View source for When I'm Sixty-Four

{{Redirect|When I'm 64|the 2004 television film|When I'm 64 (film){{!}}''When I'm 64'' (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name     = When I'm Sixty-Four
| cover    = When I'm sixty four.jpg
| cover_size = 170
| alt      =
| caption  = Cover of the US sheet music for the song
| type     =
| artist   = [[the Beatles]]
| album    = [[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]
| released = 26 May 1967{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=123|ps=. "In the United Kingdom ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''{{nbsp}}… was rush-released six days ahead of its official date, June 1."}}
| format   =
| recorded = 6–21 December 1966
| studio   = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| venue    =
| genre    = {{flatlist|
* [[Pop music|Pop]]{{sfn|Prigozy|Raubicheck|2007|p=71}}
* [[music hall]]{{sfn|Haugen|2004|p=169}}
* [[vaudeville]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Best Beatles Love Songs - "When I'm Sixty-Four" |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/best-beatles-love-songs-when-im-sixty-four/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=6 December 2021}}</ref>
}}
| length   = 2:37
| label    = [[Parlophone]]
| writer   = [[Lennon–McCartney]]
| producer = [[George Martin]]
}}

"'''When I'm Sixty-Four'''" is a [[song]] by the English rock band [[The Beatles]], written by [[Paul McCartney]]{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=319}}{{sfn|Sheff|2000|p=183}} (credited to [[Lennon–McCartney]]) and released on the 1967 album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. It was one of the first songs McCartney wrote; he was about 14, probably in April or May 1956.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=92}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=811n16}} The song was recorded in a different key from the final version; it was sped up at McCartney's request to make his voice sound younger. It prominently features a trio of [[clarinet]]s (two B{{music|flat}} clarinets and one [[bass clarinet]]).

==Composition==
[[Paul McCartney]] wrote the melody to "When I'm Sixty-Four" when he was about 14,{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=92}} probably at [[20 Forthlin Road]] in April or May 1956.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=811n16}} In 1987, McCartney recalled, "Rock and roll was about to happen that year, it was about to break, [so] I was still a little bit [[cabaret]] minded",{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=811n16}} and in 1974, "I wrote a lot of stuff thinking I was going to end up in the cabaret, not realizing that rock and roll was particularly going to happen. When I was fourteen there wasn't much of a clue that it was going to happen."{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=811n16}} 

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]]<!-- this is the correct UK spelling; don't change it to the US spelling "aging" -->, it was one of the first songs McCartney wrote.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=319}} Beatles historian [[Mark Lewisohn]] suggests it was McCartney's second composition, after "[[McCartney (album)#suicide|Call It Suicide]]" but before "[[I Lost My Little Girl]]".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=818n49}} 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.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=89}}{{sfn|Martin|Pearson|1994|p=34}} Lewisohn and [[George Martin]] speculated that McCartney may have thought of the song when recording began for ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' in December 1966 because his father, [[Personal relationships of Paul McCartney#Jim and Mary McCartney|Jim McCartney]], had turned 64 earlier that year.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=89}}{{sfn|Martin|Pearson|1994|p=34}}

In 1967, [[John Lennon]] said of the song, "Paul wrote it in the [[The Beatles at the Cavern Club|Cavern days]]. We just stuck a few more words on it like 'grandchildren on your knee' and 'Vera, Chuck and Dave'{{nbsp}}… this was just one that was quite a hit with us."{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=247}} In 1972, Lennon said, "I think I helped Paul with some of the words, like 'Vera, Chuck and Dave' and 'Doing the garden, digging the weeds'".<ref>{{Cite news |date=1972 |title=LENNON-McCARTNEY Songalog: Who Wrote What |work=[[Hit Parader]] |url=https://ia800609.us.archive.org/21/items/JohnLennonInterview1972HitParaderMagazine/1972JohnLennonHitParaderInterview.pdf |access-date=8 November 2022}}</ref> Lennon's contribution of the children's names were likely made in the studio.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=112}} McCartney's manuscript for the song sold for $55,700 ({{Inflation|US|55700|1994|fmt=eq|r=-3|cursign=[[United States dollar|US$]]}}) at [[Sotheby's]], [[London]] in September 1994.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=334n73}}

