In the Studio
Initial recording for Yesterday took place on 14 June 1965, after the band completed I've Just Seen A Face and I'm Down. Paul McCartney recorded his guitar and vocals simultaneously in just two takes.
After attempting an unrecorded arrangement of Yesterday with John Lennon on Hammond organ, George Martin suggested to McCartney that they use a string quartet - a first for The Beatles.
McCartney was initially skeptical, and insisted the musicians perform without vibrato. McCartney and Martin worked on the score together, with the majority written by Martin.
"Writing a song out with George Martin was nearly always the same process. For Yesterday he had said, 'Look, why don't you come round to my house tomorrow? I've got a piano, and I've got the manuscript paper. We'll sit down for an hour or so, and you can let me know what you're looking for'...
He would say, 'This is the way to do the harmony, technically.' And I'd often try to go against that. I'd think, 'Well, why should there be a proper way to do it?'
Yesterday was typical. I remember suggesting the 7th that appears on the cello. George said, 'You definitely wouldn't have that in there. That would be very un-string-quartet. I said, 'Well? Whack it in, George. I've got to have it.'"
Paul McCartney
Anthology
The strings were overdubbed on 17 June, and Paul attempted the vocals again. He didn't use headphones, and the original vocal track leaked from the studio speakers to the second recording, giving the impression of double-tracked singing.
The string players went uncredited on Help!, the album Yesterday first appeared on. Rather than being a regular quartet, the other players were recruited by violinist Tony Gilbert especially for the session.
Yesterday's legacy
The Beatles never allowed Yesterday to be released as a single in the UK, fearing that it would affect their image. The song did, however, become a part of the band's full live set during their 1966 world tour.
"I wouldn't have put it out as a solo Paul McCartney record. We never entertained those ideas. It was sometimes tempting; people would flatter us: 'Oh, you know you should get out front,' or, 'You should put a solo record out. But we always said no. In fact, we didn't release Yesterday as a single in England at all, because we were a little embarrassed about it - we were a rock 'n' roll band."
Paul McCartney
Anthology
In 1980 John Lennon explained how he was often mistakenly credited with having written the song.
"I go to restaurants and the groups always play Yesterday. Yoko and I even signed a guy's violin in Spain after he played us Yesterday. He couldn't understand that I didn't write the song. But I guess he couldn't have gone from table to table playing I Am The Walrus."
John Lennon, 1980
All We Are Saying, David Sheff
In the same interview Lennon spoke of McCartney's skills as a lyricist.
"A couple of lines he's come up with show indications he's a good lyricist, but he just never took it anywhere. He wrote the lyrics to Yesterday. Although the lyrics don't resolve into any sense, they're good lines. They certainly work. You know what I mean? They're good - but if you read the whole song, it doesn't say anything; you don't know what happened. She left and he wishes it was yesterday - that much you get - but it doesn't really resolve. So, mine didn't use to resolve, either..."
John Lennon
All We Are Saying, David Sheff
Yesterday was issued as a US single in September 1966. Newspapers at the time commentated that "Paul McCartney is number one without the other Beatles". It swiftly became the most-played song on American radio, a position it held for eight consecutive years.
Since its release there have been over 3,000 cover versions of Yesterday.
(http://www.beatlesbible.com)
By: Shahen Gasparyan
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