Love Me Do: McCartney A Life in Lyrics

0:06Pushkin. This is an iHeart Podcast. In today's super competitive business environment, the edge goes to those who push harder, move faster, and level up every tool in their arsenal. T-Mobile knows all about that. They're now the best network, according to the experts at Ooclas Speedtest. And they're using that network to launch Supermobile, the first and only business plan to combine intelligent performance, built-in security, and seamless satellite coverage. That's your business, Supercharged. Learn more at supermobile.com. Seamless coverage with compatible devices in most outdoor areas in the U.S.

0:48where you can see the sky. Best network based on analysis by Ukla of Speedtest Intelligence Data 1H 2025. Every great music conversation goes beyond the surface. The influence that shaped an artist's sound. The moment that changed their creative direction. The story behind the story that fans never hear. Claude helps you discover those deeper connections. Upload interviews, liner notes, or music journalism, and Claude reveals patterns across an artist's entire journey, showing how influences become innovations. Whether you're a music journalist, passionate fan, or someone who loves understanding creative processes, Claude matches your curiosity about what really drives great artists.

1:29Try Claude for free at claude.ai slash brokenrecord. This episode of Broken Record is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. Traveling is one of life's greatest joys. Honestly, can anything be more exhilarating? Well, actually, yeah, with Chase Sapphire Reserve. It's your gateway to the world's most captivating destinations. First, you will earn eight times points on all purchases through Chase Travel. And the card gets you into Sapphire Lounge by the club at select airports nationwide and access to one-of-a-kind experiences. Whether you are booking a once-in-a-lifetime trip or your next weekend escape, Discover more with Chase Sapphire Reserve at chase.com slash sapphire reserve.

2:11Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank and a member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Terms apply. Hey there, it's Justin Richmond. 60 years ago this week, the Beatles touched down in the U.S. for the very first time and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. That appearance blew the minds of just about everybody who was there to witness it. A lot of the musicians we talked to on this very show cited as a moment that they realized they were going to do music for the rest of their lives. Most recently, we heard that from Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo. So to celebrate this momentous anniversary, 60 years since the Beatles' appearance on Ed Sullivan, we're releasing the second season of McCartney, A Life in Lyrics, another show that I worked on here at Pushkin Industries.

2:55I'm going to share the first episode from that season with you on Broken Record. It's about the song Love Me Do. Paul McCartney and poet Paul Muldoon sat down to discuss the origins of that song and also a bit about the origin of the Beatles and also a bit about that Ed Sullivan appearance. I hope you like the episode. If you do, subscribe to McCartney Life & Lyrics. We already have the second episode up on Band on the Run and we'll be releasing more episodes weekly through April. McCartney, Life & Lyrics. I hope you enjoy. We admired a singer at that time called Bruce Chanel, I think his name was, who had a song called Hey Baby, where there was a harmonica riff.

3:44So we started doing Hey Baby. I sang it, John played the harmonica.

3:55I think that was one of the contributory factors for when we were going to write something. That's a good idea. This harmonica thing is a good idea. John could play it well. We could write something that would feature a harmonica.

4:16You know, instruments come in sort of vogues. I mean, you think of skiffle guitar was like a harmonic. It's what everyone got for Christmas, it's what everyone got. And that then spawned the 60s revolution.

4:39I'm Paul Muldoon, and I've been fortunate to spend time with one of the greatest songwriters of our era. And will you look at me? I'm going on tour. I'm actually a performer. That is Sir Paul McCartney. We worked together on a book looking at the lyrics of more than 150 of his songs. And we recorded many hours of our conversations. It was like going back to an old snapshot album, looking back on work I hadn't ever analysed. This is McCartney, a life in lyrics, a masterclass, a memoir, and an improvised journey with one of the most iconic figures in popular music. In this episode, Love Me Do.

