"I Knew I'd Want You" is a song by the

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

, written by band member

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

, and first released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to their 1965 debut single, " Mr. Tambourine Man". It was also later included on their debut album, '' Mr. Tambourine Man''.

Lyrics and music

"I Knew I'd Want You" is one of the earliest original songs written by one of the Byrds, dating back to 1964 when the band was known as the Jet Set. The song, which features a lead vocal by Clark, has been described by

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Matthew Greenwald as a folk rock song taken at mid-tempo, while author Christopher Hjort called it, "a

minor Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...

-tinged

shuffle Shuffling is a technique used to randomize a deck of playing cards, introducing an element of chance into card games. Various shuffling methods exist, each with its own characteristics and potential for manipulation. One of the simplest shuff ...

." Author James Perone finds the overall sound of the song similar to that of

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 ...

' "

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written and sung by John Lennon (though credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released on the album ''Help!'' in August 1965. Composition and recording Len ...

", particularly through its use of a

triple meter Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row ...

and

acoustic instrument Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the ad ...

s, noting that the Byrds song was released first and probably even recorded first. Perone also feels that certain features, such as its

minor key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, jazz music, art music, and pop music. A particular key features a '' tonic (main) note'' and it ...

and the general melodic shape, anticipated

the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...

' "

Nights in White Satin "Nights in White Satin" is a song by English rock band the Moody Blues, written by Justin Hayward. It was first featured as the segment "The Night" on the album '' Days of Future Passed''. When first released as a single in 1967, it reached nu ...

." Band biographer

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

notes a nod to the Beatles in the use of the phrase "oh yeah" at the end of the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

. Rogan also described the lyrics as being "romantic" and incorporating "hip parlance", such as the line, "You'd have me on your trip..."

Recording and release

"I Knew I'd Want You" was recorded on January 20, 1965, at the same session that produced "Mr. Tambourine Man." As with that song,

12-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in ...

ist

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (; born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician, best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the band. As a so ...

was the only member of the Byrds to play his instrument on the song. The other musicians credited are members of the Wrecking Crew, including

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles–based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Sim ...

(

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

(

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

(drums), and

Jerry Cole Jerald Edward Kolbrak (September 23, 1939 – May 28, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Cole, was an American guitarist who recorded under his own name, under various budget album pseudonyms and as an uncredited session musician. Biography ...

(guitar). However, author James Perone believes that the

and

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

on "I Knew I'd Want You" sound like Byrd members

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...

and

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

, respectively. Hillman has stated in interview that neither he nor Crosby played on the song, noting that the contrast between the slicker, more polished sound of the session musicians on "I Knew I'd Want You" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" is quite noticeable compared to the rawer sound of the Byrds' own playing on the rest of the ''Mr. Tambourine Man'' album. According to Byrds' manager Jim Dickson, the executives at

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

felt it was too risky to release a poetic song like "Mr. Tambourine Man" as the A-side of the Byrds' first single and wanted "I Knew I'd Want You" to be the A-side instead, but at the insistence of producer

Terry Melcher Terrence Paul Melcher (; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His best-known contribution ...

, "Mr. Tambourine Man" was ultimately released as the A-side. The "Mr. Tambourine Man" single reached number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Matthew Greenwald calls "I Knew I'd Want You" a "highlight" of ''Mr. Tambourine Man'' and compares the song's ability "to convey feelings of both love and alienation" to songs of

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David was born and raised in New ...

. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a impressive, slick English sound-ish romancer with a contagious melodic undercurrent." In the 4th edition of ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' Rob Sheffield calls it one of "the most vital songs" on ''Mr. Tambourine Man''. Rogan considers the song to be impressive enough "to stand along some of the best Lennon/ McCartney material of the period. Rogan finds Clark's vocal to be "moving" although "a little mannered." Allmusic critic

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...

considers it to be "lyrically less challenging, but equally powerful musically" compared to the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

, and

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers; August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster who has had many hit song credits beginning in the 1960s, as both a singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-son ...

penned songs on ''Mr. Tambourine Man''.

Other appearances

"I Knew I'd Want You" was included on several Byrds'

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s. A new

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

was included on the 1987 archival album '' Never Before''. The song was also included in the 2006 box set '' There Is a Season''. An early, alternate version was included on the 1969 album ''

Preflyte ''Preflyte'' is a compilation album by the American folk rock Musical ensemble, band the Byrds and was released in July 1969 on Together Records. The album is a collection of Demo (music), demos recorded by the Byrds (then named the Jet Set) at Pa ...

'' and the 1988 album '' In the Beginning''. A version of "I Knew I'd Want You" recorded by songwriter

was included on ''Echoes'', the 1991 repackaging of his 1967 solo debut album ''

Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers ''Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers'' is the debut solo album by the American singer-songwriter Gene Clark. Released in January1967 on Columbia Records, the album was his first effort after his departure from the folk-rock group the Byrds in ...

''.

Thin White Rope Thin White Rope was an American Rock music, rock band associated with the Palm Desert Scene, desert rock and Paisley Underground subgenres, fronted by vocalist Guy Kyser. The band released five albums. Origins The band was formed in Davis, Cali ...

covered the song for the CD version of the 1989 tribute album '' Time Between – A Tribute to The Byrds''.

critic Jason Ankeny describes the Thin White Rope version as a "high-wattage, heavy metal rendition." Thin White Rope also released the song on their 1991 EP ''Squatter's Rights''.

References

{{Authority control The Byrds songs 1965 songs Songs written by Gene Clark Song recordings produced by Terry Melcher Columbia Records singles