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Yesterday (Beatles EP)
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 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2016) |
| Yesterday | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | 4 March 1966 | |||
| Recorded | 17 February – 17 June 1965 | |||
| Studio | EMI Studios, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 8:52 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| The Beatles EP chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Yesterday is an EP by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 4 March 1966 by Parlophone in the UK. The Beatles' 11th EP, it was also released in Portugal, Spain and Brazil (with another cover photo). The EP was released in mono only, and the cover photograph was taken by Robert Whitaker.
Yesterday entered the UK EP chart on 12 March 1966, and from 26 March spent six weeks at number one. In all, it remained on the hit parade for 13 weeks.
Track listing
[edit]- Side A
- "Yesterday" (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:03
- "Act Naturally" (Johnny Russell, Voni Morrison) – 2:33
- Side B
- "You Like Me Too Much" (Harrison) – 2:40
- "It's Only Love" (Lennon–McCartney) – 1:53
Personnel
[edit]The Beatles
- Paul McCartney – bass guitar (tracks 2–4), lead vocals (track 1), acoustic guitar (track 1), background vocals (tracks 2, 3), piano (track 3)
- John Lennon – acoustic rhythm guitar (2–4), electric piano (track 3), tambourine (track 3), lead vocals (track 4), electric guitar (track 4)
- George Harrison – lead guitar (tracks 2–4), lead vocals (track 3), electric guitar (track 3), acoustic guitar (track 3), 12-string acoustic guitar (track 4)
- Ringo Starr – drums (tracks 2–4), lead vocals (track 2), sticks (track 2), tambourine (track 4)
Additional musicians
- George Martin – piano ("You Like Me Too Much")
- Tony Gilbert – violin ("Yesterday")
- Sidney Sax – violin ("Yesterday")
- Kenneth Essex – viola ("Yesterday")
- Francisco Gabarro – cello ("Yesterday")
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Yesterday [EP] - The Beatles - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
Yesterday (Beatles EP)
View on Grokipediafrom Grokipedia
Background
Development
The Yesterday EP was conceived in late 1965 as The Beatles' 11th UK release on Parlophone, designed to capitalize on the enduring popularity of tracks from their contemporaneous Help! album, particularly "Yesterday," which had not been issued as a UK single despite its massive success in the United States following its September 1965 release there.[4][5] The decision to feature "Yesterday" on an EP rather than as a standalone single stemmed from manager Brian Epstein's policy against promoting solo-oriented tracks that deviated from the band's group image, as well as the members' own reservations about the song's uncharacteristic ballad style and orchestral arrangement.[6][4] The EP's track selection drew exclusively from the second side of Help!, comprising "Yesterday" (lead vocal by Paul McCartney), "Act Naturally" (Ringo Starr), "You Like Me Too Much" (George Harrison), and "It's Only Love" (John Lennon), a deliberate choice to emphasize vocal variety and represent each band member's contributions equally.[4] This curation allowed the EP to function as an accessible "taster" for the album's material, aligning with Parlophone's established strategy of using the shorter format to extend the lifecycle of hit recordings without directly competing with full-length LPs.[4] The US triumph of "Yesterday," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, further influenced this strategy by necessitating UK exposure for the track while safeguarding Help! sales through the bundled EP presentation.[5]Relation to Help! album
The Yesterday EP draws directly from the UK version of The Beatles' 1965 album Help!, incorporating all four of its tracks from the album's second side while omitting "Tell Me What You See," "I've Just Seen a Face," and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" to adhere to the EP format's four-track limit.[7][1] These selections— "Yesterday," "Act Naturally," "You Like Me Too Much," and "It's Only Love"—represent the non-film songs from Help!, as the album's first side featured tracks tied to the contemporaneous Help! feature film, such as "Help!," "Ticket to Ride," and "I Need You."[8] By repackaging these standalone compositions, the EP offered a focused, non-cinematic collection that appealed to UK fans seeking affordable extensions of the band's catalog beyond full LPs or singles.[4] Unlike Help!, which served primarily as a soundtrack album blending pop-rock energy with emerging folk influences in songs like "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," the Yesterday EP emphasized more introspective and genre-diverse elements, including the melancholic balladry of "Yesterday" and the country-inflected cover "Act Naturally."[7] This curation also highlighted vocal diversity, with each Beatle taking lead vocals on one track: Paul McCartney on "Yesterday," Ringo Starr on "Act Naturally," George Harrison on "You Like Me Too Much," and John Lennon on "It's Only Love"—a feature less prominent in some prior Beatles EPs that favored group harmonies.[4] Released on 4 March 1966, seven months after Help!'s August 1965 debut and three months following Rubber Soul in December 1965, the EP played a role in prolonging the commercial lifecycle of Help! material during a transitional period for the band, marked by their ongoing international touring commitments and shift toward studio experimentation.[1]Recording and production
