Georgeanna Tillman backing vocal Wanda Young backing vocal Additional musicians The Funk Brothers: Marvin Gaye drums James Jamerson bass Eddie Willis guitar Richard "Popcorn" Wylie piano Charts and certifications Weekly charts Certifications The Beatles version Background and recording The English rock band the Beatles displayed an early interest in the music of girl groups, covering songs by groups like the Shirelles, the Cookies and the Donays. They added "Please Mr. Postman" to their live repertoire in December 1961, their third Tamla song after the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You" and Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)". Having not made it into the British top fifty, few in the UK knew the song, allowing them to make it their own among all Liverpool groups. John Lennon sang lead vocal, Paul McCartney and George Harrison providing backing vocals, while all three added handclaps at their head level. In 2004, Billy Hatton of the Four Jays recalled seeing one of the Beatles' first live performances of the song, saying it was "a Wow moment. I was struck by how tight they were. As a semi-pro group, the Four Jays would take a month to start playing a new song really well." Without their knowing it at the time, the Beatles' 7 March 1962 performance of the song on BBC Radio's Here We Go was the first time any Tamla song was played over BBC radio. Beatles author Mark Lewisohn reflects: "Without even realising it (and they'd have been thrilled to know), the Beatles broke the Detroit 'Motown sound' to the British listening public." In 1963, Beatles manager Brian Epstein approached Gordy for the rights to record several Motown songs, including "Please Mr. Postman", "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Money (That's What I Want)". Rather than the industry standard of two cents, Epstein only offered one and a half cents per record sold. Gordy initially refused, only relenting two minutes before the offer was set to expire. On 30 July 1963, the band recorded the song for their second UK album, With the Beatles. Recorded in Studio Two of EMI Recording Studios, George Martin produced the session, supported by balance engineer Norman Smith. The band recorded three takes in a similar style to their BBC performance, but found the results unsatisfactory. They altered the arrangement to sound closer to the Marvelettes' version, recording four more takes with a stop-time intro, drum