"From a Window" is a song written by Paul McCartney, attributed to

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 ...

and

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 ...

, which was recorded by

Billy J. Kramer William Howard Ashton (born 19 August 1943), known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney compositions ...

with

The Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...

. It was the last of six

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

compositions recorded by Kramer. Kramer recorded the song on 29 May 1964 at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

produced the session, which was attended by Lennon and McCartney. McCartney can be heard at the very end of the song, harmonizing on the final word. "From a Window" was released as a single in the UK on 17 July 1964. Its peak in August at no. 10 indicated an abrupt drop in popularity for Kramer & the Dakotas whose previous chart history comprised four Top 5 hits, two of them no. 1s. The follow-up, "It's Gotta Last Forever", fell short of the UK Top 50, and the subsequent release, "

Trains and Boats and Planes "Trains and Boats and Planes" is a song written by composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. Hit versions were recorded by Bacharach himself in 1965, by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas in the same year, and by Dionne Warwick in 1966. Origi ...

", peaking at no. 12 in the summer of 1965, punctuated their two-year UK chart career. In the US – with "

I'll Be on My Way "I'll Be on My Way" is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney, first released on 26 April 1963 by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas as the B-side of their hit debut single "Do You Want to Know a Secret", a song also writt ...

" serving as the B-side – "From a Window" reached no. 23 in October 1964. It was the band's fourth US Top 40 hit in a five-month period, and also their last.

Chad & Jeremy Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with " Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following ...

recorded "From a Window" in a December 1964 New York City recording session produced by

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman, November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely Da ...

. The track was featured on the February 1965 album release '' Chad & Jeremy Sing For You''. World Artists Records issued the track as a single that June. By then Chad & Jeremy had other current releases on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, but their version of "From a Window" received enough regional attention to register on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at no. 97. Billy J. Kramer's version of "From a Window" was included on the 1979 compilation album ''

The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away ''The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away'' is a conceptual compilation album containing the original artist recordings of songs composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the 1960s that they had elected not to release as Beatles songs. The ...

''. "From a Window" has also been recorded by Cisse ( fi) (album ''Teen Dreams''/ 1976) and by

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

on his album ''From a Window: Lost Songs of Lennon & McCartney'' (2003). A

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

for the Mexican market: "Desde mi ventana", was recorded by both

Los Hermanos Carrión LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

( es) and

Sandro Sandro is an Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Georgian and Croatian given name, often a diminutive of Alessandro (disambiguation), Alessandro or Alexander. It is also a surname. Sandro may refer to: Given name or nickname Sports *Sandro (f ...

y los de Fuego. Recordings of "From a Window" as

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 ...

may have performed it are available on the 1989 album by entitled ''Secret Songs: Lennon & McCartney'' and on the 1998 release ''It's Four You'' by the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as Elvi ...

The Beatnix The Beatnix is an Australian Beatles tribute band. It is amongst the longest running Beatles tribute shows in the world. History The concept for the band was conceived and assembled in March 1980 by founding member Tony Dean as a live perfo ...

.Amazon.com
/ref> It has also been covered by Seattle-based Beatles cover band Apple Jam on their album ''Off The Beatle Track''.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{authority control 1964 songs Billy J. Kramer songs Chad & Jeremy songs Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Parlophone singles Song recordings produced by George Martin 1964 singles