did the beatles ever do any blues music?

Answer 1

It is a wild overstatement to say that The Beatles were blues-based as a group. Even if you expanded the definition to include their 50s rock and roll / R & B influences (Chuck Berry, Little Richard), which arguably were derived from the blues - well, still, of the 200-300 songs credited to them, a very small percentage would fall within this definition.

Cover versions cannot be reckoned in the equation - when John Lennon sings "Rock And Roll Music" or Paul does "Long Tall Sally", they are just echoing Berry and Richard, who were blues-influenced, sure - but are these really Beatles songs?

All the way from early hits like "She Loves You" to"Strawberry Fields", "For No-One", I Am The Walrus", "Hello Goodbye", "Fool On The Hill", "Here There And Everywhere", "Piggies" - I'd say it's easy to list the majority - yes, the majority - of Beatles songs as owing no substantial debt to the blues as a genre.

In truth, they have a handful of "true" blues songs and some bits and pieces.


The blues-derived Beatles songs:


"Yer Blues" - intended as a parody of blues lyrics
"Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" - intended as a parody of Mississippi shouting blues
"For You Blue" - good-natured slide guitar-based blues
"Revolution" - a crunchy but still basic straight blues shuffle
"Revolution 1" - ditto, as it's really just an acoustic version of "Revolution"
"Oh Darling" - vocally owes a debt to blues


Bits and pieces:


"The End" from the Abbey Road - there are a couple of classic blues licks in the mix
"I Want You" - ditto, middle section
"Day Tripper" - lead solo
"Come Together" - main riff and maybe bassline (arguable. It's from Check Berry, so only if you include rock and roll as part of the wider genre.)
"Drive My Car" - first 5 seconds or so
"I've Got A Feeling" - some of George's licks in the song
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - some of Clapton's licks in the song, especially in the outro

Answer 2

Aside from the blues influences on the musicians who directly influenced the Beatles, I have never found any Beatles songs to fall into the category of "blues"...with the possible exception of "So Lonely".

That is a shame, too, because I think they could have done a reasonably good job with capturing a blues sound.

Answer 3

Their approach ultimately was blues based,
yet they somehow had the capacity to
branch far and away from the droplets
of their being steeped in their influences.

The Stones and Zeppelin for example
were more concerned with bringing
everyone down into the drenchery
thereof, and remained "truer" sounding.

The fabfour were more about expanding
in every direction never previously imagined.

But definitely get a major loud listen to
their, "I Want You/She's So Heavy" song
and you'll have a start. Also check out
their tune with the lyric, "That's why I go
for that Rock and Roll music, any ol' way
ya choose it/ It's got a backbeat, you can't
lose it...". Certainly that's derived.

"Taxman" is blues, only rocked up a notch.

I know I split hairs, but, I'm trying to bring angles.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

The Beatles were very excellent in using the blues scales to their full effect in many types of music. They used blues in 'Come Together'-mainly a 'd' blues with riffs.
Other songs with blues were Taxman and many others.
The beauty of the Beatles blues music is that it moved smoothly into major pentatonic scales also and formed great pieces of listening pleasure,.

Answer 6

I'll toss in "Old Brown Shoe" as well.

Another little slide tunes from the late Beatles era where George was exploring it a little more seriously since his friendship with Eric Clapton.

Answer 7

"Oh Darling" was without question blues-based, but the Beatles went way beyond only the blues structure in regards to writing their songs.

Answer 8

Yer blue's. .a song of the white album. .john lennon was in a band called the dirty mac after he split from the beatles too. .with clapton in it etc. . quite blue's

Answer 9

as the others have mentioned, there are bits and pieces of blues in many, many of their songs, but if you really want the song that overall sounds and feels like "the blues," then it is 'yer blues' from the "white album". also 'for you blue' from "let it be."

Answer 10

Not really even though blues music was one of there greatest influences.