When it comes to classic songs, The Beatles’ discography is arguably packed with more zingers than any other act’s. The Fab Four currently sit in second place when it comes to most number one singles (18) in their home country, just behind the very worthy first-place holder, Elvis Presley, who has 21 top hits to his name. In America, The Beatles do take top spot, with an astonishing 20 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, just in front of Mariah Carey, with 19. Many people might not know that one of those hit Beatles singles, “Yesterday,” possesses a strange and unique history.

How Paul McCartney Came Up With “Yesterday”

Yesterday was written by Paul McCartney between 1964 and 1965, and the melody first came to him in a dream. As the story goes, McCartney had been staying at the home of his then-girlfriend, Jane Asher, in Wimpole Street, London. When he woke up one morning, the now-famous tune was running round in his head. 

Initially, the singer-songwriter was convinced that it must be an already existing song. As he later recalled: “For about a month I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before. Eventually it became like handing something into the police. I thought if no one claimed it after a few weeks then I could have it.”

Finally assured that it must be original, McCartney set about adding lyrics. This turned out to be a lengthy process, and to better remember the tune, he originally inserted meaningless words that fit the melody. 

Before “yesterday” became the song’s aching refrain, the words “scrambled eggs” served as a placeholder. The Beatles, at the time, were deep into filming their musical comedy movie, Help! It’s reported that McCartney frequently tested the patience of the film’s director, Richard Lester, and even his bandmates, by repeatedly wandering off to a nearby piano to work on the song. It wasn’t until a holiday trip to Portugal in 1965 with Asher that McCartney was able to finalize the lyrics. 

“Yesterday” Adds to the Beatles’ Legacy of Success

Out of all those fantastic No. 1 Beatles singles referred to above, an extraordinary 13 reached number one in both the UK and the U.S. “Yesterday,” which first appeared on the band’s 1965 album, Help! shot to number one in the U.S. but was not initially released as a single in the UK, for a few good reasons: It simply sounded too different from a typical Beatles number and was too personal to McCartney to be offered as a representative sound. 

The group’s engineer, George Martin, reportedly discussed the problem with the band’s manager, Brian Epstein, suggesting that perhaps it should be released under McCartney’s name alone. Epstein, fearing this might lead to divisions within the group, refused. It wasn’t until 1976, years after the Beatles’ 1970 split, that “Yesterday” was released as a single in the UK. It reached number eight on the singles chart.