Anna ( Go to Him ) - wikipedia Anna ( Go to Him ) `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' Single by Arthur Alexander B - side `` I Hang My Head and Cry '' Released September 17, 1962 Genre Soul Length 2 : 48 Label Dot Records Songwriter ( s ) Arthur Alexander Producer ( s ) Noel Ball Arthur Alexander singles chronology `` Soldier of Love ( Lay Down Your Arms ) '' ( 1962 ) `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' ( 1962 ) `` Go Home Girl '' ( 1962 ) `` Soldier of Love ( Lay Down Your Arms ) '' ( 1962 ) `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' ( 1962 ) `` Go Home Girl '' ( 1962 ) `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '', or simply `` Anna '', is a song written and originally recorded by Arthur Alexander. His version was released as a single by Dot Records on September 17, 1962. A cover version was performed by English rock group The Beatles and included on their 1963 debut album Please Please Me. Contents 1 Background 2 The Beatles ' version 2.1 Personnel 3 Humble Pie 's version 3.1 Personnel 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 External links Background According to Richie Unterberger, music critic for AllMusic : ' Anna ' was one of the great early soul ballads, even if its loping groove was closer to a mid-tempo song than a slow ballad. Like several of Alexander 's songs, it would come to be more famous in its cover version than through its original release. And it was actually a small hit when it first came out in 1962, getting to # 68 in the pop charts and # 10 in the R&B listings. Critic Dave Marsh rates Alexander 's `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' as one of the top 1001 singles of all time. He praises the `` gently swinging rhythm, '' the tough, syncopated drumming, and Alexander 's vocal, particularly at the beginning of the refrain, suggesting that John Lennon may have learned to sing ballads like `` In My Life '' by listening to Alexander 's performance. Despite the title, throughout the song the lyric is `` go with him '' rather than `` go to him ''. The Beatles ' version `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' Cover of Japanese EP Song by the Beatles from the album Please Please Me Released March 22, 1963 Recorded February 11, 1963 Length 2 : 54 Label Parlophone Songwriter ( s ) Arthur Alexander Producer ( s ) George Martin Please Please Me track listing `` Misery '' ( 2 ) `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' ( 3 ) `` Chains '' ( 4 ) A personal favourite of John Lennon, it became part of the Beatles ' early repertoire and was consequently recorded by them for their 1963 debut album, Please Please Me. It is the first song released by the group which specifically names a girl. In the U.S., Vee Jay Records released it on Introducing... The Beatles ( January 10, 1964 ) and Capitol Records re-released it on The Early Beatles ( March 22, 1965 ). Vee Jay also released `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' on the EP Souvenir of Their Visit : The Beatles in the US The band recorded the song on February 11, 1963 in three takes ; Take 3 was the master. It was remixed on February 25. George Harrison played the distinctive phrase on guitar ; Floyd Cramer played it on piano for the original. Unterberger praised the Beatles ' version in his review, saying : Ringo Starr faithfully ( replicates ) the unusual drum rhythm and hi - hat crunches. Lennon 's vocal, however, added a tortured pain not present in Alexander 's model, particularly when he wailed in his upper register at the conclusion of the bridges. The Beatles ' backup harmony vocals, in addition, were superb, and more effective ( than on Alexander 's version ). Music critic Ian MacDonald had a different view of Lennon 's vocal, saying it sounded like `` a passionate youth grappling with a man 's song ''. They recorded `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' on June 17, 1963 for the BBC radio show Pop Go the Beatles. The show was broadcast on June 25. They recorded it once again on August 1, 1963 for the show broadcast on August 27. As noted in many references including Mark Lewisohn 's The Beatles Recording Sessions, Lennon had a bad cold which accounts for the very rough, almost strange tone he demonstrates on all his vocals during the historic session of eleven songs recorded in ten hours, including the last song, `` Twist