The song uses [[Secondary chord#Secondary dominant|applied dominants]] more than the rest of ''Sgt. Pepper'', in the refrain ('''B'''–2–3), in a [[tonicization]] of VI in the bridge ('''B''') and, as [[Musicology|musicologist]] [[Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]] puts it, in "the wide array of jaunty [[Chromaticism|chromatic]] [[Nonchord tone#Neighbor tone|neighbors]] and [[Nonchord tone#Passing tone|passing tones]] comparable to those in McCartney's dad's '[[Walking in the Park with Eloise]]'".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=113}}

===Instrumentation===
A clarinet trio (two [[Clarinet|B{{music|flat}} clarinets]] and a [[bass clarinet]]) features prominently in the song. Martin said they were added at McCartney's request to "get around the lurking schmaltz factor" by using them "in a classical way".{{sfn|Martin|Pearson|1994|p=34}} One clarinet provides an [[alto]] [[Counter-melody|countermelody]] in the third verse. The bass clarinet doubles McCartney's bass for the [[Transition (music)|retransitional]] [[wikt:arpeggiation|arpeggiation]] of V<sup>7</sup> at '''C'''–1–2.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=113}} During the chorus, the clarinets add texture by playing [[legato]] [[quarter note|quarter notes]] while the bass clarinet plays [[staccato]] quarter notes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reeks |first1=John |title=Rock 'n' Roll Clarinets?! The Beatles' Use of Clarinets on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band |journal=The Clarinet |date=June 2018 |volume=45 |issue=3 |url=https://clarinet.org/rock-n-roll-clarinets-the-beatles-use-of-clarinets-on-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band/ |access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> In the song's final verse, the clarinet is played in [[descant]] with McCartney's vocal.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} Supporting instruments include [[Tack piano|piano]], [[Bass guitar|bass]], [[Drum kit|drum set]], [[tubular bells]] and [[electric guitar]].{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=220}}

==Recording==
The Beatles recorded two takes of the song 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''. Martin produced, supported by [[Audio engineer|engineers]] [[Geoff Emerick]] and [[Phil McDonald]]. McCartney overdubbed his lead vocal onto take two without the other Beatles present on 8 December.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=89}} On 20 December, McCartney, Lennon and [[George Harrison]] overdubbed backing vocals and [[Ringo Starr]] added the sound of bells.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=90}}

Martin made two reduction mixes (takes three and four) with the latter best. On 21 December, session musicians Robert Burns, Henry MacKenzie and Frank Reidy overdubbed two clarinets and a bass clarinet onto take four.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=90}} Emerick later said, "The clarinets on that track became a very personal sound for me; I recorded them so far forward that they became one of the main focal points."{{sfn|Emerick|Massey|2006|p=230}} Martin recalled, "I remember recording it in the cavernous Number One studio at Abbey Road and thinking how the three clarinet players looked as lost as a [[Referee (association football)|referee]] and two [[Assistant referee (association football)|linesmen]] alone in the middle of [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]]."{{sfn|Martin|Hornsby|1994|p=196}} On the same day, Martin remixed the song for mono three times, although this was only a demo version.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=90}}{{refn|group=nb|An acetate of this demo sold at auction in September 1992.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=334n74}}}} He made four new mono mixes on 29 December.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=90}} 

On 30 December,{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=90}} unsatisfied by all of these attempts, McCartney suggested speeding up the track to raise it by around a [[semitone]] from its original key of [[C major]] to [[D-flat major|D{{music|flat}} major]].{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=90}}{{sfn|Emerick|Massey|2006|p=137}}<ref>{{harvnb|Badman|2002|p=257}}, quoted in {{harvnb|Zolten|2009|p=50}}</ref> Martin remembers that McCartney suggested this change to make his voice sound younger.{{sfn|Martin|Pearson|1994|p=35}} McCartney said, "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."{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=319}} Martin, Emerick and [[Richard Lush (record producer)|Richard Lush]] made the sped-up remix from take four on 17 April 1967.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=108}} Musicologist [[Michael Hannan (composer)|Michael Hannan]] said of the completed track: "The rich timbres of the clarinets give the mix a fuller, fatter sound than many of the other tracks on the album."{{sfn|Hannan|2008|p=56}}

==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.{{sfn|Martin|Pearson|1994|p=26}} Everett said the protagonist of "When I'm Sixty-Four" is sometimes associated with the Lonely Hearts Club Band concept, but that he believes the song is thematically unconnected to the rest of the album.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=113}}

