I Feel Fine (single) 1964

1. I Feel Fine
- Released in November 1964, and written while the band was working on their next album, Beatles for Sale.
- Written by Lennon, he based it on a riff he had written by for the background of another song, Eight Days a Week, which would feature on their forthcoming album.
- This song marks the point where the Beatles would start using guitar riffs prominantly in their songs.
- Lennon didn't think much of this song to begin with, but after jamming on it with Ringo he felt it could be an A-side.
- The song bears a slight resemblance to a Bobby Parker cover the band used to perform back in 1961, this may be where Lennon originally got his 'inspiration' from.
- Lennon sings the lead vocals, with Harrison and McCartney providing harmonising. McCartney provided the barking sounds near the end.
- Lennon plays the riff and the guitar solo, with Harrison relegated to rhythm work.
- This song also marks a point where the band started experimenting with recording techniques and using different sound effects to push the boundaries of what could be put into a song. Here the band uses feedback as part of the song's intro... Lennon would remain proud in the following years that the Beatles were the first band to put feedback into a studio recording. It sounds absolutely magic.
- The feedback was originally an accident... Paul let the note ring out on his bass. Lennon had a semi-acoustic nearby and it's pickup picked up the bass note, so he leaned into his amp to cause it to feedback and distort. The result sounded cool so Paul got George Martin to splice it onto the front of the song.
- The guitar riff is actually played on an acoustic, with an effect added to make it sound more electric.
- Took 9 takes, runs for two minutes and twenty seconds.

2. She's a Woman
- B-side to the stand-alone single I Feel Fine.
- Written by McCartney as an attempt at doing something Little Richard-ish, he was obviously still jazzing on from his success with Long Tall Sally. The song was intended from the get-go as a B-side for I Feel Fine, and also because the band wanted a rockier song to play live in their set.
- The vocals are sung in an unusually high register for the band (as McCartney was trying to get to that Little Richard sound). McCartney also double-tracked his vocals.
- The lyric 'turn me on' referred to marijuana.
- Some alternate takes and live versions of this song feature an extended outro.
- McCartney plays the piano on the recording.
- Ringo plays a chocalho (a shaken Brazillian percussion instrument) on the recording.
- 6 takes, runs for 3 minutes.

US single cover