“MONEY (THAT’S WHAT I WANT)”

(Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy)

John Lennon always had a passion for money. This fact was no secret. There are many quotes from him saying that money was a big reason he got into the music business. When The Beatles first arrived in America on February 7th, 1964, and they were asked at the press conference if they could sing something, he said, “No, we need money first.” Even in his final years, John heard Paul had built up a 25 million dollar fortune and, being the competitor that he was, set off to equal this with the help of Yoko’s business acumen.

The song being analyzed here may not have been written by John Lennon, but no other composition could have been more suitable for The Beatles to incorporate within their catalog, especially recognizing the fact that Lennon was its lead vocalist. Unmistakably, John’s love for music truly was the biggest force that ignited within him a desire for a career as a musician but, as he stated to New Musical Express in 1963, Lennon's “professional ambition” was to “be rich and famous.” Money really was what he wanted. 

Songwriting History

Berry Gordy was born November 28th, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan. He first set his sights on becoming a professional boxer, which he did for a few years after dropping out of high school in his junior year. He was drafted by the United States Army and served in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. After his return, his love for music won out and he began a career as a songwriter.

After meeting Jackie Wilson at The Flame Show Bar talent club, Berry Gordy got him to record five songs he had co-composed, “Lonely Teardrops” being one of them, this becoming a Top 10 pop hit in early 1959 (#7 on the US Billboard Hot 100). Using his songwriting fortunes, he shifted his focus to becoming a producer, establishing a sizable clientele of artists, including The Miracles (featuring Smokey Robinson). With an $800 loan from his family, Berry Gordy founded his own R&B record label, Tamla Records, in January of 1959. 

Tamla Records had regional success very quickly through their release of Marv Johnson’s single “Come To Me,” which was picked up for national release by United Artists Records and hit #30 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Berry Gordy still maintained a foot in the door as a songwriter, co-composing Marv Johnson’s follow up “You Got What It Takes,” which was also picked up by United Artists and brought Berry Gordy his second Top 10 pop hit, peaking at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Berry Gordy collaborated with various songwriters, including the receptionist at his Hitsville USA office, Janie Bradford. Together they composed “Money (That’s What I Want)” in 1959 and gave it to Janie Bradford’s high school associate and new recruit Barrett Strong to record on Berry Gordy’s Tamla label.

While Berry Gordy was sitting at the piano writing a song, Janie Bradford walked in and asked about it. One conversation led to another and, as Berry Gordy was complaining that he was in need of money, they both incorporated that conversation into the song he was writing. Barrett Strong arrived right then and asked him to move over and let him play the chords that the producer had come up with, claiming that he was a better pianist. Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford finished writing the song then and there as Barrett Strong rehearsed singing the new lyrics. Berry Gordy was impressed enough by his impromptu performance that he promised Barrett Strong that he would allow him to sing and play piano on the recording.

The original Barrett Strong version of "Money (That's What I Want)" recorded in Studio A of Hitsville USA in Detroit, Michigan is detailed by authors Jim Cogan and William Clark in their book "Temples Of Sound: Inside The Great Recording Studios." Barrett Strong and Berry Gordy were improvising the song on piano and vocals while drummer Benny Benjamin joined in along with Brian Holland on tambourine. "Two white kids walking home from high school heard the music out on the street and wandered into Hitsville (and had) asked if they could play along...(Barrett) Strong later claimed that he never saw the two boys who played bass and guitar again." The guitarist is now known to have been Eugene Grew, who recalled Barrett Strong instructed him on what to play. The identity of the bass guitarist for this session is still not known.

Once again, since the record was doing quite well in the Midwest, it was picked up by another record label to be distributed nationally. This label happened to be Anna Records, founded by Berry Gordy’s sisters, Anna and Gwen Gordy, and Roquel "Billy" Davis in 1959. Anna Records had the ability of handling national distribution with assistance from the Chicago-based Chess Records, thus propelling “Money” on to become a #2 hit on the Billboard R&B chart (#23 on the Billboard Hot 100), making it become known as Motown’s first hit.

Berry Gordy’s career as producer and the president of Motown Records is legendary, discovering and working with a plethora of award-winning recording artists like Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Jackson 5, The Commodores and many more. Berry Gordy also delved into movie making, producing “Lady Sings The Blues,” “Mahogany” and “The Last Dragon.”

