How Paperback Writer Changed The Beatles' Sound Forever

Paperback Writer is one of the catchiest songs that The Beatles ever released. A Billboard number one single in 1966, it kicked off a new era of sonic experimentation in the studio for Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, as the band shifted away from the relentless pressure of Beatlemania.
In this episode, we'll explore the recording history of this classic Beatles hit and uncover a few quirks and anomalies that you might have missed.
As a fair warning: you can't unhear this.
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#TheBeatles #YouCantUnhearThis #Music

[@bscepter]

I still think it's one of the greatest guitar riffs ever recorded. And the bass part is just stellar. All-in-all, it's a tour-de-force for Paul.

[@marcjacobscontinued9411]

Wasn't that exactly after his car accident? Kiddin'...............

[@CB-xr1eg]

@@marcjacobscontinued9411 I get you're kidding but I'm so sick of seeing that PID rubbish. Anyone who believes it needs some psychiatric help.

[@greg5095]

​@@ladraper7134you're off your meds mate

[@janmicnat]

@@ladraper7134Please go away.

[@GlennJimenez]

It really is a killer riff My other favorite is hey bulldog

[@alansas5258]

Paperback Writer/ Rain is one of the Beatles best songs ever released as a single. It was the turning point in their career. It still sounds just as fresh as it did 57 years ago.

[@joemartucci4786]

Yep plus the single Penny Lane backed with Strawberry Fields..I mean wtf....some bands are around forever & can't even come close to one song no less 4 songs.

[@timb0man]

I still have the 45 after all these years.

[@richr6249]

Who gets it next?@@timb0man

[@johndalton3180]

Greatest "double A sided" single this side of Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields.

[@vernpascal1531]

@@johndalton3180 Exactly. It's sad that when you do something that is the pinnacle of your talents you can never top it.

[@ChefClary60]

The bass line in Paperback is just incredible. Just imagine. These two songs released on same 45. And then think about what’s being released as “music” today.

[@jeffj1120]

The Rubber Soul-Revolver albums were significant, not only for the creative engineering and phenomenal musical development but for what we (as teenagers at the time) were looking for in radio/pop tunes. We didn't even realize it at the time but we were hearing something that was hard to even imagine. All these years later, it's joyous to rediscover these innovations and nuances from 1965-6

[@JoePalau]

I was a college senior when Rubber Soul and Revolver were released. We were gobsmacked by the tunes, lyrics, tracks; even the stereo engineering. It was love and it still is ❤️❤️❤️

[@nicholasdibari9095]

They were their best albums IMHO

[@nicholasdibari9095]

@@JoePalau what a cool time to be alive lol by the way, is that Erasmus in your profile picture?

[@wout69]

@@nicholasdibari9095 Every album is their best album.

[@thestormforce5]

And here we are discussing another fantastic Beatles song almost 60 years later. They are the giants' shoulders all modern rock music is standing on. In 60 years on, they will still be relevant.

[@MrThedonhead]

They are up there with the rolling stones but not as revolutionary, the stones made the Beatles even where there own clothes 😂 they were still in uniform before the stones come and changed the world and the Beatles wrote nice little songs but were never important politically like jagger and dylan

[@howardjones7370]

@@MrThedonhead : Yeah, OK Don……….🤦🏻‍♂️🤡

[@cfox7811]

They far surpass the stones and were far more revolutionary. No band has been more inspirational for musicians.

[@drstrangelove9851]

In 1000 years, they will still be relevant.

[@JesusVazquez-jz2qm]

@@MrThedonhead Jagger important politically. Ha ha. Jagger is a perfect example of a sell out to the system.

[@loZoneranger560]

I remember hearing the flip side "Rain" for the first time at age 14 and thinking, "What is going on with that BASS part?!" It was the coolest bass line I'd ever heard!

[@hellospam879879]

Ringo cited Rain as drumming he is most proud of.

[@ronnyparker]

I was 11, lol, howdy old friend, still love RAIN.

[@WorldSpectator705]

Paul McCartney, genius pop/rock bass player. IMO, his bass parts "made" so many of the Beatles song. In many cases, unlike with many other groups, it was his bass doing the nice "fills" in-between the vocal lines, and not the lead guitar or a keyboard. Many examples, but think of "A day in the life". Take away all the simple but beautiful bass fills in the song and it becomes much less impressive. Or "With a little help from my friends". But really, in every song, always adding a lot of value with his parts.

[@mikekelleher1123]

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@terryasheim9038]

I love it. The bass is like the lead instrument on Rain.

[@jeffcarlson3269]

I think Paperback Writer is one of their best songs It is one song I can listen to over and over again. And never grow tired of hearing it.

[@ihartmacca]

it sounds super fresh too and 21st century, idk how they did that!

[@ChuckWortman]

I'm with you! If it's on the radio, the radio is getting cranked, every time!

[@vernpascal1531]

The lyrics are fantastic. Not a wasted word.

[@ChuckWortman]

Crazy how the brain works...just reading the latest comment has my brain playing Paperback Writer. I didn't even catch it right away. I was like why all of a sudden am I singing PW? Then I remembered I just read the comment a minute ago. Now back to the singing!

[@Jamestele1]

I will never get tired of this song, along with the B side, Rain. The fact that they were able to reproduce Paperback Writer live is insane. Those overlapping harmonies, and Paul's great bass lines.

[@BEdwardStover]

Live was lesser, but they worked hard to make it memorable nonetheless.

[@Jamestele1]

@@justiceforjamespaulmccartney Interesting, to be sure; however, Paul Part 2 wrote some great tunes and played an amazing bass! Perhaps Macca had a twin brother!?

