Songs by The Beatles Trivia

1. "I read the news today, oh boy." Many of the lyrics of "A Day In the Life" were inspired by articles in what UK newspaper, (according to a reporter for that paper) which was founded in 1896?

From Quiz Song by Song: "A Day in the Life"

Answer: The Daily Mail

"The famous opening lyric to 'A Day in the Life' reveals how John Lennon was inspired by the everyday things around him - in this case the January 17, 1967, edition of the Daily Mail," writes a Daily Mail reporter in the June 18, 2010 article "Lennon lyrics fetch more than £800,000 at NYC auction." The song was released on May 26, 1967 as a single from the Beatles' eighth studio album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." It was recorded at EMI (Abbey Road Studios) in London and produced by George Martin.

From Quiz Song by Song: "Strawberry Fields Forever"

Answer: A children's home

Strawberry Field, owned by the Salvation Army and located in the Woolton suburb of Liverpool, was a children's home between 1936 and 2005. John Lennon grew up nearby the children's home and played on the grounds during his childhood. In 2019, the property was opened to public visitors and sported a shop, cafe, and special education training center. Lennon co-wrote the song with Paul McCartney.

From Quiz Song by Song: "Here, There and Everywhere"

Answer: Revolver

The song was recorded on June 14, 1966 at EMI Studio in London. It was released as a single on August 5, 1966. "Revolver," the seventh studio album for the Beatles, was released the same day.

From Quiz Song by Song: Help!

Answer: John Lennon

John Lennon is quoted by Rolling Stone magazine: "Most people think it's just a fast rock and roll song...Subconsciously, I was crying out for help." Lennon was, the magazine reports, "overwhelmed by Beatlemania," eating poorly, smoking marijuana excessively, and "already expressing nostalgia for his lost youth." Lennon wrote the lyrics to the song, while Paul McCartney provided the countermelody.

From Quiz Song by Song: "In My Life"

Answer: Rubber Soul

"Winds of Change" was an album by the Animals. "Wheels of Fire" was a Cream album. The song "In My Life" was include on the December 1965 Beatles' album "Rubber Soul," which followed "Help!" and preceded "Revolver" in the U.K.

From Quiz Song by Song: "Yesterday"

Answer: On the U.K. album "Help!"

"Yesterday" was first released on the Beatles' fifth studio album in the U.K., "Help!" which came out in August of 1965. It was then released as a single in the U.S. on September 13, 1965. The song later appeared on the U.K. EP, "Yesterday," which was released in March of 1966. In June of 1966, it appeared on the U.S. album "Yesterday and Today." It was not released as a single in the UK until 1976.

From Quiz The Beatles '64

Answer: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (Capitol)

"I Want To Hold Your Hand" was written by Lennon/McCartney. It was number one for seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 for The Beatles in 1964. It was number one for five weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1963/64. "She Loves You" was number one for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 for The Beatles in 1964. It was number one for six non-consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1963. "Please Please Me" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for The Beatles in 1964. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart in 1963. "Twist And Shout" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for The Beatles in 1964. It was a track on the first UK Beatles' album "Please Please Me" and was never released as a single in the UK.

From Quiz The Long and Winding Road

Answer: Let It Be

"Let it Be" was the last album the Beatles released before they disbanded. The idea of the album was to give it a simpler sound by recording them live and not adding in any extra sounds or effects later. However, this idea fell flat when producer Phil Spector entered the picture, adding an instrumental arrangement and choir to "The Long and Winding Road". Even still, this song was the Beatles' last number one single in the United States.

From Quiz Yes, Beatles' Songs but Which Ones?

Answer: From Me To You

"If there's anything that you want If there's anything I can do Just call on me and I'll send it along With love from me to you" Written by Lennon/McCartney, Del Shannon had a number 77 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "From Me To You" in 1963. It was not released as a single in the UK. In June 1963 he became the first singer in the world to enter the Billboard Hot 100 with a Lennon/McCartney song. This was six months before The Beatles themselves had their fist hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in January 1964. Del Shannon's biggest hit and only number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK singles chart was "Runaway" in 1961.

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"

Answer: Abbey Road

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was track three on side one of The Beatles' album "Abbey Road". "Abbey Road" is the eleventh studio album released by The Beatles. It was released in the UK on the Apple record label on the 26 September 1969. It was number one for 17 weeks on the UK album chart for The Beatles in 1969/70. It was number one for 11 weeks on the Billboard album chart in 1969/70.

From Quiz Anatomy Of A Song: "The Ballad Of John And Yoko"

Answer: Southampton

They were "Standing in the dock at Southampton". "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" was The Beatles' 17th and last number one hit on the UK singles chart. The Beatles' first UK number one hit was "From Me To You" (on the Parlophone record label), it was number one for seven weeks in 1963.