After relocating his entire Motown company to Los Angeles, California, Berry Gordy continued his success with the label well into the '80s with artists including Rick James, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. He eventually retired as a company mogul by selling the label to MCA and Boston Ventures on June 28, 1988 for 61 million dollars. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990 and has written a biography in 1994 entitled “To Be Loved.”

Co-composer Janie Bradford furthered her songwriting career with Motown, even writing songs with Smokey Robinson, such as "Your Old Standby" this song being recorded by both Mary Wells and Gladys Knight & The Pips. She also composed for other labels under the pseudonym Nikki Todd due to her being on the staff at Motown. For instance, she co-wrote both sides of the debut single by Theresa Lindsey, “Gotta Find A Way” and its b-side “Wonderful One,” with Richard “Popcorn” Wylie. “Janie was my writing partner,” Richard Wylie explained. “We did a lot of things under cover.”

Because of Janie Bradford’s exposure to the music world, she recognized how would-be recording artists had a very difficult time getting signed to a record label, in most cases never even being given an explanation as to the reason why they did not make the grade. Therefore, Janie Bradford founded the “Heroes and Legends” award, this being held annually in Beverly Hills, California. This is a scholarship fundraiser designed to put students of the arts in touch with industry executives and assist them in their education. 

Barrett Strong’s career as a performer did not progress past his first and only charted hit song “Money (That’s What I Want).” He instead developed a very successful career as Motown’s staff lyricist, working with Norman Whitfield. Together they composed a long list of classic hits, including "War," "I Can't Get Next To You," “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” “Cloud Nine,” “Ball Of Confusion” and “Smiling Faces Sometimes.” Barrett Strong also received a Grammy Award for "Best R&B Song" in 1973 for his “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” recorded by The Temptations. Barrett Strong was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2004.

“Money (That’s What I Want)” was recorded by various other artists throughout the years and has gained great exposure, even in documentaries on The Beatles when the filmmakers didn’t want to pay the costly fees to use an actual Lennon/McCartney song. Barrett Strong may have been the first to release and attain a hit with this song, but the most successful version of "Money" in the US was recorded by The Kingsmen, as a follow-up to their classic “garage rock” anthem, “Louie Louie.” Their version peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May of 1964.

The composition of the song has generated a degree of controversy that requires a degree of speculation. The appearance of a similar blues song called "I Need Some Money" by John Lee Hooker creates the problem. His song, recorded on February 9th, 1960 and released that June, is quite similar lyrically and in melody line. John Lee Hooker claims songwriting credit for his tune, as well as the copyright, which appears to indicate that he had been performing his composition a little earlier than Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford had allegedly written their song. Either way, neither party has taken the other to court, which rests the matter in the hands of speculation.

Another point of contention regarding the songwriting credit is the inclusion of Barrett Strong as co-composer. In a radio interview aired on February 20th, 2016 with WDET-FM, Barrett Strong claimed songwriting credit. The copyright registration did originally incorporate his name, which Berry Gordy claims was due to a clerical error but was removed three years later in 1962. When the song's copyright had been renewed in 1987, Barrett Strong's name was included once again as co-composer, but was removed again the following year.

"Money (That's What I Want)" was not a hit for Barrett Strong in the UK, although it was released on London Records there in 1960. But, like kids in a candy store, The Beatles would peruse through Brian Epstein’s NEMS record department out in Liverpool after closing time and pick through their latest releases, hits or not, to decide which one of their latest finds they would add to their set list. “’Devil In Her Heart’ and Barrett Strong’s ‘Money’ were the records we had picked up and played in the shop and thought were interesting,” stated George Harrison in the "Beatles Anthology" book. Ringo, as also quoted in "Beatles Anthology," added: "The cover songs recorded for "With The Beatles" were chosen by whoever liked them. It was interesting that when I joined The Beatles we didn’t really know each other, but if you looked at each of our record collections, the four of us owned virtually the same records. We all had The Miracles, we all had Barrett Strong and people like that. I suppose that helped us gel as musicians, and as a group. 

As for The Beatles examining the record in order to perfect it themselves, credit is apparently due to a rival Liverpool group "King-Size Taylor And The Dominoes." In an interview with Mark Lewisohn for his 2013 book "Tune In," lead singer Ted "King-Size" Taylor recalled that The Beatles "all sat in a row and took down one line each of all the songs we did - 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy,' 'Slow Down,' 'Money,' all of those - and the next time we saw them they were playing all our stuff."