[@bigmatt94]

@@justiceforjamespaulmccartney tell me you're an idiot without telling me you're an idiot XD How dumb do you have to be to believe that Paul died and was secretly replaced by someone who looked just like him, could play all the same instruments that he could, had the same voice as him, and could write songs just like him (or even better songs considering their best songs were in the latter half of their recording career)?

[@rrapp8067]

Bought the 45 in summer '66. Great music.

[@PalmdaleGal]

@@justiceforjamespaulmccartney - Give it up already... Besides, it was supposedly that motorbike accident that gave him the lip scar that "killed" Paul.

[@dabreu]

Paperback Writer was the first Beatles song my dad liked very much. Maybe he liked other before, but this was the first one he told me so. He asked me who was singing and was surprised to know it was The Beatles. He thought it sounded like our Marujada, a folk group from Brazil. " Really Beautiful", he said. Next the radio played "Rain" and he said. " Don't tell it is the Beatles again". Well, I said it was indeed The Beatles. He was fasicinated too. And said it was like Folia de Reis, a kind of folk songs we have in my city. Then he said he has discovered he should listen more to The Beatles. But the Beatles song that touched him even more...Strawberry Fields Forever.

[@ianstuart5660]

Cool story, thanks!

[@linshanhsiang]

A taste for "Strawberry Fields" is a sign of a truly sophisticated sensibility.

[@djbrady]

Your dad had great taste!

[@kavousniamir2375]

In MY father's case, it Was Eleanor Rigby that did it😊

[@davidwright9318]

My Dad liked Nowhere Man.

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

Seeing this channel pop up with a new upload is always a pleasant surprise. Such soothing and interesting videos on the best band there ever was.

[@gliebzeit]

Agree 100%

[@SharkEatFish]

Totally! I couldn't have put it better myself

[@trevormaguire7939]

L

[@gearmeister]

Definitely! I'm becoming quite the Beatles music collector... after watching this new video, I'm grabbing Rubber Soul which has a few lesser known jewels... such as "The Word" & "You won't see me" which have been covered by tons of artists, early crossover, I'd say

[@StratsRUs]

The whole sound of that intro riff is just *so* _JUICY_ !

[@mensaconservative7887]

The Beatles provided more happiness to humanity than anything that came before. That phenomenon may never be topped. I will die a happy person because I was nine years old when they first appeared on Sullivan. The constant joy their music produced is indescribable.

[@stuartstibbs2069]

Yep. Came before, or after..

[@mnob1122]

Saw The Beatles on their first Ed Sullivan appearance, also at 9 years old. I was forever changed. Still have all their vinyl records, including the 45’s.

[@canaltestenelsonmuchagata1160]

At this point in the band's career, the Beatles enjoyed fame, attention and money on a scale that is unimaginable today. It was possible to perceive this wealth, just as we notice someone who is very well dressed or the owner of a very exclusive car. In fact, they had already reached this level two years earlier, in the American explosion and, consequently, worldwide, in 1964. What could have happened is very difficult: they could have suffered a negative impact of artistic accommodation, resulting from the benefits of glory and fame. Or what is almost the norm could have happened: they could have become perfect self-righteous idiots, enraptured with themselves and sunk into a vertiginous downward spiral of hedonism and decadence. But they were too distracted, WORKING. They took even serious knocks from fame, but they kept WORKING. We saw that on Get Back. We saw it on every album up to Let It Be. As it turned out, we're lucky: for as long as they existed as a band, they were the protagonists of a cultural and social portent whose impact shows no signs of being less than eternal, since it is deeply rooted in the genetics of feelings, behaviors and expressions. We are free to see them as just a band, after all. It's even a way of paying tribute to the way they've always seen themselves, and not without reason. It's what they have become of what we can now, without fear, call Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Think that's too much? Try playing "Yesterday" in a village in Cambodia, or showing the cover of Abbey Road to a family of Eskimos. Here, there and everywere.

[@canaltestenelsonmuchagata1160]

At this point in the band's career, the Beatles enjoyed fame, attention and money on a scale that is unimaginable today. It was possible to perceive this wealth, just as we notice someone who is very well dressed or the owner of a very exclusive car. In fact, they had already reached this level two years earlier, in the American explosion and, consequently, worldwide, in 1964. What could have happened is very difficult: they could have suffered a negative impact of artistic accommodation, resulting from the benefits of glory and fame. Or what is almost the norm could have happened: they could have become perfect self-righteous idiots, enraptured with themselves and sunk into a vertiginous downward spiral of hedonism and decadence. But they were too distracted, WORKING. They took even serious knocks from fame, but they kept WORKING. We saw that on Get Back. We saw it on every album up to Let It Be. As it turned out, we're lucky: for as long as they existed as a band, they were the protagonists of a cultural and social portent whose impact shows no signs of being less than eternal, since it is deeply rooted in the genetics of feelings, behaviors and expressions. We are free to see them as just a band, after all. It's even a way of paying tribute to the way they've always seen themselves, and not without reason. It's what they have become of what we can now, without fear, call Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Think that's too much? Try playing "Yesterday" in a village in Cambodia, or showing the cover of Abbey Road to a family of Eskimos. Here, there and everywere.

[@Macca-rb5ok]

With respect, that's a ludicrous viewpoint.

[@andyinoregon]

I've had this 45-single in my collection since I was a 15 year-old in 1966, and this video further bolsters my belief that the reason music was so good in the '70s was because The Beatles had set the artistic bar so high in the '60s.

[@michaelblair2536]

I still have it too, it was my mother's

[@jangelderloos2211]

You're 1 year my junior. Good times..16 in '66? Better believe it!

