I Wanna Be Your Man

"I Wanna Be Your Man" is a Lennon–McCartney-penned song first recorded and released as a single by the Rolling Stones, and then recorded by the Beatles for their second studio album With the Beatles. The song was primarily written by Paul McCartney, and finished by McCartney with John Lennon in the corner of a Richmond, London, club while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were talking. [Wikipedia]

I Wanna Be Your Man is a song by The Beatles, written by Lennon–McCartney and led on vocal by Ringo Starr. Given to the Rolling Stones too — their second single. Within the catalogue, its ringo-vocal thread connects it to Boys, Honey Don't, Act Naturally. An original composition recorded for With the Beatleswith Ringo Starr on lead vocals, 'I Wanna Be Your Man' provided the drummer with a vehicle to showcase his singing ability. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the song was simultaneously recorded by The Rolling Stones, establishing it as a Lennon-McCartney composition with commercial viability beyond the Beatles themselves. Ringo's straightforward delivery suits the song's simple, catchy structure (Lewisohn 1988, p.31). Lennon and McCartney quickly composed this simple riffy song for the Rolling Stones, who took it to number one and established themselves as a blues-oriented rival band to the Beatles (Kozinn 1995, p. 69). George Martin added Hammond organ to the Beatles' arrangement (Kozinn 1995, p. 71).

The session work falls within the band's Beatlemania (1962–1964) period, recorded 12 Sep 1963 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road. George Martin produced; Norman Smith engineered. For session-by-session detail, see Mark Lewisohn's account on p.35 of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (excerpt below). Take 2 was selected for final release, indicating rapid achievement of satisfactory performance. Ringo Starr's vocal sits comfortably in a register suited to his lower vocal range, avoiding the high notes that might strain his singing ability. George Martin's arrangement emphasizes the rhythm section and vocal melody without elaborate harmonization or orchestration (Lewisohn 1988, p.31).

In the canonical discography it appears on the LP With the Beatles. Mono and stereo histories vary by era — see the dedicated section below. Ringo Starr lead vocals appear in only 2 canon songs (both in Beatlemania), making this extraordinarily rare as a drummer-led recording. As a Lennon-McCartney composition recorded simultaneously by The Rolling Stones, the track established cross-band songwriting relationships and publishing opportunities for the Beatles' compositional partnership (Lewisohn 1988, p.31). The master tape involved multiple recording sessions with overdubs across September and October 1963, with additional vocals tracked at the end; the recording went through four generations of twin-track tape.

Other recordings sharing era, vocalist, writer, key, studio, or producer with this one. Higher scores indicate stronger overlap on documented attributes.

• All I've Got to Do (score 10)
• Ask Me Why (score 10)
• Boys (score 10)
• Do You Want to Know a Secret (score 10)
• Honey Don't (score 10)
• I Call Your Name (score 10)
• I Saw Her Standing There (score 10)
• I'm Happy Just to Dance with You (score 10)