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100 Greatest Beatles Songs

97

'All I've Got to Do'


the beatles 100 greatest songs
Chris Smith/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
97/100

Main Writer: Lennon
Recorded: September 11, 1963
Released: January 20, 1964
Not released as a single

"Smokey Robinson was like God in our eyes," McCartney once said. And nowhere was Robinson's divine presence more felt than on With the Beatles. The album features the band's cover of "You Really Got a Hold on Me," as well as Lennon's "Not a Second Time" and "All I've Got to Do," which Lennon described as "me trying to do Smokey Robinson." "All I've Got to Do" is one of the most soulful songs of the early Beatles originals: With its plaintive vocal, it recalls the Miracles' "(You Can) Depend on Me," especially when Lennon's voice soars through the bridge. Robinson cast a wide shadow on the Beatles long after they split: In the Seventies, Harrison wrote a tribute called "Pure Smokey," and Lennon admitted that he was still trying to sing like Robinson during the Double Fantasy sessions.

Appears On: With the Beatles

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The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 'With the Beatles'
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