[@bobbyh.3911]

I agree andyinoregon... There is a thread that runs through the 50's, 60's and 70's music. However, the Beatles were a SeaChange in music beginning with Rubber Soul and continuing into the 70's. I love the Beatles and recognize that the 70's were a direct result of the Beatles influence. However, there is no finer decade in Music than what was produced in the 70's. I don't think it will ever be duplicated... though I hope I am wrong.

[@andyinoregon]

@@bobbyh.3911 A very different style of music, but I've commented so many times on KZbin that Steely Dan was for me in the '70s what The Beatles had been for me in the '60s.

[@johnshanley83]

Music was good in the 70s???

[@newsduke]

The reason people are still analyzing The Beatles’ music is because it’s still hard to believe that these four young people could’ve accomplished everything that they did. People STILL want to know how the hell they did it. And with all due respect to this video, which was very interesting, I don’t think we’ll ever get an adequate explanation. We can discuss recording techniques, and the Beatles’ influences, and all the little mistakes that were left in. But in the end, The Beatles created a magic that just can’t be explained, really.

[@BeatlesCentricUniverse]

AMEN!

[@Dana-ie2bh]

They got their start, just like the Rolling stones, copying black musicians.

[@pattyayers]

@@Dana-ie2bhExactly what I came to post 😊 The existence of R&B, the times and moment they showed up, AND their natural talent AND the serious skills they developed as a hard-working bar band for years

[@bluegregory6239]

Rick Rubin said that the Beatles proved the existence of God. I don't necessarily agree with that, but the Beatles are the most inventive and influential band in popular music of the last 100 years.

[@padraighdesmond4834]

Illuminati

[@arttoegemann]

I am pleasantly addicted to this song and recording. And it's monaural!

[@christophe555]

I remember first hearing this coming out of the car radio speaker while my dad was driving. I was a super Beatles freak 10 year old and those unmistakable vocals pouring out alone at the very beginning acapella just shot right through me. Was popular at the time for DJs to talk through instrumental intros to songs but they couldn’t do it here. Mind blowing to a young man

[@antonioortiz4544]

I have always put "Paperback Writer" among the top 5 greatest Beatle songs. The opening with the gorgeous harmonies, the amazing riff, Ringo's start-stop entrance, and the unimpeachable bass just makes this song pure rocking joy.

[@michaelscott356]

I don't want to "unhear" anything that is present in a Beatles recording. Nothing you can eke out of the depths of a genius-driven recording of their's does anything but make me scurry and fire up my turntable!

[@Struwwel2]

When you hear "Paperback Writer" for the first time, it's a catchy, memorable song. And then on closer inspection you discover it's even more complicated and deeper than that first impression. In popular music, the mid-1960s was a renaissance. We're still assimilating it decades later.

[@SuperNevile]

@@Struwwel2 Having said that, it's based on the two "beginner's chords" of C and G7. Lesson 1: It's not the chords, it's what you do with them.

[@MarkHamstersNose]

I was five years old at the time, my Mum had bought me several Beatles singles and I adored them. An auntie of mine had five much older sons and we visited often. My cousin Brian had all the singles so I used to play them on my own in his room - bloody brilliant. I couldn't stop playing Paperback Writer once I heard it. It and many others will be played and loved until humanity ends. Simply awesome band and songs.

[@globalmonkey007]

Paperback Writer and Rain are two of the best Beatles songs ever recorded.

[@kevalraam7867]

I was 12 years old when I heard this for the first time on my transistor radio. Even at that age I knew I was listening to something innovative and unprecedented, and it blew me away. I am so happy I grew up with the Beatles… such an amazing journey.

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

Same here.

[@ron88303]

LOL; transistor radio. Me too!!

[@experi-mentalproductions5358]

Here we go again! You are the best Beatles related channel on the internet!

[@jamesjohnmoss8130]

Agree, everyone knows something else, ugh.

[@tedburke8187]

Paperback writer and Rain, two oof my favorite Beatles songs

[@Rick-lo9sd]

I was 11 at the time and I played 'Paperback Writer' frequently on the jukebox where the BPM (Beaumont, Texas 'Business and Professional Men's Club') had an awesome swimming pool. I got such a charge out of this song in my 11 year old body. And I first heard 'Rain' coming home from a Cub Scout trip and was immediately mesmerized by this song! These two songs, even all these years later, remain among my favorites of the Beatles.

[@crlchs]

Well said! Living through the Beatles emergence was something that not everyone got to experience but those who did, are still living it today.

[@ItsTerryTime]

Never heard the typewriter sound before.. what a clever addition.

[@MichaelPiz]

There's an old paperback (heh) book called _The Beatles: An Illustrated History_ that says that Paul said he wrote the song partially in fun for John's recent foray into literature, _In His Own Write_ and _A Spaniard in the Works._

[@martifingers]

Maybe but I seem to recall Paul saying it as result of someone in the Asher household asking him why he only wrote about love and relationships.

[@MichaelPiz]

@@martifingers That's what the book says. (I still have my copy some 45ish years later.) Could easily be a combination of reasons. "You should write about something other than love & stuff." "Good idea, lemme think… Got it! John just wrote these books, so…"

[@dougaldhendrick3497]

Read somewhere it was the result of a bet from Paul's Auntie, that he couldn't write anything but love songs etc. Could well have been Asher household member.

[@martifingers]

@@dougaldhendrick3497 You are more likely to have a better memory than mine. Dougald. I was there in the 60's!

