With a Little Help from My Friends - wikipedia With a Little Help from My Friends This article is about the song. For the albums, see With a Little Help from My Friends ( Joe Cocker album ) and With a Little Help from My Friends ( Neal Morse album ). For the album by The Flaming Lips, see With a Little Help from My Fwends. `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' Song by the Beatles from the album Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band Released May 1967 ( 1967 - 05 ) Recorded 29 -- 30 March 1967 Studio EMI Genre Pop rock psychedelic pop Length 2 : 46 Label Parlophone ( UK ) Capitol ( US ) Songwriter ( s ) Lennon -- McCartney Producer ( s ) George Martin `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and intended as the album 's featured vocal for drummer Ringo Starr. The group recorded the song towards the end of the sessions for Sgt. Pepper, with Starr singing as the character `` Billy Shears ''. A subsequent recording of the track by Joe Cocker became a hit single in 1968 and an anthem for the Woodstock era. In 1978, the Beatles ' recording, paired with `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band '', was reissued as a single, and peaked at number 63 in Britain and number 71 in the United States. Starr has regularly performed the song in concert as a solo artist. `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' was ranked number 311 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Contents 1 Origins 2 Recording 3 Personnel 4 Live performances 5 Cover versions 6 Joe Cocker version 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links Origins Lennon and McCartney finished writing this song in mid-March 1967, written specifically as Starr 's track for the album. McCartney said : `` It was pretty much co-written, John and I doing a work song for Ringo, a little craft job. '' In 1970 Lennon stated : `` Paul had the line about ' a little help from my friends. ' He had some kind of structure for it, and we wrote it pretty well fifty - fifty from his original idea. '', but in 1980 Lennon said : `` This is Paul, with a little help from me. ' What do you see when you turn out the light / I ca n't tell you, but I know it 's mine... ' is mine. '' It was briefly called `` Bad Finger Boogie '' ( later the inspiration for the band name Badfinger ), supposedly because Lennon composed the melody on a piano using his middle finger after having hurt his forefinger. The song begins with the applause from the end of Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Lennon and McCartney deliberately wrote a tune with a limited range -- except for the last note, which McCartney worked closely with Starr to achieve. Speaking in the Anthology, Starr explained that he insisted on changing the first line -- which originally was `` What would you think if I sang out of tune ? Would you throw ripe tomatoes at me ? '' -- so that fans would not throw tomatoes at him should he perform it live. ( In the early days, after George Harrison made a passing comment that he liked jelly babies, the group was showered with them at all of their live performances. ) The song 's composition is unusually well documented, as Hunter Davies was present and described the writing process in the Beatles ' official biography. The song is partly in the form of a conversation in which the other two Beatles sing a question -- e.g. `` Would you believe in a love at first sight ? '' where Starr answers, `` Yes, I 'm certain that it happens all the time. '' Recording The Beatles began recording the song on 29 March 1967, the day before they posed for the Sgt. Pepper album cover. They recorded 10 takes of the song, wrapping up sessions at 5 : 45 in the morning. The backing track consisted of Starr on drums, McCartney playing piano, Harrison playing lead guitar and Lennon beating a cowbell. At dawn, Starr trudged up the stairs to head home -- but the other Beatles cajoled him into doing his lead vocal then and there, standing around the microphone for moral support. The following day they added tambourine, backing vocals, bass and more electric guitar. Personnel According to Ian MacDonald, except where noted : Ringo Starr -- lead vocal, drums John Lennon -- backing vocal, cowbell Paul McCartney -- backing vocal, piano, bass guitar George Harrison -- rhythm and lead guitars George Martin -- Hammond organ Live performances To date, Starr has closed every concert performed by each version of his All - Starr Band with this song. After he is done singing, Starr tells the audience `` Peace and love... peace and love is the only way... and good night '', then walks off the stage. Since 2008, the band segued