The Beatles Refused to Record 1 of Paul McCartney’s Songs

TL;DR:

• The Beatles didn’t record one of Paul McCartney’s songs.
• Paul said he was “ashamed” of the song.
• Another artist covered the tune and released his version as a single.

One of Paul McCartney‘s songs never became a Beatles song because the group didn’t like it. Subsequently, they gave the song to another artist. The artist released his version of the tune as a single.

Paul McCartney was ashamed he wrote 1 song and The Beatles rejected it

In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the song “Tip of My Tongue.” “Oh, my God!” he said. “There were always a couple of songs that we didn’t want to do because we didn’t think they were very good, but other people would say, ‘Well, I’ll do it, I think it’s quite good.'”

A singer named Tommy Quickly recorded “Tip of My Tongue” but The Beatles never released a version of it. “Tommy Quickly was one of our friends out of Brian Epstein’s stable,” Paul explained. “This is pretty much mine, I’m ashamed to say. It sounds like one of these where I tried to work it around the title.”

Paul McCartney gave another song to a solo artist before the public heard The Beatles’ version

Subsequently, Paul explained why his songs “Tip of My Tongue” and “That Means a Lot” saw the light of day even thought he disliked them. “Normally I’d try and bury these songs and not put them out but there was so much pressure from people, they’d say, ‘Have you got anything?’

“I’d say, ‘I have, but you really don’t want to see them,'” he continued. “They’d say, ‘I do! Believe me, I think I can make a good job of it, and your name on it would be a big plus.'” P. J. Proby wanted to record “That Means a Lot” and he did so. Subsequently, The Beatles’ rendition of “That Means a Lot” appeared on the album Anthology 2 but it was never a single, much less a hit.

How the covers of the songs performed on the pop charts in the United Kingdom

According to The Official Charts Company, Quickly’s “Tip of My Tongue” never charted in the United Kingdom and neither did any of his albums. His only hit, “Wild Side of Life,” reached No. 33 in the U.K. and spent eight weeks on the chart.

The Official Charts Company reports Proby’s “That Means a Lot” was a bigger hit. It reached No. 30 in the U.K. and spent a total of six weeks on the chart.

Paul wasn’t a fan of “Tip of My Tongue” and “That Means a Lot” but the songs remain interesting footnotes in other artists’ careers.