Eight Days A Week: Introduction
“Eight Days A Week” is a Fab Four song that is on the 1964 album “Beatles For Sale.”
In Detail
- Release Date: December 4, 1964
- Recorded: October 1 & 18, 1964
- Studio: EMI Studios, London
- Genre: Rock
- Track Duration: 2:44
- Record Label: Parlophone
- Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney
- Publisher: Northern Songs
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineer: Norman Smith
Performers And Instruments
- John Lennon: lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar, handclaps
- Paul McCartney: lead vocals, bass guitar, handclaps
- George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitars, handclaps
- Ringo Starr: drums, handclaps
Where To Find “Eight Days A Week”
It is still possible to buy this song on the following albums:
Avoid the anthology album if you only want the original version of this song. Of course, if you are a collector, grab them all!
Eight Days A Week: Background
Paul McCartney says the idea for the title “Eight Days A Week” came from two sources. Firstly, he credits it as one of Ringo Starr’s malapropisms. In fact, some of the unusual things that Starr said produced other song titles too. For example, “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
Linda: “Ringo also said, ‘Eight days a week.'”
Paul McCartney & Linda McCartney
Paul: “Yeah, he said it as though he were an overworked chauffeur. (in heavy accent) ‘Eight days a week.’ (laughter) When we heard it, we said, ‘Really? Bing! Got it!'”
Playboy Magazine (1984)
Secondly, McCartney credits his chauffeur, who drove him to John Lennon’s house in Weybridge one day.
“I usually drove myself there, but the chauffeur drove me out that day and I said, ‘How’ve you been?’ – ‘Oh, working hard,’ he said, ‘working eight days a week.’ I had never heard anyone use that expression, so when I arrived at John’s house, I said, ‘Hey, this fella just said, “eight days a week”.’ John said, ‘Right, “Ooh I need your love, babe…” and we wrote it.”
Paul McCartney
Anthology
It’s clear that the title was a prompt from Ringo Starr, or is it because he once said he was not the source of the song title? If McCartney did hear the phrase earlier, he may have put it on the back burner until prompted again. Whether or not the phrase is a “Ringoism” is open to debate. We have more Ringoisms here.
That Fade In
This song is unusual in that the intro fades in, which makes it the first pop recording to do so. But then again, this was The Beatles with George Martin at the helm. That partnership was to come up with a lot of “firsts” in the studio during their time together. For example, backmasking, as in “I’m Only Sleeping,” etc. So, even in 1964, their experimental stage was already in full swing!
Recording Studio
The Beatles began recording “Eight Days A Week” on October 6, 1964, in Studio Two of the EMI Studios, London, during the 3.00–6.45 session. Apart from the fade-in, which was unusual at the time, this was another “first” for the band because the song was not even complete
The Fab Four experimented with the intro for a while before the sixth and final take, which became the master track. Takes 2–5 began with a stretched-out “ooh,” but they eventually decided upon a guitar intro.
The 1995 album “Anthology 1” has 2 numbered tracks for the song. The first is a combination of takes 1, 2, and 4, while the other is the complete take 5.
On October 18, 1964, after more overdubbing, the song was complete. On the “Beatles For Sale” album, it is the first track on side 2, just before another fine song, “Words Of Love.”
Although it was an album track in the UK and some other countries, “Eight Days A Week” was a single release elsewhere. In fact, it became a number-one single in America, Canada, and Belgium. Therefore, it qualifies for inclusion on the 2000 album “1” (One).
Take A Listen
Finally, give the song a try, then leave a comment below.
