Skip to main content

TL;DR:

  • David Crosby said only Paul McCartney could have written The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.”
  • He discussed what made the song different from other music.
  • The track became a hit twice in two different decades in the United Kingdom.
David Crosby from Crosby, Stills & Nash in black-and-white
David Crosby from Crosby, Stills & Nash | Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns

David Crosby explained why The Beatles‘ “Eleanor Rigby” was his favorite song written by Paul McCartney. He said the song “was a very brave piece of writing.” Subsequently, he said the song wouldn’t have been the same without drugs.

David Crosby said The Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is about ‘lonely, old, frozen-in-place people’ that make up most of the world

During a 2022 interview with Stereogum, Crosby named “Eleanor Rigby” as his favorite composition by Paul. He explained why. “Nobody else wrote about those people,” he said. “Nobody else had the heart to write about the lonely, old, frozen-in-place people that are the main part of the population.

“We write about glorious, brave, bigger-than-life,” he said. “We write about people who are in terrible pain. We write about very dramatic things. But we don’t write about small, cold, old, painful, lonely stuff like that, man. It was a very brave piece of writing. It’s a kind song, it’s a song of compassion in a quiet and very beautiful way.”

David Crosby felt The Beatles went ‘nuts’ after they did ‘acid and pot’

Crosby compared “Eleanor Rigby” to the group’s earlier work. “I was stunned, man,” he said. “I didn’t know they could grow that fast.” Crosby listens to “Eleanor Rigby” if he wants music to move him.

Crosby credited drugs for The Beatles’ evolution. “I didn’t realize what would happen when you gave guys like that acid and pot,” he said. “They said, ‘Oh, well, look at this.’ And they went crazy. They went beautifully f****** nuts. They expanded their world drastically the same way their consciousness had been expanded.”

Related

John Lennon Was ‘Hurt’ When Paul McCartney Asked Him to Work on The Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’

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

“Eleanor Rigby” became a hit in the United States. It reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for a total of eight weeks. The Beatles included the track on the album Revolver, which topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks. The album stayed on the chart for 85 weeks altogether.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Eleanor Rigby” topped the chart in the United Kingdom for four weeks in the 1960s, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. The track charted again in 1986 at No. 63, remaining on the chart for two weeks. Meanwhile, Revolver was No. 1 for seven of its 34 weeks on the chart.

“Eleanor Rigby” was a hit for The Beatles and it impressed one of their fellow rock stars.

Best in Entertainment