January 17, 2025 —– Chart #281
Hello Music Friends,
Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. I am fond of all types of music and a wide variety of artists. Right at the top of my list of great songwriting bands would be The Beatles. I don’t think any other group can compare with the sheer volume of creative tunes these guys cranked out. Today we feature one. “You’re Going to Lose That Girl” is a song by the Beatles from their 1965 album and film Help! Credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership, the song was mostly written by John Lennon with contributions from Paul McCartney.
The Beatles recorded two takes and overdubs of “You’re Going to Lose That Girl” during an afternoon session at EMI on 19 February 1965. The next day Beatles producer George Martin, assisted by engineers Norman Smith and Ken Scott, mixed the song for mono. On 23 February while the Beatles filmed scenes for Help! in The Bahamas, engineers Smith and Malcolm Davies mixed the song for stereo twice, preferring the second mix over the first. On March 30 the Beatles recorded more overdubs onto the song. An electric piano and Harrison’s original guitar solo were erased from the original tape. Everett describes the original guitar solo as “tortured” due to the heavy string gauge on Harrison’s brand new Fender Stratocaster. Harrison recorded a new guitar solo, Ringo Starr played bongos and McCartney played piano which ended up being unintentionally sharper than the electric guitars. On April 2 Martin, assisted by Smith, made another stereo mix of the song using the March 30 overdubs. This stereo mix was included on both the UK and US stereo releases of Help!
In the film, the group appears singing this song in the recording studio. In addition to the group’s familiar guitar-and-drum setup, there is also footage of Paul McCartney at a piano and Ringo Starr playing the bongos, both miming instruments they had overdubbed onto the recording. Towards the end, one of the thugs uses a chainsaw to saw a hole in the floor around the drum kit. The producer reports that they will have to re-record the song due to a buzzing noise, at which point The Beatles begin asking one another who was buzzing. As they look to Ringo, he and the drums fall through the floor.
The song is short at only 2:20. Round up some of your singer friends and give this one a try. It’s fun to play and will brighten your day. For you guitar buffs, You’re Gonna Lose That Girl is the first use of Harrison’s Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster, with ones gifted to him and Lennon during the Beatles’ 1965 US tour. The guitar remained one of Harrison’s favorites for the rest of his career and featured heavily on the Beatles next album, Rubber Soul. Enjoy!
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw