Anna (Go To Him)

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“Anna (Go To Him)” is one of The Beatles’ early cover releases on their 1963 album, “Please Please Me”.

In Detail

Albums

Release Date: 22nd March, 1963
Recorded: 11th February, 1963
Track Duration: 2:54
Record Label: Parlophone
Songwriter: Arthur Alexander
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Norman Smith

Performers

John Lennon: vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney: bass, backing vocals
George Harrison: lead guitar, backing vocals
Ringo Starr: drums

Track Source

Please Please Me
On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2

Anna (Go To Him)

To begin with, “Anna (Go To Him)”, or simply “Anna” was one of the band’s favourites while they were touring.

Anna (Go To Him) is a cover version of a song recorded by The Beatles on the Please Please Me album.

Please Please Me Album (1963)

Anna (Go To Him) is a song which The Beatles covered and is on their On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2 Album

On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2 Album (2013)

However, it is a cover song which means The Beatles never wrote it. As a matter of fact, Arthur Alexander did and he had minor success with it as a single. Be that as it may, the Fab Four recorded it for their first studio album, “Please Please Me”.

The Beatles sang about many girls of course. However, when they recorded “Anna (Go To Him)” this became the first time they named a specific girl. Lennon loved the song so much that it became part of their live act, including at the Cavern Club, Liverpool.

Despite the title saying “Go To Him” the actual lyric sang throughout the song is “Go With Him”.

Recording Studio

The Beatles recorded “Anna (Go To Him)” together with most others on the “Please Please Me” album in one day. This was on 11 February 1963 during the 10am-10.45pm session. They recorded 3 takes of which their last take became the master copy for mixing.

John Lennon sings this song and on the day of recording he had a bad cold. This had a negative influence on his voice, but he managed well to reach the highest notes to good effect. On The Beatles’ first studio album, it sits on side 1 as track 3 after “Misery” and before, “Chains“.

The Beatles also appeared on BBC Radio regularly in the early sixties of course. Indeed, some of their work at the BBC is now commercially available to buy. For the “Pop Goes The Beatles” show, they recorded “Anna (Go to Him)” on 17 June 1963 for transmission on the 25th June. Then they recorded it again on the 1st August, 1963 for a broadcast on the 27th August.

Their 2013 release of, “On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2”, includes the version from August.

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About Bobby

I have been a Beatles fan since the early 1960s so I speak from my heart and soul. It was a pleasure to accept the role of Editor on The Beatles Forum when we left our old site. If you feel that something needs correcting with the information I provide, please contact me.

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