Eleanor Rigby
Song by The Beatles • McCartney
Revolver (1966) — Studio awakening — backwards everything, tape loops.
★ Marquee entry — extended editorial essay
Background
McCartney wrote the song — name and theme — as a meditation on loneliness, the lyric collated over months. The name 'Eleanor' came from the actress Eleanor Bron (then in Help!); 'Rigby' was a Bristol shop name McCartney had noticed. A 1980s headstone discovery at St Peter's Church in Woolton — where Lennon and McCartney had first met — bore the name 'Eleanor Rigby' and is widely assumed to have been a buried memory.
What's distinctive
One of 65 UK songs led primarily by Paul. Recorded approximately 10 of 16 into the Revolver / Studio Awakening (1966) sessions. Carries the unique tag 'string-octet' — no other UK song shares it.Opening line — "Ah, look at all the lonely people…" (brief identification excerpt; full lyrics © Sony Music Publishing — see Genius link in References.)
Recording
Cut 28 April 1966 with no Beatle playing any instrument: McCartney sings to a string octet (four violins, two violas, two cellos) arranged by George Martin in a deliberate Bernard Herrmann tribute. Harrison and Lennon contribute the vocal harmony in the chorus.
| Studio | EMI Studios, Abbey Road — Studio Three (largely) |
|---|---|
| Tape machine | Studer J37 four-track (with vari-speed, ADT) |
| Console | REDD.51 |
| Microphones | Neumann U47/U48, AKG C12, STC 4038, close-miking pioneered (Emerick) on Ringo's bass drum |
| Outboard / effects | EMI RS124, EMT 140 plate, Fairchild 660 limiter, EMI Artificial Double Tracking (ADT), Leslie cabinet (vocals) |
| Guitars | Epiphone Casino, Gibson SG (Harrison), Rickenbacker 4001S bass (McCartney introduced) |
| Amplifiers | Vox AC100, Vox 7120, Fender Showman, Fender Bassman |
| Producer | George Martin |
| Engineer / 2nd | Geoff Emerick • Phil McDonald (2nd) |
Pattern analysis
Legacy & release history
Released as a double A-side with Yellow Submarine on 5 August 1966 — the same day as the Revolver LP. UK number one. The string-octet arrangement is one of the most-covered backing tracks in pop, with at least 100 documented covers using Martin's score directly.
Mono & stereo
- Mixed primarily in MONO at Abbey Road; the Beatles attended only the mono mixes through Sgt Pepper.
- Stereo mixes from this period were prepared (often without the band present) and are now considered secondary by purists.
Documented alternate versions
- Anthology 2 (1996) — alternate take or mix
- 2009 Stereo Remasters — Allan Rouse / Guy Massey remaster
Released on
- Revolver — LP, 5 August 1966
- Yellow Submarine / Eleanor Rigby — Single, 5 August 1966
Cross-references
Other songs sharing themes (string-octet, no-beatles-play, loneliness, death)
Other songs led by the same vocalist
Other songs from this era
string-octetno-beatles-playlonelinessdeath