When I 'm Sixty - Four - wikipedia When I 'm Sixty - Four For the 2004 television film, see When I 'm 64 ( television film ). `` When I 'm Sixty - Four '' The 1996 US jukebox single release of the song, as the B - side to `` Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds '' Song by the Beatles from the album Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band Released 26 May 1967 Recorded 6 -- 21 December 1966, EMI Studios, London Genre Pop music hall Length 2 : 37 Label Parlophone Songwriter ( s ) Lennon -- McCartney Producer ( s ) George Martin `` When I 'm Sixty - Four '' is a song by the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney ( credited to Lennon -- McCartney ) and released in 1967 on their album Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Contents 1 Composition 2 Instrumentation 3 Recording 4 Release 5 Personnel 6 Cover versions 7 Cultural references 8 Notes 9 References 10 External links Composition The song is sung by a young man to his lover, and is about his plans of their growing old together. Although the theme is ageing, it was one of the first songs McCartney wrote, when he was 16. It was in the Beatles ' setlist in their early days as a song to perform when their amplifiers broke down or the electricity went off. Both George Martin and Mark Lewisohn speculated that McCartney may have thought of the song when recording began for Sgt. Pepper in December 1966 because his father turned 64 earlier that year. Lennon said of the song, `` Paul wrote it in the Cavern days. We just stuck a few more words on it like ' grandchildren on your knee ' and ' Vera, Chuck and Dave '... this was just one that was quite a hit with us. '' In his 1980 interview for Playboy he said, `` I would never even dream of writing a song like that. '' Instrumentation A clarinet trio ( two B ♭ clarinets and a bass clarinet ) is featured prominently in the song. Scored by Martin, he said they were added at McCartney 's request to `` get around the lurking schmaltz factor '' by using the clarinets `` in a classical way. '' In the song 's final verse, the clarinet is played in harmony with McCartney 's vocal. Supporting instruments include the piano, bass, drum set, tubular bells, and electric guitar. Recording The song was recorded on 6 December 1966, during one of the first sessions for the as - yet - unnamed album that became Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band. There were multiple overdub sessions, including the lead vocal by McCartney on 8 December and backing vocals by McCartney, Lennon, and George Harrison on 20 December. The clarinets were recorded on 21 December. The song is in the key of D ♭ major. Recorded in C major, the master take was sped up to raise the key by one semitone at the insistence of McCartney. Martin remembers that McCartney suggested this change to make his voice sound younger. McCartney says, `` I wanted to appear younger, but that was just to make it more rooty - tooty ; just lift the key because it was starting to sound turgid. '' Release The song was nearly released on a single as the B - side of either `` Strawberry Fields Forever '' or `` Penny Lane ''. It was instead held over to be included as an album track for Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Personnel Paul McCartney -- lead and backing vocals, bass guitar, piano John Lennon -- backing vocals, lead guitar George Harrison -- backing vocals, guitar Ringo Starr -- drums, tubular bells Robert Burns, Henry MacKenzie, Frank Reidy -- two clarinets, bass clarinet Personnel per MacDonald except where noted Cover versions In 1967, Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen released a cover of `` When I 'm Sixty - Four '' as a single. Their version peaked at number 43 on the UK chart. In June 1967, George Martin produced a recording of the song by English comedian Bernard Cribbins, which was also released as a single on the Parlophone label. In 1970, Cliff Richard released a cover of `` When I 'm Sixty - Four '' as an album Cliff Live At The Talk Of The Town Barry Gibb recorded the song for the 2014 Paul McCartney tribute album The Art of McCartney In 2007, comedian and actor Russell Brand covered the song as part of Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band 's 40th anniversary. Cultural references McCartney 's children recorded a special version of `` When I 'm Sixty - Four '' at Abbey Road Studios as a surprise present for McCartney 's 64th birthday in June 2006, and played it for him at his birthday party. They changed the lyrics to fit the occasion with the help of Giles Martin. At the time, by unfortunate coincidence, McCartney was recently separated from his second wife, Heather Mills ; they later divorced. In the 2007 comedy film Walk Hard : The Dewey Cox Story, McCartney ( played by Jack Black ) and Lennon ( played by Paul Rudd ) are arguing, and Lennon quips, `` I wonder if your songs will still be shit when I 'm sixty - four. '' Notes Jump up ^ Everett 1999, p. 123. `` In the United Kingdom Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band... was rush - released six days ahead of its official date, June 1. '' Jump up ^ Prigozy and Raubicheck 2003, p. 71. Jump up ^ Haugen 2004, p. 169. ^ Jump up to : Miles 1997, p. 319. ^ Jump up to : Sheff 2000, p. 183. ^ Jump up to : Lewisohn 1988, p. 89. ^ Jump up to : Martin & Pearson 1994, p. 34. Jump up ^ The Beatles 2000, p. 247. Jump up ^ Lewisohn 1988, pp. 89 -- 91. Jump up ^ Martin & Pearson 1994, p. 35. Jump up ^ Martin & Pearson 1994, p. 26. Jump up ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 90. Jump up ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 220. Jump up ^ Lampert 2006. Jump up ^ Todd 2006. References The Beatles ( 2000 ). