Paul McCartney defended George Harrison’s last-minute Beatles song change

The Beatles’ early singles are what really catapulted them into superstardom in the 1960s.

And, during their journey, no song was bigger for them than the 1963 single She Loves You.

However, when they were in the recording studio, they had a lot of convincing to do to get it on the airwaves.

While working on the track with their boss George Martin, the producer wasn’t happy about a final alteration George Harrison made to the song.

Harrison included a sixth interval chord at the end of the track, changing the feel of the final moments of the song. And Martin hated how it sounded.

Paul McCartney came to his pal’s defence, however, noting that She Loves You would not be a finished song without it.

“It was corny,” he said. “[Martin] thought we were joking. But it didn’t work without it, so we kept it in and eventually he was convinced.” (Via Far Out)

The Beatles were truly up against it from all angles. When John Lennon began rehearsing the track with McCartney in his family home, he received even more criticism.

McCartney’s father told the pair: “Son, there’s enough Americanisms around. Couldn’t you sing ‘yes yes yes’ just for once?”

Macca replied: “You don’t understand, Dad. It wouldn’t work.”

When Martin and fellow producer Geoff Emerick discussed cutting She Loves You from the band’s repertoire, the group’s notoriety exploded.

“The huge crowd of girls that had gathered outside broke through the front door,” Emerick remembered. “Scores of hysterical screaming girls were racing down the corridors, being chased down by a handful of out-of-breath, beleaguered London bobbies.”

Martin eventually saw how the band’s vision took shape as their songs were finalised, saying: “They blossomed like an orchid in a hothouse. Once they had their first success, they realised they had a way of writing they would appeal to the public.”

She Loves You went straight to number one in the UK singles charts, and is still the band’s best-selling single of all time. On top of that, it was the most-sold track in the 1960s by any artist on the planet.