Ask Me Why

(Lennon/McCartney)

Quick Facts

Composer	John
Lead Vocal	John
Recorded	Nov 1962
Length	2:24
Key	E
Noted Takes	6
Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Norman Smith

Originally released on

Please Please Me (single, B-side)

Please Please Me (LP)

Parlophone — 45-R 4983 / PMC 1202

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Story

“Ask Me Why” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles originally released in the United Kingdom as the B-side of their single “Please Please Me”. It was also included on their 1963 debut album Please Please Me. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. [Wikipedia]

Ask Me Why is a song by The Beatles, written by Lennon–McCartney and led on vocal by John Lennon. B-side of ‘Please Please Me’; harmony-rich early Lennon-McCartney. Within the catalogue, its love thread connects it to P.S. I Love You, Something. Originally recorded during the June 1962 artist test, ‘Ask Me Why’ was re-recorded on 26 November 1962 with the standard Beatle lineup to serve as B-side to ‘Please Please Me’. The song exemplifies the harmonic sophistication of early Lennon-McCartney writing, featuring multi-part vocal layering that would become a signature of their arrangement work.¹

The session work falls within the band’s Beatlemania (1962–1964) period, recorded 26 November 1962 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road. George Martin produced; Norman Smith engineered. The song was captured in just six takes on the November session, demonstrating studio efficiency compared to the A-side’s eighteen takes. George Martin’s willingness to move quickly through the track suggests confidence in the arrangement, which required no post-session re-evaluation or structural revision.¹

What’s distinctive

One of 101 songs led primarily by John. Recorded approximately 3 of 67 into the Beatlemania (1962–1964) sessions. Take count: 6 — “comparatively easy to record, and by take six it was perfect,” while the A-side Please Please Me required eighteen takes at the same session.¹

Recording

Ask Me Why was first performed at the Beatles’ 6 June 1962 EMI artist test at Abbey Road — the session that led to their Parlophone contract. The test was produced by Ron Richards and George Martin, engineered by Norman Smith with Chris Neal as second engineer. The number of takes is not recorded in Lewisohn’s session log for this date. The same test also captured ‘Besame Mucho’, ‘Love Me Do’, and ‘P.S. I Love You’. Ryan and Kehew note Norman Smith’s first impressions of the session — the band’s makeshift equipment and the general uncertainty about whether this audition would lead to a recording contract.^1,2
The released master comes from the 26 November 1962 recording session, Studio Two, Abbey Road, 7.00–10.00pm. George Martin produced; Norman Smith engineered. Ask Me Why was “comparatively easy to record, and by take six it was perfect.” The track was chosen as the B-side of ‘Please Please Me’, which was recorded at the same three-hour evening session and required eighteen takes — the contrast in take counts makes Ask Me Why one of the most efficient recordings of the Beatlemania era relative to its session companion. At the same session, the group also attempted ‘Tip Of My Tongue’, which was rejected by Martin and later given to Tommy Quickly (recorded July 1963).¹
Ryan and Kehew confirm that the 26 November session recorded to both Twin-Track and Delta-Mono simultaneously: “the 26 November session for ‘Please Please Me’ and ‘Ask Me Why’” captured both songs on both tape formats. The Delta-Mono format — a single-track safety copy running alongside the master Twin-Track — was discontinued after 5 March 1963, making the November 1962 recordings among the last Beatles sessions to use the dual-format method.²
The song was “briskly knocked off” per Ryan and Kehew’s account of the session — another Lennon-McCartney original that the band had road-tested extensively before arriving at Abbey Road for the November date. The efficiency of the Ask Me Why recording allowed Martin to devote the bulk of the session to the A-side, whose eighteen takes and subsequent re-evaluation of the arrangement (the substitution of harmonica for the originally-planned vocal introduction) were the session’s main work.^1,2

Equipment

Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road — Studio Two (recording, 26 Nov 1962); Studio One control room (LP mixing, 25 Feb 1963)¹
Tape machine	BTR Twin-Track (BTR2 and BTR3 both available in the Studio Two control room); also recorded to Delta-Mono simultaneously²
Console	REDD.37²
Microphones	Neumann U48, STC 4038 (overheads), STC 4033-A (era standard, not song-verified)²
Outboard	RS124 compressor (Altec 436B modification), RS114 limiter²
Monitoring	Altec 605A in Lockwood cabinets²

