Every Little Thing

(Lennon/McCartney)

Quick Facts

Composer	Paul
Lead Vocal	John
Recorded	Sep 1964
Length	2:01
Key	A
Noted Takes	9
Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Norman Smith

Originally released on

Beatles for Sale

Parlophone — PMC 1240

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Story

“Every Little Thing” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their album Beatles for Sale, issued in the UK in December 1964. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was written by Paul McCartney. Capitol Records first issued the song in the US on Beatles VI in June 1965. [Wikipedia]

Every Little Thing is a song by The Beatles, written by Lennon–McCartney and led on vocal by John Lennon. Ringo strikes timpani on the chorus; light pastoral feel. Within the catalogue, its pastoral thread connects it to Mother Nature’s Son; its domestic thread connects it to You Like Me Too Much, You Won’t See Me. A domestic pastoral composed by McCartney, recorded 29–30 September 1964, featuring Ringo’s timpani work on the chorus—a rare Beatles percussion departure. The light, optimistic tone contrasts with the album’s prevailing melancholic introspection.

The session work falls within the band’s Beatlemania (1962–1964) period, recorded 29–30 September 1964 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road. George Martin produced; Norman Smith engineered. Ringo’s timpani overdub, appearing for the first time on take nine, transformed the basic drum arrangement by adding orchestral colour to the chorus sections. The song’s evolution across two sessions—from a straightforward rhythm track (take 4 “best”) to the final version with timpani, guitar intro and piano piece (take 9)—exemplifies the Beatles for Sale era’s willingness to revisit and reshape recordings.

What’s distinctive

At 2:01 it sits in the bottom fifth by length. One of 101 songs led primarily by John. Written by Paul McCartney. Carries the unique tag ‘timpani’ — no other song shares it. Take count: 9 — takes 1–4 on 29 September (take 4 initially “best”), takes 5–9 on 30 September; the master was mixed from take 9, which introduced timpani, the guitar intro and a piano piece.¹

Recording

Every Little Thing was recorded across two afternoon sessions on 29 and 30 September 1964 in Studio Two at EMI, Abbey Road. “Back to Abbey Road for the taping of three more LP songs, all Lennon/McCartney compositions. ‘Every Little Thing’ was first, take four being deemed as ‘best’, although it was subsequently further improved upon.” Take 4 gave a usable foundation on the first day, but the next afternoon’s session yielded the definitive version: take 9, which introduced three new elements—timpani, the guitar intro and a piano piece—that transformed the song’s character from a straightforward rhythm track into the layered recording heard on the finished master.¹
Timpani debut — “‘Every Little Thing’, concluded in the afternoon session, was evidently a fun recording… Ringo was having fun with an instrument new to Beatles recordings—timpani. This appeared for the first time on take nine, along with the guitar intro and piano piece.” Every Little Thing is therefore the first Beatles recording to feature timpani. The instrument’s orchestral timbre on the chorus marks a departure from the standard Ludwig kit that had been Ringo’s sole percussion setup, and it anticipates the broader percussion experimentation that would characterise the post-Help! sessions. The timpani work appears on the chorus sections of the released master, adding a low-register percussive accent that complements the vocal harmonies.¹
The 30 September session was “evidently a fun recording. Take six was aborted when Paul burped a vocal instead of singing it, take seven was complete but ended in uproarious laughter.” The session atmosphere—relaxed enough for vocal pranks and laughter on complete takes—is notable in the context of George Martin’s observation that the group “were rather war weary during Beatles For Sale” and had been “battered like mad throughout 1964, and much of 1963.” The fun-session account suggests that the lighter material (McCartney’s pastoral compositions) provided relief from the album’s more intense writing.¹
The 30 September session is the first documented instance of the fully-transitioned AKG microphone setup on Ringo’s kit. By this date, Norman Smith had retired both the STC 4038 overhead (replaced by the AKG D19c from 11 August) and the STC 4033-A bass drum mic (replaced by the AKG D20). “The STC microphones are gone from Ringo’s kit. An AKG D19c is now the overhead mic, and an AKG D20 is used on bass drum. The D20 is also used on Paul’s bass rig.” This all-AKG configuration—D19c overhead plus D20 on bass drum and bass amp—would remain in use for the remainder of the Beatles’ career at Abbey Road.²
Both the mono and stereo mixes were completed on the same day, 27 October 1964, from take 9, with Ken Scott as 2E. “There can’t be many albums released today containing five songs remixed for stereo in half an hour! By comparison with the time spent on the mono mixes it is clear which format was considered the most important in 1964.”¹

