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We Can Work It Out

January 26, 2023

For other uses, see We Can Work It Out (disambiguation).

"We Can Work It Out" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It was first issued as a double A-side single with "Day Tripper" in December 1965. It also appeared on the 1966 US release Yesterday and Today. The release marked the first time in Britain that both tracks on an artist's single were promoted as joint A-sides.[2][3] The song was recorded during the sessions for the band's Rubber Soul album. The single was number 1 in Britain (where it won the Ivor Novello Award for the top-selling A-side of 1965),[4] the United States, Australia, Canada and Ireland. In the UK, it was the seventh highest selling single of the 1960s.[5]

"We Can Work It Out"
US picture sleeve
Single by the Beatles
A-side"Day Tripper" (double A-side)
Released3 December 1965 (1965-12-03)
Recorded20 and 29 October 1965
StudioEMI, London
GenreFolk rock[1]
Length2:15
LabelParlophone (UK), Capitol (US)
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin
The Beatles UK singles chronology
"Help!"
(1965) 		"We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper"
(1965) 		"Paperback Writer"
(1966)
The Beatles US singles chronology
"Yesterday"
(1965) 		"We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper"
(1965) 		"Nowhere Man"
(1966)
Promotional film
"We Can Work It Out" on YouTube

"We Can Work It Out" is a comparatively rare example of a Lennon–McCartney collaboration from this period in the Beatles' career,[6] in that it recalls the level of collaboration the two songwriters had shared when writing the group's hit singles of 1963. This song, "A Day in the Life", "Baby, You're a Rich Man" and "I've Got a Feeling", are among the notable exceptions.[7]

Composition

 
"We Can Work It Out" sample
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McCartney wrote the words and music to the verses and the chorus, with lyrics that "might have been personal", probably a reference to his relationship with Jane Asher.[8] McCartney then took the song to Lennon, who contributed the middle 8:

I took it to John to finish it off, and we wrote the middle together. Which is nice: 'Life is very short. There's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend.' Then it was George Harrison's idea to put the middle into 3
4 time, like a German waltz. That came on the session, it was one of the cases of the arrangement being done on the session.[8]

 
As with several of his songs over 1965–66, McCartney drew inspiration for "We Can Work It Out" from his relationship with actress Jane Asher (pictured performing during the Bristol Old Vic's 1967 US repertory tour).

With its intimations of mortality, Lennon's contribution to the twelve-bar bridge contrasts typically with what Lennon saw as McCartney's cajoling optimism,[7] a contrast also seen in other collaborations by the pair, such as "Getting Better" and "I've Got a Feeling". As Lennon told Playboy in 1980:

In We Can Work It Out, Paul did the first half, I did the middle eight. But you've got Paul writing, 'We can work it out / We can work it out' – real optimistic, y'know, and me, impatient: 'Life is very short, and there's no time / For fussing and fighting, my friend.'[9]

In author Ian MacDonald's view, some critics have overemphasised the extent of McCartney's optimism in the song and neglect the toughness in passages written by McCartney,[7] such as "Do I have to keep on talking until I can't go on?" Lennon's middle shifts focus from McCartney's concrete reality to a philosophical perspective in B minor, illustrating this with the waltz-like passage suggested by Harrison that leads back to the verse,[8] possibly meant to suggest tiresome struggle.[7] Rather than a formal change to 3
4 time, the waltz effect is created by the use of quarter note triplets within the regular 4
4 rhythm.[10]

MacDonald comments on the song:

[Lennon's] passages are so suited to his Salvation Army harmonium that it's hard to imagine them not being composed on it. The swell-pedal crescendos he adds to the verses are, on the other hand, textural washes added in the studio – the first of their kind on a Beatles record and signposts to the enriched sound-palette of Revolver.[11]

Recording

 
Lennon played a Mannborg harmonium on the recording.

The Beatles recorded "We Can Work It Out" at EMI Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London on 20 October 1965,[12] during the sessions for their Rubber Soul album. Along with Lennon's "Day Tripper", the song was earmarked for the non-album single that would accompany the release of the new LP.[13] The band taped a satisfactory basic track in just two takes.[14] With nearly eleven hours dedicated to the song, however, it was by far their longest expenditure of studio time up to that point.[15] A vocal overdubbing session took place on 29 October.[13][16]

No record exists of the band members' exact contributions to the recording, leading to uncertainty regarding the playing of some of the instruments.[17] Reduced to a single track in the final mix, where it was placed hard left in the stereo image, the group's initial performance consisted of acoustic guitar, bass, tambourine and drums.[18][19] While musicologist Walter Everett credits these parts to Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Ringo Starr, respectively,[18] authors Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin suggest that McCartney, as the song's main composer, was the acoustic guitarist and Lennon instead played bass.[17] Two harmonium parts were overdubbed,[20] using EMI's Mannborg harmonium.[21]

Promotional films

For the first time for one of their singles, the Beatles filmed promotional clips for "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper". Subsequently, known as the "Intertel Promos", these clips were intended as a way to save the band having to appear in person on popular British television shows such as Ready Steady Go! and Top of the Pops,[22] and also ensured that the Beatles reached their large international audience.[23]

