She's a Woman

Though not part of its official soundtrack, which film starring the Beatles features this song?  The answer's at the end of this entry.

Early on October 8th, 1964, Paul McCartney got the inspiration to begin writing a song called She's a Woman.  Before the day was over, the recording was complete.  Nothing demonstrates how remarkably efficient the Beatles already were at this stage of their career better than that.  

The session was scheduled for 2:30 that afternoon, and Paul showed up with the first verse and possibly a bit more.  He and John quickly finished the composition and work began on the basic track.  With only Ringo on drums, Paul on bass and John on guitar, they ran through seven takes of the tune, Paul also singing with every take.  John never had a completely clean take performing those jabs on his guitar on the upbeat, but take six proved to be the best.  Take seven, by the way, turned into an extended jam after the body of the song, going on for six minutes.

The overdubs applied to take six included John double-tracking his guitar jabs during the introduction, Paul double-tracking his vocals during the bridges, and adding a piano starting with the second verse.  Ringo also added a shaker called a chocalho, which is clearly heard in the final mix.  The guitar solo was finally added and double-tracked.  Some claim that Paul played this, as well, but it sounds to me like George using his new Gretsch Tennessean model due to the distinctive twang.

The song was mixed for both mono and stereo, which would indicate that it was intended for the album Beatles for Sale in the UK, but it wound up serving as the B-side of the single I Feel Fine.  In the US, Capitol Records also released it on the album Beatles '65.  Producer George Martin had added some reverb to the mix he sent to the American label, attempting to control the amount of tinkering that had been going on throughout 1964, but Capitol's Dave Dexter, Jr. added even more reverb, much to Martin's astonishment when he heard it.

The week before the single was released, the Beatles lip-synced to the song for the television programs Top of the Pops and Lucky Stars Special.  The first BBC Radio recording was for the show Top Gear, as can be heard on the 1994 compilation Live at the BBC.  This spirited performance has George playing the piano line from the recording on guitar in addition to his solo, a practice which he would continue in the group's stage act.

Of course, the song became a staple of that act.  They played it during the three-week run of Another Beatles Christmas Show in London from December 24th, 1964 - January 16th, 1965.  For their 1965 European, North American and British tours, it served as the second number in the act.

In a bootleg of the June 1965 Paris performance, Paul sings "my love don't buy me presents" instead of "give me presents," and he uncharacteristically mixes lines from different verses.  The 1977 album The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl includes a rousing performance from August of 1965.  The song even carried over into the 1966 international and North American tours, remaining in the second slot.  In a performance in Japan from that year heard on Anthology 2, it follows a lackluster Rock and Roll Music.  Paul, ever the showman, picks up the slack with She's a Woman. 

In addition to those releases mentioned above, the song appears on Past Masters, Volume One, on the UK version of Rarities, and on a bonus EP issued as part of the Beatles' EP Collection (this special release features Paul's count-in of take six).              

And the answer to the trivia question at the top of this post is...Help!  As the boys play The Night Before on Salisbury Plain, actress Eleanor Bron's character Ahme uses a tape recorder playing She's a Woman to mislead the evil Clang into believing that his explosives are planted directly beneath the band.  Hilarity ensues.