5:45For a group like the Beatles to come into existence, you need quite a few planets to align. But you also need prodigious talent, clever strategy and insatiable drive. In this episode, we trace the origins of one of the earliest Beatles songs. These days, it's difficult to remember a time before the Beatles. But back when Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote Love Me Do, they were merely schoolboys trying to make a hit. In the afternoons, I sometimes had a rather kind of light class that I could get out of. And so I would say I had a dentist appointment or something. And they didn't check too heavily, so I would be able to get on the bus, go back home, and arranged to meet John, who around about that time was going to the art college next door to my school.

6:46So we'd meet up at my house, which is now a National Trust establishment, 24th and Road. And we would meet there because that was the most convenient place and my mum and dad wouldn't be there. And so we would go there and start just knocking around, showing each other stuff that we'd written already, and then writing new stuff together. And this involved a couple of songs that have never been published or never been heard. Songs like Just Fun was one of them. And they were very rough little things. but you know it was the start. Right now do you still have copies of those? Are there still copies?

7:35You know I do I say or did have an old school exercise book, a nice little blue book, the hard pack and in that I wrote just fun. Just fun they said that our love was just fun the day that our friendship begun. There's no blue moon that I can see There's never been in history Because our love was just fun Kind of country And then Too Bad About Sorrows was sort of Too bad about sorrows I think it's a little doo-wop-y thing This was the start And then I'd written in angel voices In that little blue notebook, where the two schoolboys had scribbled their very first lyrics, there was evidence Lennon and McCartney envisioned themselves following in the footsteps of other songwriting giants.

8:40And at the top of the page I'd written another Lennon-McCartney original. so you already had a sense even though you were what 16 a little older perhaps that you would have a future I think it was more a sort of wish than a sense it was more you know if you visualise it it might come true and you know when you think of Lenny McCartney it was because we'd heard of Gilbert and Sullivan, Rodgers and Hammerstein but if we didn't it'd be Lenny McCartney that's good there's two of us and we can make up one of those type names, Lieber and Stoller, Goffin and King. Well, these were magic names to us. We didn't realise Goffin and King was Carole King.

9:24We didn't realise it was a girl. And an amazingly young woman. Very young, yeah. But, you know, it was thrilling to know that there were these people out there and this is what we wanted to be. And Love Me Do came around that period, one after 909. Love Me Doing 1 After 909 actually got published and actually got recorded.

9:56The others didn't get recorded, and the school exercise book, I found it probably about 10, 15 years ago. Put it in my bookcase, and I've since lost it. Oh, no. I don't know where it is. I think it might show up somewhere. I hope so. But it's the first ever sort of Lennon-McCartney manuscript. Oh, dear. Anyway, yeah, well, oh, dear is right. But, you know, you have to let these things go. Right. Oh, baby, don't be cold at night Said you're driving on the one after 909 Another duo which had a profound influence on young Lennon and McCartney was the Everly brothers. There are certain people that you can credit for pretty much everything we did.

10:46Because I think that's true of everyone. I think everyone's got a hero that forms them.

11:09How did I exist until I kissed ya? So, as John and I were two male vocalists who sang in harmony, our biggest influence was the Heavenly Brothers, who we loved, adored, to this day. I just think they're the greatest. And it was different. You'd heard barbershop quartets, you'd heard the Beverly Sisters, the three girls, You'd heard all that, but just two guys, good-looking guys. This is good.

11:53So, yeah, we love them and idolize them and want to be like them.

12:04It's like when people later would see the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, live from New York, The Ed Sullivan Show.

12:17I meet a trillion people who say, that, I knew that's what I wanted to be. Last Sunday, on our show in New York, the Beatles played the greatest TV audience that's ever been assembled in the history of American TV. When I saw you, four-headed monster, on the telly, I knew I've got to be part of this. Our current manager of Beatles' Apple Records says that. Bruce Springsteen says that. David Letterman says that. They all formed on that night, formed this future for themselves. And there we were in Liverpool forming this future in the same kind of deal. In today's super competitive business environment, the edge goes to those who push harder, move faster, and level up every tool in their arsenal.

