21 SEPTEMBER 1966
Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers were at #6 in the UK charts with this brassy cover of ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’, a song from the Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ album. This was a very solid cover version that I actually prefer to the original, maybe because Cliff's vocal has more of a soul feel to it, and it suits the song well. It was produced by none other than Paul McCartney, who wrote the song - he later claimed - as 'an ode to pot'.
Cliff had formed the band back in 1957, and their biggest hit before this time had been a #9 with 'One Way Love' in 1964. They were under Brian Epstein's management and opened for the Beatles on their final European tour. Cliff got the opportunity to hear 'Got to Get You into My Life' in advance of its release, and so was well placed to get this cover out quickly.
The Beatles' own version was released as a single in the USA in 1976 to promote the compilation album Rock 'n' Roll Music, and it reached #7 the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
