Music · Arrangement
Harmonica
Blues harmonica - played extensively by Lennon on early singles and BBC recordings
15
songs
From 1962 to 1970 the harmonica turns up fifteen times. It sits thickest on the Please Please Me album, four of its fourteen tracks. 'Love Me Do' is the earliest and 'You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)' the last. It goes quiet after 1964 and comes back in 1967 for 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!'. John Lennon plays it on fifteen of them, with George Harrison on 'The Fool on the Hill'. Lennon and McCartney reach for it at the same rate, 11% and 9% of their own songs. On 'I Should Have Known Better' it is Lennon's signature intro and solo. On 'From Me to You': iconic intro and middle riff.
See alsoSolo / Riff:Harmonica soloEquipment:Hohner ChromonicaSolo / Riff:Harmonica riffEquipment:Gretsch Duo JetRecurring words:woahLyric shape:[NOUN] that youLabel:Vee-JayEquipment:Premier Mahogany Duroplastic
Analysis
Every song on this page, across all of them: john, others, ringo and george.
By Year
Song count per year
By Songwriter
% of each member's catalogue with this tag (by writing credit)
By Era
Early9 · 64%
Mid-period2 · 14%
Late3 · 21%
The instruments that played it
Every model the catalogue names for this part, counted by the year of the session.
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Songs(14 of 15)
Year
Album
Writer
Lead vocal(s)
Love Me Do
1962·Please Please Me·Paul
Chromatic, dockside-blues riff
Please Please Me
1963·Please Please Me·John
Intro and fills
There's a Place
1963·Please Please Me·John
Iconic intro hook, overdubbed
From Me to You
1963·Past Masters·John
Iconic intro and middle riff
Thank You Girl
1963·Past Masters·John
Intro and outro hooks
I'll Get You
1963·Past Masters·John
Iconic intro and fills
Little Child
1963·With The Beatles·John
I Should Have Known Better
1964·A Hard Day's Night·John
Lennon's signature intro and solo
I'm a Loser
1964·Beatles For Sale·John
Lennon - solo and outro
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
1967·Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band·John
The Fool on the Hill
1967·Magical Mystery Tour·Paul
Bass harmonica
Rocky Raccoon
1968·The Beatles (The White Album)·Paul
All Together Now
1969·Yellow Submarine·Paul
You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
1970·Past Masters·John
Updated