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Got to Get You into My Life

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"Got to Get You into My Life"
Song
"Got to Get You into My Life"
Song
B-side"Helter Skelter"

"Got to Get You into My Life" is a marijuana-themed song by the Beatles, first released in 1966 on the album Revolver. It was written by Paul McCartney, though officially credited to Lennon–McCartney.[4][5] The song is a soulful Motown homage with colorful brass instrumentation,[6] and lyrics that suggest a psychedelic experience.[2] A cover version by Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers peaked at number six in 1966 in the UK.[7]

The Beatles' version was released in the United States as a single from the Rock 'n' Roll Music compilation album in 1976, a decade after its initial release and six years after the Beatles split up. It reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[8] the Beatles' last top ten U.S. hit until their 1995 release "Free as a Bird".

Composition and recording

Though officially credited to Lennon–McCartney, McCartney was primarily responsible for the writing of the song,[4][5] to which he also contributed lead vocals.[9] It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios between 7 April and 17 June 1966 and evolved considerably between the first takes and the final version released on album.[10] The song seems to have been hard to arrange until the soul-style horns, strongly reminiscent of the Stax' Memphis soul and Motown sound, were introduced. The brass was close-miked in the bells of the instruments then put through a limiter.[11] The percussion instrument most predominant is the overdubbed tambourine.

The song starts with a blaring brass fanfare, McCartney's vocals entering at 0:07. The chorus of the song appears at 1:04, with the song's title sung. The song then switches between a verse and the refrain. A short electric guitar solo that is nearly identical to the riff from "Paperback Writer" appears at 1:53 and at 2:10 the horn fanfare re-enters. The song closes with fading vocals of McCartney, much akin to the soul records of the time. The mono and stereo mixes of the recording feature different ad libs in the fade-out - the presence of a second vocal track is also more subtle for most of the mono version. Backing vocals were recorded early but later eliminated.

In Barry Miles' 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, McCartney disclosed that the song was about marijuana.[4] "'Got to Get You into My Life' was one I wrote when I had first been introduced to pot ... So [it's] really a song about that, it's not to a person."[4] Many lyrics from the song suggest this: "I took a ride, I didn't know what I would find there / Another road where maybe I could see some other kind of mind there.",'"What can I do? What can I be? When I'm with you, I want to stay there / If I am true, I will never leave and if I do, I'll know the way there." "It's actually an ode to pot," McCartney explained, "like someone else might write an ode to chocolate or a good claret."[12]

Reception

Thomas Ward of Allmusic said, "McCartney's always been a great vocalist, and this is perhaps the best example of his singing on Revolver. One of the overlooked gems on the album."[13] When asked about the song in his 1980 Playboy interview, John Lennon said, "Paul's again. I think that was one of his best songs, too."[5]

Chart performance

Chart (1976) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 7

Personnel

Personnel per Ian MacDonald; MacDonald was unsure if Lennon played the rhythm guitar part.[9]

Earth, Wind & Fire version

"Got to Get You into My Life"
Song
B-side"I'll Write a Song for You"

Earth, Wind & Fire covered the song for the 1978 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack. They released it as a single and included it on their album The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1. Their version reached number 1 on the Soul singles chart and number nine on the Hot 100 singles chart.[14] In the autumn of 1978 it reached number 33 in the BBC Top 75 singles chart recorded on CBS records CBS 6553.

The song won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) and also garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[15]

Reception

"Got to Get You into My Life" sold over one million copies, enough for the RIAA to certify it gold.

Chart performance

Chart (1978) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 9
US Billboard Hot Soul Singles[14] 1
Preceded by Billboard Hot Soul Singles number-one single
23 September 1978 		Succeeded by

Cover versions

Other versions

Notes

  1. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2 November 2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 53. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  2. ^ a b Kenneth Womack, Todd F. Davis (2006). Reading the Beatles: Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, And the Fab Four. SUNY Press. p. 119. ISBN 0-7914-6716-3.
  3. ^ RIAA 2009a.
  4. ^ a b c d Miles 1997, p. 190.
  5. ^ a b c Sheff 2000, p. 181.
  6. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (2003). Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 45. ISBN 0-634-05548-8.
  7. ^ Chart Stats 2009.
  8. ^ a b Wallgren 1982, p. 106.
  9. ^ a b MacDonald 2005, p. 193.
  10. ^ Lewisohn 1988, pp. 72–83.
  11. ^ Morin 1998.
  12. ^ "50 - 'Got to Get You Into My Life'". 100 Greatest Beatles Song. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  13. ^ Ward 2009.
  14. ^ a b c Allmusic 2009.
  15. ^ The Official Earth, Wind & Fire Website 2009.

References

External links

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