Recording History

The first time The Beatles brought “Money (That’s What I Want)” into the recording studio was on January 1st, 1962 for their Decca Records audition at London's Decca Studios. All of the fifteen songs recorded on that day were quickly done in one take. With original drummer Pete Best playing primarily on the toms throughout this song, it plods along at a quicker pace than we are used to hearing and comes across somewhat rudimentary. The arrangement is polished due to The Beatles performing the song live quite regularly by this time, but they hadn’t infused their personal style into it yet. They were simply performing their take on a Barrett Strong song.

This session, which was produced by A&R man Mike Smith, ran from about 11 am until noon, "Money" most likely being the second song the band recorded after the Lennon/McCartney original "Like Dreamers Do." The group utilized Decca studio equipment instead of their usual beat-up Vox amps which portrayed the dirty and enthusiastic club sound that created such a big stir with their audiences. We can easily see why the Decca execs passed up The Beatles on this occasion, a decision they deeply regretted later.

Mark Lewisohn, in his book "Tune In," described John's vocal performance of "Money" at this session: "(Lennon) later thought he sang 'Money' 'like a madman.' This could suggest he gave it his usual full-on blistering voice, but he actually meant he was crazed. Far from belting it out, he audibly pulls back, playing it safe, ending up neither one thing nor the other, in some no-man's-land. Where was the Lennon soul, edge, bite?...Only once in John Lennon's life would he be heard timid, and it was here today."

On April 4th, 1963, a surprisingly vibrant private recording of the song "Money" by the group was made by John Bloomfield, a fifteen-year-old student who was in the audience of Stowe School at Roxburgh Hall where they performed an hour show between 6:30 to 7:30 pm, performing 22 songs. This being nearly four months prior to their offical EMI recording of the song, The Beatles put in a rousing rendition for the mostly male audience at this school concert, captured by John Bloomfield on his reel-to-reel tape recorder.

With Ringo Starr then positioned as the new drummer, The Beatles brought "Money" into a recording studio on May 21st, 1963 in order to record it for broadcast on BBC radio. They performed this at The Playhouse Theatre in London on this day sometime between 5:30 and 6:30 pm for "Saturday Club," which aired on May 25th, 1963 between 10 am and 12 noon. The Beatles recorded this again on June 1st, 1963 at London's BBC Paris Studio between 9:30 am and 1:30 pm for the third edition of their radio show "Pop Go The Beatles," which was produced by Terry Henebery and broadcast on June 18th, 1963 between 5 and 5:29 pm. They recorded it once again on June 24th, 1963 at London's Playhouse Theatre between 5:30 and 6:30 pm for yet another "Saturday Club" show, this produced by Jimmy Grant and Bernie Andrews and broadcast on June 29th, 1963 between 10 am and 12 noon.

When they arrived at EMI Studio Two on July 18th, 1963 to start recording their second album, their love for the song caused them to record it officially for their second UK album "With The Beatles." Manager Brian Epstein negotioated at one-and-a-half cent per record payment with Berry Gordy of Motown for the group's permission to use this song on their album, a reduction from a standard two cents per record. The evening session stretched from 7 to 10:45 pm and, after working on “You Really Got A Hold On Me,” they immediately recorded the majority of “Money,” starting approximately at 8 pm, lowering the key from F on the original Barrett Strong recording to E which suited John's vocal range better.

With George Martin on piano, The Beatles recorded this song live, vocals and all, for six full takes until everyone was satisfied, "take six" being considered as the best. All instruments were recorded onto a single track of the two-track tape, the other track containing only John's vocal. A piano edit piece by George Martin, probably for the song’s introduction, immediately followed this final take, which brought this to "take seven." This completed The Beatles' recording of "Money" for the time being.

July 30th, 1963 was the second session for the band's second British album “With The Beatles.” There were morning and evening sessions this day, “Please Mister Postman” and “It Won’t Be Long” being worked on in the morning. The evening session, starting at 5 pm, started with George Martin overdubbing more piano work throughout the song "Money" onto the track that contained John's vocals. After doing a test run, he did seven more piano overdubs for this song, these takes numbered 8 through 14. Only George Martin worked on “Money” on this day, but right after this was done, the group worked on three more songs for the LP: “Till There Was You,” “Roll Over Beethoven” and “All My Loving,” plus more work on “It Won’t Be Long” started earlier that day.