right into `` Give Peace a Chance '', during which Starr comes back onstage, then walks off again. Starr performed the song with George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, George Michael, Phil Collins, Elton John, and many others at the 1987 Prince 's Trust Concert at Wembley Arena, London. McCartney and Starr performed this song for the first time together at the David Lynch Foundation Benefit Concert in the Radio City Music Hall, New York on 4 April 2009. McCartney and Starr also performed the song together on `` The Night That Changed America : A Grammy Salute to The Beatles '', a commemorative show on 27 January 2014, that marked 50 years since the band 's first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, then again in 2015 at Ringo Starr 's induction in the Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame. Cover versions There have been at least 50 cover versions of the song and it has achieved the number one position on the British singles charts three times : by Joe Cocker in 1968, Wet Wet Wet in 1988, and by Sam & Mark in 2004. In March 2017, Broadway and Hollywood artists including Liz Callaway, FORTE, Annie Golden, Telly Leung and Chris Mann performed a gospel - flavored version of the song for a single and video to benefit Americans for the Arts. Joe Cocker version `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' Single by Joe Cocker from the album With a Little Help from My Friends B - side `` Something 's Coming On '' Released October 1968 ( 1968 - 10 ) ( UK ) Format 7 - inch record Recorded 1968 Genre Blue - eyed soul hard rock Length 4 : 55 Label Regal Zonophone ( UK ) A&M ( US ) Songwriter ( s ) Lennon -- McCartney Producer ( s ) Denny Cordell Joe Cocker UK singles chronology `` Marjorine '' ( 1968 ) `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' ( 1968 ) `` Delta Lady '' ( 1969 ) Joe Cocker US singles chronology `` Marjorine '' ( 1968 ) `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' ( 1968 ) `` Feeling Alright '' ( 1969 ) Audio sample file help English singer Joe Cocker 's version of `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' was a radical re-arrangement of the original, in a slower, meter, using different chords in the middle eight, and a lengthy instrumental introduction ( featuring drums by Procol Harum 's B.J. Wilson, guitar lines from Jimmy Page, and organ by Tommy Eyre ). Cocker performed the song at Woodstock in 1969 and that performance was included in the documentary film, Woodstock. This version gained even more fame when it was used as the opening theme song for the television series The Wonder Years. Cocker 's cover was ranked number two in UpVenue 's top 10 best music covers of all time in 2009. In 2014, a BBC poll saw it voted the seventh best cover version ever. The version heard in the film Across the Universe segues from the original to Cocker 's arrangement at the end of the song. In 2001, Cocker 's version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Personnel Joe Cocker -- lead vocals Jimmy Page -- guitar Chris Stainton -- bass Tommy Eyre -- organ B.J. Wilson -- drums Madeline Bell -- backing vocals Rosetta Hightower -- backing vocals Patrice Holloway -- backing vocals Sunny Wheetman -- backing vocals Notes Jump up ^ Everett 1999, p. 123. `` In the United Kingdom Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band... was rush - released six days ahead of its official date, June 1. '' Jump up ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 247. Jump up ^ Dowlding 1989, p. 165. ^ Jump up to : `` 100 Greatest Beatles Songs. No. 61 -- ' With a Little Help From My Friends ' ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 June 2012. Jump up ^ Matovina 2000. Jump up ^ The Beatles 2000, p. 242. ^ Jump up to : Lewisohn 1988, p. 106. Jump up ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 246. Jump up ^ Everett 1999, p. 102. Jump up ^ `` With a Little Help From My Friends ''. Retrieved 11 November 2017 Jump up ^ `` Paul McCartney and Friends : Change Begins Within ''. Radio City Music Hall. New York, NY : Madison Square Garden. Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2010. Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEGwjAKK5z4 Jump up ^ `` Song : With a Little Help From My Friends -- John Lennon, Paul McCartney ''. Second Hand Songs. Retrieved 21 August 2011. Jump up ^ `` Number 1 Singles of the 1960s ''. everyHit.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011. Jump up ^ `` Number 1 Singles of the 1980s ''. everyHit.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011. Jump up ^ Kaufman, Gil ( March 23, 2017 ). `` Broadway Stars Come Together For All - Star Single ' With a Little Help from My Friends ' to Support the Arts ''. Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2017. Jump up ^ Parrott, Billy ( 9 August 2013 ). `` The Wonder Years : Music and References from Season One ''. The New York Public Library. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Jump up ^ UpVenue.com 2010. Jump up ^ `` Pet Shop Boys ' Always On My Mind tops cover version vote ''. BBC News. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Grammy Hall of Fame Award. Grammy.org Retrieved 21 December 2012 References The Beatles ( 2000 ). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco : Chronicle Books. ISBN 0 - 8118 - 2684 - 8. Chianello, Joanne ( 2 October 2009 ). `` Harper gets on stage with a little help from his wife ''. Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009. Dowlding, William J. ( 1989 ). Beatlesongs. New York : Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0 - 671 - 68229 - 6. Everett, Walter ( 1999 ). The Beatles as Musicians : Revolver Through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 512941 - 0. Fries, Colin, ed. ( 30 November 2009 ). `` Chronology of Wakeup Calls '' ( PDF ). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 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 ). ISBN 1 - 84413 - 828 - 3. Matovina, Dan ( 2000 ). Without You : The Tragic Story of Badfinger. Frances Glover Books. ISBN 0 - 9657122 - 2 - 2. Apple 's Neil Aspinall remembers, `` (... ) Badfinger just popped in my head. It was from an old Lennon thing. He was playing the piano and he had a bad finger so he called the piece he was playing ' Bad Finger Boogie ' ( which evolved into ' With A Little Help From My Friends ' ) `` Original liner notes for Capitol 's Beach Boys Rarities album ''. bradelliott.com. 1983. `` Ringo Starr -- With a Little Help from My Friends ''. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. 13 January 2010. Kilpatrick, Sean ( 4 October 2009 ). `` Stephen Harper rocks out ''. thestar.com. Toronto. Retrieved 22 October 2009. `` UpVenue Top 10 Best Music Covers ''. UpVenue.com. 2010. External links Quotations related to Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band at Wikiquote How B.J. Wilson Rescued a Classic Joe Cocker Track ( page about B.J. Wilson and Joe Cocker 's recording of the song ) Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band Songs Side one `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band '' `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' `` Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds '' `` Getting Better '' `` Fixing a Hole '' `` She 's Leaving Home '' `` Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite ! '' Side two `` Within You Without You '' `` When I 'm Sixty - Four '' `` Lovely Rita '' `` Good Morning Good Morning '' `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( Reprise ) '' `` A Day in the Life '' Non-album single `` Strawberry Fields Forever '' `` Penny Lane '' Outtakes `` Only a Northern Song '' `` Carnival of Light '' Tribute albums Easy Star 's Lonely Hearts Dub Band Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father Sgt. Pepper Live Sgt. Petsound 's Lonely Hearts Club Band With a Little Help from My Fwends Related articles The Beatles discography Sgt. Pepper 's cover Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( film ) Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( soundtrack ) It Was Twenty Years Ago Today Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road Yellow Submarine ( film ) `` Tina in the Sky with Diamonds '' 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 The Beatles singles discography UK and US ( all labels ) 1963 `` Please Please Me '' / `` Ask Me Why '' `` From Me to You '' / `` Thank You Girl '' `` She Loves You '' / `` I 'll Get You '' 1964 `` Ca n't Buy Me Love '' / `` You Ca n't Do That '' `` I Feel Fine '' / `` She 's a Woman '' 1965 `` Ticket to Ride '' / `` Yes It Is '' `` Help ! '' / `` I 'm Down '' `` We Can Work It Out '' / `` Day Tripper '' 1966 `` Paperback Writer '' / `` Rain '' `` Yellow Submarine '' / `` Eleanor Rigby '' 1967 `` Penny Lane '' / `` Strawberry Fields Forever '' `` All You Need Is Love '' / `` Baby, You 're a Rich Man '' `` Hello, Goodbye '' / `` I Am the Walrus '' 1968 `` Lady Madonna '' / `` The Inner Light '' `` Hey Jude '' / `` Revolution '' 1969 `` Get Back '' / `` Do n't Let Me Down '' `` The Ballad of John and Yoko '' / `` Old Brown Shoe '' `` Something '' / `` Come Together '' 1970 `` Let It Be '' / `` You Know My Name ( Look Up the Number ) '' 1978 `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band / With a Little Help from