Filming took place at Twickenham Film Studios in south-west London on 23 November 1965,[23] with Joe McGrath as director.[22] The Beatles made a total of ten black-and-white promos that day,[24][25] filming clips for the new songs as well as for their previous hit singles "I Feel Fine", "Ticket to Ride" and "Help!"[22][26][nb 1] Three of the films were mimed performances of "We Can Work It Out",[26] in all of which Lennon was seated at a harmonium.[27]

The most frequently broadcast of the three was a straightforward performance piece with the group wearing black suits. In the description of Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield: "At first, they're playing it all straight in their suits, until John sets out to make Paul crack up on camera. He makes it impossible for anyone else to keep a straight face – by the end, he's playing the organ with his feet."[28] Another clip shows the group wearing the stage suits from their Shea Stadium performance on 15 August.[27] The third clip opens with a still photograph of Lennon with a sunflower[24] in front of his eye.[29]

One of the November 1965 promo films was included in the Beatles' 2015 video compilation 1, and the third promo clip was included in the three-disc versions of the compilation, titled 1+.[30][31]

Release

In a discussion about which of the two songs should be the A-side of the new single, Lennon had argued for "Day Tripper", differing with the majority view that "We Can Work It Out" was a more commercial song.[8][32] On 15 November, EMI announced that the A-side would be "We Can Work It Out", only for Lennon to publicly contradict this two days later.[33] As a result, the single was marketed as the first-ever "double A-side".[23][34] Lennon's championing of "Day Tripper", for which he was the principal writer, was based on his belief that the Beatles' rock sound should be favoured over the softer style of "We Can Work It Out".[35] Airplay and point-of-sale requests soon proved "We Can Work It Out" to be the more popular of the two sides.

The single was released on EMI's Parlophone label in Britain (as Parlophone R 5389) on 3 December 1965,[36] the same day as Rubber Soul.[23] The two releases coincided with speculation in the UK press that the Beatles' supremacy in the pop world since 1963 might be coming to an end, given the customary two or three years that most acts could expect to remain at the peak of their popularity.[37] "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" entered the UK Singles Chart (at the time, the Record Retailer chart)[38] on 15 December, at number 2, before holding the top position for five consecutive weeks.[39] The single also failed to top the national chart published by Melody Maker in its first week – marking the first occasion since December 1963 that a new Beatles single had not immediately entered at number 1.[40] Although the single was an immediate number 1 on the NME's chart, the Daily Mirror and Daily Express newspapers both published articles highlighting the apparent decline.[41] The record was the Beatles' ninth consecutive chart-topping single in the UK[42] and the band's fastest-selling single there since "Can't Buy Me Love", their previous McCartney-led A-side.[11][43] At the following year's Ivor Novello Awards, "We Can Work It Out" was acknowledged as the best-selling single of 1965, ahead of "Help!"[44][45] By November 2012, it had sold 1.39 million copies in the UK, making it the group's fifth million-seller in that country.[46] As of December 2018, the double A-side was the 54th best-selling single of all time in the UK – one of six Beatles songs included on the top sales rankings published by the Official Charts Company.[47]

In the United States, where the single was issued by Capitol Records on 6 December (as Capitol 5555),[48] both songs entered the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending 18 December.[49] On 8 January 1966, "We Can Work It Out" hit number 1 on the chart, while "Day Tripper" entered the top ten at number 10.[50] "We Can Work It Out" spent three non-consecutive weeks at number 1, while "Day Tripper" peaked at number 5.[50] The song was the band's eleventh US number 1, accomplished in just under two years since their debut on the Hot 100.[51][52] It was their sixth consecutive number 1 single on the American charts,[53][54] a record at the time.[51][nb 2] The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, for sales of 1 million or over, on 6 January 1966.[56]

Author Andrew Grant Jackson writes that the Beatles' six US chart-toppers over the year from January 1965 reflected the nation's changing mood with regard to the Vietnam War and youth-driven social upheaval. With "We Can Work It Out", he continues, the Beatles conveyed the "fussing and fighting" that had replaced the post-Kennedy rebirth from the start of the year.[57] The song was referenced by Cecil Kellaway's character in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, which focused on the then controversial issue of biracial relationships in the context of US civil rights.[58]

The Beatles performed "We Can Work It Out" on their final UK tour,[26][59] which took place on 3–12 December 1965.[60] In 1991, McCartney played an acoustic version of the song for his MTV Unplugged performance, later released on Unplugged (The Official Bootleg), and The Unplugged Collection, Volume One.