Equipment

Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road — Studio Two¹
Tape machine	Studer J37 four-track²
Console	REDD.51 (installed January 1964)²
Microphones	AKG D19c (drum overhead); AKG D20 (bass drum, bass amp); Neumann U47 (amplifiers, acoustic guitar); Neumann U47/U48 (vocals, figure-of-eight)²
Outboard / effects	RS124 Altec compressor (Main Faders I & II, rhythm tracks), Fairchild 660 limiter (Main Faders III & IV, vocal tracks), EMT 140 plate reverb²
Guitars	Gibson J-160E (acoustic), Rickenbacker 325 (Lennon), Gretsch Country Gentleman (Harrison), Höfner 500/1 violin bass (McCartney)²
Amplifiers	Vox A.C.100 Super De-Luxe (John and George, from August 1964)²
Drums	Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl kit; timpani (from take 9)¹

Recording Timeline

29 September 1964 (Tue) — recording, takes 1–4, EMI Studio Two — Studio Two, 2.30–6.30pm. P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Ken Scott. Recording: Every Little Thing (takes 1–4). The afternoon session also produced I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party (takes 1–7) in the same time slot; the evening session (7.00–10.45pm, 2E: Ken Scott/Mike Stone) continued I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party (takes 8–19) and taped What You’re Doing (takes 1–7). “‘Every Little Thing’ was first, take four being deemed as ‘best’, although it was subsequently further improved upon.”¹
30 September 1964 (Wed) — recording, takes 5–9, completion, EMI Studio Two — Studio Two, 2.30–5.30pm. P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Ken Scott. Recording: Every Little Thing (takes 5–9). “Take six was aborted when Paul burped a vocal instead of singing it, take seven was complete but ended in uproarious laughter. And Ringo was having fun with an instrument new to Beatles recordings—timpani. This appeared for the first time on take nine, along with the guitar intro and piano piece.” The same day’s evening session (6.30–10.30pm, 2E: Ken Scott/Mike Stone) produced What You’re Doing (takes 8–12) and No Reply (takes 1–8).¹
27 October 1964 (Tue) — mono and stereo mixing from take 9, Studio Two control room — Studio Two (control room only): 10.00am–12.30pm (mono), 12.30–1.00pm (stereo). P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Ken Scott. Mono mixing: Every Little Thing (from take 9); part of a batch that also covered What You’re Doing, Honey Don’t, Mr. Moonlight and Eight Days A Week. Stereo mixing: Every Little Thing (from take 9); part of a batch with Eight Days A Week, What You’re Doing and Honey Don’t. Both mono and stereo completed on the same day — an unusual arrangement; the stereo session covered four songs in half an hour.¹

‘Every Little Thing’, concluded in the afternoon session, was evidently a fun recording. Take six was aborted when Paul burped a vocal instead of singing it, take seven was complete but ended in uproarious laughter. And Ringo was having fun with an instrument new to Beatles recordings — timpani.— Mark Lewisohn¹

