Beatles Countdown #79: Michelle
{Apr 08}
1960s paul mcartney, the beatles No Comments
Coming in at #79 is one of Paul McCartney’s most acclaimed & recognizable compositions from 1965′s Rubber Soul: “Michelle!”
One of the most memorable songs from the band’s folk-rock album, the genesis of “Michelle” actually began around 1959 as it was one of the first instrumental pieces Paul wrote. Back then, he wrote all of his songs on his first guitar, a right-handed Zenith that he turned upside down to be able to play. Songs like “I Saw Her Standing There” had their beginnings in this stage of Paul’s songwriting, but “Michelle” stood out as it was his first attempt at playing in a finger-picking style. While he was inspired by the song “Trambone” by Chet Atkins, the style foreshadowed Paul’s future desire to break out of the rock style of writing songs as this style was fairly innovative at the time. Originally called “Instrumental In C,” the song started to get more life during John Lennon’s stay at art school. He would invite Paul & George out to college parties where French culture happened to be a huge trend. Trying to fit in, Paul would sit in the corner playing the song while making up French words to match the song. Years later when prepping for the recording of their first true landmark album, John suggested that Paul pay some serious attention to the composition.
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