Bad To Me
From BeatlesWiki
Bad To Me is a 1963 song written by John Lennon and given to Billy J Kramer and The Dakotas. As usual, it was credited to Lennon/McCartney.
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[edit] Beatles Version
The Beatles, as a group, have never been confirmed to have recorded a group version of the song. Rumors circulate that it was performed on the February 11, 1963 session that produced most of Please Please Me. The recording sheets do not indicate this as being recorded, though George Harrison recalls, "We might have run through Keep Your Hands Off My Baby by Goffin and King at that session.....John sang three or four of his songs (Soldier Of Love was one of them, it appears on the BBC recordings.)" If Harrison is correct, it could be possible that certain songs were run through for a less serious purpose than to appear on the album. The Beatles rehearsed through their lunch break in the session while Abbey Road staff, so it is possible they played Bad To Me at this point and it was unrecorded. Regardless, half of the session tapes from the session have since been destroyed so the performance may no longer exist even if it was recorded. Despite the lack of a Beatles version, a Lennon home demo of the song from May 1963 exists and even circulates on bootleg. This version was cut to acetate for Billy J Kramer to record.
[edit] Billy J Kramer Version
The Billy J Kramer version of Bad To Me became the band's first number one hit in the UK. Paul McCartney was present at the session when the Billy J Kramer version was recorded. The single was released in the US in 1964, where it became the first Lennon/McCartney song not performed by The Beatles to enter the US Top 40. The song peaked at number nine.
[edit] Available Versions
- Lennon Home Demo, May 1963
[edit] Sources
- LENNON, J., MCCARTNEY P., HARRION G., STARKEY R., 2002, The Beatles Anthology, Chronicle Books -- Buy it on Amazon.com
- SHEFF, D., 2000, All We Are Saying, St. Martin's Press
- GIANELLA M., Information for Hardcore collectors of Beatles Music, http://beatlesong.info/
