Lennon–McCartney

Lennon / McCartney is one of the most famous songwriting partnerships in music history. The duo owns the copyright to numerous compositions - including the most Beatles songs.

Songs of the Beatles

All Beatles compositions, which were written by John Lennon and / or Paul McCartney, received the copyright " Lennon / McCartney " as a result of mutual agreement between the two at the beginning of the Beatles' career. Consequently, the royalties between the two ever split in half. The partnership is still one of the most famous of its kind

On the first Beatles album Please Please Me, the partnership was still referred to as " McCartney / Lennon"; on all subsequent albums, the order of the names was reversed.

During each of the two musicians often worked independently and many Beatles compositions are primarily the work of one or the other, it was especially in the first half of the 1960s only rarely that a piece was completely without any contribution of the two. In many cases, one of the two composer presented a fragment of each other completed or improved, often in the form of that one of the a central part or a transition added.

Especially in the late creative period of the Beatles many songs were written without the participation of the other and still attributed to the common copyright. So Paul McCartney wrote among other things the songs Yesterday, When I'm Sixty -Four, Lady Madonna, Ob -La- Di, Ob -La -Da, Hey Jew and Let It Be without Lennon. John Lennon was the sole author of songs like Strawberry Fields Forever, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! , All You Need Is Love, Across the Universe, I Am the Walrus and Come Together in return.

Methodological work

Methodically working the Lennon / McCartney partnership of elements of a competitive spirit and mutual inspiration and targeted cooperation. The collaborative and creative fusion of musical ideas between the two is often cited as the main reason for the innovation and the success of the Beatles.

The two already composed in 1958 together until the partnership was terminated in 1969. Over time, the pieces were increasingly only the work of one of the two and the contribution of each other was limited to a few words or a chord change. A Day in the Life is probably the best example of a later Beatles composition, which consists of substantial contributions to both Lennon and McCartney by a piece of McCartney was used to draw up the middle part of Lennon's composition.

Disputes over the authorship

It came over the years only to disputes over the authorship of three titles. These were Eleanor Rigby, In My Life and Ticket to Ride.

Eleanor Rigby was written by Paul McCartney alone. McCartney stated that he had written the song in the music room of his then-girlfriend, actress Jane Asher and got it, still unfinished, the musician Donovan played. John Lennon gave an interview in 1972, however, he had written more than 70 percent of the text to that piece, whose childhood friend Pete Shotton contradicted the.

In In My Life Lennon said that McCartney contributed only a small part ( he helped only in Middle Eight ). However, McCartney said he wrote most of the song and cited as inspiration for the two songs You've Really Got a Hold on Me, and Tears of a Clown by Smokey Robinson.

Ticket to Ride is also complaining that John Lennon all to yourself. So he said: " Paul's contribution was that he said Ringo, how to play the drums ." McCartney said that Lennon Although the first fragment brought from the piece, but they finished put it together. "Write to him 60 % of the piece. But we worked the song together in a three-hour session of ".

Revolution of authorship

On the 1976 album Wings Over America, and in the 1990s and the early 2000s, Paul McCartney tried to turn the authorship and complaining " Paul McCartney and John Lennon" terms of a number of songs that he had written independently. This amendment was rejected by Yoko Ono. In February 2005, McCartney explained that it was a matter with which he had no more problems.

Give Peace a Chance

Give Peace a Chance was also born in a time when even the songs Lennon / McCartney were attributed. On the single- publication of this Copyright is also available, although the song was written by Lennon alone. On his 1997 album Lennon Legends McCartney's name disappeared from the credits.

Songs for other artists

Some Lennon / McCartney songs were first published by other artists, most notably the performers from the environment of the common manager Brian Epstein. This applies to the majority Between 1963 and 1965., In some cases helped Lennon / McCartney songs for other artists start their careers. Performers, received the title of Lennon / McCartney, Billy J. Kramer were especially, The Fourmost, Cilla Black and Peter & Gordon. The songs Bad to Me ( 1963, Billy J. Kramer ) and A World Without Love (1963, Peter & Gordon) reached No. 1 on the British charts. In 1979 the compilation The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away, are included on many of the recordings in question.

Several of these songs were again taken after first publication of the Beatles. I Wanna Be Your Man (1963, The Rolling Stones) and I Call Your Name (1963, Billy J. Kramer ) were promptly taken up by the Beatles and released on albums and EPs. Other recordings were released only with the album Live at the BBC ( 1994) and as part of the Anthology trilogy (1995 /1996).