Little Child
| "Little Child" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by the Beatles from the album With the Beatles | ||||
| Released |
22 November 1963 (mono) 30 November 1963 (stereo) | |||
| Recorded |
Abbey Road Studios 11–12 September and 3 October 1963 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 1:48 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Writer | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| With the Beatles track listing | ||||
| ||||
"Little Child" is a song by the Beatles from their album With the Beatles. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney for Ringo Starr, but Starr was instead given "I Wanna Be Your Man" as his album song.[1]
Background
McCartney describes "Little Child" as being a "work song", or an "album filler". He admits to taking the line "I'm so sad and lonely" from the song "Whistle My Love" by British balladeer and actor Elton Hayes.[2] The phrase "sad and lonely" also appears in the song "Act Naturally", which the Beatles covered (with Starr singing) for the album Help!.
Recording
Recorded in three different sessions, the first was 11 September 1963, where the Beatles recorded two takes. They later came back to it the next day, where they recorded 16 takes, including overdubs of piano from McCartney, and harmonica from Lennon. They later returned to it on 3 October, where they recorded three more takes.[3] According to the stereo mix, the harmonica pans from left to right for the solo. Then it pans back from right to left after the solo.
Reception
Music critic Richie Unterberger of Allmusic said of the song "It might have been one of the less sophisticated and impressive tracks on the record, but it was still pretty good" and that ""Little Child" might not be a work of genius, but it's sheer rock'n'roll fun"[4]
Personnel
- John Lennon – vocal, rhythm guitar, harmonica
- Paul McCartney – vocal, bass, piano
- George Harrison – lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[1]
MacDonald said that the vocals were "credited to Lennon and McCartney, but more like the former double-tracked",[1] though McCartney can be heard at the end singing "oh yeah" on his own, so the original credit is probably correct.
Cover versions
Wreckless Eric covered the song with James Nicholls for Mojo's CD We're With The Beatles in 2013.[5]
Notes
References
- "Little Child". The Beatles Bible. 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-84413-828-3.
- Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Review of "Little Child"". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
External links
| |||||||||||||
