"I'll Follow the Sun" is a song by the English rock band

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 ...

. It is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

written and sung by

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 ...

and credited to

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...

. It was released in 1964 on the ''

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 ...

'' album in the United Kingdom and on ''

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 ...

'' in the United States. The band played the song on the BBC radio programme ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...

'', and the track was released on ''

On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 ''On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2'' is a 2013 live/compilation album featuring 40 previously unreleased tracks from the Beatles' 1963–1964 BBC Radio broadcasts (accompanied by 23 interview tracks from the associated broadcasts). It was ...

'' in 2013. The song was released as a mono

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

45 in 1964 on Parlophone/EMI (and in 1995 as a B-side to "

Baby It's You "Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams), and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby It ...

"). In Sweden, it reached number one on the ''

Tio i Topp ''Tio i Topp'' ( English: ''Ten at the Top'') was a Swedish record chart and radio program broadcast by Sveriges Radio P3 between the years of 1961 and 1974. It was launched to combat pirate radio charts and was the first official Swedish record c ...

'' chart in July and also peaked at number four on Sweden's Kvällstoppen Chart.

Composition

When asked about the lyrics, McCartney commented: "I wrote that in my front parlour in Forthlin Road. I was about 16. 'I'll Follow the Sun' was one of those very early ones. I seem to remember writing it just after I'd had the flu and I had that cigarette. I remember standing in the parlour, with my guitar, looking out through the lace curtains of the window, and writing that one."

Recording

McCartney explained, "The next

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had to always be different. We didn't want to fall into the

Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

trap where they all sounded similar, so we were always keen on having varied instrumentation. Ringo couldn't keep changing his drum kit, but he could change his snare, tap a cardboard box or slap his knees."

Personnel

According to Walter Everett: *

lead and harmony vocals, acoustic 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 ...

harmony vocal *

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 ...

electric rhythm guitar, guitar solo *

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 ...

percussion

Cover versions

*In 1966,

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released an instrumental cover on his album ''

Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles '' Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles '' is the twenty-eighth studio album by American guitarist Chet Atkins. Atkins interprets a selection of songs by The Beatles on this album. History The sleeve features liner notes by George Harrison and ther ...

''. *The song was covered by David Ball in 1995 for the Beatles tribute album '' Come Together: America Salutes the Beatles''. *McCartney performed the song live during

The 'US' Tour The 'US' Tour was a concert tour by English musician Paul McCartney to promote his 2005 album ''Chaos and Creation in the Backyard''. The tour, his second North American venture of the 21st century, began on 16 September 2005 in Miami, United S ...

; likewise at the

Paris Olympia The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra ...

on 22 October 2007, in

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for the Independence Concert on 14 June 2008, in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

at the free outdoor concert on 20 July 2008 (for the city's 400th anniversary celebration), at

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, Israel, on 25 September 2008, and in New York City on 12 May 2015 (charity concert for the Robin Hood Benefit). * Glen Phillips (lead singer of

Toad the Wet Sprocket Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, ...

) covered the song for the soundtrack of the 2009

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

film '' Imagine That''.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

* * {{authority control The Beatles songs 1964 songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Songs published by Northern Songs Number-one singles in Sweden British folk rock songs British country music songs