Paul McCartney Said a Writer on the Cover of The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Loved ‘Eleanor Rigby’
TL;DR:
- A famous writer depicted on Sgt. Pepper was there while Paul McCartney composed The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.”
- The writer explained why he was a fan of “Eleanor Rigby.”
- The song became a much bigger hit in the United Kingdom than it was in the United States.
A number of famous writers are visible on the cover of The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. One of the writers knew Paul McCartney while he was writing The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.” Subsequently, Paul revealed what the author said after he heard the classic track.
Paul McCartney befriended a famous novelist during his time with The Beatles
William S. Burroughs was a novelist who wrote unorthodox books. His most famous work is the novel Naked Lunch, which David Cronenberg adapted into the 1991 cult film of the same name. During a 2021 interview with The New Yorker, Paul discussed Burrough’s attitude toward “Eleanor Rigby.”
“[An] early admirer of the song was William S. Burroughs, who, of course, also ended up on the cover of Sgt. Pepper,” Paul recalled. “He and I had met through the author Barry Miles and the Indica Bookshop, and he actually got to see the song take shape when I sometimes used the spoken-word studio that we had set up in the basement of Ringo’s flat in Montagu Square.”
William S. Burroughs was impressed by the narrative of The Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’
Paul revealed what Burroughs said after he heard the song. “‘Eleanor Rigby’ ended up on the Revolver album, and for the first time we were recording songs that couldn’t be replicated onstage — songs like this and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows.’
“So Burroughs and I had hung out, and he’d borrowed my reel-to-reel a few times to work on his cut-ups,” Paul continued. “When he got to hear the final version of ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ he said he was impressed by how much narrative I’d got into three verses. And it did feel like a breakthrough for me lyrically — more of a serious song.”
How ‘Eleanor Rigby’ performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Eleanor Rigby” became a modest hit in the United States. The track reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for eight weeks. The song appeared on the album Revolver. The album topped the Billboard 200 for six of its 85 weeks on the chart.
The Official Charts Company reports “Eleanor Rigby” became even more popular in the United Kingdom. There, it was No. 1 for four of its 13 weeks on the chart. Meanwhile, Revolver topped the chart for seven weeks, staying on the chart for 34 weeks altogether.
“Eleanor Rigby” is a classic track and it even impressed Burroughs.
