She's A Woman

Song facts

From Wikipedia:

“She’s a Woman” is a song by the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney, who is the sole vocalist and plays bass guitar and piano on the song. It was released as the B-side to “I Feel Fine” in 1964, their last single release that year. It reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 from frequent airplay.

Composition

The song, penned by Paul McCartney (though credited to Lennon–McCartney), was his attempt at imitating the vocal style of Little Richard. This is why the song is in such a high register, even for McCartney’s tenor range. Some takes of the song (especially recordings of live concerts) feature an extended outro.

The structure of the song is fairly simple, with the melody carried mostly by McCartney’s voice. His bass and a backing piano produce a countermelody, with Lennon’s guitar playing chords on the backbeat. After the first verse, the piano also plays chords on the upbeats. George Harrison plays a bright guitar solo during the middle eight.

Releases

In the United States, the song was released on the Capitol album Beatles ’65, and is presented in a duophonic mix featuring a layer of reverb added by executive Dave Dexter, Jr. A true stereo version of the song can be found on the Past Masters, Volume 1 CD. Some people say that this stereo version was first released in Australia without asking permission. There is also another stereo version that sounds the same but with McCartney’s count-in which appears on the CD EP box set. The song is heard being played on a tape recorder underground during the Salisbury Plain scene in the movie Help!. In the UK, the first album release was on the 1978 compilation LP Rarities in mono in the box set The Beatles Collection and later released separately.

The band started including the song in their live shows in 1965. It is characterised by the classic percussive “honk” of Lennon’s Rickenbacker 325. One of the versions of the song can also be found on the Beatles’ live albums, Live at the Hollywood Bowl and Live at the BBC, while a version from the first of two shows at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in 1966 appears on Anthology 2.

On the US charts, the song was the final of 11 top ten hits in the calendar year 1964. This is an all-time record for most top ten hits in a calendar year on the Billboard Hot 100 charts by one artist/group. It was also the twelfth top 10 hit written by Lennon-McCartney, an all-time record for most top 10 hits in a calendar year on the Billboard Hot 100 by a songwriter.

Personnel

Ian MacDonald was not sure whether McCartney or Harrison played the lead guitar solo. He said that “on the basis of sound and style”, it was probably McCartney. However, on Take 6 of “I Feel Fine“, Harrison can be heard running through this solo shortly before the take begins. […]

From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:

• [a] mono 12 Oct 1964.
  UK: Parlophone R5200 single 1965, Parlophone PSLP 261 and PCM 1001 Rarities 1978-79.
  CD: EMI single 1989.
• [b] stereo 12 Oct 1964.
  Australia: Parlophone PCSO 7534 Greatest Hits 2 1967.
  CD: EMI CDP 7 90043 2 Past Masters 1 1988.
• [b1] stereo, untrimmed.
  UK: Parlophone SGE 1 (EP) 1981.
  CD: EP box set 1991.
• [c] mono 21 Oct 1964.
  US: Capitol 5327 single 1964, Capitol T 2228 Beatles ’65 1964.
• [c1] mock stereo made from [c] 1964, by Capitol.
  US: Capitol ST 2228 Beatles ’65 1964.

UK mono [a] and stereo [b] have a slightly longer fade, “she’s a woman” 5 times, against 3 on US mono [c]. UK mono [a] has no echo on the vocal, while US mono [c] has echo on everything that was probably added by Capitol. US mono [c] also seems to have less piano than [a] but the echo may just be drowning it. The mock stereo conversion from it [c1] is muddy.

Stereo [b], also without the echo, seems to have gone missing in the vaults for a while after being copied for Australia in 1967, as it was not used for the Parlophone Rarities LP, but it was found for the CD release. [b1] “untrimmed” is the same mix with a countdown at the start, from a master reel.

Paul McCartney performed the song on Unplugged in 1991, and during his 2004 summer tour.

Last updated on March 12, 2016

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