The three artists The Beatles covered most of all
During the early years of The Beatles, they were still finding their way as a band and had to rely on material from others. In the early 1960s, covering others was the done activity, and The Beatles took on a variety of work by a collection of artists, but they especially gravitated towards three musicians.
The artist they covered most is Chuck Berry, and Paul McCartney once explained his love of Berry in a blog post. “From the first minute we heard the great guitar intro to ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’, we became fans of the great Chuck Berry,” he explained. “His stories were more like poems than lyrics — the likes of ‘Johnny B. Goode’ or ‘Maybellene,'” he wrote.
McCartney continued: “To us, he was a magician making music that was exotic yet normal at the same time. We learnt so many things from him which led us into a dream world of rock ‘n’ roll music. Chuck was and is forever more one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest legends all over the world.”
Interestingly, on The Beatles’ debut album, Please Please Me, six of the thirteen tracks on the record were cover versions. While no Berry originals featured on the LP, they couldn’t stay away from his lure forever, and on their second outing, With The Beatles, they took on his hit ‘Roll On Beethoven’.
The Beatles’ most famous cover of Berry is their version of ‘Rock and Roll Music’, featured on their fourth album, Beatles For Sale. “I thought it was wonderful,” Berry later said of the Fab Four’s take on his track. He then discussed how they mastered the art of the cover: “One thing that The Beatles did when they copied other artists, they laid with not only the feeling but the music which was great because you can recognise right off that it’s the original artist’s number,” he said. “It’s like The Beatles playing from the written scroll which is great because everybody recognises it.”
Furthermore, The Beatles covered Berry on seven occasions while recording live sessions for the BBC over the years, all of which were included in a compilation album. In total, the group have officially released nine Chuck Berry covers.
Carl Perkins was another favourite of The Beatles, with them taking on tracks by the legendary blues musician on seven occasions. Similarly to Berry, most of the recordings came from sessions with the BBC. However, Beatles For Sale features covers of ‘Honey Don’t’ and ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby’. Furthermore, the band’s version of ‘Matchbox’ was included on their Long Tall Sally EP.
Considering they released the aforementioned Long Tall Sally EP after one of Little Richard’s songs, it’s only right that he’s also on this list. Of course, they covered the titular track from the EP, and they also took on three other Richard creations for the BBC, including ‘Lucille’.
While there were plentiful artists who influenced the early incarnation of The Beatles, the most important figures by a considerable distance are Berry, Perkins and Little Richard. After all, they were the architects of rock ‘n’ roll; without them, there is no Fab Four.
The three artists The Beatles covered most:
- Chuck Berry
- Carl Perkins
- Little Richard
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.