Please Please Me /John Lennon, Paul McCartney

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First, the  original

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3NTVkHwD5I

When I've been reading about the origin of that song, it's struck me that John and David had more in common that it might seem. They both loved American standards,  Cole Porter's or Gershwin's music. They understood the meaning ..how to put it..the meaning of words, or better say, they were sensitive to words, the melody of English language (hope you know what I mean), of course they were musicians, artists,  and John Lennon was also quite a good actor himself. 

The song is credited to Lennon/McCartney, but it was originally John's song and it was written as a bluesy, slow tempo track. John Lennon : 'I remember the day I wrote it, I heard Roy Orbison doing 'Only the Lonely' (..) And I was always intrigued by the words to Bing Crosby song that went - 'Please lend a little ear to my pleas' - the double use of the word 'please'. It was a combination of Ray Orbison and Bing Crosby' (The Beatles 2000. The Beatles Anthology, London, Cassel&Co). And it was George Martin who influenced The Beatles to change the tempo of that hit.

So for the first time David Cassidy and 'Please Please Me' from Royal Albert Hall ,1985 (the audio)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foX6MsxapI8

The meaning of that song has been  discussed for many years..Is it just an innocent plea to a girl to be more serious with that relationship, or maybe not so innocent..There are such songs which sound so innocent but have a subtext. It depends on an artist and interpretation and context. And when David Cassidy performed that song in 1974... 

What a shame we don't have a video, but at least those priceless recordings.  A review : (Cassidy Live!) is a living proof of what a sensational showman he was. (..) Please Please Me ranked up there with any Fabs cover you could name. Indeed, with the screaming now at its peak, it comes as close to recapturing the heady days of The Beatles' (Dave Thompson, AllMusic Review)

So..let's listen once again 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP72VMkRXak

 Summer 1974, 47 years ago, the end of Cassidymania. On July 27th Please Please Me was # 16 on the UK charts, and on August 3rd, 'Cassidy Live'  reached its highest number  - 9.


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