Do you want to know a secret? - the story behind the song

This is a love song written by John Lennon and based on a song his mother would sing to him as a child (photo): "Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell? We are standing by a wishing well." ("I'm Wishing" from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie).

Although rumors have persisted that John wrote this song about his girlfriend Cynthia, whom he'd just married, evidence remains inconclusive. It is true that he'd gotten her pregnant and was urged by Brian to marry her, yet keep the marriage a secret so as to make him appear available to female fans. But whether the "secret" in question is that John has decided he loves Cynthia, or that their marriage is the secret, is hard to tell. For his part, Lennon always treated it as a generic love song in interviews.

This was given to George to sing and was the first recorded Beatles song not sung by John or Paul. It was not, however, written specifically for him. (George and Ringo were often given songs to sing in the early days, so as to reach out to their individual fans.) John has said that "I thought it would be a good vehicle for him, because it had only three notes and he wasn't the best singer in the world." :)

John Lennon's football drawing

Did you know that John Lennon's "Walls and Bridges" album cover shows a drawing made by him when he was 11? This is a depiction of the Newcastle vs Arsenal FA Cup final in 1952, drawn by him after seeing this match. Arsenal lost to Newcastle, 0-1 with several injuries on the field (no substitutions allowed then) and ended the game with just seven fit players.

The cover shows the unmistakable black and white stripes of Newcastle players and the red jerseys and white shorts of Arsenal. Lennon drew this in June, 1952 a month after the final.

The album "Walls and Bridges" reached no 1 in the USA and no 6 in England in 1974. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", a song from this album, was Lennon's only no. 1 single as a solo hit in the American Billboard, during his lifetime.

When did John and Paul meet?

Saturday, July 6, 1957 is the day John met Paul!

John (aged 16) and his band the Quarrymen were performing at a fête at St. Peter's Woolton Parish Church in Liverpool. Paul (aged 15) was wheeling around on his bicycle - hoping to pick up girls - and heard the Quarrymen play (photo). A mutual friend named Ivan Vaughan introduced Paul to John. Paul whipped out the guitar strapped to his back and played "Twenty Flight Rock" and "Be-Bop-a-Lula", among others. John was impressed that Paul could tune a guitar and "looked like Elvis", and John said that he "dug him." That October, Ivan told Paul that John wanted him in the band. The rest, as they say, is history.

They shared the passion for music and, sadly, the early loss of their mothers. In 1956, Mary McCartney, a heavy smoker, died of an embolism after a mastectomy operation to stop the spread of her breast cancer. Lennon's mother died in 1958. John was living with his Aunt Mimi and her mother came to visit him. After spending the day with his son, Julia Lennon waved goodbye and began to cross the road in order to catch the bus home. She never made it. She was hit by a car being driven by an off-duty policeman and died instantly, aged 44.

Then and Now: Chubby Checker, the twister :)

Then and Now: The Righteous Brothers