The Shadows - atlantis, 1963

"Atlantis" is a rock music instrumental by British group the Shadows, released as a single in May 1963. It spent 17 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two for two weeks."

The Beatles - thank you girl live, 1963

"The writing of “Thank You Girl” can easily be narrowed down to February of 1963 during their British nationwide tour with Helen Shapiro. Since February 11th, 1963 was the date for recording of their first British album “Please Please Me,” and the song did not appear on that album, it obviously didn’t exist yet since they would have premiered the song on that day if it had. And since Lennon later confirmed in 1980, as detailed in David Sheff's book "All We Are Saying," that the song “was one of our efforts at writing a single that didn’t work,” it had to have been written before February 28th, 1963, since this was the confirmed date when their next single “From Me To You” was written. Since “Thank You Girl” ended up as the b-side to that British single, it had to have been written sometime between February 11th and 28th of 1963, using the working title "Thank You Little Girl."

The Beatles - all my loving, 1963

"All My Loving" represents a notable advance in sophistication and technique over the first couple of singles and the original cuts on the "Please Please Me" album."

The Beatles - it won't be long, 1963

"the song marked the beginning of the Beatles reaching a broader audience beyond their original youthful fanbase from their Liverpool club days."

The Beatles - devil in her heart cover, 1963

"The song was originally recorded as "Devil in His Heart" in Detroit by the Donays for Correc-tone Records. It was later picked up by the New York City label Brent and re-released in August 1962 as "(There's a) Devil in His Heart", the B-side of "Bad Boy". This pairing also appeared in the United Kingdom on the Oriole label in 1962. The record was not a hit on either side of the Atlantic. The Donays only made one recording but their lead singer, Yvonne Vernee (real name Yvonne Symington) also recorded solo, and later joined the Elgins at Motown."

The Beatles - not a second time, 1963

"Not a Second Time" is a song by English rock band the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon, though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was first released on the Beatles second British album, With the Beatles, and their second American album Meet the Beatles!. Lennon said he was "trying to write a Smokey Robinson or something at the time." The song was recorded in nine takes on 11 September 1963 at EMI Studios."

The Beach Boys - surfin usa, 1963

 

"I was going with a girl named Judy Bowles, and her brother Jimmy was a surfer. He knew all the surfing spots. I started humming the melody to 'Sweet Little Sixteen' and I got fascinated with the fact of doing it, and I thought to myself, 'God! What about trying to put surf lyrics to 'Sweet Little Sixteen's melody? The concept was about, 'They are doing this in this city, and they're doing that in that city' So I said to Jimmy, 'Hey Jimmy, I want to do a song mentioning all the surf spots.' So he gave me a list."

Bob Dylan - masters of war, 1963

"I've never written anything like that before. I don't sing songs which hope people will die, but I couldn't help it with this one. The song is a sort of striking out... a feeling of what can you do?"

The Beatles - please mister postman cover, 1963

"The song has been covered several times, including a version by the Beatles in 1963. It became a number-one hit again in early 1975 when The Carpenters' cover of the song reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100. The 2017 song "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man has significant similarities to "Please Mr. Postman" and includes a credit for Brian Holland."

The Beatles - all i've got to do, 1963

"Lennon said he was "trying to do Smokey Robinson again," and Ian MacDonald compared it to "(You Can) Depend on Me" by the Miracles, both musically and lyrically. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic said it sounds like Robinson but also Arthur Alexander. Beatles biographer Bob Spitz said the song is "restlessly dark and moody", and compared it to the Shirelles' "Baby It's You" (a song the Beatles previously covered) and early Drifters recordings. It was one of three songs Lennon was the principal writer for on With the Beatles, with "It Won't Be Long" and "Not a Second Time". Lennon said that it was written specifically for the American market, because the idea of calling a girl on the telephone was unthinkable to a British youth in the early 1960s. For instance, Lennon said in an interview regarding "No Reply": "I had the image of walking down the street and seeing her silhouetted in the window and not answering the 'phone, although I have never called a girl on the 'phone in my life! Because 'phones weren't part of the English child's life."

