What The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones Asked John Lennon About The Beatles’ ‘Love Me Do’
Paul McCartney explained what The Beatles were trying to accomplish with “Love Me Do.” In the same vein, John Lennon revealed The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones wanted to know about the song. Notably, the song became a hit in multiple decades.
Paul McCartney said The Beatles had a formula for the titles of their early songs
During a 2015 interview with Billboard, Paul explained what the Beatles were trying to accomplish with “Love Me Do.” “Our early stuff is more simple than our later stuff, and that’s one of the great things about The Beatles,” Paul said.
“This was a very simple song that fell into the category of ‘fan songs,'” he added. “All our early songs contained ‘me’ or ‘you.’ We were completely direct and shameless to the fans.” Paul noted the use of the words “me” and “you” in the titles of “Love Me Do, “Please Please Me,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones couldn’t make out an instrument on The Beatles’ ‘Love Me Do’
According to the book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, John discussed The Beatles’ relationship with The Rolling Stones during a 1974 interview. “We never talked about it, because in the early days we just had our own careers to look after, and we used to … we hung around in two separate periods,” he said. “One was when they were initially still playing in the clubs.”
John remembered an early encounter with Jones. “I remember the first thing one of them ever … Brian Jones came over and said, ‘Are you playing a harmonica or a harp on ‘Love Me Do?'” John recalled. “I said a harmonica, you know, with a button, which wasn’t real funky blues, you know.
John explained why The Beatles used a harmonica on “Love Me Do.” “You couldn’t get ‘Hey! Baby’ licks on a blues harp, when we were also doing ‘Hey! Baby’ by Bruce Channel at that time,” he recalled.
How ‘Love Me Do’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Love Me Do” became a big hit in the United States. For one week, it topped the Billboard Hot 100. The track stayed on the chart for 14 weeks. “Love Me Do” appeared on the compilation album 1962-1966. The album reached the third position on the Billboard 200. It remained on the album for 175 weeks.
“Love Me Do” became a more modest hit in the United Kingdom. According to The Official Charts Company, the song reached No. 17 in the U.K. in 1962. It lasted on the chart for 18 weeks. In 1982, it reached No. 4, while in 1992, it reached No. 53. Meanwhile, 1962-1966 hit No. 3 and stayed on the chart for 167 weeks.
“Love Me Do” became a huge hit — and it intrigued a member of The Rolling Stones.
