5 Amazing Beatles Songs Featuring Multiple Lead Singers

The Beatles benefited from an embarrassment of riches when it came to the individual talents of the group’s members. That certainly applied to singing, as all four members of the group could step out on the mic and deliver.

Taking advantage of that, several songs feature at least two, sometimes more, vocalists taking a turn on the lead vocal. Here are five amazing tracks from the band’s career that fit the category.

“A Hard Day’s Night” from A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

In many cases, especially in the early days of the group, the use of multiple lead vocalists was a matter of necessity. There are several cases where John Lennon sang most of the lead vocal part (because he was the chief writer of those songs), but another section of these songs came in with melodies too high for him to comfortably sing. Perhaps the most well-known of these examples was the hit title track from the band’s first movie. Lennon sings the verses, and Paul McCartney, with the higher vocal register, comes in on the When I’m home part.

“She’s Leaving Home” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Here’s a case where using different lead singers not only was a necessity, but it really lent something extra to the quality of the song. Paul McCartney wrote and sang the bulk of the heartrending “She’s Leaving Home” based on an article in the paper about a teenage runaway. He then handed the song over to John Lennon so that Lennon could take on the role of the aggrieved parents in the song, giving their point of view about their daughter’s decision. Hearing Lennon as the dad slowly come to the realization they’ve misjudged their daughter all these years is a lump-in-the-throat moment.

“A Day in the Life” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

The closing track off The Beatles’ landmark concept album, “A Day in the Life” is often chosen by various Fab Four list makers as the greatest song in their history. The complimentary roles that John Lennon and Paul McCartney play in the song make a huge impact. Lennon’s main part is ethereal and dreamy, albeit tinged with a clear sadness about the futility of ordinary life. McCartney comes in with a jumpy middle part that expresses agitation about the endless rush of it all. Putting them together allowed The Beatles to yield a thorough overview on the ups and downs of modern existence.

“I’ve Got a Feeling” from Let It Be (1970)

By the time The Beatles made Let It Be, the Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership was more a fallback title than an actual working relationship. “I’ve Got a Feeling,” one of the finest moments from their swan-song album, features a collaboration between the two that’s more a mash-up than the product of a give-and-take writing session. McCartney had the main part of the song in place, and then allowed Lennon to jam his Everybody had a hard year section into the middle of it. The way that they meld the two together is quite ingenious.

“Free as a Bird” from Anthology I (1995)

John Lennon made some skeletal song demos not too long before his death in 1980, with the alleged intent of eventually passing them along to Paul McCartney. Yoko Ono followed through with this plan, which was the basis for the three living Beatles to reunite and add to the demos. “Real Love” was the first of these songs to be released. Truth be told, it’s still a strange listening experience, with Lennon sounding as if he’s being beamed in from some fuzzy radio, while McCartney and George Harrison come through loud and clear in the Whatever happened to parts. Still, it’s undoubtedly emotional to hear them together in this way.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Photo by Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images