All I've Got to Do

"All I've Got to Do" is a song written by John Lennon[1][2] (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and performed by the English rock group the Beatles on their second British album, With the Beatles (1963).[3][4] In the United States, "All I've Got to Do" originally appeared on Meet the Beatles! (1964).[3][5] According to Dennis Alstrand, the song is the first time in rock and roll or rock music where the bass player plays chords as a vital part of the song.[6]

"All I've Got to Do"
Cover of the Northern Songs sheet music
(licensed to Sonora Musikförlag)
Song by the Beatles
from the album With the Beatles
Released22 November 1963 (mono)
30 November 1963 (stereo)
Recorded11 September 1963
StudioEMI, London
Genre
Length2:04
LabelParlophone (UK)
Capitol (US)
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

Inspiration

Lennon said he was "trying to do Smokey Robinson again,"[7] and Ian MacDonald compared it to "You Can Depend on Me" by the Miracles, both musically and lyrically.[8] Richie Unterberger of Allmusic said it sounds like Robinson but also Arthur Alexander.[9] Beatles biographer Bob Spitz said the song is "restlessly dark and moody", and compared it to the Shirelles' "Baby It's You" (a song the Beatles previously covered) and early Drifters recordings.[10]

It was one of three songs Lennon was the principal writer for on With the Beatles, with "It Won't Be Long"[11] and "Not a Second Time".[12] Lennon said that it was written specifically for the American market; the idea of calling a girl on the telephone was unthinkable to a British youth in the early 1960s. For instance, Lennon said in an interview regarding "No Reply": "I had the image of walking down the street and seeing her silhouetted in the window and not answering the 'phone, although I have never called a girl on the 'phone in my life! Because 'phones weren't part of the English child's life."[13]

Recording

The band recorded the song in a single recording session on 11 September 1963 in 14 takes with one overdub, take 15. The master take was take 15.[14] It was mixed for mono on 30 September and for stereo on 29 October.[15]

Although music journalist Steve Turner claims the song was written in 1961,[16] MacDonald said the song was never in the Beatles' live repertoire, and that explains why 8 of the 14 takes were incomplete: the band was unfamiliar with the song.[8]

Release

In the UK, "All I've Got to Do" was released on With the Beatles which also includes the Beatles' cover of "You Really Got a Hold on Me" by the Miracles,[3] the most direct connection between the album and Robinson's music. In the US, Capitol Records pulled "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" off Meet the Beatles!, releasing it later on The Beatles' Second Album.[3]

Personnel
Personnel per Ian MacDonald[8]

Cover versions
  • In 2007, The Smithereens covered "All I've Got to Do"—and all the other songs on Meet The Beatles!—on their tribute album Meet the Smithereens!.[17]
  • Toxic Audio covered it on Come Together: An A Cappella Tribute to The Beatles.[18]
  • Moon Martin recorded it on Shots from a Cold Nightmare (1979) with Phil Seymour on drums and harmony.
  • Ian McNabb and Thomas McConnell covered it on Mojo: We're With The Beatles (2013)
  • In 2019, Dog Party covered "All I've Got to Do" and "I Feel Fine".

Notes
  1. Sheff 2000, p. 193.
  2. Miles 1997, p. 148.
  3. Lewisohn 1988, p. 200.
  4. Cross 2005, p. 492.
  5. Cross 2005, pp. 547–548.
  6. Alstrand 2009.
  7. Dowlding, William. Beatlesongs. New York: Touchstone, 1989, p. 49.
  8. MacDonald 2005, p. 97.
  9. Unterberger 2007.
  10. Spitz 2005, p. 446.
  11. Sheff 2000, p. 170.
  12. Sheff 2000, p. 194.
  13. Badman 2000, p. 135.
  14. Lewisohn 1988, p. 35.
  15. Lewisohn 1988, pp. 36, 37.
  16. Turner 2005, p. 35.
  17. Deming 2007.
  18. Legett 2007.
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References
  • Alstrand, Dennis. "The Evolution of Rock Bass Playing; McCartney Style: 1963". Archived from the original on 1 January 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
  • Badman, Keith (2000). The Beatles Off the Record.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Cross, Craig (2005). The Beatles: Day-by-Day, Song-by-Song, Record-by-Record. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-34663-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Deming, Mark (2007). "Review of Meet the Smithereens". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 March 2007.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Legett, Steve (2007). "Review of Come Together: An A Cappella Tribute to the Beatles". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 March 2007.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-84413-828-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Pollack, Alan W (1991). "Notes on "All I've Got to Do"". Notes on ... Series.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles: The Biography. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-80352-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Turner, Steve (2005). A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song (3rd ed.). New York: Harper Paperbacks. ISBN 0-06-084409-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Unterberger, Richie (2007). "Review of "All I've Got to Do"". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 March 2007.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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