Wednesday 11 September 1963 | Recording, Studio, With The Beatles
| Date | Wednesday 11 September 1963 |
| Studio | Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London |
| Sessions | 2.30–6.00pm and 7.00–10.15pm |
| Producer | George Martin |
| Engineer | Norman Smith |
| Songs worked on | ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘Little Child’, ‘All I’ve Got To Do’, ‘Not A Second Time’, ‘Don’t Bother Me’ |
| Album | With The Beatles (released 22 November 1963) |
On Wednesday 11 September 1963, The Beatles held two recording sessions at Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road to work on material for their second UK album, With The Beatles. Produced by George Martin and engineered by Norman Smith, the day's work spanned seven and three-quarter hours across two blocks, with a break from 6pm to 7pm. Five songs were attempted; two were completed, and three would be carried over to the following day.
By September 1963, The Beatles were operating at a pace that would exhaust most recording artists. Beatlemania was fully under way in Britain, the touring schedule was relentless, and the pressure to deliver a second album — following the extraordinary commercial success of Please Please Me, which had spent 30 weeks at number one — was considerable. That they were still producing new original material at this speed, and of this quality, says something about the creative momentum they had built.
Session one: 2.30–6.00pm
I Wanna Be Your Man
The first song attempted was ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and earmarked as a Ringo Starr vocal on the album — following the same template as ‘Boys’ on Please Please Me, which had given Ringo his showcase moment. Only one take was recorded before the group decided to move on; further attempts would be made the following day. The song had an additional distinction: Lennon and McCartney had recently gifted an early version of it to The Rolling Stones, who released it as their second single in November 1963, reaching number 12 in the UK charts.
Little Child
‘Little Child’, another Lennon–McCartney composition, fared only slightly better. Two takes were recorded before the group again chose to continue the following day. The song — a harmonica-driven rocker with an insistent energy — would eventually be completed in the 12 September session.
All I’ve Got To Do
The first session concluded with the most productive piece of work of the day: ‘All I’ve Got To Do’, a John Lennon song with an intimate, almost conversational quality. The Beatles recorded 14 takes, eight of which were incomplete. The fourteenth take was chosen as the master, and a single overdub was then applied — logged as take 15 — to complete the song. It was one of the few items from the day's work to be finished in a single session.
The Beatles — With The Beatles
The Beatles: With The Beatles 8 Track T-Shirt (Black) — featuring all eight tracks from the album recorded across these sessions.
Session two: 7.00–10.15pm
Not A Second Time
After the hour-long break, the group resumed with ‘Not A Second Time’, another Lennon composition. Five takes of the backing track were recorded before work began on the embellishments. Lennon then double-tracked his vocals, and George Martin overdubbed a piano part. These extra elements required four attempts before the team was satisfied. The finished recording is one of the more stripped-back tracks on the album, its simplicity belying the care that went into the construction.
The song later gained an unlikely distinction when the music critic William Mann of The Times wrote a celebrated review of With The Beatles in which he analysed it in terms of its ‘Aeolian cadence’ — a phrase that became one of the most quoted pieces of Beatles criticism of the era and contributed significantly to the wider critical recognition that The Beatles were doing something musically sophisticated, not merely commercially successful.
Don’t Bother Me
The final song of the day was ‘Don’t Bother Me’, written by George Harrison — his first composition to be recorded by The Beatles and the first Harrison original to appear on a Beatles album. Seven takes were recorded, three of which were overdubs, but the group judged the results unsatisfactory and decided to remake the song the following day.
The significance of ‘Don’t Bother Me’ in the larger story is considerable. Harrison had long been the group member most visibly constrained by the Lennon–McCartney songwriting dominance; this was his first formal assertion of a compositional voice within the group's recorded output. He later expressed ambivalence about the song itself, describing it as a deliberate exercise to see whether he could write a song rather than an outpouring of natural creativity. It worked well enough: the finished version, completed the following day, is a confident, slightly sinister minor-key track that sits well within the album's overall character. For more on George Harrison's story, visit People in Beatles History.
The Beatles — With The Beatles
The Beatles: With The Beatles Album Cover Steel Wall Sign — the iconic Robert Freeman photograph that defined the album's look.
The session in context
With The Beatles was recorded almost entirely in the second half of 1963, squeezed around a tour schedule that would have defeated most bands. The album's cover — Robert Freeman's half-lit portrait photograph of the four Beatles — was shot at the Palace Court Hotel in Bournemouth in August 1963 and gave the record a visual sophistication that set it apart from the standard pop album artwork of the time.
The album was released on 22 November 1963 — the same day as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. It entered the UK charts at number one and stayed there for 21 weeks. The US equivalent, Meet The Beatles!, was released in January 1964 and became the fastest-selling album in Capitol Records' history. For more on the recordings and albums of The Beatles, visit the Beatles Knowledge Hub.
Song-by-song summary
| Song | Writer(s) | Takes | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| I Wanna Be Your Man | Lennon–McCartney | 1 | Continued 12 September |
| Little Child | Lennon–McCartney | 2 | Continued 12 September |
| All I’ve Got To Do | Lennon–McCartney | 14 + overdub (take 15) | Completed |
| Not A Second Time | Lennon–McCartney | 5 backing + 4 overdubs | Completed |
| Don’t Bother Me | George Harrison | 7 (incl. 3 overdubs) | Remade 12 September |
Frequently Asked Questions
What did The Beatles record on 11 September 1963?
On 11 September 1963 The Beatles worked on five songs for With The Beatles across two sessions at Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road: I Wanna Be Your Man (1 take), Little Child (2 takes), All I’ve Got To Do (completed in 14 takes plus overdub), Not A Second Time (5 backing takes plus overdubs, completed), and Don’t Bother Me (7 takes including overdubs, remade the following day).
Was Don’t Bother Me George Harrison’s first song on a Beatles album?
Yes. Don’t Bother Me, written by George Harrison, was his first composition to be recorded by The Beatles and the first Harrison original to appear on a Beatles album. Recording began on 11 September 1963 and was completed the following day. Harrison later said he wrote it as a deliberate exercise to see whether he could write a song.
Who sang I Wanna Be Your Man on With The Beatles?
Ringo Starr sang lead vocals on I Wanna Be Your Man on With The Beatles. The song was written by Lennon and McCartney. The same songwriting duo had also given the song to The Rolling Stones, who released it as their second single in November 1963.
What is the Aeolian cadence in Not A Second Time?
Music critic William Mann of The Times praised Not A Second Time in a 1963 review of With The Beatles, describing its concluding chord sequence as an Aeolian cadence. The reference — drawing a comparison with the harmonic language of classical music — was one of the first times a major newspaper critic had applied serious musical analysis to The Beatles' work, and contributed to the growing critical recognition that the group were doing something musically sophisticated.
When was With The Beatles released?
With The Beatles was released on 22 November 1963 — the same day as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It entered the UK charts at number one and remained there for 21 weeks. The US equivalent, Meet The Beatles!, was released in January 1964.
Who produced the With The Beatles recording sessions?
With The Beatles was produced by George Martin, with Norman Smith as engineer. The 11 September 1963 session ran across two blocks: 2.30–6.00pm and 7.00–10.15pm at Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road.
The Beatles — With The Beatles
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