63 Day Tripper (Beatles) 150 Pts

 

((Double A-sided single with We Can Work It Out in UK) USA#5 UK#1)

 

"Day Tripper" is a song by The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, it was released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out". Both songs were recorded during the sessions for the Rubber Soul album. The single topped the UK Singles Chart and the song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

 

Under the pressure of needing a new single for the Christmas market, Lennon wrote most of the lyrics and the famous guitar hook, while McCartney helped with the verses. "Day tripper" was a typical play on words by Lennon: "Day trippers are people who go on a day trip, right? Usually on a ferryboat or something. But [the song] was kind of . . . you're just a weekend hippie. Get it?"

 

In Many Years From Now, McCartney admitted that "Day Tripper" was about drugs, namely Paul's reluctance to take LSD from a goading John & George.

 

62 Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (Marmalade) 156 Pts

 

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Marmalade single UK#1)

 

"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song by The Beatles originally released on the double-disc album The Beatles (also known as The White Album), and later released as a single. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney, though credited to Lennon/McCartney.

 

Marmalade enjoyed their most remembered UK success with their cover of The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", which topped the UK chart in January 1969. As the first Scottish group to ever top the UK chart, in the week it went to the top spot they celebrated by appearing on BBC One's music programme Top of the Pops, dressed in kilts.

 

61 Give Peace A Chance (John Lennon) 162 Pts

 

Give Peace A Chance (stand alone single USA#14 UK#2)

 

"Give Peace a Chance" is a 1969 single by (John Lennon's) Plastic Ono Band that became an anthem of the American anti-war movement at that time. The song was written during Lennon's ‘Bed-In’ honeymoon: when asked by a reporter what he was trying to achieve by staying in bed, Lennon answered spontaneously "All we are saying is give peace a chance"; Lennon liked the phrase and set it to music for the song. He sang the song several times during the Bed-In, and finally, on 1 June 1969, in Room 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, recorded it using a simple setup of four microphones and a four-track tape recorder rented from a local recording studio.

 

The recording session was attended by dozens of journalists and various celebrities, including Timothy Leary, Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, Joseph Schwartz, Allan Rock, Rosemary Woodruff Leary, Petula Clark, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Murray the K, Al Capp and Derek Taylor, many of whom are mentioned in the lyrics. Lennon played acoustic guitar and was joined by Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, also on acoustic guitar.

 

71 Take It Away (Paul McCartney) 140 Pts

 

Take It Away (Tug Of War album USA#10 UK#15)

 

"Take It Away" is a hit single from Paul McCartney's 1982 album Tug of War. The single spent five weeks at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The music video features former Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr and long-time producer George Martin, both of whom played on the track, as well as actor John Hurt. The single version can also be found on the "History" disc of McCartney's compilation album, Wingspan: Hits and History.

 

I spy with my little eye, Eric Stewart on guitar next to linda :)

60 Junior's Farm (Paul McCartney/Wings) 163 Pts

 

Junior's Farm (stand alone single, later on Wings Greatest USA#3 UK#16)

 

"Junior's Farm" is a song written by Paul McCartney and recorded by Paul McCartney and Wings. A number-three hit single in the US, it was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1974, while the band was staying at the farm of Curly Putman Jr., which accounts for the title. The song continued McCartney and Wings' success after the Band on the Run album.

 

The B-side, "Sally G," was also a Top 20 hit on the US charts, peaking at #17. This was the last Wings (or McCartney) release on Apple Records.

59 Come And Get It (Badfinger) 169 Pts

 

Come And Get It (The Magic Christian album USA#7 UK#4)

 

"Come and Get It" was the name of a song composed by Paul McCartney for the film The Magic Christian, and made popular by the group Badfinger. McCartney recorded a solo demo of the song on 24 July 1969, when he arrived early for an Abbey Road session. He sang the double-tracked lead vocal and played all the instruments: he sang and played piano on the first take, sang again and played maracas on the first overdub, drums came third and bass guitar was added last. It took less than an hour to finish. It was officially released in 1996 on The Beatles Anthology 3 and issued under the Beatles name, even though McCartney was the only Beatle performing on the record. Ironically John rubbished the track for consideration for Abbey Road.