From Quiz Beatles Songs: Who Sang Lead Vocals?

Answer: Paul

"All My Loving" was written by Paul McCartney and appeared on the 1963 UK album "With the Beatles", which was released in the USA as "Meet The Beatles!" A single was a number one hit in Canada. Although not officially released in the USA, enough copies were imported to make it a number 45 on the Billboard charts. This, incidentally, was the first song that American audiences heard the Beatles sing in the Land of the Free - during their seminal "Ed Sullivan Show" appearance in February 1964. McCartney wrote the song as a poem for his then girlfriend Jane Asher.

From Quiz Early Beatles Songs Recorded by Other Artists

Answer: Woman

Because Peter and Gordon had success with songs penned under the Lennon/McCartney name, Paul used the name Bernard Webb when he wrote "Woman" to see if the composition would succeed without the Beatles' name. When it reached Number 14 on the US charts there was no doubt that "Woman" was a hit. It didn't take long for news to get out that it was really written by Paul McCartney. When Peter and Gordon performed "Woman" on "Hullabaloo" it was introduced as written by Paul. "I Don't Want to See You Again" was by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon-McCartney. Peter and Gordon took it to Number 16 in the US in 1964. "A World Without Love" was written by Paul McCartney and also attributed to Lennon-McCartney. It topped the US charts in 1964. The flip side, "If I Were You", was written by Peter and Gordon. "Nobody I Know" by Paul McCartney and attributed to Lennon-McCartney was the follow up to "A World Without Love" and made it to Number 12 in the US.

From Quiz The Beatles: Sung but Not Written

Answer: Anna

"Anna (Go To Him)" written by Arthur Alexander, peaked at number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 for him in 1962. It did not chart in the UK. Arthur Alexander was born in Sheffield, Alabama, USA, in 1940. He was a country-soul pioneer and his first single "Sally Sue Brown" was released on the Judd label owned by Jud Phillips, the brother of Sun records owner Sam Phillips. His songs have been recorded by many artists, including "You Better Move On" by The Rolling Stones. Unfortunately he left the business for many years and became a bus driver. In 1990 he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. He began to perform again in 1993 but a month after signing a new recording/publishing contract he died from a heart attack aged 53. The Beatles version of "Anna (Go To Him)" was the third track on their first UK album "Please Please Me". It was number one for 30 weeks on the UK album chart in 1963. It was replaced at number one by The Beatles themselves, with their second album "with the beatles".

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Paperback Writer"

Answer: Lennon/McCartney

Largely written by Paul McCartney, "Paperback Writer" like many other songs by The Beatles, was credited to Lennon/McCartney. The wannabe paperback writer in the song may be a reference to a friend of John Lennon's, British novelist and one time beat poet Royston Ellis, (this is only one possibility among many). Ellis travelled to Liverpool in 1960 to perform a poetry reading at Liverpool University. Needing musicians as a backing for his poetry reading, he chose The Beatles and is credited with suggesting the spelling of Beatles with an a instead of Beetles with an e. The only song credited to Lennon/Harrison is the instrumental "Cry For A Shadow". It was recorded in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961 while The Beatles were recording as Tony Sheridan's backing group in the studio. It was released as the B-Side of "Why" by Tony Sheridan and The Beatles and peaked at number 88 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. It did not chart in the UK. Pete Best was on drums.

From Quiz "Paperback Writer" and other Beatles songs

Answer: Lear

The song is a letter to an editor asking that they consider a partially written book for publishing as a paperback. So far there are approximately a thousand pages written, but the singer has plans to write more "in a week or two". Edward Lear (1812 to 1888) wrote "The Owl and the Pussycat" and drew the line drawings to go with it. He was an accomplished artist and it seems unfair that he is most famous only for his nonsense poems.

From Quiz Tomorrow Always Knows - Revolver's Last Track

Answer: Four

All four Beatles participated in the recording and creation of the song. John sang the lead vocals and played the Hammond organ; Paul provided the backwards guitar solo and bass guitar; George played the sitar and tambura; and Ringo laid the groundwork of the song with the droning beats of the drums. All four also provided the tape loops that feature frequently on the track.

From Quiz A Ticket to Ride

Answer: Help!

"Help!" was released in August 1965. "Rubber Soul" came out just three months later.

From Quiz Anatomy of a Song: "Penny Lane"

Answer: Liverpool

Penny Lane the street that the song is named for, is in Liverpool 18 in the Mossley Hill district of the city. Liverpool is in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, UK. All four members of The Beatles were born in the city. This was before the metropolitan county of Merseyside was created when Liverpool was then in the county of Lancashire.

