two serving as "bookends" to the band's history. Both songs were included on the expanded re-issues of the 1973 compilations 1962–1966 and 1967–1970, released on 10 November 2023.

"Hello Little Girl" is one of the first songs written by John Lennon, credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. Written in 1957, it was used as one of the songs at the Beatles unsuccessful Decca audition in 1962, included on the 1995 compilation album Anthology 1. A 1960 home demo recording has never been officially released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Step Inside Love</span> Song by Cilla Black

"Step Inside Love" is a song written by Paul McCartney for Cilla Black in 1967 as a theme for her TV series Cilla, which first aired on 30 January 1968.

"Like Dreamers Do" is a song written by Paul McCartney in 1959 and is one of the earliest written songs credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was most notably performed by the Beatles at their unsuccessful 1 January 1962 audition for Decca Records. That performance, which took place before Ringo Starr joined the band and featured Pete Best on drums, was recorded by Decca and was finally released on the Beatles' Anthology 1 in 1995.

"I'm in Love" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney and possibly written by John Lennon. In 1963 the English Merseybeat band the Fourmost made a recording of the song at the EMI Studios, produced by George Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love of the Loved</span> 1963 single by Cilla Black

"Love of the Loved" is a song written mainly by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney. It is one of his earliest compositions and featured in the Beatles live act in their early days. The group recorded the song at their 1962 audition for Decca Records, but never issued it on any of their official releases. Instead, Cilla Black recorded it for her debut single, which was produced by George Martin. The single reached No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's for You</span> 1964 single by Cilla Black

"It's for You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles for Cilla Black for whom it was a UK Top Ten hit in 1964. The song is mainly a McCartney composition.

"From a Window" is a song written by Paul McCartney, attributed to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, which was recorded by Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas. It was the last of six Lennon–McCartney compositions recorded by Kramer.

References

  1. ↑ Ferrier, Aimee (2023-01-08). "Every song The Beatles rejected from their own records". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  2. 1 2 3 "One And One Is Two". The Beatles Bible. 2021-10-13. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The Strangers with Mike Shannon Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  4. ↑ "One And One Is Two (album)". The Paul McCartney project. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  5. ↑ "Muys, Bas, (Never Issued) Lennon & McCartney Songs". Beatles Covers Netherlands. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  6. ↑ Beatnix - It's Four You, Allmusic, retrieved 2023-02-23
  7. ↑ "Off the Beatle Track – Tracks & Lyrics". Apple Jam Band official page. Retrieved 2023-02-23.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.