I Call Your Name

“I Call Your Name” was written by John Lennon. The first recording of it, however, was released by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. In the USA, it was on the Beatles’ 2nd album. The Mamas and Papas have a nice cover of it on their debut album. My instrumental arrangement uses a baritone guitar rather than the 12-string George Harrison used.

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Back in the USSR

“Back in the USSR” — the Beatles’ “surf” song. Not much tweaking needed to turn it into an instrumental.

 

Genie with the Light Brown Lamp

“Genie with the Light Brown Lamp”. This was a top 20 hit in England for the Shadows in 1964. I guess it really is hard to come up with a good title for an instrumental tune.

Theme from Exodus

The theme from the 1960 film “Exodus” is a very memorable one, and quite well known. I was a bit surprised to find how popular it was with instrumental rock bands at the time. My version doesn’t really follow any of them; it’s just a basic early-60’s style guitar-rock setting.

Peace Pipe

“Peace Pipe” was originally released on the Shadow’s eponymous 1961 debut album. It’s interesting how Native American culture seemed to have a fascination for many Europeans — the Shadows recorded no fewer than three tracks based on”American Indian” themes. My version is based on the Shadows’ original, which was also featured in the movie “The Young Ones”.

It’s Only Love

“It’s Only Love” was written as an album track for the movie “Help”. It was not released as a single. Paul McCartney has said that the Beatles knew the lyrics weren’t all that good, but didn’t care because it was a “filler” track. However, the music is really pretty cool and since I do instrumentals, it all works out.

Hernando’s Hideaway

“Hernando’s Hideaway” is the most famous song from the mid-1950’s Broadway Musical, “The Pajama Game”. It is something of a novelty number, with the feel of a Tango. The Ventures covered it on their 1962 album “Mashed Potatoes and Gravy” — this is the inspiration for my version.