13:08T-Mobile knows all about that. They're now the best network, according to the experts at an Ooclas speed test. And they're using that network to launch Supermobile, the first and only business plan to combine intelligent performance, built-in security, and seamless satellite coverage. With Supermobile, your performance, security, and coverage are supercharged. With a network that adapts in real time, your business stays operating at peak capacity, even in times of high demand. With built-in security on the first nationwide 5G advanced network, you keep private data private for you, your team, your clients.

13:46And with seamless coverage from the world's largest satellite-to-mobile constellation, your whole team can text and stay updated even when they're off the grid. That's your business, Supercharged. Learn more at supermobile.com. Seamless coverage with compatible devices in most outdoor areas in the U.S. where you can see the sky. Best network based on analysis by Ukla of Speedtest Intelligence Data 1H 2025. The greatest music stories aren't always in the songs themselves. They're in the late night studio sessions, the chance encounters, and the cultural moments that shaped entire movements. For music lovers who find themselves going down rabbit holes about their favorite artists, Claude, an AI thinking partner, helps you explore those deeper questions.

14:34Whether you're wondering about the connections between different scenes, trying to understand what drove a particular creative period, or exploring how social movements influenced sound, Claude works through these complex cultural puzzles with you. It's built for people who know that understanding music means understanding the human stories behind it. Claude doesn't just compile facts. It helps you see patterns across decades of music history, ask the kinds of follow-up questions that reveal deeper truths, and works through the nuanced relationships between artists, movements, and moments. Whether you're a music journalist, industry professional, or someone who just lives for understanding the stories behind the sounds, Claude matches your level of curiosity about what really drives great art.

15:16Try Claude for free at Claude.ai slash brokenrecord and see why the world's best problem solvers choose Claude as their thinking partner. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. One of the things I think is universal to nearly everyone is that warm feeling you get when you find someone you feel comfortable sharing parts of your life with that otherwise you might just keep to yourself. Often it's a friend, sometimes it's a loved one, but in those moments, you really take a load off. That's one of the things I've enjoyed most about therapy, that there's someone regularly in my life that I'm able to talk to about things I'd probably keep to myself for longer than I really needed to.

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16:38Well, that'll be the day when you say goodbye. Lennon and McCartney were working in the wake of all these great songwriting duos who wrote songs for others to sing and singers like the Everly Brothers who sang other people's songs. But there were also people like Buddy Holly who could do it all. You know you love me, baby Still you tell me maybe that someday we'll love you Well, that'll be the day when you say goodbye, yeah. Buddy Holly, to us, was amazing for a number of reasons. He sang and played guitar. Elvis just sang and Scotty Moore played guitar. He not only played guitar, he played the solos.

17:30Normally, if you play guitar, there was another guy in the group who was a lead guitar who played the solos. But Buddy sang and played the guitar and played the solos. He also wrote the stuff. So this was like an all-inclusive one-man band. And we really thought that was great, that this is what we have to do.

17:54Buddy Holly inspired the youngsters to explore their full musical potential. And he also helped John Lennon overcome his embarrassment about wearing glasses. He also wore these big horn-rimmed glasses and as did John. And if ever there would be a girl coming round, John would whip his glasses off and put them in his pocket and squint as she went by. And I don't see, you look pretty good, the glasses are good now. But when Buddy came along, the glasses stayed on. It was like Harry Potter with all the kids.

18:32Buddy Holly had more than just the musical chops and the suave image. that John Lennon and Paul McCartney coveted for themselves. The name of his group, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, had a certain entomological ring to it. The name of the Crickets. Right. You know, we wanted something with a dual meaning, and it turned out they didn't know they had a dual meaning. The Crickets? Yeah. They didn't know about the game cricket. Oh, I see. No, they just thought it was grasshoppers. Right. So we said to them, I met them years later, I said, fantastic man, the Beatles. We loved Crickets, chirpy little things, and the great game of Cricket.

