For the Motown song written by Robert Gordy released as a 1963 single, see Caroline Crawford.
"Bad Boy" |
1962 |
Correc-Tone Brent (7033) Oriole (UK; CBA 1770) |
Richard B. 'Ricky Dee' Drapkin |
"Devil in His Heart" is a song written by Richard B. Drapkin, who recorded under the name Ricky Dee.
Recordings[edit]
The song was originally recorded as "Devil in His Heart" in Detroit by the Donays for Correc-tone Records. It was later picked up by the New York City label Brent and re-released in August 1962 as "(There's a) Devil in His Heart", the B-side of "Bad Boy".[1] This pairing also appeared in the United Kingdom on the Oriole label in 1962. The record was not a hit on either side of the Atlantic.[2] The Donays only made one recording but their lead singer, Yvonne Vernee (real name Yvonne Symington). also recorded solo, and later joined the Elgins at Motown.
The Beatles' version[edit]
B-side label of French single |
November 22, 1963 |
July 18, 1963 |
Pop rock |
2:27 |
Parlophone |
Richard Drapkin |
George Martin |
As "Devil in Her Heart", the song was performed by English rock band the Beatles with George Harrison on lead vocals.[3] It was issued on their second UK album, With the Beatles, in November 1963.[4] The recording was completed in three takes, plus overdubs.[5]
Personnel[edit]
- George Harrison – double-tracked vocal, lead guitar
- John Lennon – backing vocal, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass
- Ringo Starr – drums, maracas
- George Martin – producer
- Norman Smith – engineer
A BBC recording of the song was issued in 1995 as a B-side to "Baby It's You".
When Mojo released a reworking of With the Beatles in 2013, the track was covered by Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou of bluegrass band Indigo Moss.[7]
Notes[edit]
- ^ "The Donays - Bad Boy".
- ^ Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2014). All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release. Running Press. ISBN 978-1-60376-371-4.
- ^ Harry (2000), p. 336
- ^ Lewisohn (1988), p. 200
- ^ Lewisohn (1988), p. 34
- ^ MacDonald (2005), p. 89
- ^ "We're With The Beatles - Track Listing | Mojo Cover CDs - The Definitive List". Mojo Cover CDs. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
References[edit]
- Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated. London: Virgin Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 0-7535-0481-2.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). p. 34. ISBN 1-84413-828-3.
Recorded: 18 July 1963
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Norman Smith
Released: 22 November 1963 (UK), 10 April 1964 (US)
Available on:
With The Beatles
On Air – Live At The
BBC Volume 2
- Personnel
- In the studio
- Lyrics
Personnel
George Harrison: vocals, lead guitar
John Lennon: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney: backing vocals, bass
Ringo Starr: drums, maracas
George Harrison took lead vocals on The Beatles’ version of The Donays’ little-known 1962 song – originally ‘Devil In His Heart’. It was one of a number of cover versions recorded for With The Beatles.
The Beatles discovered the song through Brian Epstein’s NEMS store.
Brian had a policy of buying at least one copy of every record that was released. If it sold, he’d order another one, or five or whatever. Consequently he had records that weren’t hits in Britain, weren’t even hits in America. Before going to a gig we’d meet in the record store, after it had shut, and we’d search the racks like ferrets to see what new ones were there… ‘Devil In Her Heart’ and Barrett Strong’s ‘Money’ were records that we’d picked up and played in the shop and thought were interesting.
George Harrison
Anthology
It isn’t hard to see the similarities between the song and ‘Chains’ on Please Please Me, suggesting that in 1963 Harrison was being groomed for the role of the US teen pop and doo-wop singer, just as McCartney was happy being a balladeer of Broadway and mainstream standards (see ‘A Taste Of Honey’ and ‘Till There Was You’). Both notions were short lived once Beatlemania broke out and the members’ own personalities came to the fore.
‘Devil In Her Heart’ was the final girl group song recorded by The Beatles. Their own songwriting matured soon after, and the A Hard Day’s Night album would contain only Lennon-McCartney originals. From then on, when The Beatles covered songs written by others, they tended to be rock ‘n’ roll favourites from their live shows.
In the studio
The Beatles took six takes to get ‘Devil In Her Heart’ right.
It was taped on 18 July 1963 – the first session for the With The Beatles album – in which they also recorded ‘You Really Got A Hold On Me’, ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ and ‘Till There Was You’.
Lyrics
She’s got the devil in her heart
But her eyes they tantalise
She’s gonna tear your heart apart
Oh her lips they really thrill me
I’ll take my chances
For romance is
So important to
me
She’ll never hurt me
She won’t desert me
She’s an angel sent to me
She’s got the devil in her heart
No, no, this I can’t believe
She’s gonna tear your heart apart
No, no nay will she deceive
I can’t believe that she’ll ever ever go
Not when she hugs and says she loves me so
She’ll never hurt me
She won’t desert me
Listen can’t you see?
She’s got the devil in her heart
Oh, no, no, no, this I can’t believe
She’s gonna tear your
heart apart
No no nay will she deceive
Don’t take chances if your romance is
So important to you
She’ll never hurt me
She won’t desert me
She’s an angel sent to me
She’s got the devil in her heart
No, no, no, no this I can’t believe
She’s gonna tear your heart apart
No, no nay will she deceive
She’s got the devil in her heart
No she’s an angel sent to me
She’s got the devil in her heart
No she’s an angel sent to me