"Baby It's You" is a song written by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

(music),

Luther Dixon Luther Dixon (August 7, 1931 – October 22, 2009) was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Dixon's songs achieved their greatest success in the 1950s and 1960s, and were recorded by Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, B ...

(credited as Barney Williams), and

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

(lyrics). It was recorded by

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFa ...

and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby It's You" was by the band

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wit ...

, who took the song to number five on the US charts in 1969.

The Shirelles' original version

The song was produced by

. When released as a single in 1961, it became a Top 10 smash on the Pop and R&B Charts, reached number three on the R&B chart and peaked at number eight on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. It later appeared on the album '' Baby It's You'', named to capitalize upon the success of the single. The vocal arrangements on this version proved influential in subsequent versions, including that by the Beatles. One notable feature of the song is its minor-to-major key chord changes on the verses.

The Beatles' version

British rock band

performed "Baby It's You" as part of their stage act from 1961 until 1963, and recorded it on February 11, 1963 for their first album, ''

Please Please Me ''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two ...

'', along with " Boys", another song by the Shirelles.

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, ''The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions'' (London: The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, 1988, ), p. 24, 26 American label

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

included it on '' Introducing... The Beatles'' and ''Songs, Pictures and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles''.

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

included it on ''

The Early Beatles ''The Early Beatles'' is the Beatles' sixth album released on Capitol Records, and their eighth album overall for the American market. All of the tracks on this album had previously been issued on the early 1964 Vee-Jay Records release '' Intro ...

''. The Beatles' version differs from the Shirelles' by repeating the second verse instead of the first. A live version was released on '' Live at the BBC'' in 1994. On this version, Lennon does not repeat part of the second verse after the solo (as he did on the studio version), but repeats part of the first verse, which is the way the Shirelles sang the song. The song was issued as a CD single and a

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

single in 1995 in both the UK and the US, the Beatles' first in nearly a decade. Both versions have four tracks, as was the norm on CD singles at that point. The three additional tracks, while from BBC recordings, did not appear on ''Live at the BBC.'' Tracks 2 and 4 were later included on ''

On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 ''On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2'' is a 2013 live/compilation album featuring 40 previously unreleased tracks from the Beatles' 1963–1964 BBC Radio broadcasts (accompanied by 23 interview tracks from the associated broadcasts). It was ...

'', but this recording of track 3 remains unique to this release. The single reached number seven in the UK and number 67 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. 1995 release track listing #"Baby It's You" (Bacharach/David/Williams) – 2:45 #" I'll Follow the Sun" (Lennon–McCartney) – 1:51 #" Devil in Her Heart" (Drapkin) – 2:23 #" Boys" (Dixon/Farrell) – 2:29

Music video

A live music video was released in 1994 to promote the single. It consisted of a combination of the Beatles dancing and still photographs, and was later included on a DVD or Blu-ray that comes with the 2015 release '' 1+''.

Personnel

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

– vocals, rhythm guitar *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

– bass, backing vocals *

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

– drums *

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Be ...

– celesta * Norman Smith – engineer

Charts

Smith version

's version appeared on their debut album, '' A Group Called Smith''. The single was released on

Dunhill Records Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distributed ...

(4206) in 1969. It was their first and most successful release. This version alters the traditional vocal arrangement as performed by the Shirelles and the Beatles in favor of a more belted, soulful vocal. The single hit number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was ranked number 28 in Billboard's year-end chart of 1969. The Smith version was used in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensemble ...

's ''

Death Proof ''Death Proof'' is a 2007 American action-thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Kurt Russell as a stuntman who murders young women with modified cars he purports to be "death-proof". Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, ...

''.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1961 songs Songs with lyrics by Mack David Songs with music by Burt Bacharach The Shirelles songs The Beatles songs 1961 singles 1969 singles 1995 singles Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles Song recordings produced by George Martin Scepter Records singles Apple Records singles Songs written by Luther Dixon