Cover versions

Deep Purple

Deep Purple covered it on their second album The Book of Taliesyn, from 1968. The band drastically reworked it, as they always did with covers. The first three minutes of the song is a fast, progressive instrumental jam incorporating themes from classical music (notably Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet) called "Exposition", which drifts over into the Beatles song.[61]

Such overblown arrangements and attempts at making a rather simple song sound epic was normal for Deep Purple in this period, and they had already followed the same structure on their covers on the debut album (such as The Leaves' "Hey Joe"). Reportedly, the band recorded their version of the song because McCartney had stated that he was impressed with their previous Beatles cover, "Help!", which was featured on Shades of Deep Purple.[62]

Stevie Wonder

"We Can Work It Out"
 
Single by Stevie Wonder
from the album Signed, Sealed & Delivered
B-side"Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer"
ReleasedMarch 1971 (1971-03)
Genre
Length3:19
LabelTamla
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder singles chronology
"Heaven Help Us All"
(1970) 		"We Can Work It Out"
(1971) 		"If You Really Love Me"
(1971)

In 1970, Stevie Wonder covered the song on his album Signed, Sealed & Delivered, and released it as a single in 1971. The single reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wonder's version earned him his fifth Grammy Award nomination in 1972, for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Cash Box described this version as a "spectacular dance track" which "returns Wonder to his earlier straight-ahead teen self complete with harmonica solo."[64]

Wonder performed the song for McCartney after the latter was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. In 2010, after McCartney was awarded the Gershwin Prize by the Library of Congress, Wonder again performed his arrangement of "We Can Work It Out" at a White House ceremony held in McCartney's honour. Wonder performed it a third time in January 2014, at the 50th anniversary tribute of the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Other artists

In his discussion of the various cover versions of "We Can Work It Out", John Kruth describes Petula Clark's recording, released on her 1966 album My Love, as "too perky for its own good".[65] He highlights Humble Pie's blues version, from their 1975 album Street Rats, as a "bold" reading in which the band dispensed with the song's melody to fashion "a worried blues ... more Sonny Boy Williamson than Fab Four".[66]

In 1976, the song was the Four Seasons' contribution to the soundtrack of All This and World War II, a musical documentary that author Nicholas Schaffner described as "the most bizarre" of several film and television works that capitalised on EMI, now free of its contractual obligations to the Beatles, flooding the market with re-packaged Beatles singles.[nb 3] Schaffner included this heavily orchestrated version, produced by Lou Reizner, among the interpretations that "[succeed] in making Lennon–McCartney's greatest songs sound, at best, like the Beatles' rendition of 'Good Night'".[69]

Other artists who have covered the song include Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson, Melanie, Chaka Khan, Maxine Brown, Brass Construction, King Missile, Johnny Mathis, Judy Collins, Big Youth, Tesla, Plain White T's, Tom Jones, Heather Nova, Steel Pulse, and Rick Wakeman.[70]

Personnel

According to Walter Everett, the line-up of musicians on the Beatles' recording was as follows:[18]

In his personnel list for the song, MacDonald notes that some sources attribute the tambourine part to Harrison, yet he considers it more likely that Starr played the instrument.[7] Everett credits Harrison, citing the tambourine's placement in the stereo image with the three other instruments recorded as part of the basic track.[18] Guesdon and Margotin also credit Harrison.[71]

Charts and certifications

Beatles version

Stevie Wonder version

Notes

  1. ^ Clips were made for these older songs, all of which had topped the UK charts during 1965, for inclusion in Top of the Pops' round-up of the year's biggest hits.[27]
  2. ^ It was preceded by "I Feel Fine", "Eight Days a Week", "Ticket to Ride", "Help!" and "Yesterday".[55]
  3. ^ As a result of this sales campaign, "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out", along with all the other 21 singles released by the Beatles between 1962 and 1970, re-entered the top 100 in the UK.[67][68]

References

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  2. ^ Hutchins, Chris (4 December 1965). "Music Capitals of the World: London". Billboard. p. 26. from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  3. ^ White, Jack (5 June 2018). "Is the double A-side making a comeback? Dual singles are on the rise, and here's why". Official Charts Company. from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
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  7. ^ a b c d e MacDonald 2005, pp. 171–172.
  8. ^ a b c d Miles 1997, p. 210.
  9. ^ Sheff 2000, p. 177–178.
  10. ^ Everett 2001, p. 322.
  11. ^ a b MacDonald 2005, p. 172.
  12. ^ Miles 2001, p. 212.
  13. ^ a b Lewisohn 2005, pp. 64, 66.
  14. ^ Guesdon & Margotin 2013, p. 314.
  15. ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 171.
  16. ^ Miles 2001, p. 213.
  17. ^ a b Guesdon & Margotin 2013, pp. 314–15.
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  19. ^ Winn 2008, p. 366.
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  26. ^ a b c Everett 2001, p. 335.
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External links

