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Rolling Stones quotes:Paul McCartney on Brian Jones (1969)
“I liked Brian. We asked him to one of our sessions and to our surprise he brought along a sax. He turned up in this big Afghan coat at Abbey Road. We said, ‘We’ve got a little track here’, and he played sax. It was a crazy record, You Know My Name, Look Up the Number. It’s a funny sax solo, exactly what we wanted, a ropey sax, kind of shaky, Brian was very good like that.”
Brian Jones somehow managed to sneak into one of The Beatles’ strangest recordings, which is exactly the sort of plot twist rock history tends to enjoy. On You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) Jones contributes a saxophone part to a track that sounds less like a conventional Beatles song and more like several absurd ideas fighting for space—and somehow winning. Originally conceived by John Lennon after he spotted the phrase in a phone book, the song became a bizarre music-hall comedy piece packed with character changes, musical jokes and deliberately ridiculous detours. Paul McCartney later told Beatles recording expert Mark Lewisohn that the track was probably his favorite Beatles song, a rather wonderful endorsement for something that sounds like it was assembled after the band decided normal songwriting was simply too predictable. And yes, Brian Jones is hiding in there.
Brian Jones and The Beatles’ strangest recording
You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) is hardly what anyone would call a straightforward pop song. Instead, Lennon and McCartney turned the recording into a kind of musical comedy sketch, moving through several contrasting sections that parody different performers and musical styles.
The track takes playful shots at contemporary figures, including Mick Jagger and Mexican-American singer Trini Lopez, while the arrangements constantly shift underneath the vocals. One section adopts a lounge-style atmosphere and includes a joke involving Dennis O’Dell, the associate producer of A Hard Day’s Night. Lennon introduces McCartney under the deliberately altered name “Dennis O’Bell” adding another layer to an already wonderfully chaotic recording. The joke apparently worked a little too well.
The joke that escaped the studio
Listeners became confused enough by the Dennis O’Dell reference that some actually contacted the producer at home. According to the story, people called claiming, “We have your name and now we’ve got your number” while others reportedly turned up in person, apparently hoping they might somehow be invited to live with him. Rock ’n’ roll fandom has always had its enthusiastic moments, but this was taking a telephone joke remarkably seriously.
Amid all this nonsense, Brian Jones quietly supplied one of the recording’s most interesting musical contributions. His saxophone solo adds another unexpected connection between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, two bands whose rivalry has often overshadowed how frequently their members crossed paths creatively.
Jones’ appearance on the track is especially intriguing because it places him inside one of The Beatles’ most experimental and comedic recordings, rather than a conventional rock performance. Meanwhile, McCartney’s later praise for the song only makes the whole thing more amusing. What sounds like an elaborate musical prank was apparently one of his personal favorites.
So while You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) may not be the first Beatles track people mention when discussing Brian Jones, it offers a wonderfully odd footnote to his story—and proof that Jones could turn up in the most unexpected places.
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