They brought "Money" back into a BBC Studio again on August 1st, 1963 between 4 and 6 pm at the Playhouse Theatre in Manchester for their twelfth edition of "Pop Go The Beatles." This was produced by Terry Henebery and was first broadcast on September 3rd, 1963 between 5 and 5:29 pm. 

August 21st, 1963 was the day George Martin, along with engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick, edited the complete performance of this track ("take six") with the original piano edit piece ("take seven") to form the master version. Interestingly, the piano overdubs from July 30th, 1963 were not utilized for this master and therefore didn't appear on the mono mix of this song. That mono mix, also made on this day by George Martin, Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick, was the only mono mix made of this song and is what was released in most of the world at that time.

Strangely, while the band was on vacation, George Martin entered EMI Studio Two on September 30th, 1963 to perform more piano parts for their song "Money." He did three overdubbing tries on "take seven" of their tape, thereby revealing that the piano overdubs he did on July 30th, 1963 (takes 8-14) were viewed to be unsuitable. Even though mono mixes of some other tracks for the new album were completed on this day, “Money” wasn't one of them. This apparently meant that he still didn’t view the song as complete, even though The Beatles were through recording the song nearly two-and-a-half months earlier.

October 29th, 1963 was the day that George Martin chose to do the stereo mixing for their entire “With The Beatles” album. He created these mixes in the order he had chosen the album tracks to run, which means that, at least at this point if not earlier, he realized that the impact of “Money” would make a great album closer exactly like “Twist And Shout” had for the first album. The only problem was that the stereo mix created of "Money" on this day apparently did not suit his fancy since it was not used. Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick were once again used as engineers at this session along with the mysterious B.T.

The following day, October 30th, 1963, was when their final stereo mix of the song “Money” was created, once again by George Martin and Norman Smith, but this time with A.B. Lincoln as the second engineer. George Martin decided that, in order to get a proper stereo mix of the song, two separate two-track mono mixes would be utilized together, one mix for each channel. It was decided to move ahead in this way so as to avoid any additional tape-to-tape copying, which decreases sound quality and increases tape hiss. This is the final released stereo mix of the song, which is significantly different from the mono mix made on August 21st, 1963 that predated the piano overdubs made on September 30th, 1963.

The mixes differ in other ways as well, such as the mono mix including Ringo’s taps in the song's intro. One other difference is, on their stereo mix, George Harrison’s lead guitar part comes in quite forcefully just before the third measure, as apposed to their mono mix where his guitar part fades in on the fourth measure. And, since Capitol in the US habitually made "Type B" mono mixes out of the stereo mixes by combining both stereo channels together, American audiences became acquainted with only the stereo mix of this song at that time, even if they purchased the mono album.

The Beatles then recorded "Money" twice more for BBC radio programs, the first on December 18th, 1963 at London's BBC Paris Studio between 7 and 10:30 pm for the first edition of their new series called "From Us To You." This latest recording was produced by Bryant Marriott and was broadcast on boxing day, December 26th, 1963 between 10 am and 12 noon. Their final BBC recording of the song takes us into 1964, which was created at The Playhouse Theatre in London on January 7th, 1964 between 2:30 and 4 pm for the program "Saturday Club," which was produced by Jimmy Grant and Bernie Andrews and broadcast on the February 15th, 1964 between 10 am and 12 noon.

As can be expected, when The Beatles gathered in January 1969 to work on the famous “Get Back / Let It Be” project, “Money” was early on the list for delivering an impromptu jam during the sessions. January 3rd, 1969 saw the group naturally doing a run-through of "Money," this being one of their favorite early stage songs, while the band was rehearsing at London's Twickenham Film Studios. At this point, they were rehearsing for a proposed live concert, going over potential songs for this show, which never materialized.

January 6th, 1969, saw The Beatles jamming "Money" again in Twickenham Studios, this aimless version resulting in the first of multiple George and Paul arguments during the "Get Back / Let It Be" project. Neither of these jams of "Money" have ever been released commercially and are the final times that the song were ever performed by the group.

Not to be forgotten is the September 13th, 1969 live performance of the song by John with his newly formulated Plastic Ono Band in Toronto, the results being released on the album "Live Peace In Toronto 1969" later that year.

