Misery

In February of 1963 the Beatles needed material for their debut album. A month earlier Lennon and McCartney had collaborated on Misery for Helen Shapiro, a popular young British vocalist that headlined the tour of which the Beatles were a part. It was to have a "country-western" feel to it. Though Shapiro did not record the song, Kenny Lynch, another popular British songster on the same tour, did. He did not break into the charts, but he has the honor of being the first artist to cover a song written by the Lennon-McCartney team. The Beatles recorded it later in February 1963 for their first album, Please Please Me, where it was placed as track 2. Though slower than the opening song (I Saw Her Standing There), Misery is by no means slow-paced. The theme -- sad, adolescent self-possession -- is treated somewhat ironically by the group. George Martin added the piano track separately, after the recording session.