"Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" is a rockabilly song credited to

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

. Based on a 1936 song written by singer/songwriter

Rex Griffin Alsie "Rex" Griffin ( – ) was an American country musician and songwriter. Early life Griffin was born in Gadsden, Alabama as the second of seven children to Marion and Selma Griffin. He grew up on a farm and received little schooling, eve ...

, it achieved widespread popularity when it was released in 1957 by Perkins and covered by

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

in 1964.

Composition and controversy

"Everybody's Tryin' to Be My Baby" was written and recorded in 1936 by Decca artist Rex Griffin. On March 2, 1936 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, it was among ten self-penned tracks recorded that day by the recently signed artist, accompanied only by his guitar. It was released on Decca 5294 in November 1936 to little notice. Although the song was never published, it was covered by

Johnny Barfield John Alexander Barfield (March 3, 1909 – January 16, 1974) was an American country music, country and old-time music performer, best known for his 1939 recording of "Boogie Woogie", the first country boogie. He was born in Tifton, Georgia, and ...

and Roy Newman in 1939, and Griffin copyrighted it on January 22, 1944. In March 1956, Carl Lee Perkins, who had released "

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard (music), standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues ...

" the previous December, was working on follow up material at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and brought in a song called "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", that he had written. Shortly after it was recorded, Perkins and his brother were in a serious auto accident, and the song and album were not released until May 1957. Perkins was listed as the sole writer when Knox Music, Inc. published it on November 12, 1957. Perkins contributed a modern arrangement, along with some minor lyric changes. The recording was later re-released on the 1961 Sun Records album, 'Teen Beat: The Best of Carl Perkins', 'Carl Perkins' Original Golden Hits' (Sun International, 1969), 'Original Sun Greatest Hits' by Rhino Records in 1986, and further compilations.

The Beatles' version

The Beatles recorded "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" on October 18, 1964, at

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

, London, with

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

(a lifelong fan of Perkins) on vocals. Harrison's vocals were heavily processed with the

STEED Steed is a working animal, especially a horse, used as a mount (especially for warfare). Steed may also refer to: People with the name * Steed Malbranque (born 1980), French footballer * Edward Steed (born 1987), British cartoonist * Joel Steed ...

effect. It was first released as the final track on ''

Beatles for Sale ''Beatles for Sale'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 4 December 1964 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label. The album marked a departure from the upbeat tone that had characterised ...

'' in the United Kingdom later that year, and likewise as the concluding track on the North American album ''

Beatles '65 ' ''Beatles '65'' is an album by the English rock band the Beatles that was issued in the United States and Canada in December 1964. Released as the North American alternative to ''Beatles for Sale'', it was the band's fifth studio album culled ...

''. The Beatles' recording finishes with a false ending, with the final phrase repeating itself after the song seems to have stopped. A version recorded live at the

Star-Club The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the 1960s, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 3 ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in December 1962 contained four of these musical phrases. Live performances of the Beatles' "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" were recorded in June 1963 for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio program ''

Pop Go the Beatles ''Pop Go the Beatles'' was a weekly radio show that ran for fifteen episodes on the BBC Light Programme from June to September 1963. Hosted by Lee Peters for the first four episodes and Rodney Burke for the following eleven, the show would fe ...

'', and in November 1964 for '' Saturday Club''. The latter recording can be heard on '' Live at the BBC''. The Beatles continued to perform the song after their studio recording was released. It was included in the on stage set list in their 1965 European tour of France, Italy and Spain and their ten city August tour of the United States. The performance from the Paris concert was videotaped and broadcast on French television later that year. Audio from the performance recorded at New York's

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.Anthology 2 ''Anthology 2'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 18 March 1996 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the 1965 sessions for ''Help!'' until the se ...

.'' In 1976, Capitol released the song on the compilation album '' Rock 'n' Roll Music''. George Harrison performed the song with Carl Perkins on the Cinemax cable special '' Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session'' in 1985.

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

performed the song live in concert in 1998 as a tribute to Carl Perkins on news of his death.

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

’s mid-90s version of the song backed by Carl Perkins and

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

was included on his 2003 concept-compilation album ''Unearthed'. In 2016, the song was featured as a bonus track on the remastered '' Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' album in a live performance from August 30, 1965 in conjunction with the release of the

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

concert film '' The Beatles: Eight Days a Week''.

Personnel

– double-tracked lead vocals, lead guitar *

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

– acoustic rhythm guitar, tambourine *

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

– bass guitar *

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

– drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby Carl Perkins songs The Beatles songs Music published by MPL Music Publishing Song recordings produced by George Martin 1936 songs 1957 songs Songs written by Carl Perkins