Michelle

Before even starting the sessions for Rubber Soul in late 1965, the Beatles realized that they were short of material for a full album.  Still, they knew that they no longer wanted to record cover versions of other people's songs, if possible, so any idea leading to a new composition was welcome.  It was around this time that Lennon reminded McCartney of an old piece that he used to do at parties to attract girls - a lovely melody which Paul would play off in a corner while singing mock French lyrics.  Inspired by this memory, McCartney went off and wrote some real verses for the tune, adding some authentic French lines with the assistance Jan Vaughan, the wife of old Liverpool friend Ivan Vaughan.  This being a period of true collaboration for the songwriting team, Lennon then helped with the middle eight.

On November 3rd, 1965, the entire day was devoted to work on Michelle, beginning with a good deal of rehearsal.  This really paid off when the boys needed only one take to record the basic track with  three acoustic guitars and drums.  When attention turned to the vocals, Paul sang his lead vocal first, then he was joined by John and George to record the backing vocals.  Under producer George Martin's supervision, they double-tracked their parts, thus creating the full, rich sound of six voices.

Only after the vocals were complete did Paul sit down and add his bass line to the recording.  In the photo above, a capo is visible, something very unusual to see on the neck of a bass guitar, but Paul used it to help him more easily match the key of the song as it had been established by the acoustic guitars earlier in the session.

All that was left was for a guitar solo to be overdubbed.  Many have speculated over the years that Paul also played this himself.  But George Martin insists that it was he who actually wrote the melody for the solo, and that he sat at a keyboard, playing it note for note along with George Harrison on guitar.  No keyboard is heard on the recording, but the guitar solo is beautifully performed, regardless of who played it.

There was talk of Michelle being released as a single, but even Capitol Records in the US resisted the temptation to do so, though the American label did add stickers promoting the song on the plastic wrap of the album Rubber Soul.  Radio stations did give it a good deal of airplay, something rather rare for an album track in the mid-60's.

In the UK, the song also appeared on the EP Nowhere Man, as well as on the 1966 album A Collection of Beatles' Oldies, one of the few non-singles on that collection.

After the group's career, it surfaced on the Red Album in 1973 and on Love Songs in 1977.