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The songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, usually referred to as Lennon/McCartney (sometimes McCartney/Lennon), is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations of all time. In an agreement reached early in their partnership, the pair agreed to use the shared credit Lennon/McCartney on all songs written alone or in tandem, for The Beatles. Their output constitutes the bulk of The Beatles' catalogue. Lennon, with his cynical edge and knack for introspection, and McCartney, with his storytelling optimism and gift for melody, complemented each other. Lennon and McCartney formed a critically acclaimed and commercially successful partnership writing songs for The Beatles and other artists.

Lennon's and McCartney's first musical idols were the Drifters, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly, and they learned many of their songs and imitated their sound. Their first compositions were written at McCartney's home (20 Forthlin Road), at Lennon's aunt Mimi's house at 251 Menlove Avenue, or at the Liverpool Institute. They often invited friends such as George Harrison, Nigel Whalley, Barbara Baker, and Lennon's art school colleagues to listen to performances of their new songs. A common misconception of Lennon and McCartney is that each of the duo composed his own songs alone and simply credited them to the partnership. While each of them did often write independently — and many Beatles songs are primarily the work of one or the other — it was rare that a song would be completed without some input from both. In many instances, one writer would sketch an idea or a song fragment and take it to the other to finish or improve; in some cases, two incomplete songs or song ideas that each had worked on individually would be combined into a complete song. Often one of the pair would add a so-called middle eight or bridge section to the other's verse and chorus. Lennon called it "Writing eyeball-to-eyeball", and "Playing into each other's noses". This approach of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team — with elements of competitiveness and mutual inspiration as well as straightforward collaboration and creative merging of musical ideas — is often cited as a key reason for the Beatles' innovativeness and popular success.

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