January 26, 2023
work, other, uses, disambiguation, song, english, rock, band, beatles, written, paul, mccartney, john, lennon, first, issued, double, side, single, with, tripper, december, 1965, also, appeared, 1966, release, yesterday, today, release, marked, first, time, br. For other uses see We Can Work It Out disambiguation We Can Work It Out is a song by the English rock band the Beatles written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon It was first issued as a double A side single with Day Tripper in December 1965 It also appeared on the 1966 US release Yesterday and Today The release marked the first time in Britain that both tracks on an artist s single were promoted as joint A sides 2 3 The song was recorded during the sessions for the band s Rubber Soul album The single was number 1 in Britain where it won the Ivor Novello Award for the top selling A side of 1965 4 the United States Australia Canada and Ireland In the UK it was the seventh highest selling single of the 1960s 5 We Can Work It Out US picture sleeveSingle by the BeatlesA side Day Tripper double A side Released3 December 1965 1965 12 03 Recorded20 and 29 October 1965StudioEMI LondonGenreFolk rock 1 Length2 15LabelParlophone UK Capitol US Songwriter s Lennon McCartneyProducer s George MartinThe Beatles UK singles chronology Help 1965 We Can Work It Out Day Tripper 1965 Paperback Writer 1966 The Beatles US singles chronology Yesterday 1965 We Can Work It Out Day Tripper 1965 Nowhere Man 1966 Promotional film We Can Work It Out on YouTube We Can Work It Out is a comparatively rare example of a Lennon McCartney collaboration from this period in the Beatles career 6 in that it recalls the level of collaboration the two songwriters had shared when writing the group s hit singles of 1963 This song A Day in the Life Baby You re a Rich Man and I ve Got a Feeling are among the notable exceptions 7 Contents 1 Composition 2 Recording 3 Promotional films 4 Release 5 Cover versions 5 1 Deep Purple 5 2 Stevie Wonder 5 3 Other artists 6 Personnel 7 Charts and certifications 7 1 Beatles version 7 2 Stevie Wonder version 8 Notes 9 References 10 Sources 11 External linksComposition Edit We Can Work It Out sample source source track Problems playing this file See media help McCartney wrote the words and music to the verses and the chorus with lyrics that might have been personal probably a reference to his relationship with Jane Asher 8 McCartney then took the song to Lennon who contributed the middle 8 I took it to John to finish it off and we wrote the middle together Which is nice Life is very short There s no time for fussing and fighting my friend Then it was George Harrison s idea to put the middle into 34 time like a German waltz That came on the session it was one of the cases of the arrangement being done on the session 8 As with several of his songs over 1965 66 McCartney drew inspiration for We Can Work It Out from his relationship with actress Jane Asher pictured performing during the Bristol Old Vic s 1967 US repertory tour With its intimations of mortality Lennon s contribution to the twelve bar bridge contrasts typically with what Lennon saw as McCartney s cajoling optimism 7 a contrast also seen in other collaborations by the pair such as Getting Better and I ve Got a Feeling As Lennon told Playboy in 1980 In We Can Work It Out Paul did the first half I did the middle eight But you ve got Paul writing We can work it out We can work it out real optimistic y know and me impatient Life is very short and there s no time For fussing and fighting my friend 9 In author Ian MacDonald s view some critics have overemphasised the extent of McCartney s optimism in the song and neglect the toughness in passages written by McCartney 7 such as Do I have to keep on talking until I can t go on Lennon s middle shifts focus from McCartney s concrete reality to a philosophical perspective in B minor illustrating this with the waltz like passage suggested by Harrison that leads back to the verse 8 possibly meant to suggest tiresome struggle 7 Rather than a formal change to 34 time the waltz effect is created by the use of quarter note triplets within the regular 44 rhythm 10 MacDonald comments on the song Lennon s passages are so suited to his Salvation Army harmonium that it s hard to imagine them not being composed on it The swell pedal crescendos he adds to the verses are on the other hand textural washes added in the studio the first of their kind on a Beatles record and signposts to the enriched sound palette of Revolver 11 Recording Edit Lennon played a Mannborg harmonium on the recording The Beatles recorded We Can Work It Out at EMI Studios later Abbey Road Studios in London on 20 October 1965 12 during the sessions for their Rubber Soul album Along with Lennon s Day Tripper the song was earmarked for the non album single that would accompany the release of the new LP 13 The band taped a satisfactory basic track in just two takes 14 With nearly eleven hours dedicated to the song however it was by far their longest expenditure of studio time up to that point 15 A vocal overdubbing session took place on 29 October 13 16 No record exists of the band members exact contributions to the recording leading to uncertainty regarding the playing of some of the instruments 17 Reduced to a single track in the final mix where it was placed hard left in the stereo image the group s initial performance consisted