If I Needed Someone
Encyclopedia
"If I Needed Someone" is a song written by George Harrison
. Versions by The Beatles
and by The Hollies
appeared simultaneously, both being released in the United Kingdom on 3 December 1965. The Hollies version appeared on a single. Most of the Hollies previous singles had been big top ten hits. When their version of "If I Needed Someone" only reached the lower half of the top 20 in the UK, they were quite critical and said they had made a mistake recording it. The Beatles recording of the song first appeared in the
UK on the 1965 album Rubber Soul
and was later included in the 1966 North American release "Yesterday and Today
".
. In a 2004 radio interview with the BBC in London, Roger McGuinn
confirmed that Harrison had sent a tape recording of the song to him in Los Angeles before it was released on record. Harrison did this to show McGuinn that the guitar riff he had used in "If I Needed Someone" was based on McGuinn's own riff in "The Bells of Rhymney
."
The song as recorded by The Beatles is in the key of A mixolydian
, switching to B minor during the breaks. The verses are heavily harmonised: Harrison sings the first two lines of the first verse by himself—double-tracked, as was customary on Beatles recordings of the period—after which John Lennon and Paul McCartney join in, singing above him throughout on each subsequent verse. Harrison sings the bridge solo, once again double-tracked.
"If I Needed Someone" was the only Harrison composition played during any of The Beatles' tours; otherwise Harrison sang only covers onstage. "If I Needed Someone" is one of only two tracks from Rubber Soul that the Beatles performed live (the other was "Nowhere Man"). It was included on The Beatles final UK tour in December 1965, the 1966 NME
Poll-Winners All-Star Concert, and on the 1966 Summer World Tour, including The Beatles' very last concert, in Candlestick Park on 29 August 1966. The 1982 documentary The Compleat Beatles
used a clip from The Beatles' haggard performance of the song on stage in Tokyo as an illustration of band's growing weariness with touring.
The song is a playable track on The Beatles: Rock Band
; despite the venue
for the aforementioned Japanese shows appearing in the game, the song is on the level modelled after the group's legendary Shea Stadium
performance, which took place before it had been recorded.
, and engineered by Norman Smith. The second engineer was Ken Scott
.
The rhythm track for the song was recorded in Abbey Road Studio Two, in a single take on Saturday 16 October 1965, squeezed in just before midnight in a session that had primarily been spent recording their next single, Day Tripper
. McCartney's bass part was played on a 1964 left-handed Rickenbacker 4001S bass. Harrison's distinctive chiming guitar riff was played on his 1965 Rickenbacker 360-12
, with a capo fixed at the seventh fret.
Returning to the studio on the afternoon of Monday 18 October 1965, they overdubbed Harrison's lead vocal and Lennon and McCartney's backing vocals. Starr added a tambourine.
A mono mix of the song was made on Monday 25 October, and a stereo mix on Tuesday, 26 October - the day the Beatles collected their MBEs from Buckingham Palace. Both these mixes can be found in The Beatles In Mono
box set.
George Martin created another stereo mix in 1987 for the release of Rubber Soul on CD. This mix can be found on The Beatles Stereo Box Set
.
' were brought a demo of the song by their producer Ron Richards, who in turn was offered the demo by George Martin. They recorded their version in 3 takes on 17 November 1965 in the same studio that the Beatles did and was released by Parlophone
on 3 December 1965, the same day as Rubber Soul. The single was released by Imperial Records
in the United States in November 1967.
"If I Needed Someone" was the first George Harrison composition to be a UK chart hit, as a result of The Hollies' cover. Their version reached No. 20 on 9 December 1965, but by their standards it was one of their least successful singles. Many in the public perceived the song as the Hollies attempting to ride on the Beatles bootheels. Dismissive comments about the Hollies' track by Harrison, basically calling the song "rubbish" in an interview with NME
magazine, led to angry exchanges between the groups.
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
. Versions by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and by The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
appeared simultaneously, both being released in the United Kingdom on 3 December 1965. The Hollies version appeared on a single. Most of the Hollies previous singles had been big top ten hits. When their version of "If I Needed Someone" only reached the lower half of the top 20 in the UK, they were quite critical and said they had made a mistake recording it. The Beatles recording of the song first appeared in the
UK on the 1965 album Rubber Soul
Rubber Soul
Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album by the English rock group The Beatles, released in December 1965. Produced by George Martin, Rubber Soul had been recorded in just over four weeks to make the Christmas market...
and was later included in the 1966 North American release "Yesterday and Today
Yesterday and Today
Yesterday and Today is the ninth Capitol release by The Beatles and the eleventh overall American release. It was issued only in the United States and Canada...
".
