"Gotta Find My Baby" is a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

song written and recorded in 1941 by Peter Joe Clayton under the name "Doctor Clayton." In the 1950s, cover versions were recorded as "I Got To Find My Baby" by other Rhythm & Blues artists, including

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

(1952),

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

(1954) and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

, who is sometimes miscredited as the song's composer. The song was also covered by

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 ...

in 1963.

Original version

Blues singer Peter Clayton composed "Gotta Find My Baby" in 1941 and recorded it in Chicago on November 11 for Bluebird Records under the name "Doctor Clayton." The song was released on January 9, 1942, as Bluebird B8901 and later included on ''Doctor Clayton - His Complete Recorded Works'' (Document CD DOCD 5179).

Chuck Berry version

Chuck Berry recorded the song at

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

on February 12, 1960, and it was released in August 1960 as a single under the title "I Got To Find My Baby" with "Mad Lad" as its B-side (Chess 1763), but the single did not chart.

The Beatles version

The Beatles first recorded their version of Chuck Berry's rendition of the song on June 1, 1963, at the BBC Paris Studioin London for the second Pop Go The Beatles radio show. The group recorded two versions of the song as "I Got to Find My Baby" (credited to Berry). The song was first broadcast on June 11 and was later included on the 1994 album ''

Live at the BBC {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Live at the BBC or BBC Recordings are recordings originally made for or by BBC Radio 1. Many recordings were released under several name variants. Live at the BBC *Live at the BBC (The Beatles ...

''. Later that month, they performed the song on the '' Saturday Club'' program on June 24. The performance was taped at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

in London, and was first broadcast five days later. The Beatles had already performed several songs written by Chuck Berry.

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 ...

sang lead vocal and played harmonica, as he did on most of their covers of Berry's songs.

Personnel

– vocals, harmonica, rhythm guitar *

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 ...

– bass *

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

– lead guitar *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

– drums

Other versions

"Gotta Find My Baby" was also recorded in 1954 by bluesman and harmonica player

for

, the same record label as Chuck Berry.

Notes

{{authority control Songs written by Chuck Berry The Beatles songs 1963 songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Bluebird Records singles