Sometime during 2019, Ringo took it upon himself to record a solo rendition of "Money" at Roccabella West Studio in Los Angeles for his self produced "What's My Name" album. With musicians Pete Min and Steve Dudas on guitar, Windy Wagner on background vocals, and Bruce Sugar on keyboards and synthesizers, Ringo drums and sings lead vocals using a strong presence of autotune.

Song Structure and Style

“Money” follows a standard 12-bar blues style that was commonly heard in late '50s/early '60s R&B and rock 'n' roll. You hear it in other cover songs The Beatles chose, such as "Matchbox," “Roll Over Beethoven,” "Boys" and “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby.” This song mostly consists of verses, although every verse can be broken up into a verse section and refrain section. In this case, the verse section comprises the first four measures (“the best things in life are free...”) and its refrain section consists of the remaining eight measures (“money, that’s what I want...”). “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby” and “Boys” both follow this pattern as well.

This structure continues through the entire song with only three exceptions. The intro section and solo section are abbreviated to eight measures, unlike the original Barrett Strong version that continues its 12-bar blues pattern though the entire song. Also, the last two 12-bar sections of the Beatles version here consist entirely of refrain lyrics with a complete ending, also unlike the Barrett Strong version which fades out at the end.

The eight-measure intro begins with George Martin solo on piano playing a distinctive and powerful riff that propels the song through to its end. After two measures of this riff, The Beatles all kick in together for the remaining six measures of the intro, which is an abbreviated version of the 12-bar pattern that is witnessed throughout the song and as heard on the original Barrett Strong version (the third and fourth measures being omitted). The deletion of these two measures by The Beatles dates back to at least January 1st, 1962, as they played it the same way at their Decca auditions at that session.

The opening verse begins with John’s blistering vocals while the group lets the chords ring out on the one beat of the first and third measures and Ringo stays locked to the snare drum and floor tom. As measure five comes in, where the refrain section of the verse begins, George Harrison carries the distinctive riff while John plays the chords. Added elements here include Paul and George harmonizing their characteristic backing vocal phrases “that’s what I want” while Ringo keeps a beat-style drum beat, quite similar to “Twist And Shout,” but still staying on the snare and floor tom.

After a second and third verse, which differ only because of different lyrics, we enter into their instrumental section which is segued by a blood-curdling howl from John Lennon. This section is also only eight measures long, deleting the third and fourth measures as we heard in the song's intro. This also is a Beatles decision dating back to January 1962, as Barrett Strong’s version keeps the 12-bar pattern for his instrumental section. Instead of incorporating a guitar solo, we now hear George Harrison and George Martin vamping together on that remarkable riff. Because of the hypnotic feel of this riff, we don’t even miss hearing a solo. It definitely sounds full enough.

A repeat of verse three then appears (that once again differs from Barrett Strong’s version) which leads into two more 12-bar patterns set to be their conclusion to the song. Lennon accentuates and ad-libs around the word “money” while Paul and George continue their “that’s what I want” backing harmonies non stop for these 24 measures. In this conclusion, finally we hear Ringo ride on the cymbals to bring this rendition home. Unlike Barrett Strong’s faded ending, the Beatles conclude with a full band triplet ending reminiscent of their ending to “Twist And Shout.”

As for The Beatles' performance, the ferocity of all four members is unparalleled. John Lennon, of course, stands out mostly because of his irreverent steamroller vocal which turns these tongue-in-cheek lyrics into a demanding paean of materialism. He is not too bad on rhythm guitar either!

McCartney is also at full-throttle vocally as he holds his own on the high harmonies and periodic gut-wrenching screams. Paul also effortlessly copies the piano/guitar riff on his bass throughout the song, creating a powerful tension from beginning to end. George Harrison, while not needing to deliver up a solo, helps propel the song forward while adding to the intensity. Ringo doesn’t need to add drum fills to create the atmosphere but only provides accents to bridge these verses together, which he does to great effect.

Not to be forgotten is George Martin on piano that, due to his numerous overdubbing attempts to create the proper feel for the album’s climax, comes through like the consummate professional that he was. You can always expect nothing but perfection from producer George.