[@stephenjerome4135]

Paperback Writer and Rain is IMO the greatest single released by The Beatles. It sounded so different to anything they had done before that time and really showcases their incredible talents as musicians. After all, Rain was the first recording by anyone to include a backwards tape section near the fade out at the end. It was very innovative for the time and i would go as far as to say had Paperback Writer and Rain been included on the Revolver album it would have made what was a great album even more greater.

[@charlenemack7040]

Rubber soul and revolver are my two favorite albums by the Beatles. I was in the seventh grade when they came to America.

[@joe6096]

It’s one of my all time favorite classic rock songs period, by anyone. It’s addictive. You can listen to it a hundred times in a row and never get bored of hearing it. It sounds like it was just made yesterday. All quite amazing feats for a 57 year old recording now. If I could have been a fly on the wall at EMI during these recording sessions.

[@shyman99]

"If I could have been a fly on the wall...". Then the video would have featured the sound of a fly's swatter in the mix as you were crushed. 😁

[@Godskingdomwithin]

And they were recording on a four track recorder!

[@SuperNevile]

I would be wondering what George thought about being relegated to tambourine. Same thing happened on their Magnum Opus "A Day In The Life" when he was relegated to maracas. I think Paul played lead on Georges's own song "Taxman" too. No wonder he ended up being "brassed off". Geoff Emerick recorded his impressions as a "fly on the wall". Interesting reading.

[@Eirran2]

A friend of my sister came to us with the new Beatles single. As the first sounds of Paperback writer came out of the speakers, it totally blew my mind. This was so different than anything I had ever heard before and it was absolutely briliant. When we played the B-side Rain, I was blown away again. Wow, what a single. I went out and bought it the very next day. And I think that George Martin went on record to describe the “contrapuntal statements from the backing voices - no one had really done that before” pretty much sums up the creativity of the Beatles. There pretty much they did that "no one had really done that before”

[@promerops]

They boldly went...

[@shaft9000]

"nobody" _in Europe_ had approached pop vocals that way before. The Beach Boys recorded "I Get Around" in April 1964, 2 years earlier. _Paul wasn't chasing Brian for nothing ;O)_

[@daledavidson8242]

I think the sonic explorations of Rain are stunning. Yes, John often voiced his enthusiasm about tacking a reversed vocal at the end, but the real magic was in pairing a speeded up main vocal to the slowed down tape of the rhythm track. This gave the song a subtle surreal ambiance, and the technique would be used again in Strawberry Fields Forever.

[@oldermusiclover]

loved the drums on rain

[@Mary-zx9bl]

Revolver is my favorite Beatles album. Eleanor Rigby will always be my ultimate Beatles song, though every one on the album is a creative treasure.

[@timb0man]

This was my sister Sue's favorite album of The Beatles also. RIP Susan, and I hope to see your soul somewhere later in this experiment.

[@radiomindchatter7994]

I love Paperback Writer! I remember hearing it the first time on the radio sitting in the back of my parents station wagon in 1966...great memories!

[@shable1436]

That song has the hook of that guitar part, but then like a train the vocals come rushing in relentlessly, and the harmonies are the only stop and building tension for the hook again. It's genius songwriting and recording

[@flimbambo]

If you look at their performance on the Japanese tour, you can’t help but be impressed by the way they perform this song. How many bands could have handled a song as complicated as this so well, with four musicians?

[@bethcrawford7427]

going now to take a look-see,

[@user-fu2mi1nd5l]

Sorry, but they did not play this one very well.

[@user-fu2mi1nd5l]

However, in 1993, McCartney and his band played it quite well.

[@piscesman54]

And a shitty sound system with NO MONITORS, and thousands of hysterical girls screaming in the background. Talk about mission impossible.

[@davidwilley3609]

Well the thing that’s very impressive is the fact that John and George don’t have their hands on the strings of the guitar but the riffs are playing either pre-recorded or a band behind the stage Bernard Purdie one of the best drummers and most recorded drummers said he played on 21 of the beetle tracks he said they were four drummers on Beatle songs and Ringo wasn’t one of them we’re supposed to believe they went into the studio in the beginning of November and I believe that December 4 it was in the stores with no material no songs and did the entire 16 tracks rubber soul in a matter of 3 1/2 weeks that would be an album cover and photo shoots pressing the record rehearsing the songs. And when you look at the history of the recording of that album most of the songs were done and either one or two takes absolutely impossible to write all that music rehearse all that music and literally put it down in one and two tracks when John and Paul in interviews said they couldn’t read music and that they weren’t really that good on their instruments it’s the old Cinderella story rags to riches they were put together by Tavistock and social engineering Group associated with MI6 British intelligence the Beatles were put together to debase society . They picked out each member sent them over to Germany to learn the 4 chord Chuck Berry songs which their first tour in 1964 all the songs from then they were still playing in 1966 nothing off of rubber soul or revolver still doing roll over Beethoven and I’m down and she loves you. it was a British invasion on the family unit long hair on boys creating the whole trans gender dystopia of today illicit drug use sex with whoever feels good with birth control pill abortions the breaking up of the family unit. I don’t think people realize how much work goes into just doing one song the songs were already recorded and they just did the vocals Davy Jones from The Monkees said two weeks before he mysteriously died the monkeys weren’t the first pre-fabricated band the Beatles were

[@avlisk]

Using a typewriter in the fade out is a very Beatle-y thing to do, and very appropriate for the lyrical content. I'm going with "yes, it's a typewriter".

[@KidFresh71]

My grandfather's two favorite songs were "Paperback Writer" and "Taxman." He taught me well.

[@dorerd]

Not really.

[@saveourrivers]

Did you know that Paul also played the guitar solo in "Taxman"?

