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Paperback Writer
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Paperback Writer
"Paperback Writer" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, the song was released as the A-side of their eleventh single in May 1966. It topped singles charts in the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, West Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Norway. On the US Billboard Hot 100, the song was at number one for two non-consecutive weeks, being interrupted by Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night".
"Paperback Writer" was the last new song by the Beatles to be featured on their final tour in 1966, and debuted globally on the 1966 compilation album A Collection of Beatles Oldies, except in the United States and Canada, where it debuted on the 1970 collection Hey Jude.
"Paperback Writer" was largely written by Paul McCartney, who based the lyrics on a challenge made to him by his Aunt Lil. McCartney said in 1966: "Years ago, my Auntie Lil said to me, 'Why do you always write songs about love all the time? Can't you ever write about a horse or the summit conference or something interesting?' So, I thought, 'All right, Auntie Lil.'" According to Radio Luxembourg DJ Jimmy Savile's recollection, the inspiration for the song came backstage at a concert venue when McCartney, mindful of his aunt's request, saw Ringo Starr reading a book and declared his intention to write a song about a book.
The lyrics are in the form of a letter from an aspiring author addressed to a publisher. McCartney completed the song with John Lennon in response to pressure from EMI for a new Beatles single in April 1966, early on in the sessions for the band's Revolver album. Intrigued by the rhythmic possibilities of the phrase "paperback writer", McCartney came up with the framework for the song during his hour-long drive from London to Lennon's house in Surrey.
Discussing "Paperback Writer" with Alan Smith of the NME that year, McCartney recalled that he and Lennon wrote the lyrics in the form of a letter beginning with "Dear Sir or Madam", but that the song was not inspired by "any real-life characters". However, according to a 2007 piece in The New Yorker, McCartney said he started writing the song in 1965 after reading in the Daily Mail about an aspiring author, "possibly Martin Amis" (who would have been a teenager at the time). The Daily Mail was Lennon's regular newspaper and copies were in Lennon's Weybridge home when Lennon and McCartney were writing songs.
Aside from deviating from the subject of love, McCartney had it in mind to write a song with a melody backed by a single, static chord. "John and I would like to do songs with just one note like 'Long Tall Sally.' We got near it in 'The Word.'" McCartney claimed to have barely failed to achieve this goal with "Paperback Writer", as the verse remains on G until the end, at which point it pauses on C.
Lennon told Hit Parader in 1972 that "Paperback Writer" was primarily written by McCartney: "I think I might have helped with some of the lyrics. Yes, I did. But it was mainly Paul's tune." Speaking in 1980, Lennon described "Paperback Writer" as "son of 'Day Tripper' – meaning a rock'n'roll song with a guitar lick on a fuzzy, loud guitar – but it is Paul's song".
The Beatles recorded "Paperback Writer" at EMI Studios in London on 13 and 14 April 1966. The 14 April session was attended by a photographer from Beatles Monthly, while EMI engineer Phil McDonald's handwritten notes similarly documented the band's experimentation with overdubs on the basic track. In the search for a suitable arrangement, George Harrison briefly switched to bass guitar, and producer George Martin contributed on tack piano, sent through a Leslie speaker, and on Vox Continental organ, none of which were retained in the completed track.
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Paperback Writer
"Paperback Writer" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, the song was released as the A-side of their eleventh single in May 1966. It topped singles charts in the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, West Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Norway. On the US Billboard Hot 100, the song was at number one for two non-consecutive weeks, being interrupted by Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night".
"Paperback Writer" was the last new song by the Beatles to be featured on their final tour in 1966, and debuted globally on the 1966 compilation album A Collection of Beatles Oldies, except in the United States and Canada, where it debuted on the 1970 collection Hey Jude.
"Paperback Writer" was largely written by Paul McCartney, who based the lyrics on a challenge made to him by his Aunt Lil. McCartney said in 1966: "Years ago, my Auntie Lil said to me, 'Why do you always write songs about love all the time? Can't you ever write about a horse or the summit conference or something interesting?' So, I thought, 'All right, Auntie Lil.'" According to Radio Luxembourg DJ Jimmy Savile's recollection, the inspiration for the song came backstage at a concert venue when McCartney, mindful of his aunt's request, saw Ringo Starr reading a book and declared his intention to write a song about a book.
The lyrics are in the form of a letter from an aspiring author addressed to a publisher. McCartney completed the song with John Lennon in response to pressure from EMI for a new Beatles single in April 1966, early on in the sessions for the band's Revolver album. Intrigued by the rhythmic possibilities of the phrase "paperback writer", McCartney came up with the framework for the song during his hour-long drive from London to Lennon's house in Surrey.
Discussing "Paperback Writer" with Alan Smith of the NME that year, McCartney recalled that he and Lennon wrote the lyrics in the form of a letter beginning with "Dear Sir or Madam", but that the song was not inspired by "any real-life characters". However, according to a 2007 piece in The New Yorker, McCartney said he started writing the song in 1965 after reading in the Daily Mail about an aspiring author, "possibly Martin Amis" (who would have been a teenager at the time). The Daily Mail was Lennon's regular newspaper and copies were in Lennon's Weybridge home when Lennon and McCartney were writing songs.
Aside from deviating from the subject of love, McCartney had it in mind to write a song with a melody backed by a single, static chord. "John and I would like to do songs with just one note like 'Long Tall Sally.' We got near it in 'The Word.'" McCartney claimed to have barely failed to achieve this goal with "Paperback Writer", as the verse remains on G until the end, at which point it pauses on C.
Lennon told Hit Parader in 1972 that "Paperback Writer" was primarily written by McCartney: "I think I might have helped with some of the lyrics. Yes, I did. But it was mainly Paul's tune." Speaking in 1980, Lennon described "Paperback Writer" as "son of 'Day Tripper' – meaning a rock'n'roll song with a guitar lick on a fuzzy, loud guitar – but it is Paul's song".
The Beatles recorded "Paperback Writer" at EMI Studios in London on 13 and 14 April 1966. The 14 April session was attended by a photographer from Beatles Monthly, while EMI engineer Phil McDonald's handwritten notes similarly documented the band's experimentation with overdubs on the basic track. In the search for a suitable arrangement, George Harrison briefly switched to bass guitar, and producer George Martin contributed on tack piano, sent through a Leslie speaker, and on Vox Continental organ, none of which were retained in the completed track.