History
The song was heavily influenced by the music of The ByrdsThe Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
. In a 2004 radio interview with the BBC in London, Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
confirmed that Harrison had sent a tape recording of the song to him in Los Angeles before it was released on record. Harrison did this to show McGuinn that the guitar riff he had used in "If I Needed Someone" was based on McGuinn's own riff in "The Bells of Rhymney
The Bells of Rhymney
"The Bells of Rhymney" is a song first recorded by folk singer Pete Seeger, using words written by Welsh poet Idris Davies. The lyrics to the song were drawn from part of Davies' poetic work Gwalia Deserta, which was first published in 1938...
."
The song as recorded by The Beatles is in the key of A mixolydian
Mixolydian mode
Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek harmoniai or tonoi, based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; a modern musical mode or diatonic scale, related to the medieval mode.-Greek Mixolydian:The idea of a...
, switching to B minor during the breaks. The verses are heavily harmonised: Harrison sings the first two lines of the first verse by himself—double-tracked, as was customary on Beatles recordings of the period—after which John Lennon and Paul McCartney join in, singing above him throughout on each subsequent verse. Harrison sings the bridge solo, once again double-tracked.
"If I Needed Someone" was the only Harrison composition played during any of The Beatles' tours; otherwise Harrison sang only covers onstage. "If I Needed Someone" is one of only two tracks from Rubber Soul that the Beatles performed live (the other was "Nowhere Man"). It was included on The Beatles final UK tour in December 1965, the 1966 NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
Poll-Winners All-Star Concert, and on the 1966 Summer World Tour, including The Beatles' very last concert, in Candlestick Park on 29 August 1966. The 1982 documentary The Compleat Beatles
The Compleat Beatles
The Compleat Beatles, released in 1982, is a two-hour documentary, chronicling the career of the "Fab Four". Though it has since been supplanted by the longer and more in-depth documentary Beatles Anthology, The Compleat Beatles was for many years largely regarded as the definitive film about the...
used a clip from The Beatles' haggard performance of the song on stage in Tokyo as an illustration of band's growing weariness with touring.
The song is a playable track on The Beatles: Rock Band
The Beatles: Rock Band
The Beatles: Rock Band is a 2009 music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the third major console release in the Rock Band music video game series, in which players can simulate the playing of rock music by using...
; despite the venue
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...
for the aforementioned Japanese shows appearing in the game, the song is on the level modelled after the group's legendary Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
performance, which took place before it had been recorded.
Recording
The sessions for the Beatles version of "If I Needed Someone" were produced by George MartinGeorge Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
, and engineered by Norman Smith. The second engineer was Ken Scott
Ken Scott
Ken Scott is an English record producer and recording engineer.-Career:Scott started at the age of 16 working in the tape library at Abbey Road Studios. He became a recording engineer working with such acts as The Beatles, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Procol Harum...
.
The rhythm track for the song was recorded in Abbey Road Studio Two, in a single take on Saturday 16 October 1965, squeezed in just before midnight in a session that had primarily been spent recording their next single, Day Tripper
Day Tripper
"Day Tripper" is a song by The Beatles, released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out". Both songs were recorded during the sessions for the Rubber Soul album...
. McCartney's bass part was played on a 1964 left-handed Rickenbacker 4001S bass. Harrison's distinctive chiming guitar riff was played on his 1965 Rickenbacker 360-12
Rickenbacker 360/12
The Rickenbacker 360/12 is an electric guitar made by the Rickenbacker company; it was among the first electric twelve-string guitars. This instrument is visually similar to the Rickenbacker 360...
, with a capo fixed at the seventh fret.
Returning to the studio on the afternoon of Monday 18 October 1965, they overdubbed Harrison's lead vocal and Lennon and McCartney's backing vocals. Starr added a tambourine.
A mono mix of the song was made on Monday 25 October, and a stereo mix on Tuesday, 26 October - the day the Beatles collected their MBEs from Buckingham Palace. Both these mixes can be found in The Beatles In Mono
The Beatles in Mono
The Beatles in Mono is a box set compilation comprising the remastered monophonic recordings by The Beatles. The set was released on 9 September 2009, the same day the remastered stereo recordings and companion The Beatles Stereo Box Set were also released, along with The Beatles: Rock Band videogame...
box set.
George Martin created another stereo mix in 1987 for the release of Rubber Soul on CD. This mix can be found on The Beatles Stereo Box Set
The Beatles Stereo Box Set
The Beatles Stereo Box Set is a box set compilation comprising all of the remastered stereo recordings by The Beatles. The set was released on 9 September 2009, the same day both The Beatles: Rock Band and the remastered mono recordings were released...
.
