In the end they decided to combine two takes, namely an overdub of take nine onto take seven. Postman.” Under George Martin’s direction, the group assembled at Abbey Road on July 30, 1963, with John Lennon on lead vocals and rhythm guitar Paul McCartney on backing vocals and bass George Harrison on backing vocals and lead guitar and Ringo Starr on drums. Indeed, the Beatles had already included the Marvelettes hit in their live sets less than a year after the single was first released.ĭespite the fact that they had performed the song numerous times, it took nine takes to perfect “Please Mr. However, it may be more likely that they simply liked Motown cuts (they would rave about the label in subsequent interviews) and, as demonstrated by previous covers, seemed to have great affection for girl group tracks. “’Posty, posty, don’t be slow, be like the Beatles and go, man, go!’ That sort of stuff.” Postman’ on the back of the envelopes,” he said. Paul McCartney claimed in a 1984 interview that the Beatles were attracted to “Please Mister Postman” because of fan mail “We got it from our fans, who would write ‘Please Mr. As with Please Please Me, the group chose a mixture of original compositions and selections from their live repertoire for the track lineup. By December, “Please Mister Postman” had become a massive hit, topping the R&B and Hot 100 and officially establishing Motown as a major force in music.įlash forward two years later, when the Beatles were recording their second album With the Beatles. ![]() After Gordy rechristened the girl group the Marvelettes, the quartet recorded the song, accompanied by Motown house band the Funk Brothers and a new drummer: Marvin Gaye. Gordy turned the promising track over to producers Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman to rework the tune (interestingly, Gorman moonlighted as a postman at the time). Under pressure, Georgia Dobbins and friend William Garrett penned “Please Mister Postman,” a bluesy number featuring only a few lyrics.ĭobbins departed the group after the second audition, but her song lingered. ![]() The two subsequently called in the group for another audition, but there was one problem: the group needed to perform an original tune. That year five young women called the Casinyets entered Detroit’s Motown Studios, hoping to audition for label head Berry Gordy and songwriter/producer/singer Smokey Robinson. In addition, their enthusiasm and raw energy foreshadowed a change in pop culture, a musical revolution that the Beatles would lead.īefore examining the Beatles’ energetic take on “Please Mister Postman,” let’s rewind further back to 1961. Originally recorded by Motown act the Marvelettes, “Please Mister Postman” allowed the Beatles to demonstrate how they could interpret numerous genres, transforming them into their own sound. Postman,” the final entry in Deep Beatles’ look at the band’s best covers. The Beatles clearly had a fondness for the “girl group” sound, and no song better exemplifies that fact than “Please Mr.
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