Studio sessions
The recording sessions for the tracks on the Yesterday EP took place at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London, spanning from 17 February to 17 June 1965, as part of the broader production for the Help! album. These sessions were overseen by producer George Martin and occurred intermittently due to the band's concurrent commitments to filming the Help! movie, which began in March 1965 and extended into May, resulting in a compressed schedule for completing non-soundtrack tracks like those on the EP.[9] The overlap often led to rushed overdubs and revisions in late spring, prioritizing efficiency amid travel and promotional demands.[10] "You Like Me Too Much," written by George Harrison, was the first EP track recorded, during an evening session on 17 February 1965 in Studio Two from 7 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. The band completed it in eight takes, building layers progressively with rhythm track foundations laid early in the process.[11] This early session focused on the core elements before the band's Bahamas trip for film location shooting.[12] The remaining tracks were captured later in the year, reflecting the post-filming push to finalize the album. On 15 June 1965, an afternoon session from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Studio Two yielded "It's Only Love" after six takes of the rhythm track, with four complete versions; John Lennon reworked the lyrics multiple times during the session to refine the composition, deeming earlier attempts subpar.[13] Two days later, on 17 June 1965, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., the band recorded "Act Naturally" in 13 takes, with the first 12 serving as rehearsals before Ringo Starr's lead vocal solidified on the final attempt.[14] That same session also handled overdubs for "Yesterday," which Paul McCartney had initially tracked solo on 14 June 1965 in just two takes during a 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. slot in Studio Two, performing acoustic guitar and vocals alone; the 17 June additions included a new lead vocal and string quartet.[15] These June dates marked a hurried culmination, as the band balanced album completion with emerging tour preparations.[16]Technical details
The EP was produced by George Martin at EMI Studios (later Abbey Road Studios).[3] Mixing was conducted in mono to suit the EP format, with no original stereo release until subsequent reissues in the compact disc era.[17] For "Yesterday," the track consists of an isolated recording of Paul McCartney's acoustic guitar and vocal performance from June 14, 1965, onto which a string quartet—arranged by George Martin—was overdubbed on June 17, 1965, to achieve an orchestral texture; McCartney requested the strings be played without vibrato for a pure tone.[18] "Act Naturally" utilizes a straightforward country and western arrangement, highlighted by George Harrison's twangy lead guitar licks overdubbed onto the basic rhythm track, with Ringo Starr's lead vocal and limited additional layers to preserve its raw, minimalistic feel.[19] "You Like Me Too Much" incorporates dual keyboard elements in its introduction, featuring John Lennon's Hohner Pianet electric piano—providing a tremolo-infused rhythm—layered with Paul McCartney's Steinway grand piano and George Martin's additional piano contributions for rhythmic depth and syncopation.[20] "It's Only Love" employs a gritty rock setup with five guitars total—two acoustic rhythm parts, three electric guitars (one with tremolo effect)—overdubbed onto John Lennon's double-tracked vocals, emphasizing a compressed, edgy sonic profile through close-miking and basic multitrack bouncing.[21] The collection overall fuses rock foundations with folk balladry in "Yesterday" and country twang in "Act Naturally," clocking a total runtime of 8:52 optimized for the standard 7-inch 45 RPM vinyl EP pressing.[22]Release
Formats and artwork
The Yesterday EP was released on 4 March 1966 by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom under catalogue number GEP 8948, pressed as a mono 7-inch vinyl disc playing at 45 RPM.[1] The EP was also issued in Portugal (Parlophone LMEP 1209, 1966), Spain (Odeon DSOE 16.676, October 1965), and Brazil (Odeon 7 BTD 2.001, 1966), each featuring variant cover photos adapted for local markets.[3][23][4] The cover artwork consisted of a black-and-white studio photograph of the four Beatles members in formal attire—suits and ties—posed closely together to underscore their collective identity, even as the title track spotlighted Paul McCartney's solo performance; the image was captured by photographer Robert Whitaker.[1] The reverse side included sleeve notes penned by the band's publicist Tony Barrow, which contextualized the four tracks as selections from the preceding Help! album.[24] Packaging followed the standard Parlophone EP format: a single-fold sleeve without gatefold design, bearing the Parlophone logo and a glossy finish on the initial UK pressing.[17] International editions incorporated localized adaptations, such as a laminated sandwich cover in Brazil.[25]Marketing and distribution
