# Beatles fans - are you more Lennon or McCartney? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429 "2010-11-30T17:37:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/21 "2011-08-30T22:19:28Z")
George. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/22 "2011-08-31T00:09:43Z")
for some reason, john’s lyrics don’t appeal to me. that’s because my overall requirement for pop is the tune. i would definitely say ‘paul.’ shear genius in songwriting. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/23 "2011-08-31T00:43:59Z")
I like them all, but I voted John for the shallow reason that he’s cooler. Paul was far too nice. I listened to the Beatles a lot as teenager (many years after they were first popular) and never really realised that there were different inputs to the songs. They had very similar voices (neither of which are particularly good) - I can tell them apart, but they could sing each other’s songs equally well. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/24 "2011-08-31T03:55:08Z")
I couldn’t pick one. All four were great, and all four had their faults. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/25 "2011-08-31T04:07:44Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > This is a wet blanket anwer, but I vote for The Beatles. The solo work of both John and Paul showed that they needed each other – Lennon needed McCartney’s infalliable pop instincts to reign in his eccentricities and turn his ideas into listenable music; McCartney needed Lennon to push him into doing new and outrageous things instead of just writing successful but untranscendant radio hits. Very well put! My sentiments exactly. However, if I absolutely positively had to favor one over the other as a solo musician I would vote for Paul. Whatever greatness Lennon achieved was negated by allowing Yoko Ono access to a microphone and recording equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/26 "2011-08-31T04:27:18Z")
It’s all about Lennon. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/27 "2011-08-31T07:11:07Z")
I don’t know who carried the load in the songwriting, but I always enjoyed John singing more than the others. I like to think it Lennon doing those lyrics, but who knows? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/28 "2011-08-31T07:36:57Z")
I voted Harrison, but way to dis Ringo in the poll options. Ringo’s drums were a pretty big part of their sound, since rock ‘n’ roll carries the rhythm in drums and bass as a rule. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/29 "2011-08-31T07:47:21Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Lennon gets to be liked 'cause of his music, but if you choose McCartney, it’s 'cause “he’s so dreamy.” C’mon. Which is bizarre. McCartney had a lot of good output all along. Not really my sexual preference, but I think George was a lot hotter than Paul, lookswise. Though more so after 1980, admittedly. Harrison aged well. Paul was _personable_ compared to George, perhaps. Ringo even more personable, really, which may have made him the best Beatle. The friendliest Beatle. John was smart, & probably still more handsome than Paul. Ringo once put it like this: Paul got the teenies, John got the intellectuals, George got the mystics, Ringo got mothers and kids. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/30 "2011-08-31T09:58:31Z")
Given the options in the topic title, I favour Paul over John. Given the whole of the band - George. A disproportionate number of my favourite Beatles songs are his. (A disproportionate number are Ringo, too, because despite his low output, a Ringo composition manages to slip into my top 10. Octopus’s Garden. Yes, I love that song.) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/31 "2011-08-31T10:08:57Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I think George was a lot hotter than Paul, lookswise. Though more so after 1980, admittedly. Harrison aged well. Yeah…60s George was weird looking, but he aged into his face. So did Ringo, for that matter - although, whereas George I’d just say was kind of weird looking, Ringo, I’d call ‘a goofy kind of cute’. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/32 "2011-08-31T11:44:02Z")
> [@Bordesley](#): > > It has to be John Lennon. He really was the voice of the Beatles. Birmingham, England 1964, I had been out for the evening with a friend and on the way home, noticed a number of people in sleeping bags in New Street – main shopping street – why the sleeping bags? As they were telling us, a Policeman said, you lot can’t sleep here, you’ll have to form a queue around the corner. Since we were fully dressed, we got to be first in the new queue. My mate went home to let our families know where we are and returned with blankets to keep ourselves warm. The next morning, - it was a Sunday – we bought our tickets, 2 for the front row. The day game, various bands appeared and then, it went pitch black, an orange light shone, the curtains opened and as Ringo slammed his sticks down John’s voice let rip and there was pandemonium as he belted out a Beatles classic: Twist and Shout. “Well, shake it up baby now Twist and shout Come on, come on, come, come on baby now come on and work it on out…” Magic! [This page](http://www.edinburghgigarchive.com/page2.htm) starts with a aerial shot of the Beatles queue in Edinburgh in 1964. The cinema entrance is on the corner of the building towards the upper left. If you scroll down, there are several colour pictures of some of the people queuing for tickets. My vote would be for Paul, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Bordesley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@Bordesley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bordesley)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/33 "2011-08-31T12:54:16Z")
Thanks Meurglys for drawing the above to my attention. Noted the ticket stub and yes it was 15/- (Fifteen shillings or 15 bob) I paid for my ticket. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/34 "2011-08-31T13:00:48Z")
Can’t vote - each of them was my favorite at one time or another. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/35 "2011-08-31T13:21:32Z")
I always thought John was somehow more depressing, especially after the split. Paul’s music was more fun. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/36 "2011-08-31T14:08:25Z")
I didn’t read the OP properly. I just voted for “favorite Beatle” (Ringo) not “favorite songwriter.” Were I voting for the latter, it’d be tough. I think I’d give the edge to Lennon over McCartney, just barely, although I’d be tempted to give it to Harrison, just for “Something.” (I’m exaggerating a bit on that last one, but not too much.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/37 "2011-08-31T14:10:53Z")
That fact that all four had successful solo careers says something about their talents. They were all fab. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/38 "2011-08-31T14:28:50Z")
Too close to call, but I went with Paul. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/39 "2011-08-31T15:07:02Z")
A Hard Day’s Night: “Are you a mod or a rocker?” “I’m a mocker.” That’s the right answer, just as The Beatles is the right answer for this question. Besides, John and Paul worked so tightly together on their early stuff that trying to separate the contributions gets you nowhere. Man. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429/40 "2011-08-31T15:49:54Z")
Looking at the last couple of albums… Its pretty clear to me that George should have gotten more run. The best songs on Abbey Road (imo their best album) are George’s… His stuff on Let it Be… and his solo album All things must pass… George was gettin screwed… As for the two … I lean to Lennon. He put out some indulgent shit… “Woman is the Nigger of the world”?? Really John?? I like a lot of Paul’s stuff… but man… he can put out some schlocky crap… the other day i heard “Take it away” and i was stunned how badly that shit has held up!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-fans-are-you-more-lennon-or-mccartney/562429.md?page=1)