of acoustic guitar bass tambourine and drums 18 19 While musicologist Walter Everett credits these parts to Lennon McCartney Harrison and Ringo Starr respectively 18 authors Jean Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin suggest that McCartney as the song s main composer was the acoustic guitarist and Lennon instead played bass 17 Two harmonium parts were overdubbed 20 using EMI s Mannborg harmonium 21 Promotional films EditFor the first time for one of their singles the Beatles filmed promotional clips for We Can Work It Out and Day Tripper Subsequently known as the Intertel Promos these clips were intended as a way to save the band having to appear in person on popular British television shows such as Ready Steady Go and Top of the Pops 22 and also ensured that the Beatles reached their large international audience 23 Filming took place at Twickenham Film Studios in south west London on 23 November 1965 23 with Joe McGrath as director 22 The Beatles made a total of ten black and white promos that day 24 25 filming clips for the new songs as well as for their previous hit singles I Feel Fine Ticket to Ride and Help 22 26 nb 1 Three of the films were mimed performances of We Can Work It Out 26 in all of which Lennon was seated at a harmonium 27 The most frequently broadcast of the three was a straightforward performance piece with the group wearing black suits In the description of Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield At first they re playing it all straight in their suits until John sets out to make Paul crack up on camera He makes it impossible for anyone else to keep a straight face by the end he s playing the organ with his feet 28 Another clip shows the group wearing the stage suits from their Shea Stadium performance on 15 August 27 The third clip opens with a still photograph of Lennon with a sunflower 24 in front of his eye 29 One of the November 1965 promo films was included in the Beatles 2015 video compilation 1 and the third promo clip was included in the three disc versions of the compilation titled 1 30 31 Release EditIn a discussion about which of the two songs should be the A side of the new single Lennon had argued for Day Tripper differing with the majority view that We Can Work It Out was a more commercial song 8 32 On 15 November EMI announced that the A side would be We Can Work It Out only for Lennon to publicly contradict this two days later 33 As a result the single was marketed as the first ever double A side 23 34 Lennon s championing of Day Tripper for which he was the principal writer was based on his belief that the Beatles rock sound should be favoured over the softer style of We Can Work It Out 35 Airplay and point of sale requests soon proved We Can Work It Out to be the more popular of the two sides The single was released on EMI s Parlophone label in Britain as Parlophone R 5389 on 3 December 1965 36 the same day as Rubber Soul 23 The two releases coincided with speculation in the UK press that the Beatles supremacy in the pop world since 1963 might be coming to an end given the customary two or three years that most acts could expect to remain at the peak of their popularity 37 Day Tripper We Can Work It Out entered the UK Singles Chart at the time the Record Retailer chart 38 on 15 December at number 2 before holding the top position for five consecutive weeks 39 The single also failed to top the national chart published by Melody Maker in its first week marking the first occasion since December 1963 that a new Beatles single had not immediately entered at number 1 40 Although the single was an immediate number 1 on the NME s chart the Daily Mirror and Daily Express newspapers both published articles highlighting the apparent decline 41 The record was the Beatles ninth consecutive chart topping single in the UK 42 and the band s fastest selling single there since Can t Buy Me Love their previous McCartney led A side 11 43 At the following year s Ivor Novello Awards We Can Work It Out was acknowledged as the best selling single of 1965 ahead of Help 44 45 By November 2012 it had sold 1 39 million copies in the UK making it the group s fifth million seller in that country 46 As of December 2018 the double A side was the 54th best selling single of all time in the UK one of six Beatles songs included on the top sales rankings published by the Official Charts Company 47 In the United States where the single was issued by Capitol Records on 6 December as Capitol 5555 48 both songs entered the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending 18 December 49 On 8 January 1966 We Can Work It Out hit number 1 on the chart while Day Tripper entered the top ten at number 10 50 We Can Work It Out spent three non consecutive weeks at number 1 while Day Tripper peaked at number 5 50 The song was the band s eleventh US number 1 accomplished in just under two years since their debut on the Hot 100 51 52 It was their sixth consecutive number 1 single on the American charts 53 54 a record at the time 51 nb 2 The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 1 million or over on 6 January 1966 56 Author Andrew Grant Jackson writes that the Beatles six US chart toppers over the year from January 1965 reflected the nation s changing mood with regard to the Vietnam War and youth driven social upheaval With We Can Work It Out he continues the Beatles conveyed the fussing and fighting that had replaced the