The Beatles Song That Almost Wasn’t

Sixty years ago, on September 13, 1965, “Yesterday” was released in the United States, two months after its UK debut, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

The song has been played over seven million times in the 20th century, with more than 2,200 cover versions. In several prestigious polls, it has been voted the greatest song of all time.

However, due to its unique nature — written and performed solely by Paul McCartney, without the rest of the Beatles — John, George, and Ringo initially vetoed its release. It took months to get their approval.

“Yesterday” is also the most famous song ever written in a dream. McCartney said he woke up with the melody fully formed in his head and, for months, asked around to make sure he hadn’t accidentally copied someone else’s work.

While waiting for lyrics, McCartney and Lennon jokingly called the melody “Scrambled Eggs”. Paul even requested a piano on the set of the film Help! so he could continue working on the song — which annoyed director Richard Lester, who eventually snapped.

George Harrison reportedly said Paul talked about nothing but that song for months. Eventually, with producer George Martin’s guidance, the final version was recorded with Paul on acoustic guitar and a string quartet, no other Beatles involved.

One of the most surprising anecdotes involves Chris Farlowe, a well-known blues-rock singer who was offered the song before the Beatles released it — but he turned it down, thinking it was too plain.

And perhaps the harshest early critique came from Bob Dylan, who claimed that the Library of Congress had “thousands of better songs” than “Yesterday” and “Michelle.”

Ironically, he later recorded a version of “Yesterday” with George Harrison — never officially released, but the recording still exists.