[@KidFresh71]

@@saveourrivers yes I learned that recently! I always had incorrectly assumed the guitar solo was courtesy of George.

[@KidFresh71]

@@dorerd ooh, not liking The Beatles. So edgy and impressive. (yawn)

[@beatletull6128]

Man, if only I was a fly on the wall back then, but then, I'd only be a fly.

[@williamearl1662]

PaperbackWriter had all, terrific lyrics, catchiest bass and guitar imaginable, great harmonies...just perfect. And Rain was so out there, it really prepared us for Revolver. An absolutely magnificent single, still sounds fresh.

[@daniellynch6202]

I love everything about this song. The cadence of the lyrics are so perfectly on the beats, it is reflective of Chuck Berry. "Dear Sir or Madam will you read my book it took me years to write it will you take a look" is not a mic drop, it is a throw away the thing completely. You will never top the rhythmic perfection of the lyrics in Paperback Writer, and yet they sound so effortless.

[@docsavage8640]

At the very least it's a fantastic opening couplet

[@JamesJones-cx5pk]

The fact that these "Musical Shakespeare's" actually found each other is amazing. They are the #1 Band in my book!👍

[@farrellmcnulty909]

In mine as well.....

[@auletjohnast03638]

Well, they are the #1 musicians in my book and the best music act ever. I hate it when people say they are the best band ever, key word "band" meaning that duos and singers that are not in bands are better than the Beatles. The Beatles according to you and others like you are just the best band and that's it.

[@BroonParker]

​@@auletjohnast03638I always think that a real band, like the Beatles, are so much more than the sum of their parts. Best band is the ultimate accolade in popular music as far as I'm concerned.

[@MarceloKatayama]

​@@auletjohnast03638That's such a minor nitpick. The best band can also be the best act in general. To complain about people calling the beatles the best band because you consider them the best musicians overall is quite a pedantic complaint, since not only is it up for debate whether that's true or not; but the best band term is not mutually exclusive with the best musicians or the best artists.

[@ose1998]

They're singing Frère Jacques??? I always thought they sang Paperback writer 😂😂😂 I really need to test my hearing 😅 Great episode as always I love those videos you learn so many new things about the songs you love ❤

[@lynnturman8157]

On some verses they're singing paperback writer & on some verses they're singing frere jacques

[@nazfrde]

Only in the last verse

[@ose1998]

@@lynnturman8157 that's why I thought every verse is Paperback writer 😂

[@ItsTerryTime]

It is PW during the chorus (unless anyone wants to correct me) but it's FJ during the verses.

[@thegrayshaws]

I never heard it either!

[@UncompressedWAVmusic]

I enjoyed this song as soon as I first heard it in 1966 on the radio then on 45's and LP records.

[@Rawbtube]

One thing I never hear mentioned is the snare sound--it's absolutely savage! Small but mighty, slashing though the entire mix like a rock and roll katana!

[@tobucksy]

It was “Rain” ( the B side of the “Paperback Writer” single) that fascinated me in 1967 (or so) and still does. The unusual way McCartney’s bass and Ringo’s drums have the lead is one thing, and how the lyrics can be interpreted several ways, to me about depression. “I can show you / that when it starts to rain, everything’s the same” and “can you hear me, that when it rains or shines / it’s just a state of mind…” Lennon didn’t mean it that way, I don’t think, but good poetry leaves itself open to interpretation. It’s on KZbin, go listen.

[@agdgdgwngo]

It's probably my favourite Beatles song. The guitar bass and rhythm are so perfect, lyrics are amazing. It sounds so stoned too, which I love

[@johnmcdermott2551]

There is no such song by the Beatles, how weird is that.

[@kevincullen1741]

completely agree

[@craigwells3655]

Paul's brilliance on full show. Love the lyrical trip we take. So clever, not to mention the recording experimentation used and those great harmonies. Was great to see them move away from the romantic rabbit-hole.

[@techsquirrel]

Some of the best music ever written. We heard the "typewriter" sound back when the 45 came out, surprised to hear that sound called out as a phenomenon in 2023! Also heard the offtime warm up line. It was all part of the sound to us. I replayed that reverb tail probably hundreds of times by picking up the needle and dropping it back down on the vinyl, it was the coolest sound, I would listen to the shape and decay of the echoes, never got tired of it.

[@ChaseMearian]

It’s my favorite Beatles single. I love the guitar riff and the harmonies. And this song only has 2 chords, G and C. “Clarksville” is similar, primarily playing G chord. In both songs the verses stay almost entirely on G, causing a somewhat monotone verse melody. As a guitarist, I enjoy playing both songs.

[@pif-film]

The "Paperbak writer" vocal only "chorus" is actually built on 4 chords (C-G-Amin-D : you can hear them on the instrumental take or on the Budokan live performance. I remember being quite surprized, but it makes sense. The fact that it's only vocal harmonies kind of erases the impression of multiple chords... ;-)

[@ChaseMearian]

@@pif-film that’s interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@aschule5684]

Thanks for this. This is probably my all time favorite Beatles song and everytime I need a quick Beatles fix this is always my go to song. I never in all of my 61 years knew about the Fre're Jacques Harmony 😳 I never realized that's what was being said how very cool to learn that. God I love this song and this video made me love it even more!

[@stafford777]

"Every time" is two separate words. And "go-to" should be hyphenated. I hope this helps. : )

[@johnwood1904]

Also, my favorite Beatles song. I love the harmonies and it showcases all four Beatles working together at the height of their creative powers.

[@scottyboy7462]

@@stafford777 Are you the grammar police?