Lyrically speaking, you can almost see the smiles on Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford’s faces as they partnered up these humorous lyrics with this addictive blues riff and rhythmic chord pattern. Dissolving the familiar cliché “the best things in life are free” with “but you can keep them for the birds and bees” is truly priceless, as well as following it up with the irreverent phrase “I want money.” The same can be said about “your lovin’ won’t pay my bills,” as we forgo with the conception that young lovers only need each other to get by. While not considered by many as a novelty or comedy song, this surely fits the bill in its stripped-down form. This, of course, wasn't the case when The Beatles growl it at you with the intensity that they did.

An interesting point that needs to be included here is the so-called ad-libbed phrase “I want to be free” that Lennon shouted during the final twelve bar pattern. Authors have read ideas into this phrase, some insisting that Lennon felt “a prisoner to the passion that the rest of the song denied” or that John is “saying what he expects money to do for him.” Instead, could it simply be a misheard adlib of Barrett Strong that John uttered? Barrett Strong sings words that sound like he desires some “mean green” at precisely the same measure that John screams about being “free.” The Beatles were prone to mishear lyrics from a recording and simply sing what they think they heard, such as "no, no nay will she deceive" instead of "no, not me will he deceive" in the song "Devil In Her Heart." Just a thought.

American Releases

US audiences first got to hear “Money (That’s What I Want)” by The Beatles on the Capitol LP “The Beatles’ Second Album,” released April 10th, 1964. With Capitol only using the stereo mix of the song that was labored over by George Martin, the label added a bit more reverb to the stereo edition of this US album as well as creating a "Type B" foldover mono mix for their mono version by folding the two stereo channels into one. Thus, American fans became acquainted with a punchier, fuller sounding song than Britain fans did. Interestingly, the label on this album incorrectly listed the song as composed by "Berry - Gordy - Bradford," thus crediting both names of one of its writers. On January 21st, 2014, this album was released on compact disc for the first time, the standard British mono and stereo mixes being contained on a single CD.

Also in April 1964, Capitol released a limited edition "Compact 33" EP rendition of their "Second Album," which were intended only for jukeboxes. The six song release had "Money" as the third song on side one.

Sometime in 1967, Capitol released Beatles music on a brand new but short-lived format called "Playtapes." These cartridges did not have the capability to include entire albums, so two truncated four-song versions of "The Beatles Second Album" came out in this portable format, "Money (That's What I Want)" being on one of these releases. These "Playtapes" have become quite the collectors' items in later years.

The next release was actually not by The Beatles at all, but The Plastic Ono Band. Lennon performed the song at a rock and roll revival show in Toronto on September 13th, 1969 with his hastily formed group. The album of this performance, “Live Peace In Toronto 1969,” was released on November 12, 1969 and furnished John with a Gold Album certification, the best selling non-Beatles album he had released as of then. It reached #10 on the Billboard album chart. Interestingly, most early pressings of the LP contained a 13-month calendar for 1970, which has become quite a collectors’ item in later years.

June 6th, 1976 saw their third US release of this song on the Capitol double-album “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music.” George Martin was hired to oversee the preparation of this album and, with access to only the mixes that EMI had originally sent to Capitol in the '60s, decided it was then necessary to make some changes to this song in particular. The piano was now moved from the right to the left channel and the rhythm track with vocals was moved from the center slightly to the right, resulting in George Martin's piano and John's vocal being louder in the mix. The bass frequencies in the right channel were also boosted somewhat to give more prominence to the bass and drums. This adjusted mix was also included on the October 27th, 1980 released single-album “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music, Volume 1,” this being the label’s way of dividing the double-album into single albums for budget sales.

In the '80s, many small labels gained access to the band's January 1st, 1962 Decca audition and took their chances releasing it commercially, all these featuring "Money (That's What I Want)" with Pete Best on drums. The first appears to be "Dawn Of The Silver Beatles" released sometime in 1981 by Pac Records. Then came the LP "Like Dreamers Do" from Backstage Records in May of 1982, this appearing as both a conventional vinyl album and as a picture disc, a 1982 interview with Pete Best and mid '60s interviews with The Beatles included. Also during 1982, the Audio Rarities label released the LP "Silver Beatles," which featured their same Decca recording of "Money." Audio-Fidelity Records released "The Complete Silver Beatles" on September 10th, 1982, a single from this LP, complete with picture sleeve, being released in October of that year, which features "Money (That's What I Want)" as the b-side to "Till There Was You."

