- Published on 1964
- Author: Lennon/McCartney
- Track 11 on “Past Masters Volume 1“
Beatles quotes about “I Call Your Name”
JOHN 1980: “That was my song. When there was no Beatles and no group, I just had it around. It was my effort as a kind of blues originally, and then I wrote the middle-eight just to stick it in the album when it came out years later. The first part had been written before Hamburg even. It was one of my ‘first’ attempts at a song.”
PAUL circa-1994: “We worked on it together, but it was John’s idea. When I look back at some of these lyrics, I think, ‘Wait a minute. What did he mean? ‘I call your name but you’re not there.’ Is it his mother? His father? I must admit I didn’t really see that as we wrote it because we were just a couple of young guys writing. You didn’t look behind it at the time, it was only later you started analyzing things.”
About “I Call Your Name”
“I Call Your Name” was written primarily by John Lennon, with assistance from Paul McCartney. It was released in the US on The Beatles’ Second Album on 10 April 1964 and in the UK on the Long Tall Sally EP on 19 June 1964. On 7 March 1988, the song appeared on Past Masters, a compilation album that includes every song commercially released by the band that was neither included on the 12 UK studio albums nor the US Magical Mystery Tour LP, meaning that “I Call Your Name” appeared for the first time on a core catalogue album.
Personnel
- John Lennon – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – bass guitar
- George Harrison – 12 string lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums, cowbell
- George Martin – producer
- Norman Smith – engineer
