"Tell Me Why" is a song by English rock band

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 ...

from their album '' A Hard Day's Night''. In North America, it was released on both the American version of ''A Hard Day's Night'' and the album '' Something New''. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was written by

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 ...

in either

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and recorded in eight takes on 27 February 1964.

Composition

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. One ...

said: Lennon described the song as resembling "a black New York girl-group song". Its basic structure of simple

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

chord changes and block harmonies over a

walking bass Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

line "creates an illusion of sincerity through its sheer attack". The song is in the key of D major. John, Paul, and George sing a three-part harmony. In the chorus, John's lead vocal part sits higher than George's, and more unusual in this case, Paul's harmonies.

Release

"Tell Me Why" was performed in the Beatles' debut feature film, ''A Hard Day's Night''. The song was part of the "studio performance" sequence, which was filmed at the

Scala Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was kn ...

, London, on 31 March 1964. That marks the only time the song was ever performed in front of a live audience, which consisted of 350 paid actors, one of whom was a thirteen-year old

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

. The song was mimed by the Beatles and the words were lip-synced on stage.

Releases

* Included on the British LP '' A Hard Day's Night''. * Included on the British EP '' Extracts from the Film A Hard Day's Night''. * Included on the North American LP '' A Hard Day's Night''. * Included on the North American LP '' Something New''. *

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the Parlophone single " If I Fell". It was one of three singles that Parlophone produced for export but not for release in the U.K. * On Italian and French releases, "Tell Me Why" is featured as the B-side of "

I Should Have Known Better "I Should Have Known Better" is a song by English rock band the Beatles composed by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and originally issued on '' A Hard Day's Night'', their soundtrack for the film of the same name released on 10 J ...

Personnel

– lead vocal,

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

**''Lennon's vocal is

double-tracked Double tracking or doubling is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or bigger sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. ...

in the stereo version, but single-tracked in the mono mix.'' *

– harmony vocal,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

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 c ...

– harmony vocal,

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

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 A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

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 B ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

:Personnel per MacDonald

Covers

* In 1965, the Beach Boys covered "Tell Me Why" on their ''

Beach Boys' Party! ''Beach Boys' Party!'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, and their third in 1965, consisting mostly of cover songs played with acoustic instruments. It reached No. 6 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. The album spawned on ...

'' album. * In 1982, April Wine covered it on their album '' Power Play''. It reached #46 in Canada. * In 1986,

The Chenille Sisters The Chenille Sisters, an American contemporary folk band, includes singer Grace Morand, guitarist and songwriter Connie Huber, and singer-songwriter Cheryl Dawdy. They formed in 1985, when Dawdy joined Morand and Huber, who had been performing toge ...

covered the song, as a medley with "

Chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

", on their self titled first album. * In 2002,

The Punkles The Punkles were a German band performing songs by The Beatles in punk style. They formed in 1998 in Hamburg, Germany, and was a side project of Prollhead!. After a lot of touring around Europe they toured together with Beatallica in October ...

did a cover of the song on their second album, ''Punk!''.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * *

External links

*
Dave Rybaczewski's analysis of "Tell Me Why"
* {{Authority control 1964 songs The Beatles songs The Beach Boys songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Songs published by Northern Songs April Wine songs 1982 singles Capitol Records singles