"One and One Is Two" is a song by the musical group ''The Strangers with Mike Shannon'', released as their debut single in 1964. It was composed by Paul McCartney and published under the author's credit
Lennon/McCartney.
Background
The demo of "One And One Is Two" was probably recorded in Paris in mid-January/early February 1964, with McCartney singing to an acoustic guitar and piano.
It was recorded at the George V Hotel during
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 ...
' concert series at the
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
at the request of publisher
Dick James
Dick James (born Leon Isaac Vapnick; 12 December 1920 – 1 February 1986) was a British music publisher and singer. He and Brian Epstein established the Beatles' publisher Northern Songs. Later, with his son Stephen, James founded the DJM rec ...
. The demo has not yet been released legally.
"One And One Is Two" was originally intended for
Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, but the group declined. John Lennon reportedly exclaimed during the recording of the demo, "Billy J. will be done when he gets this song". In 1980, he commented, "This is another one of Paul's bad attempts at writing a song".
The song was also offered to fellow group
The Fourmost
The Fourmost are an English Merseybeat band that recorded in the 1960s. Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964.
Biography
Guitarist/vocalist Brian O'Hara and best friend guitarist/vocalist Joey Bower (born Joseph Bower, 17 ...
, who, like the Dakotas, had previously recorded other Lennon/McCartney compositions. Brian O'Hara, guitarist and vocalist for The Fourmost later said of the offer, "McCartney came into the studio and played bass on "One and One Is Two", but there just wasn't any meat in the song and we couldn't get anywhere with it."
The single "One and One is Two" with the B-side "Time and the River" was finally released on May 8, 1964, in the UK by ''The Strangers with Mike Shannon''. The song didn't get into the British charts.
The group released their second and final single, "Do You Or Don't You" / "What Can I Do", in December 1964, which also failed to enter the charts.
Covers
* - Lennon & McCartney Songs (never Issued)
*
The Beatnix
The Beatnix is an Australian Beatles tribute band. It is amongst the longest running Beatles tribute shows in the world.
History
The concept for the band was conceived and assembled in March 1980 by founding member Tony Dean as a live perfo ...
- It's Four You
*Apple Jam – Off the Beatle Track (2009)
See also
*
Lennon–McCartney non-Beatles songs
*
The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away
''The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away'' is a conceptual compilation album containing the original artist recordings of songs composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the 1960s that they had elected not to release as Beatles songs. The ...
*
The Beatles bootleg recordings
The Beatles' bootleg recordings (also known as Beatlegs) are recordings of performances by the Beatles that have attained some level of public circulation without being available as a legal release. The term most often refers to audio record ...
References
External links
''One and One Is Two''at ''45cat''
''One and One Is Two''at ''Discogs''
''One and One Is Two''at ''The Paul McCartney Project''
1964 songs
1964 singles
Songs written by Lennon–McCartney
The Beatles songs
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