Yes It Is

Yes It Is: Recording History and Chart Performance

"Yes It Is" is a ballad recorded by The Beatles that holds a distinctive place in the group's early catalog as the B-side to the landmark single "Ticket to Ride." Released in April 1965 on Parlophone in the United Kingdom and on Capitol Records in the United States, the track was written almost entirely by John Lennon, though it carried the standard Lennon-McCartney songwriting credit that the duo had agreed upon years earlier. It was recorded at EMI Studios in London on February 16, 1965, during the same productive period that yielded much of the material for the Help! album.

Background and Songwriting

By early 1965, The Beatles were at the commercial and artistic peak of what later became known as their "early period." John Lennon, who composed "Yes It Is" primarily on his own, reportedly conceived the song as a revisiting of emotional terrain he had explored in "This Boy" from 1963, another three-part harmony piece dealing with regret, lost love, and a certain mournful longing. The track features lush three-part harmonies between Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, with the arrangement leaning on a gentle, almost hymnal quality that set it apart from the more propulsive material the group was simultaneously recording. Producer George Martin shaped the recording with a light orchestral sensibility, though no outside string players were used; the effect was achieved through guitar voicings and vocal blend. Harrison contributed volume-pedal guitar work that introduced a distinctly sentimental, almost weeping quality to the track.

Recording Session and Production

The session at EMI's Abbey Road complex took place over a single evening, with the group reportedly completing the track in a relatively small number of takes. Engineer Norman Smith, who worked alongside George Martin on the bulk of the group's recordings through 1965, assisted in capturing the warm, close-mic vocal sound that gives the song its intimate character. The production is restrained compared to many of the group's contemporaneous recordings; there are no handclaps, tambourines, or pronounced rhythmic drive. Instead, the arrangement rests almost entirely on the blended voices and Harrison's carefully shaped guitar part. The result is a quiet, introspective piece that contrasts markedly with the energetic urgency of "Ticket to Ride" on the A-side.

Release and Billboard Hot 100 Chart Performance

In the United States, Capitol Records issued "Ticket to Ride" backed with "Yes It Is" as a single in April 1965. "Ticket to Ride" became a significant hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Yes It Is," as the B-side, received its own chart listing due to sufficient radio play and retail activity. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 1, 1965, entering at number 71. Over the following weeks it climbed through the chart, reaching its peak position of number 46 on May 15, 1965. The single spent a total of four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, slipping to number 54 in its final charted week on May 22, 1965. Given its status as a B-side, the chart performance represented a notable achievement, reflecting the enormous commercial pull the group exercised over American radio and retail at the height of Beatlemania.

Context Within the Beatles' 1965 Output

The spring of 1965 was an exceptionally fertile period for The Beatles. "Ticket to Ride" was followed in August by "Help!" and then the landmark album of the same name, and the group was simultaneously preparing for a second film project after the success of A Hard Day's Night in 1964. Within this broader context, "Yes It Is" serves as a reminder of the group's stylistic range even at this comparatively early stage: alongside the sharp Merseybeat of their singles and the humor that permeated their public persona, they could produce deeply felt, harmonically sophisticated ballads that pointed toward the more experimental work ahead. The song's use of volume-pedal guitar would later be echoed in subsequent recordings, and the three-part harmony approach remained a central tool in the Beatles' creative arsenal throughout their recording career. Though it never became one of their best-known tracks, "Yes It Is" has earned consistent admiration among enthusiasts and scholars of the group for its melodic purity and emotional restraint.