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The music that inspired The Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr’s favourite songs

Tue 21 February 2023 18:00, UK

As well as being brilliant songwriters, The Beatles were avid music fans. You might even argue that this obsession with music is precisely what made John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s early singles so successful. Tracks like ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’, ‘She Loves You’ and ‘Please Please Me’ were acts of translation, with John and Paul melding the exuberant chime of popular American music with elements of UK skiffle and music hall.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll be offering insight into the music that left its mark on The Beatles and inspired their songwriting. As you can see below, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were united by a common love of rock ‘n’ roll and R&B but strayed widely from those foundational genres as the years went by. Take Harrison, for example, who started out on a diet of ‘Green Onions’, courtesy of Booker T & The M.Gs, but wound up listening to Ravi Shankar.

Lennon and McCartney’s lists are, like Harrison’s, pretty heavy in the Hank Williams and Elvis Presley departments, though Paul’s list is perhaps a little more diverse, featuring a surprise Chopin Nocturne and jazz standards by the likes of Fred Astaire.

That being said, John Lennon’s selection would likely have been a little more leftfield had we more knowledge of his listening habits post-1965. Lennon’s songwriting changed drastically throughout The Beatles’ career, but his list make no mention of the avant-garde music that inspired band’s exploratory period post-Rubber Soul. Still, the guide below should offer a rounded view of the music that defined Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr’s era-defining songcraft. Here we go.

John Lennon’s favourite songs:

Before Lennon hit the road with The Beatles in 1965, he filled a personal KB Discomatic jukebox with a selection of his favourite records for on-the-road listening. As a result, we have a solid understanding of which records the bespectacled Beatle treasured most at that point in his career.

The 40-disc collection showcases Lennon’s taste for American R&B and features a few records that he’d later turn to for inspiration, including The Isley Brother’s ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’ by Tommy Tucker and ‘Long Tall Sally’ by Little Richard.

‘In the Midnight Hour’ – Wilson Pickett
‘Rescue Me’ – Fontella Bass
‘The Tracks of My Tears’ – Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
‘My Girl’ – Otis Redding
‘1-2-3’ – Len Barry
‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’ – Tommy Tucker
‘The Walk’ – Jimmy McCracklin
‘Gonna Send You Back to Georgia’ – Timmy Shaw
‘First I Look at the Purse’ – The Contours
‘New Orleans’ – Gary U.S. Bonds
‘Watch Your Step’ – Bobby Parker
‘Daddy Rollin’ Stone’ – Derek Martin
‘Short Fat Fannie’ – Larry Williams
‘Long Tall Sally’ – Little Richard
‘Money’ – Barrett Strong
‘Hey! Baby’ – Bruce Channel
‘Positively 4th Street’ – Bob Dylan
‘Daydream’ – The Lovin’ Spoonful
‘Turquoise’ – Donovan
‘Slippin’ and Slidin” – Buddy Holly
‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ – Gene Vincent
‘No Particular Place to Go’ – Chuck Berry
‘Steppin’ Out’ – Paul Revere & the Raiders
‘Do You Believe in Magic’ – The Lovin’ Spoonful
‘Some Other Guy’ – The Big Three
‘Twist and Shout’ – The Isley Brothers
‘She Said, Yeah’ – Larry Williams
‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’ – Buddy Holly
‘Slippin’ and Slidin” – Little Richard
‘Quarter to Three’ – Gary U.S. Bonds
‘Ooh! My Soul’ – Little Richard
‘Woman Love’ – Gene Vincent
‘Shop Around’ – The Miracles
‘Bring It on Home to Me’ – The Animals
‘If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody’ – James Ray with the Hutch Davie Orchestra
‘What’s So Good About Goodbye’ – The Miracles
‘Bad Boy’ – Larry Williams
‘Agent Double-O Soul’ – Edwin Starr
‘I’ve Been Good to You’ – The Miracles
‘Who’s Lovin’ You’ – The Miracles

Paul McCartney’s favourite songs:

Paul McCartney has never really offered a definitive list of his favourite songs. Our closest approximation is the compilation album Glastonbury Groove, which boasts 17 tracks that have left a mark on the musician. Never one to shy away from a shameless plug, McCartney included three of his own songs on the original list that we haven’t included here: ‘Temporary Secretary’ from his 1980 album McCartney II, ‘Calicoe Skies’ from 1997’s Flaming Pie, and ‘Spiral’, which was written for the London Symphony Orchestra.