Studio Notes

Timpani — first Beatles recording to feature the instrument — Lewisohn documents the timpani as “an instrument new to Beatles recordings” appearing “for the first time on take nine.” The percussion addition is structurally significant: it provides a low-register accent on the chorus that the standard Ludwig kit alone could not deliver. Timpani would reappear on later Beatles recordings, but Every Little Thing is the point of origin. The decision to introduce timpani on the final take of the second session — alongside the new guitar intro and piano piece — suggests that these three elements were part of a single creative revision that transformed the song from its take-4 “best” into the released arrangement.¹
Full AKG microphone transition — first documented all-AKG session — By the 30 September session, Norman Smith had completed the transition from STC to AKG microphones on Ringo’s kit. The overhead STC 4038 had been retired in favour of the AKG D19c from the 11 August first Beatles for Sale session (Baby’s In Black). “By the group’s pair of September sessions (‘Every Little Thing’, ‘I Don’t Want To Spoil the Party’, ‘What You’re Doing’, ‘No Reply’), Smith had retired the STC4033-A on bass drum as well. In its place was an AKG D20.” The D20 was also used on Paul’s bass rig, “completing the move from all-STC rhythm section mics to all-AKG; gone forever was the 4033-A.”²
Tea towel on snare — “Photos of the 30 September 1964 session show a tea towel over Ringo’s snare drum.” The practice, sometimes associated with the Beatles’ later recordings, is here documented as early as the Beatles for Sale sessions. A tea towel over the snare creates “a thicker and shorter snare sound” by preventing ring-out. Subjective listening to the other songs recorded that day — What You’re Doing and No Reply — “reveals the short, dry snare sound that results from a towel on the snare.” Every Little Thing was also recorded on 30 September and the same snare treatment applies.²
REDD.51 console + RS124/Fairchild compressor chain — The same REDD.51 desk and compressor patching documented on the earlier I’m a Loser session applies here. “Each of the four Main Fader channels on the REDD.51 desk had an item of outboard gear inserted into it: Main Faders I and II always had RS124 Altec compressors inserted; III and IV always used… Fairchild 660 limiters (after early 1964). This patching arrangement was directly tied to the four-track tape layout.”²
Modified U47 vocal microphones — In early 1964, Abbey Road’s Neumann U47 microphones were modified by Neumann in Berlin to behave as U48s, gaining figure-of-eight capability. The 30 September session photo description confirms: “John and Paul sing into a U48 set to figure-of-eight, while a U47 is suspended in front of John’s acoustic.” The terms U47 and U48 were largely interchangeable by this date; “the engraved names of the U47s had even been altered by Neumann to reflect their new capabilities; instead of ‘U47’, their labels read ‘U47/8’ or ‘U47/48’.”²
Vox A.C.100 Super De-Luxe amplifiers — The 30 September session record confirms “John and George’s new A.C.100 Super De-Luxe amps are mic’d with U47 microphones.” The A.C.100 replaced the Vox A.C.50 Super Twin from August 1964 onward. This was the second month of the A.C.100’s studio use; the first was the 11–14 August opening sessions for Beatles for Sale.²
RLS10 “White Elephant” speaker — The 30 September session photo description notes “the RLS10 ‘White Elephant’ speaker is positioned next to them, ready for the inevitable overdubs.” The RLS10 was the studio’s talkback and foldback speaker, used during overdub passes so musicians could hear the already-recorded backing track while adding new parts. Its positioning in the session photograph places it adjacent to the vocal mic setup.²
Stereo mixing as afterthought — Unusually, both the mono and stereo mixes of Every Little Thing were completed on the same day (27 October 1964, with Ken Scott as 2E). More typically, stereo mixes were made days or weeks after the mono mixes — as they were for all other Beatles for Sale tracks whose stereo was done on 4 November. The five stereo songs mixed that afternoon were done “in half an hour”; “by comparison with the time spent on the mono mixes it is clear which format was considered the most important in 1964.”¹

Releases

1964 UK mono LP Beatles for Sale (4 December 1964, Parlophone PMC 1240, side B track 4) — Released mono master from take 9, mixed 27 October 1964 by Norman Smith with Ken Scott as 2E. George Martin’s handwritten running order placed Every Little Thing as track 11 of 14.¹
1964 UK stereo LP Beatles for Sale (4 December 1964, Parlophone PCS 3062, side B track 4) — Stereo remix from take 9, mixed 27 October 1964 by Norman Smith with Ken Scott as 2E. Unusually, the stereo mix was completed on the same day as the mono, rather than the more typical later-date batch session (the remaining stereo mixes were done on 4 November).¹

Sources

Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (New York: Harmony Books, 1988), 49–50, 52–53.
Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, Recording the Beatles: The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums (Houston: Curvebender Publishing, 2006), 370, 372–75, 378–80.

Frequently asked

Who wrote Every Little Thing?

“Every Little Thing” was written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney.

Who sings lead on Every Little Thing?

The lead vocal on “Every Little Thing” is by John Lennon.

When was Every Little Thing recorded?

“Every Little Thing” was recorded on 29–30 September 1964 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, Studio Two.¹

How many takes did Every Little Thing require?

Nine takes across two sessions; take 4 was initially “best” but the master was mixed from take 9, which introduced timpani, the guitar intro and a piano piece.¹

On this page

Story

What’s distinctive

Recording

Equipment

Recording Timeline

Studio Notes

Releases

Sources

Frequently asked