Brow Beat is following the Beatles in “real time,” 50 years later, from their first chart-topper to their final rooftop concert. 50 years ago this month, the Beatles were touring in support of their debut album, Please Please Me, the subject of our first “Who Wrote It?” quiz.

This week Blogging the Beatles is starting a new regular feature: The “Who Wrote It?” quiz, which will ask you who wrote the songs on each album the Beatles made.

Of course, determining the authorship of Beatles songs can be a little tricky—especially since so much of their best songwriting was collaborative—but we’ve checked all our answers against the words of the songwriters themselves. Note that, when it comes to Lennon-McCartney collaborations, we’re asking for the primary author. For example, a song written 95 percent by McCartney is a McCartney song. For a true 50-50 collaboration, written (as Lennon described the process) “eyeball to eyeball,” the correct answer is “both.” (And in very rare cases where the answer is disputed, we’ve been nice enough to allow for more than one correct answer.)

How to tell the difference? One hint: Lennon’s melodies tend to be “horizontal,” in the sense that they move up and down very little, while McCartney’s are generally “vertical,” taking great leaps up and down the scale. Good luck!

Read more recent posts from Blogging the Beatles
When John Lennon Was Simon Cowell
The Beatles Overtake Their Idols
The Beatles Get Their Own Show
Did John Lennon Have a Secret Affair With Brian Epstein?
The Songs the Beatles Gave Away
The Beatles Meet the Stones