"If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" is a song written by Rudy Clark and first recorded by James Ray in 1961.

[2] In 1962, the Beatles began to perform the song at their gigs, with John Lennon singing lead and playing harmonica.

[3] Paul McCartney said that George Harrison had a copy of Ray's record, "and we did a version of it because we thought it was such a wacky waltz.

[5] Manchester beat group Freddie and the Dreamers heard the Beatles play the song at the Cavern in Liverpool in September 1962, and soon began to incorporate it into their own act.

[6] The group recorded it with producer John Burgess, and their version reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1963, the first hit of their career.