Misery

"Misery" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1963 debut album Please Please Me. It was co-written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. According to Lennon, "It was kind of a John song more than a Paul song, but it was written together." McCartney was to say: "I don't think either one of us dominated on that one, it was just a hacking job." [Wikipedia]

Misery is a song by The Beatles, written by Lennon–McCartney and led on vocal by John Lennon & Paul McCartney. Originally offered to Helen Shapiro who turned it down; George Martin overdubs piano. Within the catalogue, its heartbreak thread connects it to Anna (Go to Him); its early thread connects it to There's a Place. Misery, with its bluesy minor-key framework and John Lennon's lead vocal, was among the earliest professional compositions written specifically for another artist—intended as an audition piece for a female vocalist on George Martin's label. The song showcases the songwriting partnership's willingness to craft material beyond the group's immediate vocal requirements, a practice that would yield publishing revenue through other artists' interpretations (Lewisohn 1988, p.24).

The session work falls within the band's Beatlemania (1962–1964) period, recorded 20 Feb 1963 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road. George Martin produced; Norman Smith engineered. For session-by-session detail, see Mark Lewisohn's account on p.8 of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (excerpt below). The song was mixed for both mono and stereo formats from take 16 during the album mastering sessions. The recording demonstrates Lennon's controlled vocal delivery in a more introspective register, contrasting with his harmonica-driven work on other Beatlemania tracks. The single take chosen from multiple efforts suggests high first-pass efficiency or deliberate editing for clarity (Lewisohn 1988, p.28).

In the canonical discography it appears on the LP Please Please Me; on the EP The Beatles (No. 1). Mono and stereo histories vary by era — see the dedicated section below. John Lennon lead vocals appear in 73 canon songs, with 26 in Beatlemania, making his work on Misery representative of his narrower vocal range in this era. The song's minor key and moderate duration (2m 22s, 38th percentile) align with introspective pop-rock of the period. The track's authorship as a deliberate outside-song commission reflects the group's early confidence in their compositional marketability across genres (Lewisohn 1988, p.24, 28).

Film, TV, and other screen works whose primary title matches this song. Some are direct cultural references (the 1965 Beatles film, the 2019 Danny Boyle feature). Many are coincidental title shares -- worth knowing about but not claiming as soundtrack appearances. Sorted by IMDB vote count.

• Misery (1990, film) IMDB 7.8 · 266,265 votes [IMDB]
• Misery (2017, TV episode) IMDB 7.4 · 855 votes [IMDB]

Source: IMDB public dataset (title.basics.tsv + title.ratings.tsv) joined locally. Includes titles with sufficient vote counts to indicate cultural visibility.

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

• From Me to You (score 13)
• A Hard Day's Night (score 11)
• Baby's in Black (score 11)
• Eight Days a Week (score 11)
• I Want to Hold Your Hand (score 11)
• I'll Get You (score 11)
• If I Fell (score 11)
• Little Child (score 11)