Devil in His Heart

For the Motown song written by Robert Gordy released as a 1963 single, see Caroline Crawford.

"Devil in His Heart" is a song written by Richard B. Drapkin, who recorded under the name Ricky Dee.

"Devil in His Heart"
Single by the Donays
B-side	"Bad Boy"
Released	August 1962[1]
Label	Correc-Tone Brent (7033) Oriole (UK; CBA 1770)
Songwriter(s)	Richard B. 'Ricky Dee' Drapkin

Recordings

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".^[2] 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.^[3] 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' version

"Devil in Her Heart"
B-side label of French single
Song by the Beatles
from the album With the Beatles
Released	November 22, 1963
Recorded	July 18, 1963
Genre	Pop rock
Length	2:27
Label	Parlophone
Songwriter(s)	Richard Drapkin
Producer(s)	George Martin

As "Devil in Her Heart", the song was performed by English rock band the Beatles with George Harrison on lead vocals.^[4] It was issued on their second UK album, With the Beatles, in November 1963.^[5] The recording was completed in three takes, plus overdubs.^[6]

Personnel

• George Harrison – double-tracked vocal, lead guitar
• John Lennon – backing vocal, rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass
• Ringo Starr – drums, maracas
• George Martin – producer
• Norman Smith – engineer

Personnel per Ian MacDonald^[7]

A BBC recording of the song was issued in 1995 as a B-side to "Baby It's You".

When Mojo released a reworking of With the Beatles in 2013, the track was covered by Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou of bluegrass band Indigo Moss.^[8]

Notes

1. "Reviews of New Singles". Billboard. August 11, 1962. p. 51.
2. "The Donays - Bad Boy".
3. Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2014). All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release. Running Press. ISBN 978-1-60376-371-4.
4. Harry (2000), p. 336
5. Lewisohn (1988), p. 200
6. Lewisohn (1988), p. 34
7. MacDonald (2005), p. 89
8. "We're With The Beatles - Track Listing | Mojo Cover CDs - The Definitive List". Mojo Cover CDs. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.

References

• Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated. London: Virgin Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 0-7535-0481-2.
• Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
• MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). p. 34. ISBN 1-84413-828-3.