She's a Woman

Infobox Single
Name = She's a Woman
Writer = Lennon/McCartney


Artist = The Beatles
A-side = "I Feel Fine"
Released = 23 November 1964 (US)
27 November 1964 (UK)
Recorded = Abbey Road: 8 October 1964
Format = 7"
Genre = Rock
Length = 3:03
Label = Parlophone R5160 (UK)
Capitol 5222 (US)
Producer = George Martin
Reviews =
Last single = "A Hard Day's Night"
(UK-1964) ---
"Matchbox" (US-1964)
This single = "I Feel Fine"
(1964)
Next single = "Ticket to Ride"
(UK-1965)
---
"Eight Days a Week"
(US-1965) |

"She's a Woman" is a song by The Beatles. It was released as the B-side to "I Feel Fine" in 1964, their last single release that year. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 from frequent airplay.

Origins

The song, penned by Paul McCartney (through credited to Lennon/McCartney), was his attempt at imitating the vocal style of Little Richard. This is why the song is in such a high register, even for McCartney's tenor range. Some takes of the song (especially recordings of live concerts) feature an extended outro. The lyrics "turn me on,", were as John Lennon was quoted saying, "so excited to say 'turn me on' — you know, about marijuana and all that... using it as an expression." [http://www.geocities.com/~beatleboy1/dba04sale.html]

The structure of the song is fairly simple, with the melody carried mostly by McCartney's voice. His bass and a backing piano produce a countermelody, with John Lennon's and George Harrison's guitars playing chords on the upbeats. During the first verse, the piano also plays chords on the upbeats. Harrison also plays a bright guitar solo during the middle eight.

In the US, the song was released on the Capitol album "Beatles '65", and is presented in a duophonic mix featuring a layer of reverb added by executive Dave Dexter, Jr. A true stereo version of the song can be found on the Past Masters, Volume 1 CD. The song is heard being played on a tape recorder in the cavern scene in the movie "Help!".

Cover versions

Cover versions include Jeff Beck's instrumental jazz fusion version featuring a talk box from his 1975 album "Blow by Blow", along with latin jazz version by Joe DeRenzo from his "Core Beliefs" album and ESC's Beatles compilation "Step Inside LOVE". Also a pop-reggae reading by Scritti Politti featuring Shabba Ranks. José Feliciano also has a cover version of this song.

It was also performed by McCartney "Unplugged" in 1991, and by Chikezie on the seventh season of American Idol during the Top 12 competition, receiving rave reviews from the judges.