19:14What a brilliant name for a group. And they went, oh no, we just heard a grasshopper in the studio. Did you remember sitting around thinking, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, the Beatles, will be a great name for us? Oh yeah. My memory of it was that we were striving to find something with a dual meaning. Right. Because of the crickets. This was the idea. Now, the actual origin of it is clouded in mystery. You know, I miss you. Ever since the club split up, I missed you. But there are all sorts of theories about this. There's the Wild Ones with Marlon Brando. And at one point, Lee Marvin says, hey, Johnny, Johnny, or Johnny, I think he's called.

20:02Come on, Johnny. We all missed you. Did you miss them? Yeah. Johnny, we love you. You know, come on back to the gang or something like that. Johnny, we love you. The Beatles love you. Did you miss them? Yeah. Yeah, the Beatles missed you. All the Beatles missed you. It turns out the moles, the girls in the motorcycle gang were called Beatles. I see. It says the Beatles love you. Johnny, for old times. And I know John and Stuart, his art school friend, Stuart Sutcliffe, loved that film. as we all did, I think they'd seen it. I think we just loved it and hadn't seen it. Anyway, so that's one of the theories.

20:42In today's super competitive business environment, the edge goes to those who push harder, move faster, and level up every tool in their arsenal. T-Mobile knows all about that. They're now the best network, according to the experts at Oocla Speedtest, and they're using that network to launch Supermobile, the first and only business plan to combine intelligent performance, built-in security, and seamless satellite coverage. With Supermobile, your performance, security, and coverage are supercharged. With a network that adapts in real time, your business stays operating at peak capacity, even in times of high demand.

21:20With built-in security on the first nationwide 5G advanced network, you keep private data private for you, your team, your clients. And with seamless coverage from the world's largest satellite-to-mobile constellation, your whole team can text and stay updated even when they're off the grid. That's your business, Supercharged. Learn more at supermobile.com. Seamless coverage with compatible devices in most outdoor areas in the U.S. where you can see the sky. Best network based on analysis by Ukla of Speedtest Intelligence Data 1H 2025. The greatest music stories aren't always in the songs themselves.

22:02They're in the late night studio sessions, the chance encounters, and the cultural moments that shaped entire movements. For music lovers who find themselves going down rabbit holes about their favorite artists, Claude, an AI thinking partner, helps you explore those deeper questions. Whether you're wondering about the connections between different scenes, trying to understand what drove a particular creative period, or exploring how social movements influenced sound, Claude works through these complex cultural puzzles with you. It's built for people who know that understanding music means understanding the human stories behind it.

22:35Claude doesn't just compile facts. It helps you see patterns across decades of music history, ask the kinds of follow-up questions that reveal deeper truths, and works through the nuanced relationships between artists, movements, and moments. Whether you're a music journalist, industry professional, or someone who just lives for understanding the stories behind the sounds, Claude matches your level of curiosity about what really drives great art. Try Claude for free at Claude.ai slash Broken Record and see why the world's best problem solvers choose Claude as their thinking partner. This episode of Broken Record is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve.

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23:50And that's not even mentioning how the card gets you into the Sapphire Lounge by the club at select airports nationwide and access to one-of-a-kind experiences like music festivals and sports events. Whether you're booking your next big trip or we can escape, Chase Sapphire Reserve makes travel more rewarding. Discover more with Chase Sapphire Reserve at chase.com slash sapphire reserve. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank and a member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Terms apply. Today it's easy to forget how the creation of the Beatles required thousands of small choices. Songs which are now canonised were once simple phrases.

24:34Two boys having fun when no parents were home. One of them with a notebook in hand, the other playing a harmonica.

24:47At one of those writing sessions, 24th and Road, up a little garden path, past my dad's lavender hedge, you know, we would write Love Me Do and John came up with this little harmonica riff. It's so simple. I mean, you look at it now, there's nothing to it. It's a will of a wisp little song.