Recording Timeline

6 June 1962 (Wed) — EMI artist test, Abbey Road — Studio unknown (likely Studio Three per standard EMI audition practice). P: Ron Richards and George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Chris Neal. ‘Ask Me Why’ performed alongside ‘Besame Mucho’, ‘Love Me Do’, and ‘P.S. I Love You’. Lewisohn lists the session as the group’s first time inside Abbey Road. The number of takes for each song is not documented in the session log. The artist test led to the Beatles’ Parlophone recording contract, though the surviving documentation leaves the precise sequence of Martin’s decision unclear (he was not present for the full test, arriving after Ron Richards had started).¹
26 November 1962 (Mon) — recording takes 1–6, Studio Two, Abbey Road — 7.00–10.00pm. P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: unknown. Recording: Ask Me Why (takes 1–6; take 6 = master). “‘Ask Me Why’ was comparatively easy to record, and by take six it was perfect.” Recorded at the same session as Please Please Me (takes 1–18; take 18 = master) and an attempted ‘Tip Of My Tongue’ (rejected by Martin). The session also recorded both songs to Delta-Mono format simultaneously alongside the Twin-Track master.^1,2
30 November 1962 (Fri) — mono mixing, Abbey Road — Mono mixing of Ask Me Why from take 6, alongside the mono mix of Please Please Me (take number not documented). Both mono mixes prepared for the single release.¹
25 February 1963 (Mon) — LP mono and stereo mixing, Studio One control room, Abbey Road — P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: A.B. Lincoln. Mono and stereo mixes of Ask Me Why from take 6 prepared for the Please Please Me LP. The stereo mix represents the early-1963 approach in which Martin used the Studio One control room for LP mixing, with stereo mixes typically prepared without the band present and treated as secondary to the mono masters.¹

‘Ask Me Why’ was comparatively easy to record, and by take six it was perfect.— Mark Lewisohn¹

Studio Notes

REDD.37 console — the only desk for this session — The Studio Two control room in late 1962 housed the REDD.37 valve console. The v1 page listed “REDD.37 / REDD.51” — the REDD.51 did not enter Beatles service until 1964 (installed in Studio Two in early 1964 to replace the REDD.37, which was moved to Studio Three). For the 26 November 1962 session, the REDD.37 was the sole console.²
Twin-Track + Delta-Mono simultaneous recording — The 26 November 1962 session captured Ask Me Why and Please Please Me on both Twin-Track and Delta-Mono tape formats running simultaneously. The Delta-Mono was a single-track safety copy; it was discontinued after 5 March 1963 (the session that recorded From Me to You and Thank You Girl). After that date, only the Twin-Track (and later the Studer J37 four-track) was used.²
Hard L/R panning of Twin-Track stereo — “Track 1 of the Twin-Track tape was automatically panned hard Left by default, and Track 2 was panned hard Right.” This fixed panning is audible on the stereo mix of Ask Me Why: the band’s live performance is split across two tracks with no centre image, producing the characteristic “split stereo” soundfield of early Beatles recordings. The approach was not a creative decision but a technical consequence of the two-track format; the mono mix (which summed both tracks) was considered the primary master.²
BTR Twin-Track tape machines in the Studio Two control room — Both BTR2 and BTR3 machines were available in the Studio Two control room during the November 1962 sessions. The source does not specify which BTR model carried the Ask Me Why master tape; the v1 page’s claim of “BTR-2” is not confirmed by K/R, which lists both machines as present. The 1963 equipment summary lists the BTR3 as the standard Twin-Track machine from that year forward.²
George Martin’s stereo-mixing philosophy — February 1963 — The 25 February 1963 LP mixing session, during which Ask Me Why received its stereo mix, represents Martin’s early approach to stereo as a secondary format. Stereo mixes were typically prepared in the Studio One control room without the band present, by Martin and Smith alone. The mono mix — prepared five days after recording — was the working master for the single; the stereo version was an LP afterthought prepared three months later.¹

Releases

1963 UK single “Please Please Me” / “Ask Me Why” (11 January 1963, Parlophone 45-R 4983, B-side) — First UK release. Ask Me Why appears as the B-side of the group’s second Parlophone single. The mono mix from 30 November 1962 (take 6) is the single master.¹
1963 UK mono LP Please Please Me (22 March 1963, Parlophone PMC 1202, side A track 6) — LP mono mix from the 25 February 1963 session (take 6), prepared by George Martin and Norman Smith with A.B. Lincoln as second engineer. The LP mono mix may differ subtly from the single mono mix (30 November 1962) in EQ and level; both derive from take 6.¹
1963 UK stereo LP Please Please Me (22 March 1963, Parlophone PCS 3042, side A track 6) — Stereo mix from the 25 February 1963 session (take 6). The hard L/R panning of the Twin-Track original produces the characteristic split-stereo image; the stereo version was prepared without the band and treated as secondary to the mono master.^1,2
1964 UK EP All My Loving (7 February 1964, Parlophone GEP 8891) — EP appearance alongside ‘All My Loving’, ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’, and ‘P.S. I Love You’.
Anthology 1 (21 November 1995, Apple PCSP 727) — Alternate take included on the Anthology 1 compilation, providing a pre-master variant from the 26 November 1962 session.

Sources

Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (New York: Harmony Books, 1988), 16–17, 23, 28, 200.
Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, Recording the Beatles: The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums (Houston: Curvebender Publishing, 2006), 102, 348, 350–51, 365, 368–69.

Frequently asked

Who wrote Ask Me Why?

“Ask Me Why” is credited to John Lennon (Lennon–McCartney).

Who sings lead on Ask Me Why?

The lead vocal on “Ask Me Why” is by John Lennon.

When was Ask Me Why recorded?

“Ask Me Why” was recorded 26 November 1962 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, Studio Two. It had previously been performed at the 6 June 1962 EMI artist test.¹

How many takes did Ask Me Why require?

Six — Lewisohn’s session log documents takes 1–6 on 26 November 1962, with take 6 selected as the master.¹