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You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)

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“You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)”
“You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” cover
Single by The Beatles
A-side "Let It Be"
Released 6 March 1970 (UK)
Format 7"
Recorded Abbey Road Studios
17 May 1967 to 30 April 1969
Genre Rock
Length 4:21
Label Apple Records
Writer(s) Lennon/McCartney
Producer George Martin and Chris Thomas
The Beatles singles chronology
"Something" / "Come Together"
(1970)
"Let It Be" / "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)"
(1970)
"The Long and Winding Road" / "For You Blue"
(1970)
There was another song I wrote around 'Pepper' time that's still in the can, called 'You Know My Name Look Up The Number.' That's the only words to it. It just goes on all the way like that, and we did these mad backings. But I never finished it, and I must.

—John Lennon, 1969

That was a piece of unfinished music that I turned into a comedy record with Paul. I was waiting for him in his house, and I saw the phone book was on the piano with the words, 'You know the name, look up the number.' It was like a logo, and I just changed it. It was going to be a four tops kind of song-- the chord changes are like that-- but it never developed and we made a joke out of it.

—John Lennon, 1980

People are only just discovering the B-sides of Beatles singles. They're only just discovering things like 'You Know My Name' --probably my favorite Beatles track! Just because it's so insane. All the memories-- I mean, what would you do if a guy like John Lennon turned up at the studio and said, 'I've got a new song.' I said, 'What's the words?' and he replied, 'You know my name look up the number.' I asked, 'What's the rest of it?' '...No. No other words, those are the words. And I wanna do it like a mantra!' We did it over a period of maybe two or three years. We started off and we just did 20 minutes, and we tried it again and it didn't work. We tried it again, and we had these endless, crazy fun sessions. Eventually we pulled it all together and I sang, (sings in jazzy voice) 'You know my name...' and we just did a skit. Mal (Evans) and his gravel. I can still see Mal digging the gravel. And it was just so hilarious to put that record together. It's not a great melody or anything, it's just unique. Some people haven't discovered that song yet.

—Paul McCartney, 1988

I remember at one point we asked Mal (Evans) to shovel a bucket of gravel as a rhythmic device. We had a bit of a giggle doing those kind of tracks... Brian Jones (Rolling Stones) plays a funny sax solo. It's not amazingly well played but it happened to be exactly what we wanted. Brian was very good like that.

—Paul McCartney, 1994

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