This is always been one of my favourite ones.

“You Really Got a Hold on Me” was originally a hit by american black singer William “Smokey” Robinson, with his band called The Miracles one of the very first Tamla Motown artists.

This song was released as a single in 1962, and immediately entered in Beatles’ repertoire. They were always been great fans, indeed, of Motown and black music in general, as proved by the many covers on their early records and by some of their own songs (like “When I get Home”) written in a similar style.

By this point of view, this ballad was perfect as a melodic break in their live shows, not to forget the habit, which they had even before reaching fame, to capture the attention of their female public by a touch of romanticism. Being a part so important of their live shows, it was natural for them to put it on record, as they made for their second album “With the Beatles”. By the way it was the first song to be recorded for the album: being not sure still about their new songs, they preferred to start with something they were more used to play. And it was a good idea, since recording sessions lasted just a morning, on July the 18th 1963.

Let’s listen to the original version:

It’s interesting comparising the two ones, so to know which was the Beatles’ approach to other artists’ songs. First of all you notice a a difference in pitch: Robinson sang it in C, while the Beatles prefer an A, this probably to make it more comfortable to sing. An A tonality, on the other hand, make it easier to play with guitars, allowing a more natural switch to F#min with fingers. This because the Beatles’ version, as you can expect, is mostly for guitars.

Where Robinson used mainly piano and saxophones, the Beatles play their electric guitars, except for some piano (but just on record, not live). Vocals also are different. Robinson preferred harmonizing them so that you could easily distiguish the lead one, while the Beatles produce a “wall of sound” of their own, which does not let Lennon’s lead vocal to stand out but in some parts.

It’s impossible to say which is the best one. They’re both very good and exciting performances. By the way it has to be said that the Beatles, as in another occasions, show a high ability to take a song written by others and make a stronger and full of more pathos song out of it. A gift shown at its best in songs like “Twist and Shout” or “Money”, but pretty clear in this cover too.

“You Really Got a Hold on Me” was part of their live show for many years. Nor they totally forgot it. As the ones who saw the movie “Let it Be” know, during the famous Get Back Sessions the Beatles played a new version of this song:

Being just an improvisation made many years after not playing it, they made a lot of mistakes; that’s why the sequence on movie is not integral (but you can find the whole version in some bootleg records). Anyway it’s a strong take, ‘though Lennon sometimes is in trouble with tonality and doesn’t remember the lyrics; but he sings doing the best that he can. I’ve always been particulary amused by this sequence, presenting a band very close to split while playing a song from their early years. And what a song!