From Quiz Great Beatles Cover Songs

Answer: Across the Universe

David Bowie enlisted John Lennon to provide backing vocals for his rendition of the song. Not only did Lennon agree, he also lent his vocals to the Bowie classic song "Fame" as well. Other people who have covered this song include Cyndi Lauper, Rufus Wainwright and Fiona Apple. Velvet Revolver performed the song live at the 2004 Grammy Awards with other guest musicians on stage.

From Quiz Beatles' Contracted Song Titles

Answer: You Can't Do That

"You Can't Do That" is a song which features John Lennon at his hard-rocking, jealous-guy best. Lennon threatens his girlfriend not to get involved with any other guy- "If I catch you talking to that boy again / I'm going to let you down and leave you flat..." This song was released in the UK as the flip side of "Can't Buy Me Love" in March 1964. "There's a Place" was recorded by The Beatles in 1963, "I've Just Seen a Face" was recorded in 1965, and "I'm Only Sleeping" appeared in 1966.

From Quiz Beatles' Three-Word Song Titles

Answer: She Loves You

"She Loves You" was a huge hit for the Beatles in the UK in 1963. Its refrain of "yeah, yeah, yeah" became synonymous with pop music. "She Loves You" was also a number one hit song in the USA in 1964. The lyrics to the second verse read: "You know it's up to you / I think it's only fair / Pride can hurt you too / Apologise to her because she loves you..."

From Quiz Beatles' One-Word Song Titles

Answer: sunken

The song "Blackbird" was written and performed by Paul McCartney. In the second verse, McCartney sings: "Blackbird singing in the dead of night / Take these sunken eyes and learn to see / All your life / You were only waiting for this moment to be free." The adjective "broken" is used to describe wings in verse one. "Blackbird" was part of the 1968 Beatles' "White Album."

From Quiz Sun Kings: The Beatles

Answer: Abbey Road

"Sun King" clocks in at 2:32 and is part of a medley that dominates Side B of the album. Written by Lennon, it features a melange of noises from cowbells and bubbling water to crickets and bird whistles. The lion's share of the tune is a made up language with a very Spanish feel. Paul can be heard on harmonium, Ringo on bongos and even John on maracas. (Incidentally, King Louis XIV of France was dubbed "The Sun King" - there is no mention in the song).

From Quiz The Beatles: Who Sang It?

Answer: John Lennon

The song of course was on the Beatles' album "A Hard Day's Night" and was also featured in the film by the same title. The title of the song came from something Ringo Starr had said. According to Ringo the band had worked for an extended amount of time and when they finished Ringo thought that they had worked all day. Thinking this he announced "it's been a hard day" thinking that it was night, but upon looking around he realised that it was actually morning and quickly added "...night." And from that Ringo-ism "A Hard Day's Night" was born.

From Quiz Beatles Cover Songs

Answer: Larry Williams

Larry Williams is from New Orleans. When Little Richard left Specialty records Williams was poised to succeed him. He had the same piano-based hard driving rock sound. His music career was cut short in the late fifties when he was arrested for dealing drugs. Several of his songs achieved later success when recorded by The Beatles. "Bad Boy", Slow Down" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" were done on various Beatles albums. The Rolling Stones recorded a version of Williams' "She Said Yeah" and John Lennon did a solo version of "Bony Moronie". Larry's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" was done by Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney. Johnny Burnette sang "Lonesome Tears in My Eyes", a song performed by the Beatles on the "Live at the BBC" compilation album. Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Richard Barrett wrote "Some Other Guy". The song was originally sung by Richie Barrett and also covered by the Beatles live on their "Live at the BBC" album. Bobby Vee recorded the original version of "Take Good Care of My Baby", also done live by the Beatles at the BBC.

From Quiz 'Let It Be' : Story Of A Song

Answer: Paul McCartney

The song is officially credited to Lennon and McCartney, but Paul wrote it alone. Lennon, disparagingly, said of the song: "That's Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could've been Wings. I don't know what he's thinking.... I think it was inspired by 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters.' That's my feeling, although I have nothing to go on. I know he wanted to write a 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters'." In fact, 'Let It Be' was written a year before 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters'.

From Quiz 'If I Fell', The Perfect Beatles song

Answer: A Hard Day's Night

The original was found on the album "A Hard Day's Night", it was their third album and hit the charts at Number one in the UK and US, according to beatlesstory.com.

From Quiz Hey Jude!

Answer: Paul McCartney

Keith Richards is in the Rolling Stones. Paul McCartney wrote this song for Julian Lennon when John Lennon was getting his first divorce from Cynthia Powell. "Hey Jude" was released as an A-side single in 1968, it sold over 8 million copies worldwide and it topped the charts in 11 countries.

From Quiz The Beatles Undercover

Answer: Come Together

Aerosmith's version of the song was true to the spirit of the original, as opposed to most of the recordings produced for the film. As such, we cannot begrudge them their chart success (it peaked at number 23 on the U.S. charts).

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