You can go on all day talking about the various reasons why the music of The Beatles is so special. Some of it can just be credited to fate. For example, there was just something magical about the vocal blend of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, something that occurred naturally when the two men sang together.
George Harrison often added his wonderful harmonies to the mix as well. For this list, however, we’re concentrating on those songs where Lennon and McCartney’s vocal mix provided something extra special that no other band could hope to replicate.
“I Saw Her Standing There” from Please Please Me (1963)
Considering it’s the very first song on the very first Beatles’ UK album (Please Please Me), “I Saw Her Standing There” occupies a special place in Fab Four history. And right off the bat, we get an indication of what Lennon and McCartney could do on the mic together. Paul mostly wrote the song, so he gets to sing lead while also propelling the thrilling pace with his fast-fingered bass work. But the song really hits another level in the chorus when Macca’s higher vocal is met by the low harmonies of Lennon, providing a kind of inverse approximation of The Everly Brothers’ formula.
“If I Fell” from A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
The Beatles were a bit tentative in including ballads on their early records. On the two albums they released in 1963, most of the slow stuff they did were cover songs (like “Till There Was You,” for example.) For the album A Hard Day’s Night, the band performed nothing but Lennon-McCartney originals, which gave them a bit more room to try their hand at a slower pace. “If I Fell” is a real beauty, written by Lennon and given wings whenever he and McCartney fearlessly soar in and out of their harmonies.
“No Reply” from Beatles for Sale (1964)
This track comes off an underrated Beatles album (Beatles for Sale) that doesn’t get as much hype as some of the band’s other records. When you hear this song, you might wonder why the group didn’t give it consideration as a single. John Lennon was the chief writer, and his forceful lead vocal plays a large part in the effectiveness of “No Reply.” McCartney stays off the mic until the line, I saw the light, and his sudden appearance brings another dimension of urgency to the track. He also gallops alongside Lennon in the middle eight in thrilling fashion.
“Hey Jude” (Single, 1968)
Considering McCartney wrote this classic to try and cheer up Lennon’s son Julian in the wake of his parents’ divorce, it wouldn’t have been crazy to expect skepticism on Lennon’s part about the song’s motivation. Instead, John had nothing but praise for the song, in fact pushing for it to be released it as a single despite its length. He also very subtly added the finishing touch to the recording. Instead of harmonizing with McCartney all through the song, he waits and comes into the picture in the very last verse, and it’s an extremely moving moment when he does.
“Two of Us” from Let It Be (1970)
When The Beatles assembled in a chilly film studio in early 1969 to try and pull together Paul McCartney’s combination film/album idea (which would eventually become Let It Be), the Lennon-McCartney partnership was dissipating. McCartney wrote “Two of Us” about his wife Linda and the special relationship they had developed. But he chose to sing it as a kind of duet with Lennon, harmonizing with him for every part of the song except the bridge. As a result, many people nostalgically associate the lyrics with the friendship between the two men, and you can’t really blame them when you hear their voices coming together like in the old days.
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