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco : Chronicle Books. ISBN 0 - 8118 - 2684 - 8. Everett, Walter ( 1999 ). The Beatles as Musicians : Revolver Through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 512941 - 0. Lampert, Nicole ( 19 June 2006 ). `` Sir Paul 's children rework his classic to serenade him at 64 ''. Daily Mail. Retrieved 9 October 2011. Lewisohn, Mark ( 1988 ). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York : Harmony Books. ISBN 0 - 517 - 57066 - 1. MacDonald, Ian ( 2005 ). Revolution in the Head : The Beatles ' Records and the Sixties ( Second Revised ed. ). London : Pimlico ( Rand ). ISBN 1 - 84413 - 828 - 3. Martin, George ; Pearson, William ( 1994 ). With a Little Help from My Friends : The Making of Sgt. Pepper. Boston : Little, Brown. ISBN 0 - 316 - 54783 - 2. Miles, Barry ( 1997 ). Paul McCartney : Many Years From Now. New York : Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0 - 8050 - 5249 - 6. Sheff, David ( 2000 ). All We Are Saying : The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York : St. Martin 's Press. ISBN 0 - 312 - 25464 - 4. Todd, Ben ( 18 June 2006 ). `` EXCLUSIVE : ABBEY BIRTHDAY MACCA ''. Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 9 March 2007. Prigozy, Ruth ; Raubicheck, Walter ( 2007 ). Going my way : Bing Crosby and American culture. University Rochester Press. ISBN 1 - 58046 - 261 - 8. Haugen, David ( 2004 ). The Beatles. Greenhaven Press. ISBN 0 - 7377 - 2595 - 8. External links Lyrics Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band Songs Side one `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band '' `` With a Little Help from My Friends '' `` Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds '' `` Getting Better '' `` Fixing a Hole '' `` She 's Leaving Home '' `` Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite ! '' Side two `` Within You Without You '' `` When I 'm Sixty - Four '' `` Lovely Rita '' `` Good Morning Good Morning '' `` Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( Reprise ) '' `` A Day in the Life '' Non-album single `` Strawberry Fields Forever '' `` Penny Lane '' Outtakes `` Only a Northern Song '' `` Carnival of Light '' Tribute albums Easy Star 's Lonely Hearts Dub Band Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father Sgt. Pepper Live Sgt. Petsound 's Lonely Hearts Club Band With a Little Help from My Fwends Related articles The Beatles discography Sgt. Pepper 's cover Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( film ) Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( soundtrack ) It Was Twenty Years Ago Today Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road Yellow Submarine ( film ) `` Tina in the Sky with Diamonds '' Please Please Me With the Beatles A Hard Day 's Night Beatles for Sale Help ! Rubber Soul Revolver Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band Magical Mystery Tour The Beatles ( White Album ) Yellow Submarine Abbey Road Let It Be Past Masters The Beatles John Lennon Paul McCartney George Harrison Ringo Starr Stuart Sutcliffe Pete Best History The Quarrymen In Hamburg At The Cavern Club Decca audition Beatlemania in the United Kingdom North American releases In the United States More popular than Jesus In Bangor In India Break - up Murder of John Lennon Anthology Love ( Cirque du Soleil ) The Beatles : Rock Band Line - ups Religious views Timeline Live performances 1960 Johnny Gentle Tour Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro UK Tour 1963 Roy Orbison Tour 1964 world tour 1965 European tour 1965 US tour 1965 UK tour 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines 1966 US tour Rooftop concert List of live performances Associated places 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone Abbey Road, London Abbey Road Studios The Bag O'Nails Beatlemania Hamburg Beatles Ashram Beatles - Platz Blue Angel The Casbah Coffee Club Candlestick Park The Cavern Club Kaiserkeller Kinfauns 3 Savile Row The Scotch of St. James Shea Stadium Stanley Street Star - Club Strawberry Field Tittenhurst Park The Top Ten Club Wigmore Street Yellow Submarine sculpture Associated companies Apple Corps Apple Records Harrisongs Lingasong Records Northern Songs Phillips ' Sound Recording Services Seltaeb Startling Music Influence Artists who have covered the Beatles Beatlemania Beatlesque British Invasion Cultural impact The Fest for Beatles Fans The Rutles Tributes Lists Awards and nominations Bootlegs Cover songs Discography Instruments Performers Post-breakup collaborations Recording sessions Songs Sgt. 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Question: who sang lead on when i'm 64
Answer: Paul McCartney