3 Songs Individual Beatles Members Refused to Record

Despite their famously tumultuous breakup, the Beatles‘ music was more or less a group effort. They all wrote songs–some more than others, but nevertheless. They collaborated in the studio, working to make their tracks as rich as they could be. So when a member was absent from the recording process, there was a very specific circumstance behind it. Find out why individual Beatles members refused to record the three songs, below.

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“She Said She Said” (Paul McCartney)

McCartney’s momentary absence in the studio was the result of a row with John Lennon. McCartney was infamously controlling in the studio–at least according to the opinion of his bandmates. He had a very specific vision for the Beatles songs he penned, leading to lengthy, nitpicking studio sessions. However, he took his hands off the wheel with one song in particular: “She Said She Said.” According to McCartney, this is the only Beatles track he had zero to do with.

“I’m not sure, but I think it was one of the only Beatle records I never played on.” McCartney once said. “I think we’d had a barney or something and I said, ‘Oh, fu** you!’ and they said, ‘Well, we’ll do it.’ I think George played bass.”

“With A Little Help From My Friends” (Ringo Starr)

Ringo Starr is generally considered the level-headed one of the group. He was amiable and didn’t suffer the same alienation from his bandmates the way other members did post-breakup. However, he did get fussy while recording his most famous Beatles song, “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

By Starr’s recollection, the original opening line for this track was What would you do if I sang out of tune / Would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me? If that line had stuck, Starr would’ve likely been the victim of many a heckler. Though the band wasn’t sure they would tour again, the prospect of endless tomatoes to the face was enough to put Starr off the song.

“I said, ‘There’s not a chance in hell am I going to sing this line,’” Starr once said. “Because we still had lots of really deep memories of the kids throwing jelly beans and toys on stage; and I thought that if we ever did get out there again, I was not going to be bombarded with tomatoes.”

“Good Night” (John Lennon)

In John Lennon’s case, his refusal to sing in the studio came from a very personal place. “Good Night” was written about Lennon’s son, Julian. Their relationship wasn’t in a great place at the time, causing Lennon to feel uneasy about singing this Beatles song. Ultimately, McCartney took over vocal duties for him.

“I think John felt it might not be good for his image for him to sing it but it was fabulous to hear him do it, he sang it great,” Lennon once said. “We heard him sing it in order to teach it to Ringo and he sang it very tenderly. John rarely showed his tender side, but my key memories of John are when he was tender, that’s what has remained with me; those moments where he showed himself to be a very generous, loving person.”

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