post Kennedy rebirth from the start of the year 57 The song was referenced by Cecil Kellaway s character in the 1967 film Guess Who s Coming to Dinner which focused on the then controversial issue of biracial relationships in the context of US civil rights 58 The Beatles performed We Can Work It Out on their final UK tour 26 59 which took place on 3 12 December 1965 60 In 1991 McCartney played an acoustic version of the song for his MTV Unplugged performance later released on Unplugged The Official Bootleg and The Unplugged Collection Volume One Cover versions EditDeep Purple Edit Exposition We Can Work It Out Song by Deep Purplefrom the album The Book of TaliesynReleasedDecember 1968 1968 12 GenreProgressive rockLength7 06LabelHarvestSongwriter s Beethoven Ritchie Blackmore Nick Simper Jon Lord Ian Paice Lennon McCartneyProducer s Derek LawrenceDeep Purple covered it on their second album The Book of Taliesyn from 1968 The band drastically reworked it as they always did with covers The first three minutes of the song is a fast progressive instrumental jam incorporating themes from classical music notably Tchaikovsky s Romeo and Juliet called Exposition which drifts over into the Beatles song 61 Such overblown arrangements and attempts at making a rather simple song sound epic was normal for Deep Purple in this period and they had already followed the same structure on their covers on the debut album such as The Leaves Hey Joe Reportedly the band recorded their version of the song because McCartney had stated that he was impressed with their previous Beatles cover Help which was featured on Shades of Deep Purple 62 Stevie Wonder Edit We Can Work It Out Single by Stevie Wonderfrom the album Signed Sealed amp DeliveredB side Never Dreamed You d Leave in Summer ReleasedMarch 1971 1971 03 GenreFunk 63 soul 63 Length3 19LabelTamlaSongwriter s Lennon McCartneyProducer s Stevie WonderStevie Wonder singles chronology Heaven Help Us All 1970 We Can Work It Out 1971 If You Really Love Me 1971 In 1970 Stevie Wonder covered the song on his album Signed Sealed amp Delivered and released it as a single in 1971 The single reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 Wonder s version earned him his fifth Grammy Award nomination in 1972 for Best Male R amp B Vocal Performance Cash Box described this version as a spectacular dance track which returns Wonder to his earlier straight ahead teen self complete with harmonica solo 64 Wonder performed the song for McCartney after the latter was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 In 2010 after McCartney was awarded the Gershwin Prize by the Library of Congress Wonder again performed his arrangement of We Can Work It Out at a White House ceremony held in McCartney s honour Wonder performed it a third time in January 2014 at the 50th anniversary tribute of the Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show Other artists Edit In his discussion of the various cover versions of We Can Work It Out John Kruth describes Petula Clark s recording released on her 1966 album My Love as too perky for its own good 65 He highlights Humble Pie s blues version from their 1975 album Street Rats as a bold reading in which the band dispensed with the song s melody to fashion a worried blues more Sonny Boy Williamson than Fab Four 66 In 1976 the song was the Four Seasons contribution to the soundtrack of All This and World War II a musical documentary that author Nicholas Schaffner described as the most bizarre of several film and television works that capitalised on EMI now free of its contractual obligations to the Beatles flooding the market with re packaged Beatles singles nb 3 Schaffner included this heavily orchestrated version produced by Lou Reizner among the interpretations that succeed in making Lennon McCartney s greatest songs sound at best like the Beatles rendition of Good Night 69 Other artists who have covered the song include Dionne Warwick Valerie Simpson Melanie Chaka Khan Maxine Brown Brass Construction King Missile Johnny Mathis Judy Collins Big Youth Tesla Plain White T s Tom Jones Heather Nova Steel Pulse and Rick Wakeman 70 Personnel EditAccording to Walter Everett the line up of musicians on the Beatles recording was as follows 18 Paul McCartney double tracked lead vocal bass guitar John Lennon harmony vocal acoustic guitar harmonium George Harrison tambourine Ringo Starr drumsIn his personnel list for the song MacDonald notes that some sources attribute the tambourine part to Harrison yet he considers it more likely that Starr played the instrument 7 Everett credits Harrison citing the tambourine s placement in the stereo image with the three other instruments recorded as part of the basic track 18 Guesdon and Margotin also credit Harrison 71 Charts and certifications EditBeatles version Edit Weekly charts Chart 1965 66 PeakpositionAustralian Kent Music Report 72 1Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 73 3Canada Top Singles RPM 74 1Finnish Suomen Virallinen Lista 75 1Irish Singles Chart 76 1Italian Musica e Dischi Chart 77 5Netherlands Single Top 100 78 1New Zealand Lever Hit Parade 79 1Rhodesian Lyons Maid Chart 80 1South African Springbok Radio 81 2Swedish Kvallstoppen Chart 82 1Swedish Tio i Topp Chart 83 1UK Record Retailer Chart 84 1US Billboard Hot 100 85 1US Cash Box Top 100 86 1West German Musikmarkt Hit Parade 87 2 Year end charts Chart 1966 RankUS Billboard Year End 88 16US