Practical MIDI

Sears, Harley-Davidson, The Beatles, Abbott and Costello—what do any of these have in common with the others? I’ll tell you. When was the last time you heard a die-hard biker say he was going to hit the road on his Davidson? Does anyone ever say they’re going to the Roebuck Store for a kitchen range and three pairs of wool socks? Ever hear anyone at a video store ask for a Costello movie? No to all of the above.

Milwaukee’s famous motorcycle is sometimes simply called a Harley or Harley Davidson but never a Davidson. Older people may still refer to America’s retail chain as Sears and Roebuck or just Sears, but never Roebuck. And movie enthusiasts will always call that 40s comedy team by their full name—Abbott and Costello but never one or the other.

Still, what do the rest of these have to do with The Beatles? Well, I recently read where Paul McCartney is trying to upset the 45-year-old apple (no pun intended) cart by rearranging the songwriting credits of Lennon-McCartney tunes based on which one wrote most or all of any particular song. While I can agree that he should be given credit for all he has accomplished I don’t agree on the idea that some songs will be referred to as Lennon-McCartney songs while others will bear the title of McCartney-Lennon. True, McCartney did write some of the songs with no help from Lennon, just as Lennon wrote some without McCartney’s input. Still what started out as a gentleman’s agreement in 1958 when they began writing together, should, in my opinion, remain as such.

Before the rest of the world ever heard of The Beatles, John and Paul made a pact that they would continue to write songs together and credit the results to Lennon & McCartney. Their goal, so they have been quoted as saying, was to become the next Goffin & King in the songwriting world. Goffin was Jerry Goffin and King was none other than Carole King, who were the top songwriters in the early days of The Beatles.

You may still find some early Beatle records on the Swan, Tollie, Atco or EMI label that will credit the song to McCartney-Lennon, but they are the exception. Back then both John and Paul were usually in the same room at the same time working on the same song. Later in their careers they’d usually write as much of a song as they could and then turn to the other to finish it. It was never a case of one writing the music and giving it to the other for lyrics, much like Elton John and Bernie Taupin did with all of their tunes.

As their fame grew, so did their independence from each other. Toward the end of The Beatles’ reign as rock kings, you could easily tell which one wrote which song, mainly by who sang it, but also by the content and the overall sound. Paul gravitated toward love songs and songs of peace and tranquility while John’s tended to be more cynical and abstract. Compare McCartney’s “I Will” with Lennon’s “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” both from the White Album. You can tell by listening who the composer was.

Any serious Beatle fan can already tell you who wrote which songs and isn’t that all that really matters? Paul’s already richer than any other rock star on the planet, having recently become a billionaire. So it can’t be a case of more money in his pocket. It has to be his constant need for personal recognition. I don’t personally know the man, but from what I’ve observed over the past four decades, he strikes me as a person in need of attention. I imagine without the screams of the fans and the television coverage, McCartney could very well be an insecure person. I’d think he would have to be hard to get along with since his band lineup is constantly changing. Maybe one of his previous guitarists dared to outshine or upstage him on a tour and now he’s history. Who knows?

Bottom line for me is this: leave the songwriting credits the way they’ve always been as Lennon and McCartney otherwise it could open up a whole new can of worms with the descendants of Gilbert & Sullivan, Rogers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Lowe…need I go on?

©2002 Bill Bernico for CYBERMIDI.com Downwind Publications