A Taste of Honey

A Taste of Honey was originally an instrumental theme for a 1960 Broadway adaptation of a 1958 British play of the same name. In 1961 the work was made into a film. The soaring theme won Grammy Awards, and was admired by the Beatles. Starting in 1962, they started covering this song in their performance set, basing their treatment mainly on a vocal version by Kenny Welsh. They slightly modified the lyrics in the chorus and added distinctive musical touches of their own. When songs were hurriedly selected for their first album in February of 1963, producer George Martin felt this cover was a solid candidate, as the song was very popular, the Beatles' treatment solidly reflected their trademark sound, and the group had performed it so often that it could be recorded in a minimal number of takes.