Comments on: You Really Got A Hold On Me

By: MikeP

MikeP — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 18:30:31 +0000

Can’t just think both are great? That’s very sad…

By: Topkat

Topkat — Sun, 11 Nov 2018 20:52:50 +0000

The MIRACLES are UNBEATABLE…by The Beatles or ANYBODY ELSE.
That’s why SO MANY ARTISTS cover their tunes.
Others may have had bigger Pop success, but The MIRACLES were the group to beat in the Sixties.
That’s why they’re THE MOST COVERED and SAMPLED MOTOWN ACT of ALL TIME !!!
DON’T BELIEVE IT ?
http://www.beatlesebooks.com/hold-on-me
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_So_Good_About_Goodbye
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ve_Been_Good_to_You
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cover_versions_of_Miracles_songs

By: John McStarrison

John McStarrison — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 17:25:09 +0000

Someone would’ve spilled by now had this been done. Probably John himself actually.

By: jan edvinsson

jan edvinsson — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 01:41:30 +0000

There are live versions of ” You Really Got a Hold On Me ” and they are played in A. The highest note is a F# ( Gb ) in most of the song, accept in the end where John takes an A, I believe it was dubbed on afterwards to top the song in the end; it is possible for John to sing normally I think, if you take it down a bit it might loose the frenzy. In the live version I listened to, it works fine with George harmonizing with John, George sounds backed up with another voice and of course that must be Paul who disguises his normal voice sound a bit I believe, so I believe that is how the album version also was done; John could go in here and there and sing double with his own voice also I suppose, like they use to do often. John is doing a very good job on this one I think. The final version on the album, I read here in the comments was also edited from takes 7, 8 and 11. You got to save some time now and then in a recording situation.

By: Travis

Travis — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 15:56:04 +0000

I always thought it was John harmonizing with himself, all these years! Amazing how similar his and George’s voice could be in the earlier years (or was it just George mimicking John, a la “Do You Want To Know A Secret?” – he did have a history of following J+Cyn to the theater in their youth).

By: Travis

Travis — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 15:50:47 +0000

Listen to the live performances they did (with no monitors and thousands screaming) – John was an incredible singer in those years, most of the studio changing of voices was done for particular sound results (“Strawberry Fields” to make it more strange and druggy), not to mask deficiencies. And changing of speeds and things for vocal purposes was done for Paul as well.

By: Travis

Travis — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 15:45:43 +0000

Sadly John’s voice, an amazing instrument, began degrading gradually after they stopped touring and continued to fray until his death, though that did add to the vulnerability of his many beautiful, softer solo songs, and he could still belt it when he needed to (“I Want You”, “Don’t Let Me Down”), you can really hear how much his singing power and control had been lost by listening to the “Let It Be” sessions (whereas Paul was possibly better than ever-no wonder they broke up), esp if you compare to earlier recordings, or, even more starkly, the early live performances, esp of songs like “Twist And Shout”. No way could he have pulled off those kind of performances in ’69, esp with no monitors and what not like back in the day.

By: getbackjojo

getbackjojo — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 00:32:24 +0000

The Beatles rocked the song. Smokey was great but John was hot with that incredible soulful voice of his!

By: Yacine Moueddene

Yacine Moueddene — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 03:55:25 +0000

My guess is this song was sung by both together John Lennon and George Harrison not even Paul or Ringo

By: zmrbig

zmrbig — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 18:52:05 +0000

Bullshit!…Billy Preston could play anything in any key!

By: jennifur Sun

jennifur Sun — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 09:56:55 +0000

like both versions for different reasons

By: Allan Todd

Allan Todd — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 03:43:54 +0000

Interesting theory which Jack proposes (varispeeding up from key of G to A… I doubt that any guitarist would volunteer to play a song in Ab/G#, except by detuning their instrument!) — if this is the case it is surely (by a couple of years) the first use by the Beatles of varispeed?

By: Bongo

Bongo — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 23:39:06 +0000

Although I love the Canadian Capitol version of this (as well as the U.K. LP, same song list), it’ s just a great rocking album, and this song is just another great song in their arsenal!

By: cold turkey 1987

cold turkey 1987 — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 14:45:26 +0000

A perfect song for the beatles to pick from circa 1963. I like the miracles version but I feel the beatles wrung out all of the beauty contained in this song.

By: Jack

Jack — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 06:40:45 +0000

I have a feeling that the cut on With The Beatles was actually performed in G or G#, which was then sped up on the tape machine to A – there are a lot of unnatural sounding runs for John. And though, while his voice may well have been stronger voice in 1963 compared to say 1970, the deftness at which he sings certain passages is slightly difficult to comprehend. Try slowing the track down 5% in a DAW, it instantly lifts a veil from John’s voice and the sound of the band (John was notorious for asking the Abbey Road engineers to find new ways to masque the natural sound of his voice, and possibly with this cut in an attempt to make it sound more like the Smokey Robinson version – it’s all over Beatles records, Magical Mystery Tour, Lucy In The Sky, Strawberry Fields Forever).

May spark a debate, but it’s a theory backed by gut intuition.

By: D.B.

D.B. — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:25:12 +0000

In 1963, they played it in A, but for Let It Be it wound up in the Miracles’ higher key of C. Lennon probably couldn’t have sung that high back then anyway. They probably only changed it so Billy Preston could play it.

By: David

David — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 05:39:51 +0000

Why there is any reference to the let it be film version of this song? That should be great.

By: GniknuS

GniknuS — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:06:04 +0000

That’s definitely John singing that line. It’s pretty shocking to hear the album version versus the version played during the Let It Be movie. John’s voice was a million times stronger in 1963.

By: aldo

aldo — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:53:05 +0000

are there any lead vocal changes to George on the line “my love is strong now?” it doesn’t sound like John..

By: SD

SD — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:58:29 +0000

Lennon sings lead in this song, Harrison is doing the harmony with McCartney providing backing vocal.