[@shyman99]

@@stafford777 - You can thank Britney Spears and her fabulous song, "Everytime", for corrupting the minds of youth with these types of errors.

[@Starriddin]

You never heard the Fre"re Jacques harmony because of the crappy AM radios and cheap record players we all had back then. LoL!!!

[@scurfie2343]

I remember rushing home to play this 45 record. After a few spins I flipped the record over and played Rain. My young brain was totally blown. Years later I brought Rain to the band I was in. Love that bass!

[@frankhornby6873]

I was 17 when paperback writer was realeased....just like every record previous...it was another fantastic song by The one and only BEATLES!...I still listen to the Fab Four almost every day....how would the World evolved, or even revolved without them?...

[@angusmoffat]

Certainly one of my top ten favourite Beatles songs. Still to this day my most liked bass track. Paul is a superb bass player.

[@matcoffidis1135]

It's an amazing song! I love that bass line. Those stacked vocals and that reverberated delay effect is so cool. I was wondering if someone came in late on the backing vocals, but it always sounded cool to me. Great video as always... ✌️✌️✌️

[@tattyshoesshigure5731]

Fascinating info about this great song. I’ve always loved the bass runs Paul plays on the recording, but had no idea he also played the fantastic guitar riff too - he is one super talented musician!

[@williamnepveux2485]

Paperback Writer has always been one of my favorite Beatles tracks

[@dropdtune9199]

One of the best A and B sides of any single by the Beatles. Both songs just jump off the needle.

[@angusmoffat]

Such a great Beatles song. The quirks just make it more delightful to listen to, again and again and again. Paperback Writer also features my all time favourite bass line.

[@promerops]

I shouldn't be surprised if the band (Beatles plus Messrs Martin and Emerick) were fully aware of the quirks and left them in for extra flavour.

[@danjestic9199]

To me, a message song like this with a zippy catchy melody, great harmony, layered ‘busy’ backing track , and excellent studio wizardry is a monument to greatness.

[@user-jr4jb2uw3z]

Back then songs were put on 45 rpm records to appeal to the growing teenage allowance-driven market. To me this was the best 45 rpm record ever made. Then again, Yesterday and Today is among the very best albums ever made. Thanks for your assessment. Enjoyed it.

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

That's exactly what I spent mine on. 45s.

[@mortonwilson795]

I bought the single when it came out (I was 10) and both sides signalled a new Beatles sound. Much later I came to realise that as well as the actual writing it was the Rickenbacker and the fact that McCartney was spending more time composing bass lines as overdubs that made a difference to their sound. There are plenty of moments in the subsequent years where his bass work is outstanding - incredibly (counter) melodic and utterly original.

[@reedwrichardson437]

He returns

[@marcocardia3960]

Amazing song, i went from "I don´t lisen to The Beatles ,just Paperback Writer I like it a lot" to me loving them and being one of my favorite bands. Rubber Soul helped a lot too :) Also fun fact Paperback Writter was one of the few Beatles songs Frank Zappa liked, allong with Strawberry Fields Forever and I Am The Walrus.

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

Zappa was a massively creative genius, but he wasn't immune to the human tendency to jam his head up between his nether cheeks every once in a while.

[@marcocardia3960]

@@Vito_Tuxedo or maybe he just didn't liked pop rock/the beatles and preferred blues rock/Rolling Stone and doo woop.

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

@@marcocardia3960 I dunno, and unfortunately we can't ask him. But I do think you're onto something regarding a kind of deep-seated animus toward "pop", whatever that means. In Zappa's frame of reference, I've always took it to mean "anything that was commercially successful". His disdain for the record industry's fixation on "commercial potential" was no secret. Actually, my comment was more an observation that Zappa's attitude was inconsistent. I mean, what is there about _Paperback Writer_ that differentiates it so greatly from any number of other Beatles songs that are just as rockin', just as sonically innovative, just as harmonious, or just as brilliantly performed and produced. As much as I love it, it's certainly not among their most musically creative songs. I can only assume that it just appealed to Zappa's subjective concept of "good", an opinion to which he's perfectly entitled. But considering Zappa's own penchant for innovation and musical complexity, _Paperback Writer_ seems a surprising member of his remarkably short list of Beatles favorites. Another point that was behind my comment (which doesn't have anything to do with music) is Zappa's bizarre socio-political perspective...er, not that politics makes any sense in the first place. Anyhow, he was a staunch advocate of individual liberty; yet, he was amazingly inconsistent in his identification of what he considered "good guys" and "bad guys" in the political domain. Hey...no one's perfect. Frank certainly wasn't omniscient or infallible. I agree with a lot of the ideas he expressed, but not everything. Ultimately, I value him for the music he created.

[@marcocardia3960]

@@Vito_Tuxedo well Republicans are the bad guys so I agree with him on that, Frank just didn't lisen to pop music everytime they ask them what he lisens to, he answered that he had Bulgarian Folk music tapes on his car and classical music, like lou Reed their music reflects the people they are are, their music was radically different from popular music so they were anti the popular thing, although frank could do great pop songs and melodies as showed in Freak out and We're only in it for the money, a thing he said about the beatles wich was very stupid, but Frank was a cynic.

[@robertfields1964]

Paperback Writer is one of their finest songs indeed. The writing of a story certainly contributes to the exciting composition. It was a unique concept and it still is today.