According to author George Case, contemporary listeners perceived all the songs on ''Sgt. Pepper'' as drug-inspired, with 1967 marking the pinnacle of LSD's influence on pop music.{{sfn|Case|2010|pp=47–48}} Some fans viewed the lyric "digging the weeds" from "When I'm Sixty-Four" as a possible drug allusion.{{sfn|Moore|1997|p=60}} In August 1967, ''[[The Beatles Book]]'' published an article discussing whether the album was "too advanced for the average pop fan". One reader complained that all the songs except "Sgt. Pepper" and "When I'm Sixty-Four" were "over our heads", adding, "The Beatles ought to stop being so clever and give us tunes we can enjoy."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Harris|first=John|author-link=John Harris (critic)|title=Sgt. Pepper: The Day the World Turned Day-Glo!|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=March 2007|page=87}}</ref>

"When I'm Sixty-Four" was included in the Beatles' 1968 animated film ''[[Yellow Submarine (film)|Yellow Submarine]]''. It was also used over the opening credits of the 1982 film ''[[The World According to Garp (film)|The World According to Garp]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldstein |first1=Patrick |last2=Rainey |first2=James |title=The Big Picture: How did Jay Roach get a Beatles song for 'Dinner for Schmucks'?|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2010/07/how-did-jay-roach-get-a-beatles-song-for-dinner-for-schmucks.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=22 July 2010|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref>

[[Giles Martin]] remixed the song for inclusion on [[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: 50th Anniversary Edition|the album's 50th anniversary release]] in 2017. He mixed it from the original tapes rather than their [[ping-pong recording|subsequent mixdowns]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Titlow|first1=John Paul|title=How The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper' Was Retooled To Sound Fresh 50 Years Later|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/40421732/how-the-beatles-sgt-pepper-was-retooled-to-sound-fresh-50-years-later|website=[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]]|date=19 May 2017|access-date=20 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520021832/https://www.fastcompany.com/40421732/how-the-beatles-sgt-pepper-was-retooled-to-sound-fresh-50-years-later|archive-date=20 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Take 2 of the song was included as a bonus track on the deluxe edition.{{sfn|Howlett|2017}}{{refn|group=nb|On take 2, the song is still at its original speed and includes only McCartney on vocal, piano and bass and Starr on drums.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|pp=89–91}}}}

==Critical reception==
Reviewing ''Sgt. Pepper'' for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', [[Lillian Ross (journalist)|Lillian Ross]] described "When I'm Sixty-Four" as a charming and tasteful parody, "but, like the best parody, it is written with affection, and it has an excellence in its own right, independent of its value as parody."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Ross |first=Lillian |date=24 June 1967 |title=Sgt. Pepper |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1967/06/24/sgt-pepper |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=16 February 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Ross|2017|p=345}} [[Peter Clayton]] of ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'' magazine called the song a pastiche of [[George Formby]], but added it has "a kind of gentle affectionateness about it – and a certain meaty substance – which raise it well above mere kidding".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-gramophone-review-1967|first=Peter|last=Clayton|title=Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (original Gramophone review from 1967)|publisher=[[Gramophone (magazine)|gramophone.co.uk]]|date=1 June 2017|orig-year=June 1967|access-date=17 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105161113/https://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-gramophone-review-1967|archive-date=5 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In his review of the album for ''[[The Times]]'', [[William Mann (critic)|William Mann]] calls the song a [[vaudeville]] number, "which comments pointedly on this old-time vogue and its relevance for modern beat song."{{sfn|Mann|2006|p=96}}

In [[Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944)|Richard Goldstein]]'s scathing review of the album for ''[[The New York Times]]'',{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=83}} he said that the song is not mocking in tone, but complained that "an honest vision is ruined by the background which seeks to enhance it."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goldstein |first1=Richard |author1-link=Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944) |title=From the Archives: The Original Review of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/arts/music/archives-beatles-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-review.html |access-date=17 February 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 June 2017}}</ref>

