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"Paperback Writer" is a song by the legendary '60s British rock and roll group The Beatles. Released as a single in 1966, it went to the number one spot in Britain, the United States, Germany, and Australia. The song is significant because it's the first Beatles single to not be a love song (though not the first song -- that honor goes to "Nowhere Man", which is credited to Lennon-McCartney, though the song was written by only John Lennon).
The track was recorded between March 13 and 14 of 1966 and is signficiant because of the boosted bass guitar sound throughout the song. McCartney was now playing a Rickenbacker and with some studio tweaking, the bass is the most prominent instrument in the entire song. McCartney probably did not make this innovation by himself; American musicians like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett had utilized a heavy bass the year before.
McCartney was due to write the next Beatles' single; John Lennon has written the previous five, and he wanted to write a song that was not about love, per request by one of his aunts. British disk jockey Jimmy Savile said that McCartney's inspiration came from seeing drummer Ringo Starr reading a book. "He took one look and announced that he would write a song about a book," he said. The inspiration for the form of the song came from an actual letter that McCartney had received from an aspiring novelist.
"Paperback Writer" is in the form of a letter from an aspiring author addressed to his readers. He has written a novel about a paperback writer that is based on another book. The "man named Lear" is a reference to the Victorian painter Edward Lear, who wrote nonsense poems and song that John Lennon was very fond over (though he never wrote novels). The Daily Mail was Lennon's regular newspaper and was often lying around when the Beatles were writing songs.
Because "Paperback Writer" is a single, it was not included on any of the Beatles' albums. However, it can be found on several collectoins:
References
- Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 006095065X
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