 

On 2 August 1969, McCartney presented his demo to Apple band Badfinger (then called The Iveys) telling them, "Okay, it's got to be exactly like this demo." His "carrot" for the band was his offer to produce this song and two other Iveys originals for the movie, since he had a contract to supply three songs for it. The band followed his instructions. The single featuring the lead vocals of Tom Evans was released on Apple Records on 5 December 1969.

58 Day After Day (Badfinger) 175 Pts

 

Day After Day (Straight Up album USA#4 UK#10)

 

"Day After Day" is a song recorded by the rock/pop band Badfinger for inclusion on their 1971 album, Straight Up.

 

The song was written and sung by Pete Ham and produced by George Harrison, who plays some of the slide guitar parts of the song along with Ham. The record also features Leon Russell on piano. As the song was unfinished at the time Harrison left the Badfinger album to produce the Concert for Bangladesh, the final mix was done by Todd Rundgren, who took over Straight Up after Harrison's departure.

 

Released as a single in the U.S. in November 1971 (January 1972 elsewhere), it would become the group's highest charting single there.

57 Penny Lane (Beatles) 176.5 Pts

 

Penny Lane (Magical Mystery Tour album, UK double A single with Strawberry Fields Forever, USA#1 UK#2)

 

"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney, recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, and released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with John Lennon's "Strawberry Fields Forever". The song was later included on the Magical Mystery Tour LP (1967). The single was the result of the record company wanting a new release after several months of no new Beatles releases.

 

The song's title is derived from the name of a street in the band's hometown, Liverpool. The area that surrounds its junction with Smithdown Road is also commonly called Penny Lane. Locally the term "Penny Lane" was the name given to Allerton Road and Smithdown Road and its busy shopping area. Penny Lane is named after James Penny, an 18th century slave trader. McCartney and Lennon grew up in the area and they would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area to catch a bus into the centre of the city.

 

Beatles producer George Martin has stated he believes the pairing of "Penny Lane" with "Strawberry Fields Forever" resulted in probably the greatest single ever released by the group. In the UK, the pairing famously failed to reach #1 in the singles charts, stalling one place below Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me".

56 Goodbye (Mary Hopkin) 177 Pts

 

Goodbye (Postcards album USA#13 UK#2)

 

The next single was "Goodbye" written and produced by Paul McCartney (but credited to Lennon/McCartney), released on 28 March 1969 (APPLE 10); it reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. It was kept off the top of the charts by the Beatles' single "Get Back". "Goodbye" has never been officially released by the Beatles, although a demo version can be found on some of the Beatles' bootlegs.

 

55 Yellow Submarine (Beatles) 177.5 Pts

 

Yellow Submarine (Revolver album, UK double A side single with Eleanor Rigby USA#2 UK#1)

 

"Yellow Submarine" is a 1966 song by The Beatles (credited to Lennon/McCartney), with lead vocals by Ringo Starr. Although it had previously been released on the Revolver album, it became the title song for the 1968 animated United Artists film, also called Yellow Submarine. It is also the title for the soundtrack album to the film, released as part of The Beatles' music catalogue. The single went to number 1 on every major British chart, remained at number 1 for four weeks and charted for 13 weeks. It won an Ivor Novello Award for the highest certified sales of any single issued in the UK in 1966.

 

In 1980, Lennon talked about the song: "'Yellow Submarine' is Paul's baby. Donovan helped with the lyrics. I helped with the lyrics too. We virtually made the track come alive in the studio, but based on Paul's inspiration. Paul's idea. Paul's title... written for Ringo." Donovan added the words, "Sky of blue and sea of green". McCartney also said: "It's a happy place, that's all. You know, it was just... We were trying to write a children's song. That was the basic idea. And there's nothing more to be read into it than there is in the lyrics of any children's song."