Cash Box 89 11Certifications Region Certification Certified units salesUnited States RIAA 90 Gold 1 000 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone Stevie Wonder version Edit Weekly charts Chart 1971 PeakpositionCanadian RPM 100 91 49UK Singles Chart 92 27US Billboard Hot 100 93 13US Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles 94 3US Cash Box Top 100 95 9 Year end charts Chart 1971 RankUS Cash Box 96 96US R amp B Soul Billboard 97 27Notes Edit Clips were made for these older songs all of which had topped the UK charts during 1965 for inclusion in Top of the Pops round up of the year s biggest hits 27 It was preceded by I Feel Fine Eight Days a Week Ticket to Ride Help and Yesterday 55 As a result of this sales campaign Day Tripper We Can Work It Out along with all the other 21 singles released by the Beatles between 1962 and 1970 re entered the top 100 in the UK 67 68 References Edit Unterberger Richie The Beatles We Can Work It Out AllMusic Archived from the original on 11 May 2012 Retrieved 9 June 2017 Hutchins Chris 4 December 1965 Music Capitals of the World London Billboard p 26 Archived from the original on 23 February 2017 Retrieved 7 June 2017 White Jack 5 June 2018 Is the double A side making a comeback Dual singles are on the rise and here s why Official Charts Company Archived from the original on 1 May 2019 Retrieved 11 June 2019 The 1966 Ivor Novello Awards theivors com Archived from the original on 15 August 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 Ken Dodd third best selling artist of 1960s BBC News 1 June 2010 Retrieved 7 September 2020 Hertsgaard 1995 p 150 a b c d e MacDonald 2005 pp 171 172 a b c d Miles 1997 p 210 Sheff 2000 p 177 178 Everett 2001 p 322 a b MacDonald 2005 p 172 Miles 2001 p 212 a b Lewisohn 2005 pp 64 66 Guesdon amp Margotin 2013 p 314 MacDonald 2005 p 171 Miles 2001 p 213 a b Guesdon amp Margotin 2013 pp 314 15 a b c d Everett 2001 p 321 Winn 2008 p 366 Everett 2001 pp 321 22 O Keefe Phil 7 February 2014 Keyboards of the Beatles Era Harmony Central Archived from the original on 21 October 2017 Retrieved 7 June 2017 a b c Rodriguez 2012 p 160 a b c d Miles 2001 p 215 a b Winn 2008 p 292 Pieper 2017 p 391 a b c Everett 2001 p 335 a b c Winn 2008 p 377 Sheffield Rob 6 November 2015 The Beatles New 1 Video Collection The 10 Fabbest Moments Rolling Stone Archived from the original on 16 March 2017 Retrieved 9 June 2017 Pieper 2017 p 392 Rowe Matt 18 September 2015 The Beatles 1 To Be Reissued With New Audio Remixes And Videos The Morton Report Archived from the original on 29 December 2015 Retrieved 9 January 2016 News 15 September 2015 The Beatles Videos and Top Hits Come Together for the First Time thebeatles com Archived from the original on 18 May 2017 Retrieved 9 June 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a author has generic name help Jackson 2015 p 263 Miles 2001 p 214 Turner 2016 p 44 Miles 2001 p 216 Castleman amp Podrazik 1976 p 49 Turner 2016 p 25 Key Dates in the History of the Official UK Charts Official Charts Company Archived from the original on 10 January 2008 Retrieved 15 August 2015 Search We Can Work It Out gt Day Tripper We Can Work It Out The Beatles gt Chart Facts Official Charts Company Archived from the original on 27 June 2017 Retrieved 9 June 2017 Turner 2016 pp 42 43 Turner 2016 pp 43 44 Womack 2014 pp 218 977 Jackson 2015 pp 263 64 Miles 2001 p 236 KRLA Beat staff 13 August 1966 Lennon and McCartney Win Three Composer s Awards KRLA Beat p 3 Sedghi Ami 4 November 2012 UK s million selling singles the full list The Guardian Archived from the original on 12 December 2016 Retrieved 4 November 2012 Myers Justin 14 December 2018 The best selling singles of all time on the Official UK Chart Official Charts Company Archived from the original on 1 March 2019 Retrieved 26 January 2019 Miles 2001 p 219 Castleman amp Podrazik 1976 pp 49 349 a b Castleman amp Podrazik 1976 p 349 a b Fred Bronson s Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits 5th Edition sfn error no target CITEREFFred Bronson s Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits 5th Edition help Schaffner 1978 pp 36 51 Womack 2014 p 977 Jackson 2015 p 264 Wallgren 1982 pp 38 45 Castleman amp Podrazik 1976 p 331 Jackson 2015 p 3 Kruth 2015 p 121 Schaffner 1978 p 51 Miles 2001 pp 216 220 Kruth 2015 pp 125 26 Robinson Simon 2000 The Book of Taliesyn Remastered CD booklet Deep Purple EMI p 4 a b McFerrin John Stevie Wonder Signed Sealed amp Delivered Retrieved 19 March 2021 CashBox Record Reviews PDF Cash Box 6 March 1971 p 20 Retrieved 9 December 2021 Kruth 2015 p 125 Kruth 2015 p 126 Badman 2001 pp 177 180 Rodriguez 2010 p 293 Schaffner 1978 pp 171 72 Fontenot Robert The Beatles Songs We Can Work It Out The history of this classic Beatles song oldies about com Archived from the original on 19 March 2016 Retrieved 9 October 2018 Guesdon amp Margotin 2013 p 315 Kent David 2005 Australian Chart Book 1940 1969 Turramurra NSW Australian Chart Book ISBN 0 646 44439 5 The Beatles We Can Work It Out in Dutch Ultratop 50 Retrieved 16 May 2016 Top RPM Singles Issue 5686 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved 16 May 2016 Nyman Jake 2005 Suomi soi 4 Suuri suomalainen listakirja in Finnish 1st ed Helsinki Tammi ISBN 951 31 2503 3 Search inSearch for Title We Can Work It Out irishcharts ie Archived from the original on 21 July 2011 Retrieved 8 June 2017 Classifiche Musica e dischi in