| Title: | I'm A Loser |  |
| Credits: | John Lennon - Paul McCartney | |
| Recorded: | EMI Studios, London, 14 August, 1964, Abbey Road 2 | |
| Line- up: | Lennon vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar, harmonic; McCartney harmony vocal, bass; Harrison lead guitar; Starr drums, Tamborine | |
| Producer: | George Martin | |
| Engineer: | Norman Smith | |
| Location: | Beatles For Sale - track 2 | |
| UK release: | 4th December 1964 (LP: Beatles For Sale) | |
| US release: | 15th December 1964 (LP: Beatles '65) |
In Keeping with the frantic pace of events in 1964, sessions for Beatles For Sale, the group's second album of the year and their fourth so far, had to be woven between US and British tour commitments.
I'm A Loser was only the second song to be started, the recording commencing on 14 August. The song reflects the musical influence of Bob Dylan on the Beatles and John Lennon in particular, and two weeks later, in New York, the Beatles met Dylan for the first time.
The song was recorded in eight takes, four of them complete. 'I'm A Loser' was given a rough mono mix on August 14, but this was never used. Take 8 was used for release, and the mono mix was prepared October 26; the stereo mix November 4. Takes 1 - 7 from the August 14 recording session have been bootlegged.
When this song was released in the US on December 15, 1964 on the LP "Beatles '65" this track was reprocessed for stereo by Capital Records. On February 26, 1987 the album, "Beatles For Sale" was released in both the US and the UK on the CD format. Originally, a new stereo mix was prepared for this release; however, George Martin later remixed the album in mono. The new mono mix is found on the CD release of the album "Beatles For Sale."
The Beatles also recorded this song on October 3, 1964 for the US TV show "Shindig" which aired October 7. The song was recorded again on November 17 for BBC Radio's "Top Gear" which aired November 26. The former recording has been bootlegged while the latter was released in both the US and the UK on December 6, 1994 on "The Beatles Live At The BBC."
The Beatles recorded 'I'm A Loser' on May 26, 1965 for their BBC Radio special "The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride)," which aired June 7. During 1965 The Beatles also performed this song at several live concerts including two shows at the Palais des Sports, Paris (June 20) and the Teatro Adriano, Rome (June 27). All of these performances are available on different bootlegs. An unidentified Italian performance of this song is found on the LP "Beatles 4 Ever." This recording is either from one of the two June 24 Milan shows or the two June 25 shows in Genoa.