"Gotta Find My Baby" was composed by blues singer Peter Clayton, who recorded it under the name "Doctor Clayton' in Chicago on 11 November 1941 for Bluebird Records (released as Bluebird B8901). Some of Clayton's recordings were reissued on the album Pearl Harbor Blues (RCA International LP1176) in 1970, but "Gotta Find My Baby" was excluded; it is currently available on Doctor Clayton - His Complete Recorded Works (Document CD DOCD 5179). The song was later recorded by other Rhythm & Blues artists in the 1950s as "I Got To Find My Baby", including Little Walter and Chuck Berry, who is often credited with the song as his own. It has also been covered by The Beatles, which appears on the album Live at the BBC, released in 1994.