In his book ''[[Revolution in the Head]]'', [[Ian MacDonald]] describes the song as "aimed chiefly at parents, and as a result got a cool reception from the group's own generation".{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=221}} He adds that the song borrows heavily from Formby's English music hall style while invoking the illustrator [[Donald McGill]]'s seaside postcards.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=220}} Allan Moore views it as a synthesis of [[ragtime]] and pop, adding that its position following Harrison's "[[Within You Without You]]" – a blend of Indian classical music and pop – demonstrates the diversity of the album's material.{{sfn|Moore|1997|p=47}} He says the music hall atmosphere is reinforced by McCartney's vocal delivery and the recording's use of [[chromaticism]], a harmonic pattern that can be traced to [[Scott Joplin]]'s "[[The Ragtime Dance]]" and [[Johann Strauss II|Johann Strauss]]'s ''[[The Blue Danube]]''.{{sfn|Moore|1997|p=46}} He says the complementary nature of young and old found in the song influenced the composition of [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]]'s 1995 song "[[(What's the Story) Morning Glory?|She's Electric]]".{{sfn|Moore|1997|pp=47–48, 89n21}}

[[Tim Riley (music critic)|Tim Riley]] writes that "When I'm Sixty-Four" represents "the McCartney side of [[Elvis Presley|Elvis]]'s corny hokum".{{sfn|Riley|1988|p=222}} Walter Everett agrees with Riley's description, adding, "this penchant for the audience-charming vaudeville sketch led to McCartney preferences that Lennon detested the most."{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=113}} [[BBC Music]] critic Chris Jones calls the song "pure nostalgia for his parents' golden age" and cites it as an example of ''Sgt. Pepper'' being "less a kicking out of the jams, more a spreading them on scones at teatime".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5dcz/|first=Chris|last=Jones|title=The Beatles ''Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' Review|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|date=2007|access-date=4 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115084916/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5dcz/|archive-date=15 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Personnel==
According to MacDonald{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=220}} and Lewisohn:{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|pp=89–90}}

'''The Beatles'''
*[[Paul McCartney]]{{nbsp}}– lead vocals, piano, bass
*[[John Lennon]]{{nbsp}}– backing vocals, guitar
*[[George Harrison]]{{nbsp}}– backing vocals, guitar
*[[Ringo Starr]]{{nbsp}}– drums, [[tubular bells|chimes]]

'''Additional musicians'''
*Robert Burns{{nbsp}}– [[clarinet]]
*Henry MacKenzie{{nbsp}}– clarinet
*Frank Reidy{{nbsp}}– [[bass clarinet]]

