The Beatles song inspired by Roy Orbison and Little Richard
Over six decades since they released their debut record and Beatlemania began to sweep the nation, The Beatles still hold their title as the biggest band in the world. Few other artists can claim to rival their influence and impact on music, which extends across sonic engineering feats, stellar songwriting, and even fandom culture. Their experimentation and innovation in the studio and beyond earned them an unparalleled legacy, their influence stretching across every generation of artists.
In the 1960s, the Beatles honed a sound and level of success that evoked envy in their peers. Brian Wilson was inspired to create the Beach Boys’ magnum opus, Pet Sounds, after hearing Rubber Soul for the first time, hoping to create something that could compete. Joni Mitchell used to cover ‘Norwegian Wood’ in coffee shops before she became a folk star. Even Bob Dylan was subjected to their influence.
The Beatles’ influence on the actual sound of popular music has diminished slightly in the last few decades. Britpop appears to be the last full-blown ode to the era. 1960s nostalgia has given way to new genres since then, but the sound of Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s songwriting does still occasionally find its way into modern music, into the guitar twangs of The Lemon Twigs and Dr Dog.
Given how wide-ranging and long-lasting the Beatles’ influence has proven to be, and their legacy as pioneers, it’s difficult to imagine the Beatles ever taking inspiration from another artist. However, they often borrowed from their peers and predecessors, inspired by the songwriting talents of Dylan and the inimitable rock and roll of Roy Orbison. The influence of the latter came to the fore on one song in particular.
On their self-titled record, also known as the White Album, the Beatles included a rocking and rolling track called ‘Birthday’. It was a fairly simple song, pairing lively guitars with playful but straightforward lyrics of celebration. “They say it’s your birthday,” the track began, “It’s my birthday too, yeah.” During an interview with Mojo, McCartney remembered how both Orbison and Little Richard had inspired the song.
According to the Beatles bassist, the song was penned at a session that was particularly out of the ordinary for the band. They weren’t writing alone, they were accompanied by a group of friends including Pattie Boyd and Terry Dolan, expectedly, to celebrate a birthday. “Normally we didn’t have friends around to sessions so it was very unusual,” McCartney recalled, “We didn’t know what song to do so we decided to make one up.”
“We did what Roy Orbison had done with ‘Pretty Woman’ and Little Richard had started with ‘Lucille’,” he remembered, “do-do do-do do-do do-do; Roy Orbison goes, do-do do-do DO-DO DO-DO- he just changes the end a little bit.” The Beatles took this idea further once more, providing their own spin on it. “We changed basically the same riff of ‘Lucille’ and ‘Pretty Woman’ into ‘Birthday’ – do-do do-do do-do-do… ‘You say it’s your birthday,’” he explained.
The result was ‘Birthday’, a track that mixed the influence of Orbison and Little Richard with the inimitable stylings and songwriting of the Beatles. It’s easy to find the influence of their rock and roll forerunners in the song, in the twangy riff that could fit right into ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ or ‘Lucille’, but the Fab Four made it their own, turning it into a playful track perfect for every party playlist.
