Paul McCartney Wrote The Beatles’ ‘Michelle’ Using a ‘Well-Known Trick’

TL;DR:

• Paul McCartney used a “well-known trick” to create The Beatles’ “Michelle.”
• He said a lot of jazz musicians know this trick.
• Drake sampled “Michelle” in a track from his album Certified Lover Boy.

Paul McCartney said writing The Beatles‘ “Michelle” was “a great moment” in his life. He said he used a “well-known trick” to create the song. Subsequently, “Michelle” inspired covers by several artists.

Paul McCartney discussed what instrument he was using when The Beatles made ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’

During a 1994 interview with MusicRadar, Paul discussed his feelings about the Rickenbacker bass guitar. “I became fond of that instrument and then I used to use either that or the Höfner, just to vary it a little bit, and ’round about the time of Sgt. Pepper, I was definitely using the Rickenbacker quite a lot,” he said.

Subsequently, the interviewer praised the melodic line from The Beatles’ “Michelle.” “It actually was thought up on the spot,” he said. “Yeah! Because you didn’t have much time. You had to think on your feet, that was the thing.” 

Paul McCartney was really proud of the melody line/descending chord combo in The Beatles’ ‘Michelle’

Paul recalled coming up with the bass line for “Michelle.” “I would never have played ‘Michelle’ on bass until I had to record the bass line,” he recalled. “Bass isn’t an instrument you sit around and sing to — I don’t, anyway. But ‘Michelle,’ I remember that line against the descending chords, that was like, oh, a great moment in my life.

“It’s quite a well-known trick to do that, I’m sure jazz players have done that against that descending thing,” he said. “But wherever I got it from, the back of my brain somewhere said: do that, that’ll be nice, it just lays it out a bit more.”

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, John said he added the bluesy elements to “Michelle.” He said he wrote more melancholy material while Paul’s stuff was more upbeat.

How ‘Michelle’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Michelle” appeared on the album Rubber Soul. It was never a single in the United States, so it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100. On the other hand, Rubber Soul reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for six weeks, staying on the chart for 70 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Michelle” never charted in the United Kingdom either. Meanwhile, Rubber Soul peaked at No. 1 for eight weeks in the U.K. The album remained on the chart for 42 weeks. While “Michelle” was not a charting single, it inspired covers by David and Jonathan, Andy Williams, Billy Vaughn, and Bud Shank. Drake sampled the original song for the track “Champagne Poetry” from the album Certified Lover Boy.

“Michelle” wasn’t a hit in the United States or the United Kingdom but Paul is fond of it.