Boys (The Shirelles song)

Song infobox
Name = Boys
Artist = The Beatles
Album = Please Please Me
Released = March 22 1963 (mono)
April 26 1963 (stereo)
track_no = 5
Recorded = February 11 1963
Genre = Rock
Length = 2:24
Writer = Luther Dixon/Wes Farrell
Label = Parlophone
Producer = George Martin
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Album = Please Please Me
Type = studio
Tracks = ;Side one
# "I Saw Her Standing There"
# "Misery"
# "Anna (Go to Him)"
# "Chains"
# "Boys"
# "Ask Me Why"
# "Please Please Me";Side two
# "Love Me Do"
# "P.S. I Love You"
# "Baby It's You"
# "Do You Want to Know a Secret"
# "A Taste of Honey"
# "There's a Place"
# "Twist and Shout"

"Boys" is a song by Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell, originally performed by the Shirelles and released as the B-side of their "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" single in November 1960.

The Beatles version

The Beatles covered "Boys" on their first album released in the UK, "Please Please Me". It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios on February 11, 1963 in a single take, and is Ringo Starr's first recorded lead vocal with the Beatles.cite book |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |authorlink=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=26 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0-517-57066-1] February 11 was a marathon day for the Beatles; they recorded 10 of the 14 tracks they needed for "Please Please Me".cite book |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |authorlink=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=25-26] The Beatles included two songs by the Shirelles on their first album, "Boys" and "Baby It's You."cite book |first=Bill |last=Harry |title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated |year=2000 |pages=999 |publisher=Virgin Publishing |location=London |isbn=0-7535-0481-2] cite book |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |authorlink=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |year=1988 |pages=200]

In the early 1960s, the Beatles didn't concern themselves about the possible homosexual connotations in singing a song about boys, although the Beatles altered the gender pronouns employed on the Shirelles' version (i.e. "My girl" says when I kiss "her" lips..."). In an October 2005 "Rolling Stone" interview, Paul McCartney stated: "Any one of us could hold the audience. Ringo would do 'Boys', which was a fan favourite with the crowd. And it was great - though if you think about it, here's us doing a song and it was really a girls' song. 'I talk about boys now!' Or it was a gay song. But we never even listened. It's just a great song. I think that's one of the things about youth - you just don't give a shit. I love the innocence of those days."cite journal |first=Mark |last=Binelli |title=Sir Paul Rides Again |date=2005-10-20 |journal=Rolling Stone |volume=985] (The lyrics talk specifically about boys kissing "girls", not "each other".)

"Boys" had always been the Beatles' 'drummer' song during their Cavern days, the drummer then being Pete Best. [cite book |last=Harry |first=Bill |title=The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia |pages=118] Coincidentally, Starr also sang this for his solo spot with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes; Cilla Black would sometimes join him on stage, sharing the same microphone.cite book |first=Bill |last=Harry |authorlink=Bill Harry |title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated |year=2000 |pages=202]

Credits

*Ringo Starr – drums, lead vocal
*John Lennon – rhythm guitar, backing vocal
*Paul McCartney – bass guitar, backing vocal
*George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocal:"Credits per Ian MacDonaldcite book |first=Ian |last=MacDonald |authorlink=Ian MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties |year=2005 |pages=73-74 |edition=Second Revised Edition |publisher=Pimlico (Rand) |location=London |isbn=1-844-13828-3]

References