First Moody Blues hit / MON 6-18-12 / German cathedral city / McCarthy-era attorney Roy / One of filmdom's Avengers / Common bait fish / Physicist with law

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Constructor: Peter A. Collins

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: Lennon / McCartney — Beatles songs. Circles (which are, as a friend pointed out, here, there, everywhere) spell out MCCAARTNEY LENNON

Word of the Day: "GO NOW" (28D: First Moody Blues hit) —

"Go Now" is a song composed by Larry Banks and Milton Bennett. It was first recorded in 1964 by Bessie Banks, and most successfully byThe Moody Blues. // The song was first recorded by Larry Banks' former wife, Bessie Banks. A 1962 demo recording by Bessie of the song was heard by songwriters and record producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who re-recorded it and first released it in early 1964 on their Tiger label, and later reissued it on theBlue Cat label, the R&B/soul imprint of Red Bird.^[1][2] Her version reached number forty on the Cash Box R&B singles chart.^[3]

Bessie Banks later commented:

"'I remember 1963 Kennedy was assassinated; it was announced over the radio. At the time, I was rehearsing in the office of Leiber and Stoller. We called it a day. Everyone was in tears. "Come back next week and we will be ready to record 'Go Now'"; and we did so. I was happy and excited that maybe this time I’ll make it. 'Go Now' was released and right away it was chosen Pick Hit of the Week on W.I.N.S. Radio. That means your record is played for seven days. Four days went by, I was so thrilled. On day five, when I heard the first line, I thought it was me, but all of a sudden, I realized it wasn’t. At the end of the song it was announced, "The Moody Blues singing 'Go Now'". I was too out-done. This was the time of the English Invasion and the end of Bessie Banks’ career, so I thought. America's DJs had stopped promoting American artists." (wikipedia)

• • •
This played tougher than the average Monday, despite my knowing (well) every Lennon-McCartney song in the grid. This is partly a simple matter of geometry, i.e. the grid area is bigger than normal (16x15), and partly a matter of some tricky or awkward stuff, and partly a matter of having a less than perfect lyric-to-song conversion ability. I was pretty good on most, but absolutely horrid on "WE CAN WORK IT OUT." "Think of what you're saying" just didn't trip any musical memories, although I now realize it's the first line of the second verse of the song. Rough. Anyway, as you probably could've guessed, I don't think much of this kind of grid. It's just random Beatles songs. The circles are (tasteless) frosting, not a particularly stunning accomplishment, and their shotgun splatter across the grid is kind of ugly, actually. It's a flimsy theme—but Beatles fans (of which there are many) won't care. It's packed with songs, it's (mostly) easy, and it's fun to recall Beatles songs, so there you are. But constructors, this should give you ample evidence of something you should've guessed already: Mars (i.e. the NYT) Needs Monday Puzzles!

Theme answers:

• 20A: 1970 song with the lyric "Whisper words of wisdom" ("LET IT BE")
• 21A: 1965 song with the lyric "Isn't he a bit like you and me?" ("NOWHERE MAN")
• 28A: 1969 song with the lyric "Once there was a way to get back homeward" ("GOLDEN SLUMBERS")
• 38A: 1965 song with the lyric "These are words that go together well" ("MICHELLE")
• 46A: 1965 song with the lyric "Think of what you're saying" ("WE CAN WORK IT OUT")
• 57A: 1968 song with the lyric "We all want to change the world" ("REVOLUTION")
• 61A: 1968 song with the lyric "Remember to let her into your heart" ("HEY, JUDE")

Fell right into the [Durham sch.] trap (UNC for UNH) and into the probably-unplanned [Martini garnish] trapped (ONION for OLIVE). Other than that, no real trouble, except I read 54A: McCarthy-era attorney Roy as McCartney-era attorney Roy. Clue still worked (COHN). Best part of the puzzle was KISS-UPS, I think (8A: Sycophants, slangily). I like the answer and the clue. Not a big fan of the double long French words (GUERRE, SAINTE) or RICEU (even after I was done I looked back and thought "whoa, I made a mistake..."). Can I put BAYLORU in a grid now? (I doubt it). Didn't know KOLN was a [German cathedral city], but four letters ending in -LN didn't leave many alternatives. Haven't seen CHUB in a long time and forgot it was a fish (54D: Common bait fish). I think I'm done now.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld