When I Get Home
Encyclopedia
"When I Get Home" is a John Lennon
composition (credited to Lennon–McCartney) recorded by The Beatles
on 2 June 1964, during the last session for their LP A Hard Day's Night
. Its first US release was on the Something New
LP.
Influenced somewhat by the Shirelles, "When I Get Home" is essentially a rock and roll
number, but with its unusual chord progressions (changing from major to minor keys and back) it bucks the genre to some extent. Lennon liked this particular ploy, and used it on many of his songs at the time.
Typical also of this period of the Beatles is the vocal leap into falsetto
.
", which they had started work on earlier that day. They also recorded Paul McCartney
's "Things We Said Today
" during the same session.
A mono mix was made on 4 June 1964, although this was replaced when new mono and stereo mixes were made on 22 June.
John Lennon
John 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...
composition (credited to Lennon–McCartney) recorded 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...
on 2 June 1964, during the last session for their LP A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (album)
A Hard Day's Night is the third studio album by The Beatles, released on 10 July 1964 as the soundtrack to their film A Hard Day's Night. The American version of the album was released two weeks earlier, on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records, with a different track listing...
. Its first US release was on the Something New
Something New (album)
Something New is The Beatles' third Capitol LP release, but fifth American album following the United Artists release of A Hard Day's Night. This album includes eight songs from the original British release of A Hard Day's Night, as well as the remaining tracks "Slow Down" and "Matchbox" from the...
LP.
Influenced somewhat by the Shirelles, "When I Get Home" is essentially a rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
number, but with its unusual chord progressions (changing from major to minor keys and back) it bucks the genre to some extent. Lennon liked this particular ploy, and used it on many of his songs at the time.
Typical also of this period of the Beatles is the vocal leap into falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
.
Recording
After completing "When I Get Home" in 11 takes, the Beatles finished recording another Lennon song, "Any Time At AllAny Time at All
"Any Time at All" is a Beatles song credited to Lennon–McCartney and mainly composed by John Lennon, with an instrumental middle eight by Paul McCartney. It first appeared on the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night album.-Origin:...
", which they had started work on earlier that day. They also recorded Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir 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...
's "Things We Said Today
Things We Said Today
"Things We Said Today" is a song by The Beatles written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was composed for the film A Hard Day's Night and appears on the soundtrack album...
" during the same session.
A mono mix was made on 4 June 1964, although this was replaced when new mono and stereo mixes were made on 22 June.
Personnel
- 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...
– lead vocalSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, 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 vocalBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - 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...
– harmony vocal, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - 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 ....
- 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...