and Shout ''. Personnel John Lennon -- vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar Paul McCartney -- bass, backing vocals George Harrison -- lead guitar, backing vocals Ringo Starr -- drums Engineered by Norman Smith Personnel for studio album version per MacDonald Humble Pie 's version On their 1974 album, Thunderbox, Humble Pie also covered the song, it was their seventh studio album. Their version is more in a rhythm and blues style, with chorists The Blackberries, Carlena Williams, Venetta Fields and Billie Barnum. And instead of singing Go to him, Marriott preferred to sing Go with him. Personnel Steve Marriott : Guitar, vocals Clem Clempson : Guitar Greg Ridley : Bass Jerry Shirley : Drums - The Blackberries : Carlena Williams, Venetta Fields and Billie Barnum : Back vocals. In popular culture In the episode `` Oldies But Young ' Uns '' of the TV show Married... with Children Season 5 Episode 17, issue date March 17 1991, the plot revolves around Al Bundy 's struggle to recall the name of the song. References ^ Jump up to : Marsh, D. ( 1999 ). The Heart of Rock and Soul. Da Capo Press. p. 320. ISBN 9780306809019. ^ Jump up to : Unterberger, Richie. `` Review of `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' ``. AllMusic. Retrieved March 18, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Arthur Alexander Billboard Singles ''. AllMusic. Retrieved March 18, 2007. Jump up ^ Harry, Bill ( 2000 ). The Beatles Encyclopedia : Revised and Updated. London : Virgin Publishing. pp. 28 -- 29. ISBN 0 - 7535 - 0481 - 2. Jump up ^ Lewisohn, Mark ( 1988 ). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York : Harmony Books. p. 200. ISBN 0 - 517 - 57066 - 1. Jump up ^ Lewisohn, Mark ( 1988 ). The Beatles Recording Sessions. p. 201. Jump up ^ Cross, Craig ( 2005 ). The Beatles : Day - by - Day, Song - by - Song, Record - by - Record. Lincoln, NE : iUniverse, Inc. p. 544. ISBN 0 - 595 - 34663 - 4. Jump up ^ Lewisohn, Mark ( 1988 ). The Beatles Recording Sessions. pp. 24, 26. ^ Jump up to : MacDonald, Ian ( 2005 ). Revolution in the Head : The Beatles ' Records and the Sixties ( Second Revised ed. ). London : Pimlico ( Rand ). pp. 72 -- 73. ISBN 1 - 84413 - 828 - 3. Jump up ^ Harry, Bill ( 2000 ). The Beatles Encyclopedia : Revised and Updated. pp. 877 -- 878. Jump up ^ `` Anna ( Go To Him ) ''. The Beatles Bible. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Married... with Children ( 1987 -- 1997 ) : Oldies But Young ' Uns ''. IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. External links The Beatles Bible : Anna ( Go To Him ), February 11, 1963. Humble Pie Thunderbox album : https://www.discogs.com/fr/Humble-Pie-Thunderbox/release/5213692 Arthur Alexander Studio albums Arthur Alexander Singles `` You Better Move On '' / `` A Shot of Rhythm and Blues '' `` Soldier of Love ( Lay Down Your Arms ) '' / `` Where Have You Been ( All My Life ) '' `` Anna '' `` Go Home Girl '' `` Detroit City '' / `` You Do n't Care '' `` Every Day I Have to Cry Some '' Please Please Me Songs Side one `` I Saw Her Standing There '' `` Misery '' `` Anna ( Go to Him ) '' `` Chains '' `` Boys '' `` Ask Me Why '' `` Please Please Me '' Side two `` Love Me Do '' `` P.S. I Love You '' `` Baby It 's You '' `` Do You Want to Know a Secret '' `` A Taste of Honey '' `` There 's a Place '' `` Twist and Shout '' Non-album tracks `` From Me to You '' `` Thank You Girl '' Outtakes `` How Do You Do It ? '' `` Tip of My Tongue '' `` Hold Me Tight '' `` Bésame Mucho '' Related articles The Beatles discography Please Please Me With the Beatles A Hard Day 's Night Beatles for Sale Help ! Rubber Soul Revolver Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band Magical Mystery Tour The Beatles ( White Album ) Yellow Submarine Abbey Road Let It Be Past Masters Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anna_(Go_to_Him)&oldid=824672340 '' Categories : 1962 singles The Beatles songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Arthur Alexander 1962 songs Dot Records singles Arthur Alexander songs Songs about women Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from September 2016 Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français 한국어 Italiano עברית ქართული 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 8 February 2018, at 19 : 56. About Wikipedia

Question: who sings lead on anna by the beatles
Answer: John Lennon