Famously, any Beatles song written by either John Lennon or Paul McCartney was listed as a "Lennon-McCartney" composition, a tradition that was maintained throughout the band's existence. The decision was made very early on, back when the pair were taking their first steps to becoming songwriters. "We always had that thing that our names would go on songs even if we didn't write them. It was never a legal deal between Paul and me, just an agreement to put both our names on our songs," said Lennon in "All We Are Saying," one of the final interviews he gave in his lifetime.
One exception was their debut album, "Please Please Me." The initial pressing credited McCartney-Lennon for the original songs on the album, reports Rolling Stone, but Lennon "pulled some strings" to get that changed. "I wanted it to be McCartney-Lennon, but John had the stronger personality and I think he fixed things ...," said McCartney in his biography, "Many Years From Now" (via Rolling Stone). "I remember going to a meeting and being told, 'We think you should credit the songs to Lennon-McCartney. ... Lennon-McCartney sounds better, it has a better ring. ...' I had to say, 'All right, sod it.'"
Even in 1969, when The Beatles were starting to record and perform with other artists, the pull of the old co-credit was still strong. Lennon's anti-war anthem "Give Peace A Chance" was actually written in collaboration with Lennon's wife Yoko Ono, but was still credited to Lennon-McCartney on the record. Old habits die hard.
More recently, McCartney received some criticism for attempting to change the iconic credit, and to have songs he penned alone listed as "McCartney-Lennon" compositions on his later solo and live albums (per The Guardian), but McCartney eventually backed down: "I'm happy with the way it is and always has been. Lennon and McCartney is still the rock 'n' roll trademark I'm proud to be a part of – in the order it has always been."
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