Personnel
- George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
– double-tracked vocalLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, 12-string guitar - John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
– harmony vocalBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
– harmony vocal, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all.... - George MartinGeorge MartinSir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
– harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
- Personnel per Ian MacDonaldIan MacDonaldIan MacCormick was a British music critic and author, best known for Revolution in the Head, his forensic history of The Beatles which borrowed techniques from art historians, and The New Shostakovich, a controversial study of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich...
Hollies version
Within a month of "If I Needed Someone" being recorded by the Beatles in October 1965 at Abbey Road, The HolliesThe Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
' were brought a demo of the song by their producer Ron Richards, who in turn was offered the demo by George Martin. They recorded their version in 3 takes on 17 November 1965 in the same studio that the Beatles did and was released by Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
on 3 December 1965, the same day as Rubber Soul. The single was released by Imperial Records
Imperial Records
Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by label owner EMI.- The independent and Liberty Records years :...
in the United States in November 1967.
"If I Needed Someone" was the first George Harrison composition to be a UK chart hit, as a result of The Hollies' cover. Their version reached No. 20 on 9 December 1965, but by their standards it was one of their least successful singles. Many in the public perceived the song as the Hollies attempting to ride on the Beatles bootheels. Dismissive comments about the Hollies' track by Harrison, basically calling the song "rubbish" in an interview with NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
magazine, led to angry exchanges between the groups.
Other versions
- The Beatles performed this song on their last official concert in Candlestick Park on 29 August 1966.
- George Harrison included the song on his Live in Japan album in 1992. Harrison and Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
play considerably longer guitar interludes between verses. Harrison's voice is also much more prominent than on The Beatles' original. - Clapton played a cover of the song as a tribute at the Concert for GeorgeConcert for GeorgeThe Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organized by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton and Jeff Lynne...
in 2002. - Type O NegativeType O NegativeType O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...
covered the song on their 1999 album World Coming DownWorld Coming DownWorld Coming Down is the fifth album by Brooklyn band Type O Negative. Even though the band has often expressed dark themes through their music, the lyrical content of this album is markedly morbid.-Overview:...
as part of a medley also containing "Day TripperDay Tripper"Day Tripper" is a song by The Beatles, released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out". Both songs were recorded during the sessions for the Rubber Soul album...
" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)I Want You (She's So Heavy)"I Want You " is a song by The Beatles, from their album Abbey Road. It was written by John Lennon, although credited to Lennon–McCartney....
". - Les FradkinLes FradkinLes Fradkin is a guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show Beatlemania...
has covered it twice: as a guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
instrumental rockInstrumental rockInstrumental rock is a type of rock music which emphasizes musical instruments, and which features very little or no singing.Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style, most notably Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Link...
version on his CD While My Guitar Only Plays and as a vocal version on Love You 2. - Show of Hands included a cover of the song on their studio album WitnessWitness (Show of Hands album)Witness is the ninth studio album by Show of Hands. The album was recorded in January 2006 at Presshouse Studio, Colyton, Devon, and was produced by Simon Emmerson and Simon ‘Mass’ Massey from the Afro Celts, who helped to incorporate elements of traditional African, ambient and electronic dance...
. - Golden Carillo (Annie GoldenAnnie Golden-Career:Born in Brooklyn, New York, Golden began her career as the lead singer of The Shirts . During the early 1990s she performed as part of the duo Golden Carillo with Frank Carillo. They released three albums,Fire in Newtown, Toxic Emotion, and Back for More. She then returned to The Shirts...
, Frank CarilloFrank CarilloFrank Carillo is an American rock musician.- Doc Holliday :In 1971, manager Phil Lorito formed a band around Frank Carillo called Doc Holliday, with Carillo, Bob Mayo, Tom Arlotta and Bob Liggio...
) included a cover of the song on their 1993 studio album Toxic Emotion and also released the song as a CD single. - The Bacon BrothersThe Bacon BrothersThe Bacon Brothers is the American musical duo of Michael Bacon and Kevin Bacon. Although they have played music together since they were boys, the brothers have only been a working band since 1995....
covered it on their album White Knuckles. - The Cryan' ShamesThe Cryan' ShamesThe Cryan' Shames is an American garage rock group from Hinsdale, Illinois. They originally formed as The Travelers, with founding members Tom Doody , Gerry Stone , Dave Purple of The Prowlers, Denny Conroy and Jim Fairs from The Roosters, Jim Pilster , and Bill Hughes...
covered it on their 1966 debut album Sugar And Spice. - The KingsmenThe KingsmenThe Kingsmen is a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the #2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks...
in 1966 covered it as a single and on their album Up and Away. - Stained GlassStained glassThe term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
in 1966 covered it as a single. It sold well in a few markets, justifying a trip to the east coast in 1967.