"From a Window" is a song written by Paul McCartney, attributed to

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 ...

and

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 ...

, which was recorded by Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas. It was the last of six

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...

compositions recorded by Kramer. Kramer recorded the song on 29 May 1964 at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

produced the session, which was attended by Lennon and McCartney. McCartney can be heard at the very end of the song, harmonizing on the final word. "From a Window" was released as a single in the UK on 17 July 1964. Its peak in August at no. 10 indicated an abrupt drop in popularity for Kramer & the Dakotas whose previous chart history comprised four Top 5 hits, two of them no. 1s. The follow-up, "It's Gotta Last Forever", fell short of the UK Top 50, and the subsequent release, " Trains and Boats and Planes", peaking at no. 12 in the summer of 1965, punctuated their two-year UK chart career. In the US – with " I'll Be on My Way" serving as the B-side – "From a Window" reached no. 23 in October 1964. It was the band's fourth US Top 40 hit in a five-month period, and also their last. In Canada the song was No. 6 for 2 weeks on the

CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart is a long-running Canadian hit parade countdown radio show, originally aired on Toronto radio station CHUM AM then later revived on its sister station CHUM-FM. It consisted of 50 top tunes from May 1957 to July 1968, but in Augus ...

s. Chad & Jeremy recorded "From a Window" in a December 1964 New York City recording session produced by

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman; November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely D ...

. The track was featured on the February 1965 album release '' Chad & Jeremy Sing For You''. World Artists Records issued the track as a single that June. By then Chad & Jeremy had other current releases on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, but their version of "From a Window" received enough regional attention to register on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at no. 97. In Canada the song reached No. 38 on the

s. Billy J. Kramer's version of "From a Window" was included on the 1979 compilation album '' The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away''. "From a Window" has also been recorded by Cisse ( fi) (album ''Teen Dreams''/ 1976) and by Graham Parker on his album ''From a Window: Lost Songs of Lennon & McCartney'' (2003). A cover for the Mexican market: "Desde mi ventana", was recorded by both Los Hermanos Carrión ( es) and

Sandro Sandro is an Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Georgian and Croatian given name, often a diminutive of Alessandro or Alexander. It is also a surname. Sandro may refer to: Given name or nickname Sports * Sandro (footballer, born 1973), Braz ...

y los de Fuego. Recordings of "From a Window" as

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 ...

may have performed it are available on the 1989 album by entitled ''Secret Songs: Lennon & McCartney'' and on the 1998 release ''It's Four You'' by the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band, tribute group or tribute artist is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the so ...

The Beatnix.Amazon.com
/ref> It has also been covered by Seattle-based Beatles cover band Apple Jam on their album ''Off The Beatle Track''.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{authority control 1964 songs Billy J. Kramer songs Chad & Jeremy songs Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Parlophone singles Song recordings produced by George Martin 1964 singles