35: I Call Your Name

Posted on | July 26, 2009 | 161 Comments

I Call Your Name is a fairly obscure Beatles track, as it was only ever released on the Long Tall Sally EP with, well, Long Tall Sally and two really bad cover songs (Matchbox and Slow Down). It’s the only original song on the EP. Now, of course, it’s available on Past Masters.

It’s not going to win any awards for best Beatles song, but it’s catchy, John puts in a good effort on the vocal, George pulls off a nice little guitar solo, and how many Beatles songs have cowbell? (No, really, how many? I think it’s just this one, but I’ve never, you know, actually thought about it before.)

Really, though, it has a special little place in my heart for a different reason. The first time I heard this song — because again, it’s a fairly obscure track — it wasn’t the Beatles version. Cover, you ask? Yeah, kind of.

I first heard the song by watching this video, of Ringo Starr performing this song to John Lennon, at a show marking the 10th anniversary of his death.

Spot Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty performing with him?

In any case, it’s of course not nearly as good as the Beatles version. But it is one of the sweetest damn things I’ve ever seen and made me tear up the first time I saw it. Ringo may pull the grouchy thing every now and then, but he’s a total sweetheart.

(Thanks to Hubbit, who has been entertaining me on Twitter, for the post inspiration!)

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