Michelle

Michelle is one of the Beatles' most popular ballads, written by Paul McCartney in 1965 and first released on the album, Rubber Soul. In 1967 it won the Grammy for Song of the Year. McCartney originally put together a parody of a French song back in the Liverpool days, which he used to sing at parties. In 1965 Lennon encouraged him to rework it for the album. It has many of the qualities of Yesterday (including being in the key of F major with a lot of F minor influences). Lennon suggested the "I love you" bridge, and producer George Martin composed the lead guitar part. The only Beatles song featuring French, Michelle benefited from a contribution from Ivan Vaughan's wife, a French teacher. Vaughan was a friend of both Paul and John. In fact he introduced them to each other in 1957. His wife suggested the line, "Michelle, ma belle, son les mots qui vont très bien ensemble."