The Beatles Track Where George Harrison Disliked His Own Vocals
via J K / YouTube
Lennon-McCartney’s Songwriting Pact
John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the majority of The Beatles’ catalog, but they didn’t always agree on who was responsible for certain songs. From the start, they had an arrangement that every song written by either of them would carry the joint credit of Lennon-McCartney, no matter how much one or the other contributed.
While this partnership produced many classics, it also led to disagreements about authorship. Tracks like Eleanor Rigby, In My Life, and And I Love Her remain points of debate regarding who wrote the larger share of the lyrics or melodies.
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The Origin of “Do You Want to Know a Secret”
Another example of this uncertainty lies in the song Do You Want to Know a Secret. The track appeared on the band’s 1963 debut album Please Please Me and was released as a single in the United States the following year. Sung by George Harrison, the song was written in 1962, but Lennon and McCartney offered very different accounts of how it came about.
John explained in a 1980 interview that the idea came from his childhood memories of his mother, Julia. He recalled, “My mother was always… she was a comedienne and a singer. Not professional, but, you know, she used to get up in pubs and things like that. She had a good voice. She could do Kay Starr.”
Lennon’s Inspiration
John said a particular Disney film inspired the song. “She used to do this little tune when I was just a one- or two-year-old… The tune was from the Disney movie – ‘Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell. You are standing by a wishing well.’ So, I had this sort of thing in my head and I wrote it and just gave it to George to sing.”
He admitted that he thought it would work well for Harrison because it was musically simple. “I thought it would be a good vehicle for him because it only had three notes and he wasn’t the best singer in the world… He has improved a lot since then, but in those days his singing ability was very poor because (a) he hadn’t had the opportunity, and (b) he concentrated more on the guitar.”
McCartney’s Different Memory
Paul, however, remembered things differently. He described the track as a shared creation, calling it a “50–50 collaboration written to order” specifically for George to perform. Their differing accounts highlight the occasional uncertainty surrounding the band’s songwriting history.
The Beatles recorded the song on February 11, 1963, during the single-day marathon session that produced the entire Please Please Me album. George handled lead vocals and guitar, with John and Paul providing harmonies and additional guitar while Ringo Starr played drums.
Harrison’s View of His Performance
Despite being chosen to sing it, George himself wasn’t fond of his vocal. He later said, “‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’ was ‘my song’ on the album. I didn’t like my vocal on it. I didn’t know how to sing; nobody told me how to.”
The single became a success in several countries, although it wasn’t released in the UK. In the United States, it climbed to number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
A Hit Beyond The Beatles
The song was also covered by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, another group managed by Brian Epstein. Recorded at Abbey Road in 1963, their version reached the top of the singles charts in the UK, giving the song further success beyond The Beatles’ own release.
