Talk:Tell Me Why (Beatles song)

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Untitled

Shouldn't the label be Capitol? George Slivinsky 21:27, 28 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"races along at a pace"?

Using simple doo-wop chord changes and block harmonies, "Tell Me Why" races along at a pace.

Wow! When I read this exciting description, my heart started pounding at a rate.
--63.25.248.176 (talk) 17:24, 24 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The female singers' names are not mentioned in the article.Vesahjr (talk) 21:21, 28 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have listened to this song for over 40 years, and I´ve always thought there are female singers there singing one line ("is there anything I can do"). Can it really be that they are Lennon, McCartney and Harrison?Vesahjr (talk) 18:41, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Tell Me Why (Beatles song)/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

I've never read this anywhere - and although I'm a huge John Lennon fan, I think he subconsciously got the idea for this song from Frankie Lymon & the Teenager's hit, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love"...that song has the line, "Tell me why---yy, tell me why-y-y", with a chord progression similar to what John ended up writing for his song. This is NOT to say he purposely 'ripped off' the song - it's easy to do, and quite common for songwriters to be influenced by other songs. Great song - RIP, John.

Last edited at 04:54, 29 July 2013 (UTC). Substituted at 07:46, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Harrison's Lower Harmony Vocal, Not McCartney's

I believe the reference to Paul McCartney's lower-register harmony vocal during the chorus of "Tell Me Why" is incorrect. I am curious as to the source of that information. The harmony work on "Tell Me Why" is indeed unusual, but for this reason: John Lennon and Paul McCartney both sing the high-register melody, while George Harrison sings the lower-register harmony. I don't believe this type of arrangement was used on any other Beatle song, and I would bet $10,000 that the lower harmony is George and not Paul.

1. In 1963 and 1964, it was common for John and Paul to sing together on the melody ("Thank You Girl", "From Me to You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Eight Days a Week", "A Hard Day's Night"), and George's voice was not suited to the high register of the melody in "Tell Me Why".

2. If you listen closely to the harmonies during the verses, you can hear George's vocal a fifth lower than Paul's, which was their common practice. Why, then, would George's vocal jump upwards a fifth during each chorus, while Paul's vocal jumps downwards a fifth? It's illogical. Why would anyone do that?

I could be wrong, but I don't think so. I have been listening to Beatle music for more than 50 years, I am a guitarist, and I am a singer-songwriter. I have sung in choruses and I know something about harmonies. I have listened to "Tell Me Why" hundreds of times. Unless someone can provide conclusive evidence to the contrary, I will continue to believe that it's George Harrison on the lower harmony vocal during the chorus, with John Lennon and Paul McCartney sharing the higher lead vocal.

Michael F.K. Phelan 21 Dec 201747.205.154.71 (talk) 15:54, 21 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Tell Me Why

Also covered by The Chenille Sisters on their eponymous debut album released in 1986. I own the album and can send you a photo if you want. Thanks. Daniel Bridges 69.14.23.66 (talk) 00:59, 12 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]