If I Needed Someone

"If I Needed Someone"
Cover of the Northern Songs sheet music
Song by the Beatles
from the album Rubber Soul
Released	3 December 1965
Recorded	16 and 18 October 1965
Studio	EMI, London
Genre	Folk rock, pop rock,[1] power pop
Length	2:23
Label	Parlophone
Songwriter(s)	George Harrison
Producer(s)	George Martin

"If I Needed Someone" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist. It was released in December 1965 on their album Rubber Soul, except in North America, where it appeared on the June 1966 release Yesterday and Today. The song reflects the reciprocal influences shared between the Beatles and the American band the Byrds. On release, it was widely considered to be Harrison's best song to date. A recording by the Hollies was issued in Britain on the same day as Rubber Soul and peaked at number 20 on the national singles chart.

Harrison wrote the song for Pattie Boyd, the English model whom he married in January 1966. The lyrics convey an ambivalent tone, however, and have invited interpretation as a message to a casual love interest. Harrison based the song's jangly guitar riff on one used by Roger McGuinn in the Byrds' adaptation of "The Bells of Rhymney". "If I Needed Someone" features prominent three-part harmony vocals and Rickenbacker twelve-string electric guitar – the instrument that the Byrds had adopted to replicate Harrison's sound in the 1964 film A Hard Day's Night. The song's use of drone and Mixolydian harmony also reflected Harrison's nascent interest in Indian classical music. Following its inclusion in the set list for the Beatles' 1965 UK tour, it became the only Harrison composition performed live by the group.

The Hollies' success with the song gave Harrison his first chart hit as a songwriter, although his criticism of their performance led to a terse exchange in the press between the two groups. Several other artists covered the track in the first year after its release, including the American bands Stained Glass and the Kingsmen. A live recording by Harrison, taken from his 1991 tour with Eric Clapton, appears on the album Live in Japan. Clapton also performed the song at the Concert for George tribute to Harrison in 2002, while McGuinn released a cover version on his 2004 album Limited Edition.