 

54 Goodnight Tonight (Paul McCartney/Wings) 181 Pts

 

Goodnight Tonight (stand alone single, later McCartney II album USA#5 UK#5)

 

"Goodnight Tonight" is Wings' disco-inflected single which included a spirited flamenco guitar break. It peaked at number five in both the UK and US during 1979. The track did not appear on Wings' then-current LP Back to the Egg (from which sessions this song was recorded), and was finally released on an album as a bonus track on the 1993 reissue of McCartney II.

 

"Goodnight Tonight" began as an instrumental backing track McCartney had recorded in 1978. Needing a single for Wings to accompany the Back to the Egg album, McCartney took out the track and brought it into the studio, where the full Wings lineup completed it.

 

53 Lady Madonna (Beatles) 181 Pts

 

Lady Madonna (Past Masters Vol 2 album USA#4 UK#1)

 

"Lady Madonna" is a McCartney song by The Beatles credited to Lennon/McCartney. In March 1968, it was released as a single, backed with "The Inner Light". The song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios during sessions on 3 February and 6 February 1968 before the Beatles left for India. This single was the last release by the band on Parlophone in the UK, where it reached number one, and Capitol Records in the U.S., where it reached number four.

 

The piano playing on this song was inspired by 1950s rock/blues pianist, Fats Domino. Domino himself would cover the song later in 1968, and it would become his most recent U.S. Hot 100 hit (peaking at exactly #100). John Lennon helped write the lyrics. The line "see how they run" was included after his suggestion. The saxophone solo was played by British jazz musician and club owner Ronnie Scott.

 

52 All Those Years Ago (George Harrison) 190 Pts

 

All Those Years Ago (Somewhere In England album USA#2 UK#13)

 

"All Those Years Ago" is a song written by George Harrison, released as a single from the 1981 album Somewhere in England. The song was a personal tribute to the recently murdered John Lennon. Harrison originally wrote the song with different lyrics for Ringo Starr to record. Although he recorded it, Starr felt the vocal was too high for his range and he did not like the words. Harrison took the track back and after Lennon's death the lyrics were changed to reflect a tribute to Harrison's lost friend and colleague, John Lennon. In the song, Harrison makes reference to The Beatles song "All You Need is Love" and the Lennon song "Imagine".

 

The recording of the song featured all three remaining Beatles (Harrison, Starr and Paul McCartney), though this was expressly a Harrison single.

 

51 Bad To Me (Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas) 195 Pts

 

Bad To Me (1964 single USA#9, UK#1)

 

"Bad to Me" is a song written by John Lennon, credited to Lennon/McCartney, that Lennon wrote for Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas. They released the song in 1963 and it became their first #1 UK hit. Paul McCartney was present during the recording session at Abbey Road Studios. Bootlegs exist of John Lennon's original demo of the song, which was recorded on May 31, 1963.

 

50 Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (George Harrison) 195 Pts

 

Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (Living In The Material World album USA#1 UK#8)

 

"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" is a song by George Harrison and is the lead track on his 1973 album Living in the Material World. The song was released as a single in May 1973, hitting number one in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at the end of June and number eight on the UK Singles Chart. Harrison's single replaced "My Love" by his former bandmate from The Beatles, Paul McCartney, at the top of Hot 100 chart, and in turn was replaced at number one by "Will It Go Round in Circles" by Billy Preston, who played with Harrison and McCartney during the sessions for Let It Be in 1969.

49 Listen To What The Man Said (Paul McCartney/Wings) 198 Pts

 

Listen To What The Man Said (Venus and Mars album USA#1 UK#6)

 

"Listen to What the Man Said" is a hit single from Wings' 1975 album Venus and Mars. The song featured new member Joe English on drums, with guest musicians Dave Mason on guitar and Tom Scott on soprano saxophone. "Listen to What the Man Said" was recorded in early 1975 by Wings during their New Orleans sessions for Venus and Mars. The Venus and Mars sessions directly succeeded their Nashville sessions, where Wings recorded their hit single "Junior's Farm" and its relatively successful B-side, "Sally G".

