Questa è una domanda che molti fan dei Beatles si sono posti. La risposta non è così scontata come potrebbe sembrare. Infatti, se all’inizio della loro carriera era John Lennon il piu prolifico del gruppo, sicuramente con il passare del tempo anche Paul McCartney ha dato un forte contributo alla stesura delle canzoni dei Beatles.
John Lennon e Paul McCartney
Lennon scrisse ben 10 canzoni di “A Hard Days Night” del 1964, mentre a McCarteney si deve quasi per intero l’album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” del 1967. Il piu delle volte però i due collaboravano alla scrittura delle canzoni dei Beatles, come in “Help!”, “Rubber Soul” e “Revolver”. Anche l’album “The Beatles” del 1968 è stato scritto per metà da John e metà da Paul. Lennon scrisse “Day Tripper” e “Strawberry Fields Forever”, mentre a McCartney si devono “We Can Work It Out” e “Penny Lane” .
Lennon disse durante un’intervista che era stato lui a scrivere quasi per intero una delle canzoni dei Beatles più famose, “Eleanor Rigby,” che era stata precedentemente attribuita a McCartney. Dal canto suo, McCartney rivelò di aver scritto la melodia per “In My Life,” brano che molti pensavano fosse di Lennon.
George Harrison e Ringo Starr
Anche se meno prolifico di John e Paul, George Harrison contribuì grandemente al successo dei Beatles con alcuni brani iconici, come “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, “Something”; “Here Comes the Sun”, contenuti negli album The Beatles (1968) e Abbey Road (1969)
Ringo Starr oltre a prestare la voce per alcune parti di canzoni contribuì alla stesura di più di un brano, come ad esempio “Flying” e “Don’t Pass Me By”.
John Lennon rimane però il membro della band che ha scritto più singoli, mentre McCartney è colui che ha collaborato alla stesura di più canzoni dei Beatles.
Please Please Me (1963)
John Lennon (5): “Please Please Me”; “Ask Me Why”; “There’s a Place”; “Do You Want to Know a Secret”; co-wrote “Misery”
Paul McCartney (4): “Love Me Do”; “P.S. I Love You”; “I Saw Her Standing There”; co-wrote “Misery”
With The Beatles (1963)
John Lennon (5): “It Won’t Be Long”; “All I’ve Got to Do”; “Not a Second Time”; co-wrote “I Wanna Be Your Man” and “Little Child”
Paul McCartney (4): “All My Loving”; “Hold Me Tight”; co-wrote “I Wanna Be Your Man” and “Little Child”
George Harrison (1): “Don’t Bother Me”
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
John Lennon (10): “A Hard Day’s Night”; “I Should Have Known Better”; “Tell Me Why”; “If I Fell”; “Any Time at All”; “You Can’t Do That”; “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You”; “I’ll Cry Instead”; “I’ll Be Back”; “When I Get Home”
Paul McCartney (3): “Can’t Buy Me Love”; “And I Love Her”; “Things We Said Today”
Beatles For Sale (1964)
Paul McCartney (5): “Eight Days a Week”; “I’ll Follow the Sun”; “Every Little Thing”; “What You’re Doing”; co-wrote “Baby’s in Black”
John Lennon (4): “I’m a Loser”; “No Reply”; “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party”; co-wrote “Baby’s in Black”
Help! (1965)
John Lennon (5): “Help!”; “Ticket to Ride”; “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”; “You’re Going to Lose That Girl”; “It’s Only Love”
Paul McCartney (5): “Yesterday”; “I’ve Just Seen a Face”; “The Night Before”; “Another Girl”; “Tell Me What You See”
George Harrison (2): “I Need You”; “You Like Me Too Much”
Rubber Soul (1965)
John Lennon (8): “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”; “Nowhere Man”; “Girl”; “Run for Your Life”; co-wrote “In My Life,” “Wait,” “What Goes On” and “The Word”
Paul McCartney (8): “Drive My Car”; “I’m Looking Through You”; “Michelle”; “You Won’t See Me”; and co-wrote “In My Life,” “Wait,” “What Goes On” and “The Word”
George Harrison (2): “If I Needed Someone”; “Think for Yourself”
Ringo Starr (1): co-wrote “What Goes On”
Revolver (1966)
John Lennon (6): “Tomorrow Never Knows”; “And Your Bird Can Sing”; “I’m Only Sleeping”; “She Said She Said”; “Doctor Robert”; co-wrote “Eleanor Rigby”
Paul McCartney (6): “Good Day Sunshine”; “For No One”; “Got to Get You Into My Life”; “Here, There and Everywhere”; “Yellow Submarine”; co-wrote “Eleanor Rigby”
George Harrison (3): “Taxman”; “Love You To”; “I Want to Tell You”
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Paul McCartney (9): “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”; “When I’m 64”; “With a Little Help From My Friends”; “Fixing a Hole”; “Getting Better”; “Lovely Rita”; “She’s Leaving Home”; Sgt. Pepper’s (Reprise)”; co-wrote “A Day in the Life”
John Lennon (4): “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”; “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite”; “Good Morning Good Morning”; co-wrote “A Day in the Life”
George Harrison (1): “Within You Without You”
Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Paul McCartney (4): “Magical Mystery Tour”; “The Fool on the Hill”; “Your Mother Should Know”; co-wrote “Flying”
John Lennon (2): “I Am the Walrus”; co-wrote “Flying”
George Harrison (2): “Blue Jay Way”; co-wrote “Flying”
Ringo Starr (1): co-wrote “Flying”
The Beatles (1968)
John Lennon (13): “Revolution 1”; “Dear Prudence”; “Glass Onion”; “Julia”; “Cry Baby Cry”; “Yer Blues”; “Happiness is a Warm Gun”; “I’m So Tired”; “Sexy Sadie”; “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey”; “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”; “Revolution 9”; “Good Night”
Paul McCartney (12): “Blackbird”; “Back in the U.S.S.R.”; “I Will”; “Martha My Dear”; “Mother Nature’s Son”; “Birthday”; “Honey Pie”; “Helter Skelter”; “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?”; “Rocky Raccoon”; “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”; “Wild Honey Pie”
George Harrison (4): “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”; “Savoy Truffle”; “Long Long Long”; “Piggies”
Ringo Starr (1): “Don’t Pass Me By”
Yellow Submarine (1969)
John Lennon (2): “All You Need is Love”; co-wrote “Hey Bulldog”
Paul McCartney (2): “All Together Now”; co-wrote “Hey Bulldog”
George Harrison (2): “It’s All Too Much”; “Only a Northern Song”
Abbey Road (1969)
Paul McCartney (8): “You Never Give Me Your Money”; “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window”; “Oh! Darling”; “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”; “Golden Slumbers”; “Carry That Weight”; “The End”; “Her Majesty”
John Lennon: (6): “Come Together”; “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”; “Sun King”; “Mean Mr. Mustard”; “Polythene Pam”; “Because”
George Harrison: (3): “Something”; “Here Comes the Sun”; co-wrote “Octopus’ Garden”
Ringo Starr (1): co-wrote “Octopus’ Garden”
Let It Be (1970)
John Lennon (5): “Dig a Pony”; “One After 909”; “Across the Universe”; “Dig It”; co-wrote “I’ve Got a Feeling”
Paul McCartney (5): “Get Back”; “Let It Be”; “Two of Us”; “The Long and Winding Road”; co-wrote “I’ve Got a Feeling”
George Harrison (2): “I Me Mine”; “For You Blue”
