"Every Night" is a song by English musician

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, released on his debut solo album ''

McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

'' in April 1970. He wrote the song while he was on holiday in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, and recorded it at EMI Studios in London on February 22, 1970. McCartney first performed it live on 23 November 1979 in Liverpool.

Lyrics and music

The lyrics of "Every Night" reflect the difficult situation McCartney was dealing with at the time the song was written, which was in light of the imminent breakup of the Beatles; the words do, however, convey some optimism for the future. According to James McGrath, the last line, "But tonight I just wanna stay in / And be with you," is the key to the song, in that it "quietly challenges the uneasy relationship between rock and domesticity." McGrath points out that

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's song from the previous year, "

Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" is a song written by Bob Dylan from his 1969 album ''Nashville Skyline''. It was the closing song of the album. The song was the third single released from the album, after "I Threw It All Away" and "Lay Lad ...

," ended on a similar note. The vocalized bridge begins with the same melody that begins McCartney's Beatles song, "

You Never Give Me Your Money "You Never Give Me Your Money" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney (and credited to Lennon–McCartney) and documented the financial and personal difficulties facing the band. The song is the first ...

". "The structure of 'Every Night' is different from many McCartney songs s rather thana true chorus, the vocal refrain of 'every night' occurs at the beginning of each verse. The repeated section, which could be nominally classed as hechorus, omprises'oo' vocalisations."

Origin

Paul McCartney would recall having come up with the first two lines of "Every Night" in the mid-1960s, but the song only began to develop during the January 1969

Twickenham Studios Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...

sessions for

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' '' Get Back/Let It Be'': specifically on 21 and 24 January 1969 McCartney and his bandmates jammed around McCartney's initial musical idea, giving the song a brief run through with

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

on slide guitar. McCartney completed the song while in the

Corfiot Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek islands, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of G ...

village of Benitses where he and his wife

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

vacationed in May-June 1969, along with McCartney's stepdaughter

Heather McCartney Heather Louise McCartney (born Heather Louise See; December 31, 1962) is an American-British potter and artist who is the daughter of Linda McCartney and adopted daughter of Sir Paul McCartney. Biography McCartney was born in Tucson, Arizona, ...

Later release

"Every Night" is also included on: * The live albums ''

Concerts for the People of Kampuchea Concerts for the People of Kampuchea was a series of concerts featuring Queen, The Clash, The Pretenders, The Who, Elvis Costello, Wings, and many more artists which took place at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during December 1979 to raise m ...

'' (1981), ''

Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) ''Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)'' is a live unplugged performance by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 1991. Following the vastness of his world tour recently captured on '' Tripping the Live Fantastic'', McCartney relished the oppor ...

'' (1991),''

Back in the U.S. ''Back in the U.S.'' (subtitled ''Live 2002'') is a double live album by Paul McCartney from his spring 2002 Driving USA Tour in the US in support of his 2001 release '' Driving Rain''. It was released with an accompanying DVD to commemorate h ...

'' (2002) and '' Back in the World Live'' (2003). * The compilation albums '' Wingspan: Hits and History'' (2001) and '' Pure McCartney'' (4-CD edition) (2016)

Personnel

According to author John C. Winn: *

lead vocal, three acoustic guitars, bass, drums

Other versions

Billy Joe Royal Billy Joe Royal (April 3, 1942 – October 6, 2015) was an American country soul singer. His most successful record was " Down in the Boondocks" in 1965. Life and career Born in Valdosta, Georgia, to Clarence and Mary Sue Smith Royal, and rai ...

had an August 1970 single release of "Every Night": notable as the first release recorded at Studio One in

Doraville Doraville is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,623. History Doraville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, approved December 15, 18 ...

, the single failed to become a major hit peaking in the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' at #113.

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "San Francisco Bay Blues", "Poetry Man", "Harpo's Blues", and her credited g ...

recorded "Every Night" for her 1978 album '' Against the Grain'', an album Snow would recall as a "disaster

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

tried to be a rock album but had too many opinions. Everybody who played, sang or cleaned up the studio produced that album", adding that "putting 'Every Night' was the one idea of mine that filtered through." Released as the album's lead single in November 1978, "Every Night" failed to become a major U.S. hit despite garnering sufficient attention to rank on the Singles Chart 101-150 in ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' for twelve weeks rising as high as #129 "Every Night" would become Snow's only charting single in the UK with a #37 peak and also her only major hit in Australia reaching #22 on the AR1A singles chart. In New Zealand "Every Night" would chart as high as #6 matching Snow's previous NZ chart best: her 1977 single "

Shakey Ground "Shakey Ground" is a 1975 R&B single by The Temptations. It was co-written by Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel, who plays lead guitar on the song. Background Original Funkadelic bassist Billy "Bass" Nelson also plays on the song. Personnel * ...

". "Every Night" has also been recorded covered by

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...

(on her 1970 album ''Odetta Sings''),

Claudine Longet Claudine Georgette Longet (born 29 January 1942) is a Franco-American singer, actress, dancer, and recording artist popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to American singer and television entertainer Andy ...

(on her 1972 album ''Let's Spend the Night Together''),

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...

(on his 1980 album ''Connections''),

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...

on their 1971 album '' Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes'' and Carry The Zero (on the 2009 McCartney tribute album ''Looking for Change''). In 2014

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

covered the song on ''

The Art of McCartney ''The Art of McCartney'' is a tribute album to English musician Paul McCartney, released on November 18, 2014. The 42-song set covers McCartney's solo work, and his work with the Beatles and Wings, and features a wide range of artists such as Barr ...

'' covers album.,

The Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...

(on the 1972 atlantic/bell compilation 24 original hits from 1975 and LP ''THE DRIFTERS NOW'')

References

Sources

* {{authority control 1970 songs Paul McCartney songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Billy Joe Royal songs Phoebe Snow songs Columbia Records singles Music published by MPL Music Publishing