48 It Don't Come Easy (Ringo Starr) 198 Pts

 

It Don't Come Easy (stand alone single, later Ringo album USA#4 UK#4)

 

"It Don't Come Easy" is a song released as an Apple Records single by Ringo Starr in April 1971, reaching #4 in both the U.S. and UK singles charts. It was Starr's first solo single in the UK, but his second in the U.S. (the first was "Beaucoups of Blues") - following the breakup of The Beatles. Starr reportedly composed the song in 1970. Decades later, he admitted that the song's producer George Harrison "co-wrote" the song (as he did with other hits such as "Photograph"). But controversy still surrounds the assertion that Ringo really wrote the complex and mature song – especially since demo tapes have surfaced by Harrison where Ringo is absent and the song is more or less in its final form.

 

the released version (recorded on March 8, 1970) included George Harrison on guitar, Klaus Voorman on bass guitar, Stephen Stills, Ron Cattermole (brass), Badfinger members Pete Ham and Tom Evans performing background vocals, and Starr on drums and lead vocals. Starr was featured performing the song at the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971.

 

47 The Ballad Of John And Yoko (Beatles) 199 Pts

 

The Ballad Of John and Yoko (Past Masters Vol 2 album USA#8 UK#1)

 

"The Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song released by The Beatles as a single in May 1969. Primarily written by John Lennon, the song was attributed, as was the custom, to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team. It chronicled the events surrounding Lennon's marriage to Yoko Ono and their subsequent activities together, including their famous first Bed-In in the Amsterdam Hilton, and demonstration of bagism.

 

"The Ballad of John and Yoko" was performed by Lennon and Paul McCartney; George Harrison was on holiday, and Ringo Starr was filming The Magic Christian. Lennon had a sudden inspiration for the song and called on McCartney, suggesting the two of them record it immediately without waiting for the other Beatles to return.

 

Lennon was on lead vocal, and played two lead guitars, acoustic guitar and percussion (beating on the back of an acoustic guitar). McCartney sang harmony vocals and played bass, drums, piano, and maracas. The outro guitar riff was inspired by the Dorsey and Johnny Burnette song, "Lonesome Tears in My Eyes", notably covered by The Beatles in their early years and released on the album Live at the BBC.

 

The session recordings reveal this exchange between band members:

 

Lennon (on guitar): "Go a bit faster, Ringo!"

McCartney (on drums): "OK, George!"

46 Another Day (Paul McCartney) 200 Pts

 

Another Day (stand alone single, later Wings Greatest USA#5 UK#2)

 

"Another Day" is a song recorded by Paul McCartney in New York in 1970, during the sessions for his album Ram. The first single of McCartney's solo career, it was released in February 1971 with "Oh Woman, Oh Why" as the B-side. Neither song was originally included on Ram. As well as chart success in the UK & USA it reached #1 in Australia & France.

 

"Another Day" is written in an observational style reminiscent of "Eleanor Rigby" and "She's Leaving Home". The lyrics describe the drudgery and sadness of an unnamed woman's life at work and at home, with the lilting melody of the verses and "du du du"s of the chorus contrasting with the darker tone (lyrically and musically) of the bridges. Linda McCartney provided harmony vocals, and she is credited as co-writer, but this was seen as a business manoeuvre in the post-Beatles legal matters.

 

45 No More Lonely Nights (Paul McCartney) 207 Pts

 

No More Lonely Nights (Give My Regards To Broad Street album USA#6 UK#2)

 

"No More Lonely Nights" is a song written by Paul McCartney, which was first released in September 1984. It can be heard on the soundtrack, Give My Regards to Broad Street. In a radio interview prior to 1990's Knebworth concerts, guitarist on the track Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour told Jim Ladd that "No More Lonely Nights" was the last thing McCartney recorded for the film, and that he told McCartney to give his session fee to a charity of his choice.