Italian Retrieved 31 May 2022 Set Tipo on Singoli Then in the Titolo field search We can work it out The Beatles We Can Work It Out in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved 16 May 2016 Flavour of New Zealand 26 January 1966 Archived from the original on 25 June 2018 Retrieved 26 August 2018 Kimberley C 2000 Zimbabwe Singles Chart Book p 10 SA Charts 1965 March 1989 Archived from the original on 5 May 2012 Retrieved 1 September 2018 Swedish Charts 1962 March 1966 Kvallstoppen Listresultaten vecka for vecka gt Januari 1966 PDF in Swedish hitsallertijden nl Archived PDF from the original on 4 November 2018 Retrieved 27 June 2018 Hallberg Eric Henningsson Ulf 1998 Eric Hallberg Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna pa forsok 1961 74 Premium Publishing p 53 ISBN 919727125X Day Tripper We Can Work It Out Official Charts Company Archived from the original on 8 June 2017 Retrieved 10 June 2017 The Beatles Chart history The Hot 100 billboard com Archived from the original on 21 November 2016 Retrieved 10 June 2017 Hoffmann Frank 1983 The Cash Box Singles Charts 1950 1981 Metuchen NJ amp London The Scarecrow Press Inc pp 32 34 The Beatles Single Chartverfolgung in German musicline de Archived from the original on 13 December 2013 Retrieved 10 June 2017 Top 100 Hits of 1966 Top 100 Songs of 1966 musicoutfitters com Archived from the original on 11 October 2016 Retrieved 18 June 2016 The Cash Box Year End Charts 1966 Cashbox Archives Retrieved 18 June 2016 American single certifications The Beatles We Can Work It Out Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved 14 May 2016 RPM 100 Singles for May 15 1971 Library and Archives Canada Archived from the original on 14 March 2018 Retrieved 10 June 2017 Stevie Wonder Official Charts Company Archived from the original on 28 June 2017 Retrieved 10 June 2017 Stevie Wonder Chart history The Hot 100 Billboard Archived from the original on 26 January 2017 Retrieved 10 June 2017 Billboard Charts Department 1 May 1971 Best Selling Soul Singles Billboard p 38 Retrieved 10 June 2017 CASH BOX Top 100 Singles May 8 1971 Archived from the original on 7 June 2015 Retrieved 6 April 2017 The CASH BOX Year End Charts 1971 Top 100 Pop Singles As published in the December 25 1971 issue Archived from the original on 6 October 2016 Retrieved 6 April 2017 Top Soul Singles Billboard 25 December 1971 p TA 38 Retrieved 30 June 2019 Sources EditBadman Keith 2001 The Beatles Diary Volume 2 After the Break Up 1970 2001 London Omnibus Press ISBN 978 0 7119 8307 6 Castleman Harry Podrazik Walter J 1976 All Together Now The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961 1975 New York NY Ballantine Books ISBN 0 345 25680 8 Everett Walter 2001 The Beatles as Musicians The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul New York NY Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 514105 9 Guesdon Jean Michel Margotin Philippe 2013 All the Songs The Story Behind Every Beatles Release New York NY Black Dog amp Leventhal ISBN 978 1 57912 952 1 Hertsgaard Mark 1995 A Day in the Life The Music and Artistry of the Beatles New York Delacorte Press ISBN 0 385 31377 2 Jackson Andrew Grant 2015 1965 The Most Revolutionary Year in Music New York NY Thomas Dunne Books ISBN 978 1 250 05962 8 Kruth John 2015 This Bird Has Flown The Enduring Beauty of Rubber Soul Fifty Years On Milwaukee WI Backbeat Books ISBN 978 1 61713 573 6 Lewisohn Mark 2005 1988 The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962 1970 London Bounty Books ISBN 978 0 7537 2545 0 MacDonald Ian 2005 Revolution in the Head The Beatles Records and the Sixties 2nd rev edn Chicago IL Chicago Review Press ISBN 978 1 55652 733 3 Miles Barry 1997 Paul McCartney Many Years From Now New York Henry Holt and Company ISBN 0 8050 5249 6 Miles Barry 2001 The Beatles Diary Volume 1 The Beatles Years London Omnibus Press ISBN 0 7119 8308 9 Number 1s Index everyHit com 2009 Retrieved 21 October 2009 Pieper Jorg 2017 The Solo Beatles Film amp TV Chronicle 1971 1980 including The Beatles Film amp TV Chronicle Updates 1961 1970 lulu com ISBN 978 1 4092 8301 0 self published source Rodriguez Robert 2010 Fab Four FAQ 2 0 The Beatles Solo Years 1970 1980 Milwaukee WI Backbeat Books ISBN 978 1 4165 9093 4 Rodriguez Robert 2012 Revolver How the Beatles Reimagined Rock n Roll Milwaukee WI Backbeat Books ISBN 978 1 61713 009 0 Schaffner Nicholas 1978 The Beatles Forever New York NY McGraw Hill ISBN 0 07 055087 5 Sheff David 2000 All We Are Saying The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono New York St Martin s Press ISBN 0 312 25464 4 Turner Steve 2016 Beatles 66 The Revolutionary Year New York NY HarperLuxe ISBN 978 0 06 249713 0 Wallgren Mark 1982 The Beatles on Record New York Simon amp Schuster ISBN 0 671 45682 2 Winn John C 2008 Way Beyond Compare The Beatles Recorded Legacy Volume One 1962 1965 New York NY Three Rivers Press ISBN 978 0 307 45239 9 Womack Kenneth 2014 The Beatles Encyclopedia Everything Fab Four Santa Barbara CA ABC CLIO ISBN 978 0 313 39171 2 External links EditFull lyrics for the song at the Beatles official website Archived 10 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine Alan W Pollack s Notes on We Can Work It Out Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title We Can Work It Out amp oldid 1130335070, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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