I Should Have Known Better

From BeatlesWiki

I Should Have Known Better is the second song off The Beatles' 1964 album A Hard Day's Night.

Contents 1 Writing 2 Recording 3 Recording Sessions 4 In The Film "A Hard Day's Night" 5 Personnel 5.1 The Beatles 5.2 Production 6 Available Versions 7 Available On 8 Cover Versions 9 Sources

Writing

The song was written by John Lennon around January 1964. It shows the influence of Bob Dylan starting to take effect on The Beatles. The band had become interested in Dylan's music when George Harrison picked up a copy of "The Freewheelin'" while touring France in January of 1964.

Recording

This song, one of the last to feature harmonica in The Beatles career, also featured John playing a Gibson Jumbo J-160E electro acoustic guitar and George playing a Rickenbacker 360/12 Deluxe 12-string. They began recording the song on February 25, 1964, when they recorded three takes, only one of which was complete. The next day, they came into the studio and recorded a further eighteen takes. In the end, Take 9 was deemed the best and was then overdubbed on with John Lennon's double-tracked vocals and his harmonica parts. This finished version, with Take 9 basic track and overdubs was dubbed Take 22 and was included on the final album. Interestingly, the stereo mix of the song has John taking a breath at the wrong time in his harmonica solo, then playing the wrong note, while the mono version does not include his mistake.

Recording Sessions

• February 25, 1964: Rough takes of And I Love Her, You Can't Do That, and I Should Have Known Better were recorded, as well as overdubs onto Can't Buy Me Love. →

• February 26, 1964: Recording more takes of I Should Have Known Better and And I Love Her. →

In The Film "A Hard Day's Night"

This song was included in the film A Hard Day's Night in a memorable scene where The Beatles lip-synch the song while on a train, playing cards with Paul's grandfather, while female fans watched. One of the fans was model Pattie Boyd, who would later become George Harrison's wife. In reality, this scene was filmed on March 11, 1964 in a van in Twickenham studios, with film crews rocking the van to imitate movement.

Personnel

The Beatles

• Lead Vocals: John Lennon
• Rythm Guitar: John Lennon
• Harmonica: John Lennon
• Bass: Paul McCartney
• Lead Guitar: George Harrison
• Drums: Ringo Starr

Production

• Producer: George Martin
• Engineer: Norman Smith

Available Versions

• Take 9 with Take 22 Overdubs, Master Version included on A Hard Day's Night soundtrack album.

Available On

• A Hard Day's Night, 1964.
• Hey Jude, 1970.
• Reel Music, 1982.

Cover Versions

• The Beach Boys
• Ramiele Malubay
• She & Him

Sources

• [1]
• [2]