The Yesterday EP was marketed primarily as a showcase for the UK debut of Paul McCartney's "Yesterday", which had been released as a single in the United States the previous year but withheld from the British single market to prioritize album sales.[1] Bundled with three other tracks from the Help! album—"Act Naturally" (Ringo Starr lead), "You Like Me Too Much" (George Harrison lead), and "It's Only Love" (John Lennon lead)—the EP highlighted the unusual feature of each Beatle taking lead vocals on one song, appealing to collectors in an era when the EP format remained highly popular in the UK.[1] This positioning fit Parlophone's broader strategy of issuing EPs to bridge gaps between major releases, coming shortly after The Beatles' Million Sellers in December 1965 and preceding Nowhere Man in July 1966.[26][27] Distributed through EMI's established network of record shops and mail-order services, the EP targeted dedicated fans with its affordable mono format under catalogue number GEP 8948.[1] It was made available without a major television or radio promotional campaign, as The Beatles were on a touring hiatus during early 1966 to focus on studio work for their next album. Instead, promotion relied on print advertisements in music publications like NME and Melody Maker, which emphasized the EP's vocal diversity and ties to the Help! era to capitalize on ongoing fan interest.[1] International distribution followed the UK launch by a few weeks in some markets, with releases in Portugal and Brazil through local EMI affiliates, while Spain's edition predated the UK release.[28]Commercial performance
Chart positions
The Yesterday EP entered the UK EP chart on 12 March 1966, climbing to number one on 26 March and remaining there for six consecutive weeks, before spending a total of 13 weeks on the chart.[1] This success marked the eighth number-one EP for The Beatles in the UK, achieved amid strong competition from their concurrent album releases such as Rubber Soul, which dominated the LP charts during the same period.[4] The UK EP chart at the time was compiled by music publications including New Musical Express (NME), based on retail sales data that highlighted the format's popularity in the pre-album-dominated era of the mid-1960s.[1] The EP received no standalone release in the United States; its tracks were instead incorporated into the Capitol Records compilation album Yesterday and Today, issued on 20 June 1966.[4] Internationally, charting was limited, though the EP was issued in markets including Portugal and Spain, underscoring The Beatles' global appeal but secondary to their single and album successes.[29]Sales figures
The Yesterday EP achieved notable commercial success in the United Kingdom, contributing significantly to Parlophone's revenue from EP releases during a transitional period for the format. No official certifications were awarded for the EP, as the British Phonographic Industry did not begin recognizing EPs with gold or platinum awards until the late 1970s and beyond, long after its 1966 release. Global sales of the EP were enhanced by international editions issued in markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain, broadening its distribution beyond the UK and capitalizing on the band's worldwide appeal.[3] As part of The Beatles' prolific 1966 output—which included the blockbuster album Revolver and various singles—the EP formed a portion of the group's releases that year. Compared to the preceding EP The Beatles' Million Sellers (1965), which compiled tracks with prior single sales in the millions, Yesterday benefited from the title track's enduring popularity; however, the growing dominance of full-length albums limited the EP format's longevity, though Yesterday has sustained long-tail sales among collectors. The EP enhanced accessibility for fans amid The Beatles' unparalleled peak in global popularity during 1966.[1]Track listing and personnel
Sides and durations
The Yesterday EP consists of four tracks taken from the band's 1965 album Help!, presented in mono on the original UK pressing by Parlophone (GEP 8948).[30] The A-side opens with the hit single "Yesterday", followed by "Act Naturally", while the B-side features "You Like Me Too Much" and "It's Only Love".[3] This sequencing places the prominent McCartney-led track first for immediate impact, with the B-side providing balance through Harrison's and Lennon's vocal leads.| Side | Track | Writer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | "Yesterday" | Lennon–McCartney | 2:03 |
| A | "Act Naturally" | Morrison–Russell | 2:33 |
| B | "You Like Me Too Much" | Harrison | 2:40 |
| B | "It's Only Love" | Lennon–McCartney | 1:53 |