[@DONRHOLLOWAY]

I really love the song "Paperback Writer." And speaking earlier of the album "Rubber Soul," that was the first album I ever owned by the Beatles. And to this day, some of my favorite Beatles songs are still from that album, specifically "Nowhere Man" which may just be my all-time favorite Beatles song. I can never listen to it enough and it never gets old. I was 13 years old when I bought "Rubber Soul" and I grew with their music from there, having heard their earlier songs either on radio or on 45 rpm singles. I still have some of their 45 rpm singles dating back to the 1964-65 era. They are a bit scratchy, but still playable and always fun to hear. And as a personal aside, when I listen to the song "The Long and Winding Road," it gives me a chill and a feeling of nostalgia as if it is speaking of the Long and Winding Road of their career. There has never been a band like the Beatles and there never will be another one. The Beatles will live forever and have a new generation of fans forever. I just feel lucky to have been a fan from the very beginning and to have lived through an era that will only be relived as an event of the past. [May 23, 2024]

[@DavidH-D]

Paperback and Rain are utter icons and milestones, separating early Beatles from later. Rubber Soul and Revolver permanently changed rock music. I also arrived in this world in 1966. Thank you for this.

[@loosilu]

That's the debut of Paul's Rickenbacker bass. He became a completely different bass player after that.

[@johnwebb167]

Same here. Alot of awesome things happened in 66 me being 1 of them

[@JKTaylor115]

I remember the day when Paperback Writer was released to radio stations. They would play it twice with a DJ announcement ‘Instant Replay’ in between. I couldn’t get enough of hearing that song.

[@daytripper9222]

Sounds just as good today as it did when I went and bought it in 66.

[@jefffeldstein]

The narrator wouldn't know about that.

[@shikawgoh]

This single, along with the B-side of Rain and later on the single of Strawberry Fields/ Penny Lane are perfect example of what makes the Beatles so great. Whether it’s collectively as a band, or the yin and yang songwriting talents of John and Paul.

[@Adyman182]

It's You Can't Unhear This upload celebration time 🥳🤵🎉 Amazing guitar work on the track, should have been on Revolver with Rain

[@jellycream1964]

The Beatles didn't usually put their singles on the British versions of the albums. So you got more songs from them that way. More bang for your buck! John said it was like ripping your fans off if you put a single on the album like Capitol but thats American greed for you. The record company should of been called Capitalism instead!

[@mgconlan]

I've heard an interview with Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who wrote the Monkees' song "Last Train to Clarksville." They said they heard "Paperback Writer" for the first time on a car radio and thought the opening line was, "Take the last train to … ." Later, when they realized that this wasn't what the Beatles had sung, they decided to write a song of their own using the "Take the last train to … " opening.

[@mr.c8033]

very cool

[@CB-xr1eg]

How could you mistake " Dear Sir or Madam, for "Take the last train to"? I call B/S on that story.

[@raymondkitchen6137]

@@CB-xr1egFrom what I’ve read in a couple Monkees-related articles (I’m s huge Monkees fan) is that either Tommy Boyce or Bobby Hart was driving down the freeway in L.A. and changing stations. They came across ‘Paperback Writer’ at the end of the song (just as it was beginning to fade) and thought they were singing “take the last train”. Remember, radios in cars back then were 99% AM only and some cars had just one tinny-sounding speaker on top of the dash; because AM was in mono, there was usually only one speaker in the center of the top on the dashboard though by then some cars started putting a second speaker in the middle of the rear dash as well. So, yeah, if he was doing 60mph down the freeway with the windows open (or closed) it’s very possible that’s what he thought he heard.

[@CB-xr1eg]

@@raymondkitchen6137 Fair enough, but the comment above which I replied to stated that Boyce & Hart heard the opening line of Paperback Writer " Dear Sir Or |Madam" and thought it was "Take The Last Train". My comment was questioning how that was possible, to mishear it like that.

[@petercena9497]

Sounds like Boyce and Hart stole a little from the Kinks album "Face to Face". Bits of two songs - Party Line and Holiday in Waikiki.

[@jimrich4192]

I'm a jazz guy but i still deeply enjoy all that the Fab 4 played & created! ❤

[@CuriousGeorge1111]

Thanks!! I'm a major music geek, and the Beatles are my favorite artist. I'm delighted by the details of production, and the song's context. Live long and prosper.

[@GianniBosio]

Although he is their same age, my father has never been a huge Beatles fan. But when I played him Paperback Writer for the first time, during the mid-nineties, he exclaimed: "Those guitars... Now I understand why those kids were screaming like that!"

[@alexkaapa]

how did he manage to go 30 years without hearing that song?

[@docsavage8640]

By being a grown man listening to adult music?

[@Cable-je9ho]

HES BACKKKKK

[@everlastingarms3065]

I was surprised that you didn't mention when discussing how innovative and difficult the vocal echos were on the mono mix that they're barely present on the stereo mix. Thanks for pointing out all the background anomalies.... yes, I now can't unhear them. ;-) I love this stuff. So much more organic than the sanitized autotuned drum machine stuff we get now.

[@Ckom-Tunes]

Astonishing! The band (and their producers) that never stop giving us new tricks to contemplate

[@bernlitzner2739]

Nice job! Gotta go with Rain as the Frere Jacque part always bugged me. If you watch the Paperback Writer video, Paul has a chipped tooth from a moped mishap. You Can't Unsee That!

[@amarshmuseconcepta6197]

💥🎯💥 & Scar on top lip 🧐 That disappeared 🤨

[@stitchgrimly6167]

@@amarshmuseconcepta6197 It didn't disappear. It's why he grew the moustache, and clearly visible on White Album era photos.

[@daBEAGLE1017]

I always loved the bass on this song.

