4 of the Bluesiest Beatles Songs Ever Recorded

The Beatles as a blues band? We might not think of the Fab Four as being a unit that delved too deeply into that genre. But you can find several occasions when the band released songs that could easily fit.

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We’re not saying that they were completely suited for bluesy material. But we would argue that these five songs showed they were more than capable in that arena.

“Lady Madonna” – Single (1968)

Paul McCartney often liked to think of himself in the guise of another singer when he wrote. In the case of “Lady Madonna”, he was trying to evoke Fats Domino, right down to the way he pitched his vocals. He also tore into the piano with abandon to set the tone for the song. Maybe the topic, an ode to mothers everywhere, isn’t what you’d normally consider for a blues track. But McCartney injects subtle shades of melancholy by commenting on all the chores that pile up over the course of a week for the family matriarch. There’s a churning groove beneath it all that gives this song a real sense of urgency. Even the somewhat playful vocalized horn solo can’t take that away.

“Yer Blues” from The White Album (1968)

After The Beatles went full psychedelia in 1967, they intended to come back down to Earth a bit on The White Album. That didn’t quite happen to the extent they hoped. They were too busy recording their own songs separately to get that full-band atmosphere throughout the two LPs. But “Yer Blues”, a personal favorite of Ringo Starr, represented one occasion when the quartet played together in a room and cut loose. The title indicates that the song is meant to be both bluesy and irreverent. John Lennon’s complaints in the lyrics are so outsized they almost sound like parody. But when the four men get to rocking in the instrumental break, it’s serious business.

“For You Blue” from ‘Let It Be’ (1970)

George Harrison had enjoyed time with The Band and Bob Dylan in 1968. He hoped some of that collegial atmosphere would follow him to The Beatles’ early 1969 sessions for what turned into the Let It Be album. We know it didn’t quite turn out that way. But at least “For You Blue” sounded like the four men were having fun, despite the fact that the song was blues-based. Harrison never worried too much about genre constraints, which is why the lyrics for the song come off as playful rather than tortured. He even has some fun calling on John Lennon to go to town on the lap steel guitar during the instrumental break. And Paul McCartney adds some funky piano licks to the mix.

“Don’t Let Me Down” – B-side (1970)

The Beatles made a lot of curious decisions when it came to the Let It Be project. Relegating this outstanding track to a B-side instead of including it on the LP stands as one of the oddest. (The Let It Be…Naked release rectified this error.) John Lennon was making an effort to simplify the lyrics in his songs around that time, which certainly fits the blues template. In the case of “Don’t Let Me Down”, he was singing out his heart and soul to Yoko Ono as they embarked on their love affair. Lennon’s vocals are thrillingly raw and vulnerable, evoking his feelings of both joy and concern. Billy Preston’s piano work is the ideal complement to the sultry groove.

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