==Legacy==
On the occasion of McCartney's 64th birthday in June 2006, a month after the singer's separation from his wife [[Heather Mills]], [[Paul Vallely]] of ''[[The Independent]]'' wrote an appreciation that focused on the song's message. Describing McCartney's birthday as "a cultural milestone for a generation", Vallely said the widespread support for McCartney and corresponding derision of Mills "tells us more about us than it does about her".<ref>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Vallely|title=Paul McCartney: When I'm 64|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/paul-mccartney-when-i-m-64-6097989.html|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=1 April 2009|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> To mark the occasion, McCartney's grandchildren recorded a new version of "When I'm Sixty-Four" for him at Abbey Road.<ref>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Lewis|title=Now He's 64 ... Grandchildren sing for Sir Paul|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jun/19/arts.artsnews|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=19 June 2006|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> In ''The New York Times'', [[Sam Roberts (newspaper journalist)|Sam Roberts]] likened McCartney's failure to fulfil the song's promise of retirement-age contentment with Mills to America's divorce rates and other socioeconomic problems afflicting citizens in their sixties.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sam|last=Roberts|title=So Paul McCartney Is 64. Now What?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/17/arts/music/17paul.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=17 June 2006|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Badman |first1=Keith |title=The Beatles: Off the Record: The Dream Is Over |date=2002 |publisher=Omnibus Press|location=New York |isbn=978-0-7119919-9-6}}
* {{cite book
| author=The Beatles
| year=2000
| author-link=The Beatles
| title=The Beatles Anthology
| publisher=Chronicle Books
| location=San Francisco
| isbn=978-0-8118-2684-6
| url-access=registration
| url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse
}}
* {{cite book|last=Case|first=George|title=Out of Our Heads: Rock 'n' Roll Before the Drugs Wore Off|publisher=Backbeat Books|location=Milwaukee, WI|year=2010|isbn=978-0-87930-967-1}}
* {{cite book|last1=Emerick |first1=Geoff |year=2006 |author-link=Geoff Emerick |last2=Massey |first2=Howard |title=Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles |publisher=Gotham |isbn=978-1-59240-269-4 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=WOk8TP8o018C}}}}
*{{cite book
|last=Everett
|first=Walter
|author-link=Walter Everett (musicologist)
|year=1999
|title=The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0-19-512941-0
|url={{google books  |plainurl=y  |id=eTkHAldi4bEC}} 
}}
* {{cite book|last=Hannan|first=Michael |author-link=Michael Hannan (composer)|year=2008|chapter= The sound design of ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''|title= Sgt. Pepper and the Beatles: It Was Forty Years Ago Today|editor-last=Julien |editor-first=Olivier|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=978-0-7546-6708-7|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=vZ-SB57WBo8C}}}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book|last=Howlett|first=Kevin|title=Sgt, Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (50th Anniversary Deluxe Version) (book).|publisher=The Beatles. Apple Records.|year=2017}}
* {{cite book
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| title=[[The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions|The Beatles Recording Sessions]]
| publisher=Harmony Books
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| isbn=978-0-517-57066-1
}}
* {{cite book|last=Lewisohn |first=Mark |title=[[The Beatles: All These Years|The Beatles – All These Years]], Volume One: Tune In |publisher=Crown Archetype |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4000-8305-3}}
* {{cite book
| last=MacDonald 
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| title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties 
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| publisher=Pimlico
| location=London
| isbn=978-1-84413-828-9 
}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mann |first1=William |author1-link=William Mann (critic) |editor1-last=Sawyers |editor1-first=June Skinner |title=Read the Beatles: Classic and New Writings on the Beatles, Their Legacy, and Why They Still Matter |date=2006 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=London |isbn=0-14-303732-3 |pages=92–96 |chapter=The Beatles Revive Hopes of Progress in Pop Music}}
* {{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=George |last2=Hornsby |first2=Jeremy |author1-link=George Martin |year=1994 |orig-year=1979 |title=All You Need Is Ears |publisher=St. Marten's Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-312-11482-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Yoio9MewhcC |access-date=18 February 2021}}
* {{cite book
| last1=Martin
| first1=George
| year=1994
| author-link=George Martin
| last2=Pearson
| first2=William
| title=With a Little Help from My Friends: The Making of Sgt. Pepper
| url=https://archive.org/details/withlittlehelpfr0000mart
| url-access=registration
| publisher=Little, Brown
| location=Boston, Massachusetts
| isbn=978-0-316-54783-3
}}
* {{cite book
| last=Miles
| first=Barry
| year=1997
| author-link=Barry Miles
| title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now
| publisher=Henry Holt and Company
| location=New York City
| isbn=978-0-8050-5249-7
| url=https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile
}}
* {{cite book|last=Moore|first=Allan F.|year=1997|title=The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-57484-6|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=4y-oDmH2YzYC}}}}
* {{cite book
| last1=Prigozy
| first1=Ruth
| last2=Raubicheck
| first2=Walter
| year=2007
| title=Going my way: Bing Crosby and American culture
| publisher=University Rochester Press
| location=Rochester, New York
| isbn=978-1-58046-261-7
}}
* {{cite book|first=Tim|last=Riley|author-link=Tim Riley (music critic)|title=Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary|url= |publisher=Knopf|location=New York|year=1988|isbn=}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ross |first1=Lillian|author-link=Lillian Ross (journalist)|editor1-last=Finder |editor1-first=Henry |title=The 60s: The Story of a Decade by The New Yorker |date=2017 |publisher=Modern Library |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8129833-1-9 |pages=342–345 |edition=paperback |chapter=Sgt. Pepper}}
* {{cite book|last=Schaffner|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Schaffner|title=The Beatles Forever|year=1978|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=0-07-055087-5|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesforever00scha}}
* {{cite book
| last=Sheff
| first=David
| year=2000
| author-link=David Sheff
| title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
| publisher=St. Martin's Press
| location=New York City
| isbn=978-0-312-25464-3
| url=https://archive.org/details/allwearesayingla00lenn
}}
* {{cite book |last1=Zolten|first1=Jerry|editor1-last=Womack |editor1-first=Kenneth |editor1-link=Kenneth Womack |title=The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles |date=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-68976-2 |pages=33–61 |chapter=The Beatles as recording artists}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*[https://genius.com/The-beatles-when-im-sixty-four-lyrics Lyrics]

{{Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1967 songs]]
[[Category:The Beatles songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin]]
[[Category:Songs about old age]]
[[Category:Songs written by Lennon–McCartney]]
[[Category:Songs published by Northern Songs]]
[[Category:Music hall songs]]
[[Category:Bernard Cribbins songs]]
[[Category:The Beatles' Yellow Submarine]]