[@kcindc5539]

I vividly remember being fascinated by 60’s rock even at eight years old when my sister went to college in 1972 and left me her awesome collection of 45s (she instead took her albums including every Beatles album through 1970). Among the many outstanding singles she’d collected was a lone Beatles 45 - Paperback Writer b/w Rain - my first exposure to the Beatles and to this day my favorite track. The production the vocals the lyrics - all of it mesmerizing and yet easily understood in context. That sort of brilliance was both groundbreaking and eternal.

[@Haroldbeavis1969]

Frere Jacques!!! I’ve been listening to that song for 50 years and I never knew that was in it until now. Wow!

[@gnukev]

I love this song and I actually got to hear The Beatles play it live at Dodger's Stadium on 8/28/66, when I was 12. As an adult, I've come to really appreciate the Beatles far more than I ever did as a child. Now I can say that though the narrator of this video briefly alludes to the idea, the significance of the change in the Beatles LYRICAL style heralded by "Paperback Writer/Rain" can't be over-estimated. With the exception of "Nowhere Man" on their previous album, "Rubber Soul", up to this point, every one of the Beatles compositions had been about love or something having to do with romance. Then, just a few months after "Rubber Soul", they released THIS single; the A side about writing novels and the B side about rain, but neither song about romance or love. And if you examine the lyrical content of the songs on their following album, "Revolver", suddenly, half the songs on it (and including both sides of the single from it) are about anything but love: "Taxman", "Yellow Submarine", "I'm Only Sleeping", "Eleanor Rigby", "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Dr. Robert", and "And Your Bird Can Sing". They are also still writing love songs like "Here, There and Everywhere" and "Got to Get You Into My Life", but what was now possible in their lyrical subject matter had suddenly and profoundly changed so song lyrics could be about pretty much ANYTHING and would continue to be that way for the rest of some of their best and most memorable writing. Later Beatles songs like, "A Day in the Life", "I Am the Walrus", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", "Revolution", "Lady Madonna", "Happiness is a Warm Gun", "Penny Lane", "Come Together", "Baby, You're a Rich Man", "Hey Jude", "Get Back" and "Let it Be" are also not about romantic love. This change in lyrical style is true for pretty much all the other pop music of the era, but I believe it was the Beatles who started and popularized it. I'm not gonna credit Dylan or Zappa because I don't consider them in the "pop" music category. Sure, "Paperback Writer/Rain" and "Revolver" also marked the beginning a profound change in the MUSICAL style of the Beatles. Since they stopped touring, they were writing music that could only be recreated in the studio with lots more overdubbing and electronic effects, but I think this sudden and profound change in their LYRICAL style and that it influenced other writers is frequently overlooked and under-emphasized when people analyze the music of the Beatles.

[@jmarty1000]

Paperback Writer is an exciting shot of adrenaline. The rhythm is so crisp and driven. I love the circular form of the words so cleverly circular. This song makes me want to be a paperback writer too,

[@timcolivet7343]

Paperback writer was the first Beatles song that I loved. It seems crazy to me to think that there was a time when I wasn't obsessed with The Beatles. Hands down the best band (by a huge margin) of all time.

[@billbergin8953]

Brilliant analysis of a pop classic by the fab four. Such insights reveal a work of art rather than simply a song.

[@chrisclermont456]

Paperback Writer is an amazing recording. You can hear the excitement of the band in the track. Clearly they were still excited to be The Beatles at that point. Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sergeant Pepper's are their greatest LPs!!

[@thomasmartinscott]

What I think is that Music has a way of transporting us back in time that NOTHING else can do. Over half a CENTURY has passed and yet, when I hear that, I'm back in my room at 16 years old. I can see the room, the record player, my guitar and the whole scene is right there! The feeling is right there, also.

[@shuroom57]

They can never take that away from us, either, brother!

[@thomasmartinscott]

@@shuroom57 You got that right!

[@matthewrussell9417]

This analysis is absolutely first rate! I loved the juxtaposition of the Beach Boys with the Fab 4. They were fierce competitors, and we are all the richer for it. First time watching this channel = instant subscribe. Good on you all, keep it up!

[@mgman6000]

This song and Rain was the reason I actually started to listen to the Beatles of course I heard them on the radio and thought they were ok I had never bought a Beatles album and went out and bought their latest album Rubber Soul and I eagerly looked forward to anything new from them. You could say it started Beatlemania all over again for grownups

[@murdoph]

Really interesting vid, man! I love your stuff, you always make me go back and listen for the weird stuff, then just end up sat on the ground in front of my record player, surrounded with vinyls, sad because John and George again and we'll never get another Beatles song.

[@14HourTechnicolorDream]

6:15 that is so real, everything is too pristine

[@tonydalton459]

I can’t believe I never noticed the similarity between the riff in Paperback Writer and Got to Get You into My Life.

[@thomasparker9638]

I was blown away by this song and the flip side "Rain" as well!

[@amwitty_]

Ringo just sitting around in the video is honestly the most Ringo thing ever and I'm all about it

[@MrManfhis]

Nice to have you back, it's always a pleasure when you upload

[@johnshields6852]

I was 6 in 1966 and the Beatles songs coming on the radio was amazing, AM only back then.

[@circles07]

One of my favourite beatles songs ..greatest backing track..and inspired vocals

[@saveourrivers]

I agree with others who say that this was a "transition" song for the Beatles. Intelligent lyrics, great harmony vocals and instrumental work.

[@moreheff]

On any given day this could be my favourite Beatles single. The pairing of this with Rain on the flip is almost unbeatable

[@lancethrustworthy]

'Writer' grabbed me powerfully instantly. It was an exciting indicator of what was to come.

[@dnfine53]

It sounds as fresh today as it did 57 years ago. I was blown away as a high schooler following them from the beginning. This is always a singalong whenever it comes up on my playlist. Timeless.