"Bad to Me"
Single by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas
from the album Little Children
B-side"I Call Your Name"
Released26 July 1963 (UK)
May 1964 (US)
Recorded26 June 1963
GenrePop, beat
Length2:22
LabelParlophone R5049[1]
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney[1]
Producer(s)George Martin[1]
Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas singles chronology
"Do You Want to Know a Secret"
(1963) 		"Bad to Me"
(1963) 		"I'll Keep You Satisfied"
(1963)
"Bad to Me"
Song by the Beatles
from the album The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963
Released17 December 2013
Recorded1963
GenreMerseybeat
Length1:29
LabelApple, Universal Music Group
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney

"Bad to Me" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney. In late interviews, John Lennon said that he wrote it for Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas[2] while on holiday in Spain. However, in a 1964 interview he said that he and Paul McCartney wrote it in the back of a van, declaring McCartney a contributor.[3] Bootlegs exist of Lennon's original demo of the song, which was recorded on 31 May 1963. An acoustic demo from the same era was released on iTunes in December 2013 on the album The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963. It became one of the first occasions a Lennon–McCartney composition made the US Top 40 recorded by an artist other than the Beatles (the first being "A World Without Love" by Peter & Gordon).

Chart performance

Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas released their recording of the song in 1963 and it became their first number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] Paul McCartney was present during the recording session at Abbey Road Studios. The single was released in the US the following year, and was a top-ten hit there, reaching number 9.[4]

Cover versions

References

  1. ^ a b c d Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 73. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ David Sheff, All We Are Saying. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000, ISBN 0-312-25464-4, p. 170
  3. ^ Compton, Todd (2017). Who wrote the Beatle songs? : a history of Lennon-McCartney. San Jose, California: Todd M. Compton. p. 50. ISBN 978-0998899701.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 353.
  5. ^ Terry Black, Only 16 Retrieved 15 June 2015
  6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review of Lost Songs of Lennon & McCartney". AllMusic.
  7. ^ "Bas Muys, Lennon & McCartney Secret Songs (Vinyl)". Tagtuner.com. 18 December 2006. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  8. ^ "Bas Muys - Lennon & McCartney Secret Songs (Vinyl)". Gnudb.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  9. ^ "It's Four You". Amazon. Retrieved 20 August 2011.

External links


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