Crafting a good intro is harder than it seems. But for The Beatles, crafting an iconic intro seemed to be a piece of cake. Whether it was the standard guitar intro, or experimenting with innovative sounds like the Mellotron, The Beatles had a gift for creating attention-grabbing introductions. In this article, we will dive into 15 of the best and most iconic Beatles intros.
1. Love Me Do
What better way to start this list than with The Beatles debut single “Love Me Do”? Inspired by Bruce Channel’s “Hey! Baby”, John Lennon opens the song with his iconic harmonica intro. “John came up with this riff, the little harmonica riff. It’s so simple. There’s nothing to it; it’s a will-o’-the-wisp song,” McCartney reflected in his book The Lyrics. “But there’s a terrific sense of longing in the bridge which, combined with that harmonica, touches the soul in some way.”
2. Strawberry Fields Forever
When you think of iconic Beatles introductions, the mellotron introduction of “Strawberry Fields Forever” is probably the first that comes to mind. The Moody Blues’ Mike Pinder introduced the then-new instrument to The Beatles in the mid-60s, and typically Beatles-esque, it was only a matter of time before the band used the instrument in a mind-blowing way. “The first time I heard ‘Strawberry Fields’ I was in bliss,” Pinder later reflected.
3. A Hard Day’s Night
The introduction of “A Hard Day’s Night” is a single chord. What’s so iconic about it then? Well, because it’s probably the most-discussed chord in music history. To this day, discussions exist around what exact chord the Beatles play on the song. Sounds pretty iconic to me!
4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
John Lennon and Paul McCartney initially showed little interest in Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. Therefore, Harrison decided to recruit friend Eric Clapton to play guitar on the song. Eric Clapton’s presence caused Lennon and McCartney to take “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” more seriously, which resulted in a beautiful piano introduction composed by McCartney.
Read more: The Story Behind “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by The Beatles
5. Come Together
Of course, “Come Together” has to be part of this list. Although the song was written by John Lennon, it’s McCartney and Starr who are mainly responsible for the song’s iconic introduction. Their respective bass line and drum-roll give “Come Together” its instantly recognizable sound.
6. Day Tripper
“Day Tripper’s” introduction is probably the most recognizable electric guitar riff in The Beatles’ entire repertoire. With the pressure to release a new single at the end of 1965, John Lennon wrote the iconic song based on a folk song he wrote a month earlier. On the recording, Harrison plays the guitar riff, which was his task as the band’s lead guitarist.
7. Revolution
The single version of “Revolution” starts with a chainsaw-like fuzz guitar riff. “We got into distortion on that, which we had a lot of complaints from the technical people about,” producer George Martin reflected in the Anthology. “But that was the idea: it was John’s song and the idea was to push it right to the limit. Well, we went to the limit and beyond.”
8. Here Comes the Sun
Another George Harrison song with a connection to Eric Clapton. This time not Clapton’s guitar playing, but the garden of his house in Ewhurst, Surrey. Because that’s where Harrison wrote the basic structure of “Here Comes the Sun”. The acoustic guitar intro is the perfect start to one of The Beatles’ most uplifting songs.
9. Eight Days A Week
When The Beatles expressed their dissatisfaction with “Eight Days A Week’s introduction, engineer Norman Smith suggested using a fade-in at the start of the song. The use of the technique marked the first time a pop recording used a fade-in.
10. And I Love Her
John Lennon called McCartney’s ballad “And I Love Her” his first “Yesterday”. But the song’s iconic intro was written by George Harrison, who improvised the classical guitar hook in the studio. McCartney later admitted the song would be nothing without Harrison’s hook.
Read more: The Story Behind “And I Love Her” by The Beatles
11. Here, There and Everywhere
When you think about iconic introductions, you tend to think about instrumental riffs. But “Here, There and Everywhere” proves that vocal introductions can be beautiful too. McCartney claimed the introduction was inspired by The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”, which he frequently mentions as one of his favorite songs ever. The greatest thing about “Here, There and Everywhere’s” intro is that it’s truly unique to the rest of the song.
12. Paperback Writer
Combine the introductions of Lennon’s “Nowhere Man” and “Day Tripper”, and you get the introduction of McCartney’s “Paperback Writer”. The song famously starts with acapella vocals, followed by a tasty guitar riff. Lennon later commented that “Paperback Writer” is the son of “Day Tripper”.
13. Octopus’s Garden
“Octopus’s Garden” is one of the two songs Ringo wrote for The Beatles. For the song’s chord structure, Ringo received uncredited help from George Harrison, who also shines on the song’s introduction. Harrison’s lead guitar work on the entire song is great, but nothing beats his intro lick.
Read more: John, Paul, George, and Ringo’s Favorite Beatles Album
14. Ticket To Ride
George Harrison opens “Ticket To Ride” with a distinctive Rickenbacker 12-string guitar riff. He reportedly came up with the riff based on Lennon’s strumming when he presented the song to the band.
15. I Feel Fine
I end this list with “I Feel Fine”. John Lennon wrote the iconic riff during the recording of “Eight Days a Week”. But more iconic than the intro riff is the use of feedback at the start of the song. It was the first time a band deliberately used feedback on a record.
“We were just about the walk away to listen to a take when John leaned his guitar against the amp. I can still see him doing it,” McCartney reflected in Many Years From Now. “He really should have turned the electric off. It was only on a tiny bit, and John just leaned it against the amp when it went, ‘Nnnnnnwahhhhh!’ George Martin was there so we said, ‘ Can we have that on the record?’ ‘Well, I suppose we could, we could edit it on the front.’ It was a found object, an accident caused by leaning the guitar against the amp.”
Of course, The Beatles have more than just 15 iconic introductions. So, what intros should’ve definitely been included on this list? And what are your favorite Beatles intros? Feel free to let me know in the comments below!
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