What made Lennon and McCartney so special as a songwriting team?

[brianspencer66]

I was wondering what some of your thoughts are as to why these to giants of pop music were so special when they were still Beatles. At times they wrote together and at times apart yet their output in the context of the Beatles was alot more eclectic than when they were on their own as solo artist. Some say McCartney was more musical and Lennon more lyrical. Anyway your thought on why you thought they were so special and why that music still stands today. Oh and feel free to chime in about Harrison too as he slowly became their equal over the years.

 

[mrfrench58]

It's a great question, but one that perhaps even John and Paul could not answer.

I do know I'm looking forward to picking up the just-released "Help" double DVD set. Can't wait to watch that one on the widescreen TV Mrs. French and I recently purchased.

 

[drew70]

For years and years, I believed it was McCartney who wrote the music, and Lennon who wrote the words. Later, I discovered that both Lennon and McCartney wrote entire songs of both words and music. They had an agreement that any songs that either of them wrote for The Beatles would get a Lennon/McCartney songwriting credit. There are actually very few songs on which they collaborated on the songwriting. One such song was We Can Work It Out. You can see the different personalities in the songs lyrics.

Paul (the doe-eyed optimist): Try to see it my way, only time will tell if I am write or I am wrong....We can work it out. We can work it out!

John (the cynical pragmatist): Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend. I have always thought that it's a crime, so I will ask you once again...

For me, the songs that are quintessentially Paul would be Let It Be, and The Long and Winding Road. The songs that are quintessentially John would be Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Strawberry Fields Forever.

 

[featherfingers]

I've been a fan of The Beatles (and Lennon & McCartney's songs) for so long I can't even remember what originally made me say, "I LOVE these guys!" I do know that it was The White Album that inspired me to learn to play the electric bass ("Dear Prudence," to be exact). That album changed the way I listen to music!

What amazes me is that within the span of three or four years The Beatles went from being a great Pop group to being a fantastic Rock band. Hard to believe only three years separates "Eight Days A Week" from "Revolution." How many of today's artists can claim such diversity in such a short amount of time.

The Beatles weren't afraid to experiment, either. They weren't held back by their producer. Where some producers would say, "I think that's a bit too much," George Martin actually gave them the freedom to try new and innovative ideas, as well as take part in the actual recording himself! That's George Martin playing the piano part in "In My Life," for example. Had George Martin been too cautious, "Strawberry Fields Forever" may never have been released as it appeared.

And we may have Bob Dylan to thank with helping Lennon & McCartney get into writing more introspective songs. I heard a story that said when Bob Dylan met The Beatles for the first time back in late '64, he told them, "Your music is good but your lyrics don't say anything," or something like that. Not long afterward, John Lennon would write "Help!" "When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody's help in any way..." A far cry from "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah." Had Lennon & McCartney been too proud and never taken Dylan's advice, who knows what kind of songs they would've given us... or what songs would never have been written.

As for George, he was a very good student, having learned songwriting under the tutelage of Lennon & McCartney. George's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is another reason why I love The White Album so much. "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun", both on the 'Abbey Road' album, are even better than some of Lennon & McCartney's best work.

 

[brianspencer66]

For some of you who dont know this already. The late 64 song "Eight Days A week" song by John Lennon along with his backing harmony vocals, was actually written by Paul McCartney. How Lennon came to sing this great pop song is still a mystery .

 

[featherfingers]

For some of you who dont know this already. The late 64 song "Eight Days A week" song by John Lennon along with his backing harmony vocals, was actually written by Paul McCartney. How Lennon came to sing this great pop song is still a mystery .

Well, I'll be hornswaggled! All these years and now I'm finally learning this!

According to the book "Beatlesongs" by William J. Dowlding, Paul McCartney wrote .7 of the song and John Lennon contributed .3. I guess .10 equals the entire song. I don't know... I can't stand math.

Anyway, the book highlights a quote by John Lennon concerning the song, too:
"'Eight Days A Week' was never a good song. We struggled to record it and struggled to make it into a song. It was Paul's initial effort, but I think we both worked on it. I'm not sure. It was lousy anyway."
September 1980, Playboy Interviews