In January of 1987 when music fans were anxiously anticipating the official release of the group's catalog on compact disc, Romance Records released the CD "Raw Energy" that also featured the Decca version of "Money." Lawsuits were filed soon afterward and, since the true ownership of these tapes had yet to be determined, the complete set of these 15 tracks have still not become officially released. However, Apple Records did get permission to release a few of these songs on “Anthology 1,” although “Money (That’s What I Want)” wasn't among them.

The first time that the British "With The Beatles" album was released in America was on the "Original Master Recording" vinyl edition distributed by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in January of 1987. This included "Money (That's What I Want)" and was prepared using new half-speed mastering technology on the original master tape on loan from EMI. This album had a limited production, reportedly due to a damaged metal part that was needed for pressing the vinyl. Therefore, this release is considered the rarest and most valuable Beatles album in the “Original Master Recording” series.

February 26th, 1987 saw the release of the original British "With The Beatles" album, which included "Money," on compact disc. The vinyl edition of this album was released in the US on July 21st, 1987. It was only released in mono at first, but the September 9th, 2009 remastered version of the CD edition was in stereo (and on vinyl on November 13th, 2012), so the stereo version of the song "Money" as originally available on "The Beatles' Second Album" could finally be heard as intended, that is, without the extra reverb Capitol added in 1964.

On June 30th, 1992, Capitol released the “Compact Disc EP Collection” box set which featured the mono mix of “Money (That’s What I Want)” because of its inclusion on the original British EP “All My Loving” released on February 7th, 1964.

“Anthology 1” contained the live version of “Money” that The Beatles performed before a studio audience in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 24, 1963. This was one of five songs played that day that aired on Sveriges Radio on November 11th, 1963. All five of the live songs appear on this release, which came out on November 21, 1995.

November 15th, 2004 saw the release of the CD box set called “The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1” featuring the song in stereo and "Type B" foldover mono as originally heard on "The Beatles' Second Album" in case you wanted to hear the extra reverb.

September 9th, 2009 was the release date for their CD box set “The Beatles In Mono,” which featured the newly remastered (and more vibrant) mix of "Money (That’s What I Want)." The vinyl edition of this box set came out exactly five years later, on September 9th, 2014.

On November 11th, 2013, the album "On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2" was released, which included yet another live performance of this song, this one taped on December 18th, 1963 at London's BBC Paris Theater. It was originally broadcast on the BBC show "From Us To You" on Boxing Day (December 26th) 1963, this show being the first installment of a new Beatles series.

On December 17th, 2013, iTunes released a 59 track set they called "Bootleg Recordings 1963." This was only available on their downloading platform, "take seven" of the band's July 18th, 1963 EMI recording session for "Money" included here, without George Martin's piano overdub. Also included in this set is the June 18th, 1963 performance of this song as broadcast on the program "Pop Go The Beatles." The purpose of this 2013 release was to extend the copyright of these recordings under European Union law from 50 years (which would have expired at the end of 2013) to 70 years (until 2033), this set being considered as an official release. This compilation album was only available in the US on that date to those in the know for a few hours for $39.99 in its entirety or to be bought as individual tracks, but was made available later for purchase as well.

In promotion of the 2014 Apple box set "The US Albums," a 25-song sampler CD was printed for limited release on January 21st, 2014, this containing the mono version of "Money (That's What I Want)."

On November 21st, 2025, "Anthology 4" was released on both CD and vinyl, this also being made available within the "Anthology Collection" box set on CD and on vinyl. "RM7 undubbed" of "Money (That's What I Want)" as the group recorded at EMI Studios on July 18th, 1963 (minus George Martin's piano) is included here as in the "Bootleg Recordings 1963" iTunes package detailed above.

On October 25th, 2019, Ringo released his LP "What's My Name" featuring his solo rendition of "Money (That's What I Want)," as detailed above.

Live Performances

The Beatles started performing "Money" as early as their first visit to Hamburg, Germany in August of 1960. Mark Lewisohn, in his 2013 book "Tune In," stated: "'Money' became John Lennon's song, one he always sang, a scarred boy who'd craved money and sex and was injecting passion into every show." The author also incorporated a quote from Steve Carlow in his book, a person that sat in on lead vocals with The Beatles in The Cavern Club way back in 1961. Remembering the experience, Steve Carlow explained: "John would read out requests like 'Will John sing 'Money' because we want to see his face turn red.'" From this quote it's apparent that Lennon really put his all into performing this rousing Motown number.