My Friends '' / `` A Day in the Life '' 1982 `` The Beatles Movie Medley '' / `` I 'm Happy Just to Dance with You '' 1995 `` Free as a Bird '' / `` Christmas Time ( Is Here Again ) '' `` Real Love '' / `` Baby 's in Black '' UK only ( Parlophone, Apple ) 1962 `` My Bonnie '' / `` The Saints '' `` Love Me Do '' / `` P.S. I Love You '' 1963 `` I Want to Hold Your Hand '' / `` This Boy '' 1964 `` Ai n't She Sweet '' / `` If You Love Me, Baby '' `` A Hard Day 's Night '' / `` Things We Said Today '' 1976 `` Yesterday '' / `` I Should Have Known Better '' `` Back in the U.S.S.R. '' / `` Twist and Shout '' US only ( Vee - Jay, Swan, Tollie, Capitol, Apple ) 1963 `` I Want to Hold Your Hand '' / `` I Saw Her Standing There '' 1964 `` Twist and Shout '' / `` There 's a Place '' `` Do You Want to Know a Secret '' / `` Thank You Girl '' `` Love Me Do '' / `` P.S. I Love You '' `` Sie liebt dich '' / `` I 'll Get You '' `` I 'll Cry Instead '' / `` I 'm Happy Just to Dance with You '' `` And I Love Her '' / `` If I Fell '' `` A Hard Day 's Night '' / `` I Should Have Known Better '' `` Matchbox '' / `` Slow Down '' 1965 `` Eight Days a Week '' / `` I Do n't Want to Spoil the Party '' `` Yesterday '' / `` Act Naturally '' 1966 `` Nowhere Man '' / `` What Goes On '' 1970 `` The Long and Winding Road '' / `` For You Blue '' 1976 `` Got to Get You into My Life '' / `` Helter Skelter '' `` Ob - La - Di, Ob - La - Da '' / `` Julia '' Other countries ( Odeon, Parlophone, Apple ) 1963 `` All My Loving '' / `` This Boy '' ( Canada ) 1964 `` Komm, gib mir deine Hand / Sie liebt dich '' ( Germany ) 1965 `` Rock and Roll Music '' / `` I 'm a Loser '' ( Europe, Australia ) 1966 `` Norwegian Wood ( This Bird Has Flown ) '' / `` Nowhere Man '' ( Australia ) `` Michelle '' / `` Girl '' ( Europe ) 1968 `` Ob - La - Di, Ob - La - Da '' / `` While My Guitar Gently Weeps '' ( Europe, Japan, Australia ) `` Ob - La - Di, Ob - La - Da '' / `` I Will '' ( Philippines ) `` Back in the U.S.S.R. '' / `` Do n't Pass Me By '' ( Sweden ) 1969 `` You 're Going to Lose That Girl '' / `` Tell Me What You See '' ( Japan ) 1970 `` Oh ! Darling '' / `` Here Comes the Sun '' ( Japan ) 1972 `` All Together Now '' / `` Hey Bulldog '' ( Europe ) 1978 `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band / With a Little Help from My Friends '' / `` Within You Without You '' ( Germany ) Wet Wet Wet Graeme Clark Tommy Cunningham Neil Mitchell Marti Pellow Studio albums Popped In Souled Out The Memphis Sessions Holding Back the River High on the Happy Side Cloak & Dagger Picture This 10 Timeless Singles `` Wishing I Was Lucky '' `` Sweet Little Mystery '' `` Angel Eyes ( Home and Away ) '' `` Temptation '' `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' `` Sweet Surrender '' `` Broke Away '' `` Hold Back the River '' `` Goodnight Girl '' `` More than Love '' `` Lip Service '' `` Shed a Tear '' `` Cold Cold Heart '' `` Love Is All Around '' `` Julia Says '' `` Do n't Want to Forgive Me Now '' `` Somewhere Somehow '' `` If I Never See You Again '' `` Strange '' `` Yesterday / Maybe I 'm in Love '' `` Weightless '' Live albums Wet Wet Wet : Live Live at the Royal Albert Hall Compilations End of Part One : Their Greatest Hits The Greatest Hits Step by Step : The Greatest Hits Videos Live Glasgow Green Free Concert Wets at the Castle End of Part One Picture This - All Around and in the Crowd Playing Away at Home The Greatest Hits and More Related articles Discography Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=With_a_Little_Help_from_My_Friends&oldid=856436383 '' Categories : 1967 songs 1968 singles 1988 singles The Beatles songs Songs about friendship Barbra Streisand songs Joe Cocker songs The Beach Boys songs The Muppets songs Number - one singles in Switzerland Sham 69 songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon -- McCartney UK Singles Chart number - one singles Wet Wet Wet songs Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Capitol Records singles Parlophone singles PolyGram singles Regal Zonophone Records singles Songs published by Northern Songs Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from September 2014 EngvarB from September 2014 Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2018 Talk Contents Help About Wikipedia Brezhoneg Català Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara Français Italiano עברית ქართული Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska Tiếng Việt 12 more Edit links This page was last edited on 25 August 2018, at 05 : 26 ( UTC ). 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Question: who wrote the song with a little help from my friends
Answer: John Lennon