"Chains" is a
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
song written by husband-and-wife songwriting team
Gerry Goffin and
Carole King. It was a hit for the American girl group
the Cookies
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
in 1962 and for the English rock band
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
, who recorded the song for their
debut album in 1963. King recorded a solo version of "Chains" for her 1980 album ''
Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King''.
The Cookies’ version was used as opening sequence of ''
Skipped Parts
''Skipped Parts'' is a 2000 American coming of age comedy-drama film directed by Tamra Davis. The film stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bug Hall, Mischa Barton, Brad Renfro and Drew Barrymore, reprising her role from ''Motorama (film), Motorama'' (1 ...
''.
The Cookies rendition
The song was originally offered to
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...
who recorded their version in July 1962, but opted not to release it.
The Cookies, who also worked as backing singers, recorded "Chains" and in late 1962, it became their first appearance in the record charts since "In Paradise" reached number nine in 1956. The single released by
Dimension Records peaked at number six on
''Billboard'''s
Hot R&B singles
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
, number 17 on the
Hot 100 charts, and number 4 in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
In a song review for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
, critic
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...
described it as:
Personnel
*
Earl-Jean – lead vocals
*Margaret Ross – backing vocals
*Dorothy Jones – backing vocals
*
Eva Boyd – backing vocals
The Beatles' version
The single by the Cookies was a popular cover song for Liverpool bands after its release in November 1962, and was included briefly in the Beatles' live sets. They recorded it on February 11, 1963 in four takes, the first proving to be the best. Lennon played the introduction on harmonica.
George Harrison sings the lead vocal on the Beatles' version and, as the fourth track from the group's first album, it represents the first time many fans heard Harrison singing lead on a commercially released song.
They played the song live on a number of
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio shows, including ''Side by Side'', ''Here We Go'' and ''Pop Go the Beatles''. Though none of those performances were included on the 1994 compilation ''