Geoff Davies witnessed The Beatles performing the song back in December of 1961 at the Cavern Club. "One of my favorite numbers was 'Money," he states in the book "Tune In." "They always varied the intro - sometimes they'd keep it going for a long time - and then there was John Lennon's voice as he came in with 'The best things in life are free!' No one had ever sung like this before. (His voice) was so dirty and horrible, but horrible-great."

They continued to perform this song throughout 1962 but put it on the back burner during the first half of 1963. This was due to the band performing in national British tours which limited their set list dramatically, focusing mostly on their recent hit singles and album tracks. On April 4th, 1963, however, The Beatles did include "Money (That's What I Want)" in their unique hour-long concert at Roxburgh Hall, Stowe School in Stowe, Bucks, as detailed above. They pulled the song out again in the middle months of 1963 for BBC radio spots and, remembering their fondness for this song, decided to record it properly at EMI for their second album and reincorporate it into their concert performances. Evidence of this is the song's inclusion in their Stockholm, Sweden show on October 24th, 1963, as featured on “Anthology 1.”

The Beatles rounded out 1963 playing “Money” in their concerts, most notably during their British Autumn Tour, which spanned from November 1 through December 13th, and then their London Christmas Show, which lasted from December 24th through 31st of that year. The last verified live performance of this song by The Beatles was at the London Palladium on January 12th of 1964. Interestingly, on all of these occasions, they played the song second to last in the set, always followed by the equally rip-roaring “Twist And Shout.”

They performed the song four times on TV, the first being a lip-synced version recorded on October 30th, 1963 for the UK show "Thank Your Lucky Stars," this being broadcast on October 26th of that year. Then came their live show at Liverpool's Empire Theatre done on December 7th, 1963, this airing on TV later that evening on the program called "It's The Beatles!" Then, on January 12th of 1964, as mentioned above, a live broadcast of The Beatles playing this song was seen on "Val Parnell's Sunday Night At The London Palladium." And finally, the last known performance of "Money" was on the British variety program “Big Night Out,” their lip-synced performance of the song being taped on February 23rd, 1964 at the Teddington Studio Centre of ABC Television and aired nationally on February 29th (March 3rd in London).

This is not to say that it was totally the end of live performances of the song. September 13th, 1969 saw the debut live appearance of Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band at a rock 'n' roll revival concert that was held at the Varsity Studium, Toronto, Canada. This very last minute invitation to perform called for a last minute incarnation of the Plastic Ono Band itself, which at this time included Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, old-time Beatles friend Klaus Voormann on bass, and future Yes drummer Alan White. As they were practicing on the way there, they decided to perform a short set of old rock and roll numbers, which included “Money (That’s What I Want).” The enthusiastic 27,000 in attendance witnessed a piece of history that was then quickly released on the album “Live Peace In Toronto 1969” by The Plastic Ono Band and proceeded to acheive a "Gold" status, selling half a million copies.

Conclusion

One of many skills that The Beatles possessed was their ability to choose the best material to feature in their repertoire. This Motown classic was adopted by the band and turned into a pure rocker, one more example of them taking over ownership of a song due to their very unique interpretation. The LP “With The Beatles” has been viewed by many to contain the best Beatles cover songs of their recording career. Evidenced by this performance alone, that claim becomes undisputed.

Song Summary

“Money (That’s What I Want)"

Written by:  Janie Bradford / Berry Gordy

• Song Written: June, 1959 (approx.)
• Song Recorded: July 18 and September 30, 1963
• First US Release Date: April 10, 1964
• First US Album Release: Capitol #ST 2080“The Beatles’ Second Album”
• US Single Release: Capitol #SXA 2080 (The Beatles' Second Album Jukebox EP)
• Highest Chart Position: n/a
• British Album Release: Parlophone # PCS 3045 “With The Beatles”
• Length: 2:47
• Key: E minor
• Producer: George Martin
• Engineers: Norman Smith, Richard Langham, Geoff Emerick

Instrumentation (most likely):

• John Lennon - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (1958 Rickenbacker 325)
• Paul McCartney - Harmony Vocals, Bass Guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
• George Harrison – Harmony Vocals, Lead Guitar (1962 Gretsch 6122 Country Gentleman)
• Ringo Starr – Drums (1963 Ludwig Downbeat Black Oyster Pearl)
• George Martin - Piano (Baldwin Satin Ebony Grand) 

Written and compiled by Dave Rybaczewski

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