"That Means a Lot" is a song written mainly by

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 ...

, and credited to

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

. It was released in 1965 by

P.J. Proby * Pajamas, or PJs Arts and entertainment * ''P.J.'' (film), a 1968 film starring George Peppard * P.J. (Disney), Pete Junior, a Disney cartoon character * P.J. (comics), a character in ''The Family Circus'' comic strip * PJ (singer), Paris Ale ...

. Proby's version reached #24 on the

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

chart. Prior to the release by Proby,

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 ...

recorded a version that was intended for the ''Help!'' film and soundtrack album. The Beatles were dissatisfied with the song and their version was not released until the ''

Anthology 2 ''Anthology 2'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 18 March 1996 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the 1965 sessions for ''Help!'' to the sessi ...

'' CD in 1996. Lennon said at the time, "This song is a ballad which Paul and I wrote for the film but we found we just couldn't sing it. In fact, we made a hash of it, so we thought we'd better give it to someone who could do it well." In an interview with

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.

in 1988, McCartney said, "There were a few songs that we were just not as keen on, or we didn't think they were quite finished. This was one of them."

P.J. Proby version

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

, the Beatles' business manager, gave the song to Proby, another of the acts he managed. Proby was introduced to Epstein by Jack Good who had created numerous television shows including ''

Around The Beatles ''Around the Beatles'' was a 1964 television special featuring the Beatles, produced by Jack Good for ITV/ Rediffusion London. It was taped in Wembley Park Studios (now Fountain Studios) in London on 28 April 1964, and broadcast internationa ...

''. Proby released "That Means a Lot" in September 1965. His version was produced by Ron Richards, arranged and conducted by

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 ...

Beatles' version

Multiple takes of the song were recorded by the Beatles on 20 February and 30 March 1965. The three takes recorded on 30 March were markedly different from the original but not more successful. The song is credited to

, but in his 1980 interview with ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'', Lennon claimed the song was written by McCartney. Music critic

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from ...

speculated that "Lennon may have helped with the lyric, the middle eight, and the arrangement". He had harsher words to say about the song, describing it as "a botch, rightly excluded from the ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

'' album" and "the structure sounds wrong and, at worst, seems completely arbitrary". He also claims it as "an attempt to rewrite Lennon's ' Ticket to Ride' ... to which take 1 of 'That Means a Lot' bears a blatant resemblance" and that it "reveals the Beatles in the unfamiliar roles of blunderers in the dark".

Personnel

– vocal, bass,

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 keybo ...

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 ...

–

backing vocal A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

, acoustic guitar,

maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

* George Harrison – backing vocal, rhythm guitar, maracas * Ringo Starr – drums :Personnel per MacDonald

Notes

References

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External links