I Call Your Name

John was the main composer of I Call Your Name. He wrote it even before the Beatles were formed, and gave the song to Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas to sing. This was another group from Liverpool whom George Martin had signed to a recording contract with Parlophone. (Kramer ultimately released the song on the b-side of Bad to Me, a song also credited to "Lennon-McCartney".) The Beatles also recorded the song (March 1, 1964), reportedly because Lennon did not like the Kramer arrangement, and he resented that it was shunted to the b-side of the release. In the Beatles' version, only John sings vocals. Ringo plays a cowbell in addition to the drums. Some think the cowbell kept the song off the Hard Day's Night album because of its similarity to You Can't Do That. The Beatles version first appeared in The Beatles' Second Album in the US, and subsequently on the EP Long Tall Sally in the UK. The song is noteworthy as the Beatles' first try at ska (the guitar solo in the middle eight). A second release of the song is found on Past Masters, Volume One.