The Fab Four’s first number one single, the harmonies and melody on this are absolutely killer.
Kronomyth 1.1: The Lettermen.
This was the first single by The Beatles to go to number one. And not, obviously, the last. From Me to You is one of those remarkably tight songs from John and Paul that immediately gets under your skin. It also seems to mine the same letter theme last heard on “P.S. I Love You.” Hard to believe the song clocks under two minutes; they could have easily milked another minute from that melody.
The flip side is Thank You Girl, which eventually showed up on The Beatles’ Second Album. It’s not one of their better tracks by a longshot, although I realize there are people who will champion any tidbit from The Beatles. Those people, incidentally, should listen to more music by other artists. I mean, how do you get jazzed about a song like this and not get jazzed about the music of Eric Dolphy?
Original 7-inch single version
A1. From Me to You (Paul McCartney/John Lennon) (1:55)
B1. Thank You Girl (Paul McCartney/John Lennon) (2:00)
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch single in April 1963 in the UK and Denmark (Parlophone, R 5015), the Philippines (Parlophone, PAL-60107) and Turkey (Odeon, 45-LA 4137). Also released as promotional 7-inch single in 1963 in the US (Vee-Jay, VJ 522). Reached #1 on the UK charts (charted on April 20, 1963 for 21 weeks).
- Re-issued on 7-inch single in the US (Capitol, 72101) [orange/yellow swirl label].
- Re-issued on 7-inch single in 1976 in the UK (Parlophone, R 5015) with picture sleeve.
- Re-issued on 7-inch picture disc single in the UK (Parlophone, RP 5015).
- Re-issued on 3-inch compact disc single in 1988 in the US (Capitol, C3-44280-2).
- Re-issued on 7-inch single in 2019 in the UK (Parlophone, R 5015) with picture sleeve.