“We always try to do something different,” related McCartney back in 1966. “It’s not one of our best songs,” Lennon dryly explained at the time, “but it was the only one we had ready for the record release date.” While his second comment may be true, his first could easily be contested by fans around the world that have grown to love the song, to this day being considered an undeniable staple of their catalog. Instead of romance, the only mention of a relationship was of “ a dirty man” whose “ clinging wife doesn’t understand.” Nonetheless, “Paperback Writer” was rushed out as their next single, topping the charts internationally. While it did have many of the usual hallmarks of a hit pop record of the time, such as the catchy melody line and a melodic guitar riff, the lyrical content was very much out in left field for 1966. The fourth song they set out to record, however, was more quickly completed and deemed suitable for immediate release as a single. Preliminary tracks were also laid down for “ Got To Get You Into My Life,” but it was nowhere near ready for release. Much work was also done on the psychedelic experiment that was to be entitled “ Tomorrow Never Knows,” although even this was yet to be completed. They began recording their next album on April 6th, 1966 and were concentrating more on studio technique than "cranking out hits." By April 13th, the only song they had completed was the Indian influenced George Harrison track “ Love You To,” which obviously wouldn’t fit the bill for their next single (as good of a song as it was). “Whoever wrote the stronger song – with George Martin as referee – would win the prize: the prestigious A-side.” “John and Paul were immediately put to work,” Emerick continues. “George Martin received a memo from the EMI brass,” recalls engineer Geoff Emerick, “reminding him that a new Beatles single was soon due.” Since their last British single, “ We Can Work It Out/ Day Tripper,” was released way back in early December of 1965 and the group was on hiatus for a few months to rest up from their incredibly hectic schedule the previous year, pressure was high to get a new Beatles single in the shops.
While the influence of marijuana has been widely credited as the catalyst to the maturity of their songwriting in the later months of 1965, as contained on “ Rubber Soul,” the influence of both LSD and Eastern music had a great impact on their output during mid 1966, the results evident on “ Revolver.” Therefore, within less than a year's time, The Beatles songwriting had changed dramatically as all audiences couldn’t help but notice.Īs was usual during the recording of an album, the group needed to identify which song had the commercial appeal to be earmarked as their next single, and thereby omitted from the album. However, subject matter for singles was in the process of changing at the time, such as with Bob Dylan's hit "Like A Rolling Stone," a fact that didn't go unnoticed by The Beatles. It needed to have a catchy melody line that would stick in your mind, a melodic hook or riff that would identify the song, and the content of the lyrics would have to be about love, since that subject was determined to be the most accessible to pop audiences of the time. While much care was taken when Lennon and McCartney wrote album tracks, special attention was usually the norm when creating what would be a contender for their next single. Unconventionality had become the trend of 1966 for The Beatles – even when it came to writing songs for the worldwide singles market.
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