When it comes to McCartney’s favourite song of all, there’s a clear winner. “‘God Only Knows’ is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it,” the Beatle said of The Beach Boys classic. “It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian. I’ve actually performed it with him, and I’m afraid to say that during the soundcheck, I broke down. It was just too much to stand there singing this song that does my head in and to stand there singing it with Brian.”

James Taylor – ‘Mean Old Man’
The Beach Boys – ‘God Only Knows’
Chinmaya Dunster & Vidroha Jamie – ‘Chance Meeting’
Nitin Sawhney – ‘Sunset’
Nat King Cole – ‘The Very Thought Of You’
Maria João Pires – ‘Nocturne No. 2 In E Flat Major’
Colin Hay – ‘Going Somewhere’
Steadman – ‘Carried’
The Julian Bream Consort – ‘Galliard’
George Harrison – ‘Marwa Blues’
Glenn Aitken – ‘The Way’
Donovan – ‘Sunny Goodge Street’
Fred Astaire – ‘Cheek To Cheek’
Frank Sinatra – ‘A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening’

George Harrison’s favourite songs:

A crystallisation of all the things Harrison found most valuable in music, this collection of tracks is a celebration of top-notch songwriting and devilish guitar licks. There’s also a track by Harrison’s Sitar tutor, the great Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar. It’s proof of just how diverse Harrison’s tastes were that ‘Raga Rageshri, Pt. 3’ sits alongside ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’ by George Formby.

Harrison’s list also includes the classic Bob Dylan Civil Rights anthem ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’. Dylan was a huge fan of Harrison’s songwriting and was instrumental in helping The Quiet Beatle develop his personal style in the second half of the 1960s. Thanks Bob.

‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ – Hank Williams
‘Heartbreak Hotel’ – Elvis Presley
‘Rock Island Line’ – Lonnie Donegan
‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ – Gene Vincent
‘That’ll Be The Day’ – Buddy Holly
‘Raunchy’ – Bill Justis
‘Rebel Rouser’ – Duane Eddy
‘Hidden Charm’ – Chet Atkins
‘Summertime Blues’ – Eddie Cochran
‘Everybody’s Tryin To Be My Baby’ – Carl Perkins
‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ – Barrett Strong
‘Some Other Guy’ – Richie Barrett
‘A Picture of You’ – Joe Brown
‘Green Onions’ – Booker T. & the MG’s
‘You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me’ – Smokey Robinson
‘Roll Over Beethoven’ – Chuck Berry
‘Black Cross’ – Lord Buckley
‘Raga Rageshri, Pt. 3’ – Ravi Shankar
‘Bye Bye Love’ – The Everly Brothers
‘Hong Kong Blues’ – Hoagy Carmichael
‘I Really Love You’ – The Stereos
‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’ – George Formby
‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ – Bob Dylan
‘Love Hurts’ – Roy Orbison
‘Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’ – Cab Calloway

Ringo Starr’s favourite songs:

Ringo has always been strangely secretive about his favourite music. In fact, on one of the few occasions he was asked to name some of the tracks he treasures most, he wound up naming a cover of a Beatles song. “Well, Ray Charles’ version of ‘Yesterday’ – that’s beautiful,” he once said.. “And ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is a groove. I just dig the strings on that. Like ’30s strings.”

Like so many of us, Starr’s music taste is in constant flux, making compiling a definitive list rather difficult. One of the songs he felt confident including was Gene Autry’s ‘South Of The Border’. “They used to play it on Saturday morning at the pictures in Liverpool, which was a big deal for kids in those days,” Starr told NME. “I remember it like yesterday, him singing that and it just feeling good. It moved me.”

‘Don’t Be Cruel’ – Elvis Presley
‘Good Golly Miss Molly’ – Little Richard
‘Rain’ – The Beatles
‘When The Deal Goes Down’ – Bob Dylan
‘Tell The Truth’ – Ray Charles
‘Come Together’ – The Beatles
‘South Of The Border’ – Gene Autry
‘The Twist’ – Chubby Checker