"Every Night" is a song by the English musician

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 ...

, released on his debut solo album '' McCartney'' in April 1970. He wrote the song while he was on holiday in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and recorded it at EMI Studios in London on February 22, 1970. McCartney first performed it live on 23 November 1979 in Liverpool.

Lyrics and music

The lyrics of "Every Night" reflect the difficult situation McCartney was dealing with at the time the song was written, which was in light of the imminent breakup of the Beatles; the words do, however, convey some optimism for the future. According to James McGrath, the last line, "But tonight I just wanna stay in / And be with you," is the key to the song, in that it "quietly challenges the uneasy relationship between rock and domesticity." McGrath points out that

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 ...

's song from the previous year, " Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You," ended on a similar note. The vocalized bridge begins with the same melody that begins McCartney's Beatles song, "

You Never Give Me Your Money "You Never Give Me Your Money" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney (and credited to Lennon–McCartney), and thematically documents the personal difficulties the band was facing. The song is the f ...

". "The structure of 'Every Night' is different from many McCartney songs s rather thana true chorus, the vocal refrain of 'every night' occurs at the beginning of each verse. The repeated section, which could be nominally classed as hechorus, omprises'oo' vocalisations."

Origin

Paul McCartney would recall having come up with the first two lines of "Every Night" in the mid-1960s, but the song only began to develop during the January 1969

Twickenham Studios Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

sessions for

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 ...

' '' Get Back/Let It Be'': specifically on 21 and 24 January 1969 McCartney and his bandmates jammed around McCartney's initial musical idea, giving the song a brief run through with

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 ...

on slide guitar. McCartney completed the song while in the

Corfiot Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

village of Benitses where he and his wife

Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...

vacationed in May–June 1969, along with McCartney's stepdaughter Heather McCartney.

Later release

"Every Night" is also included on: * The live albums '' Concerts for the People of Kampuchea'' (1981), ''

Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) ''Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)'' is a live album of Acoustic music, unplugged performance by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 1991. Overview Following the vastness of the Paul McCartney World Tour (1989–1990), captured on ''Tripp ...

'' (1991),'' Back in the U.S.'' (2002) and '' Back in the World Live'' (2003). * The compilation albums '' Wingspan: Hits and History'' (2001) and '' Pure McCartney'' (4-CD edition) (2016)

Personnel

According to author John C. Winn, except where noted: *

lead vocal, three acoustic guitars, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums

Other versions

Billy Joe Royal Billy Joe Royal (April 3, 1942 – October 6, 2015) was an American country soul singer. His most successful record was " Down in the Boondocks" in 1965. Life and career Born in Valdosta, Georgia, to Clarence and Mary Sue Smith Royal, and ra ...

had an August 1970 single release of "Every Night": notable as the first release recorded at Studio One in Doraville, the single failed to become a major hit peaking in the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' at #113.

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals on Paul Simo ...

recorded "Every Night" for her 1978 album '' Against the Grain'', an album Snow would recall as a "disaster

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

tried to be a rock album but had too many opinions. Everybody who played, sang or cleaned up the studio produced that album", adding that "putting 'Every Night' was the one idea of mine that filtered through." Released as the album's lead single in November 1978, "Every Night" failed to become a major U.S. hit despite garnering sufficient attention to rank on the Singles Chart 101–150 in ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' for twelve weeks rising as high as #129 "Every Night" would become Snow's only charting single in the UK with a #37 peak and also her only major hit in Australia reaching #22 on the AR1A singles chart. In New Zealand "Every Night" would chart as high as #6 matching Snow's previous NZ chart best: her 1977 single " Shakey Ground". "Every Night" has also been recorded covered by

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and s ...

(on her 1970 album ''Odetta Sings''),

Claudine Longet Claudine Longet (born January 29, 1942) is a Franco-American singer, actress, dancer, and recording artist popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to American singer and television entertainer Andy Williams ...

(on her 1972 album ''Let's Spend the Night Together''),

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk music, folk, soul music, soul (both of which he frequently cover song, covered), and rhythm and b ...

(on his 1980 album ''Connections''),

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul. They were an important crossover music act of the 1960s and 1970s, although both praised and derided for their particular music ...

on their 1971 album '' Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes'' and Carry The Zero (on the 2009 McCartney tribute album ''Looking for Change''). In 2014

Jamie Cullum Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...

covered the song on '' The Art of McCartney'' covers album.,

The Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...

(on the 1972 atlantic/bell compilation 24 original hits from 1975 and LP ''THE DRIFTERS NOW'')

References

Sources

* * {{authority control 1970 songs Paul McCartney songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Billy Joe Royal songs Phoebe Snow songs Columbia Records singles Music published by MPL Music Publishing