Peter Paul And Mary - puff the magic dragon, 1963

"The song tells the story of an ageless dragon named Puff and his playmate, Jackie Paper, as they embark on adventures in the imaginary land of Honalee. As time passes, Jackie matures and abandons his childhood games, leaving Puff alone and saddened. Lipton, who was acquainted with Peter Yarrow through a mutual friend at Cornell, used Yarrow's typewriter to commit his poem to paper. He forgot about it until years later, when a friend informed him that Yarrow was seeking him to properly credit him for the lyrics. Upon reconnecting, Yarrow shared half of the songwriting credit with Lipton, who received royalties for the song until his death in 2022. Yarrow later died in 2025. Yarrow now sings the line "A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys" as "A dragon lives forever, but not so girls and boys", to be more inclusive. The original poem included a stanza about Puff finding a new playmate, but this was not incorporated into the song. The paper left in Yarrow's typewriter in 1959 has since been lost."

The Beatles - she loves you, 1963

"the initial idea for the song began with Bobby Rydell's hit "Forget Him" with its call and response pattern, and that "as often happens, you think of one song when you write another ... I'd planned an 'answering song' where a couple of us would sing 'she loves you' and the other ones would answer 'yeah yeah'. We decided that was a crummy idea but at least we then had the idea of a song called 'She Loves You'. So we sat in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it – John and I, sitting on twin beds with guitars." Like many early Beatles songs, the title of "She Loves You" was framed around the use of personal pronouns. But unusually for a love song, the lyrics are not about the narrator's love for someone else; instead the narrator functions as a helpful go-between for estranged lovers"

The Beatles - don't bother me, 1963

"Liverpool journalist Bill Harry claims that he encouraged Harrison to write a new song, and that Harrison's response of "Don't bother me" served as inspiration for the song's title."

The Beatles - hold me tight, 1963

"Hold Me Tight" was composed principally by Paul McCartney in 1961, and was part of the Beatles' stage act until 1963. They attempted to record it for their debut Please Please Me but the 13 takes recorded were deemed unsatisfactory, and the tape was destroyed. Seven months later, they recorded a further nine takes, and the final version is an edit of the sixth and ninth takes from the second attempt, varispeeded up a semitone to F major."

The Beatles - misery, 1963

"We've called it 'Misery', but it isn't as slow as it sounds, it moves along at quite a pace, and we think Helen will make a pretty good job of it."

The Beatles - there's a place, 1963

"There's a Place" is "incandescent", with an arrangement built around drumming from Ringo Starr that "could take your breath away".

Bob Dylan - blowing in the wind, 1963

"There ain't too much I can say about this song except that the answer is blowing in the wind. It ain't in no book or movie or TV show or discussion group. Man, it's in the wind – and it's blowing in the wind. Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won't believe that. I still say it's in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it's got to come down some ... But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know ... and then it flies away. I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it's wrong. I'm only 21 years old and I know that there's been too many wars ... You people over 21, you're older and smarter."

The Beatles - from me to you, 1963

"John and Paul were sitting at the back of the coach and Kenny Lynch, who at this time fancied himself as a songwriter, sauntered up to the back of the coach and Kenny Lynch ... decided he would help them write a song. After a period of about half-an-hour had elapsed and nothing seemed to be coming from the back, Kenny rushed to the front and shouted, 'Well, that's it. I am not going to write any more of that bloody rubbish with those idiots. They don't know music from their backsides. That's it! No more help from me!'"

The Beatles - do you want to know a secret, 1963

"The song was inspired by "I'm Wishing", a tune from Walt Disney's 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which Lennon's mother, Julia, would sing to him as a child."

The Beatles - please please me, 1963

"Please Please Me" is a song released by the English rock band the Beatles. It was their second single in the United Kingdom, and their first in the United States. It is also the title track of their first LP, which was recorded to capitalise on the success of the single. It is a John Lennon composition (credited to McCartney–Lennon), although its ultimate form was significantly influenced by producer George Martin."