Where else can I find this beat?
January 13, 2011 6:08 PM   Subscribe

There's a beat used in the Beatles' "Please Please Me," that's used over and over in pop music. It's in, "Dog Days are Over," "That Thing You Do," and Del Shannon's, "Runaway." Does anyone know more songs where this is used?
posted by itsjustcarlo to Media & Arts (13 answers total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Are you referring to this: "The most distinctive characteristic of the music was the strong beat, using the backbeat common to rock and roll and rhythm and blues, but often with a driving emphasis on all the beats of 4/4 bar."

This question gives a couple more examples.
posted by Paragon at 6:43 PM on January 13, 2011


IIRC, this radio series (originally linked to on the blue) has an episode specifically about that song (and it covers the beat). It's episode 14.
posted by scribbler at 6:45 PM on January 13, 2011 [2 favorites]


...and by "that song" I mean "Please, Please Me."
posted by scribbler at 6:46 PM on January 13, 2011


Smog - Somewhere in the Night
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 7:15 PM on January 13, 2011 [1 favorite]


It sounds to me like "I wanna hold your hand" has the same sort of cadence. I'm also pretty sure you can find it in a lot of girl groups from the 60s. Martha and the Vandellas "Heat Wave" sounds close, but not a perfect match. I bet there's a Supremes tune.
posted by Gilbert at 8:39 PM on January 13, 2011


Surfin' Bird
posted by Crane Shot at 9:22 PM on January 13, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: The Shirelles - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Bobby Darin - Dream Lover

Bobby Vee - Rubber Ball
posted by John Cohen at 9:32 PM on January 13, 2011 [1 favorite]


It's a pretty common surf beat -- check out "Walk Don't Run" (drom solo a minute in!), "Miserlou", "Wipe Out", and many many more.

Wikipedia article on surf music might be a good place to start.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 9:42 PM on January 13, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: The beat (which sounds like this: boomBAPBAP boomBAP boom BAPBAP boomBAP) is called the Merseybeat. You can recognize it by singing the chorus to Ferry Cross the Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers to it on any track.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:37 PM on January 13, 2011 [7 favorites]


I'm not sure if this is exactly the same, but what about The Judys - Her Wave?

Also, if you like the chugga chugga driving beat you might enjoy some swamp pop hits, like Johnnie Allan's covers of Promised Land or South to Louisiana.
posted by abirae at 7:21 AM on January 14, 2011


First song that came to mind after drumming the beat to myself was another surf tune, "California Sun" by the Rivieras. Was there much surfing done in the Mersey?
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 3:45 PM on January 15, 2011 [1 favorite]


Orangie Ray Hubbard - Is She Sore

Johnny Rivers - Secret Agent Man
posted by k8lin at 3:23 PM on February 13, 2011


And to a lesser extent, Rocky Jones - Mule Skinner Blues
posted by k8lin at 3:25 PM on February 13, 2011


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