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TL;DR:

  • The Mamas & the Papas’ Michelle Phillips said The Beatles’ “Love Me Do” didn’t sound “proper.”
  • She thought the song was awesome anyway.
  • “Love Me Do” became a hit single three times in three decades in the United Kingdom.
The Mamas & the Papas in black-and-white
The Mamas & the Papas | Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer

The Mamas & the Papas’ Cass Elliot said she didn’t enjoy The Doors as much as The Beatles. Subsequently, The Mamas & the Papas’ Michelle Phillips discussed what she felt about The Beatles’ “Love Me Do.” Notably, the song reached No. 1 in the United States but not the United Kingdom.

The Mamas & the Papas’ Cass Elliot said The Doors didn’t move her but The Beatles turned her on

During a 1968 interview with Rolling Stone, Elliot discussed her taste in music. “Like, today, I’d rather hear Jimi Hendrix,” she said. “Today.

“The Doors, for instance: I can’t really get into their music,” he added. “I find it very one-dimensional. True, it’s far out. But when you get there finally, it’s just in one. It doesn’t surround me or take me away, whereas The Beatles always have completely turned me on.”

The Mamas & the Papas’ Michelle Phillips said The Beatles’ ‘Love Me Do’ did not sound like anything else in the top 40 at the time

In a 2022 interview with The Guardian, Phillips discussed her initial reaction to “Love Me Do.” “I couldn’t think of any other records in the Top 40 that had ‘Love Me Do”s interaction between two guys, and the phrase ‘love me do’ didn’t even seem to be proper English,” he said. “I just thought: ‘Whatever it is, I love it.'”

She discussed the Fab Four’s impact on The Mamas & the Papas. “They were a huge inspiration to us,” she said. “In 1966, we were supposed to go and see them at the Dodger Stadium, but then we were told it would be unsafe for us to go because we’d get mobbed and security would have their hands full with The Beatles,” he said. “I dropped my fork and cried.”

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‘Love Me Do’ was a hit once in the United States and 3 times in the United Kingdom

“Love Me Do” became a hit in the U.S. The tune reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week, saying on the chart for 14 weeks. “Love Me Do” appeared on the compilation album 1962-1966. The album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 175 weeks.

The Official Charts Company says “Love Me Do” became a hit three times in the U.K. It reached No. 17 in 1962, staying on the chart for 18 weeks. It became the Fab Four’s first song to chart there. In 1982, it peaked at No. 4 and stayed on the chart for seven weeks. Finally, the tune reached No. 53 for a single week in 1992.

In the U.K., 1962-1966 peaked at No. 3 and spent a total of 163 weeks. It was one of the group’s most popular compilations there.

“Love Me Do” was a massive hit even if Phillips thought its lyrics weren’t “proper.”

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