She's a Woman

(Lennon/McCartney)

Quick Facts

Composer	Paul
Lead Vocal	Paul
Recorded	Oct 1964
Length	3:01
Key	A
Noted Takes	7
Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Norman Smith

Originally released on

I Feel Fine / She's a Woman

Parlophone — R 5200

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Story

“She’s a Woman” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on a non-album single in November 1964 as the B-side to “I Feel Fine”, except in North America, where it also appeared on the album Beatles ’65, released in December 1964. Though it was the B-side, it charted in the US, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on the Cash Box Top 100. [Wikipedia]

She’s a Woman is a song by The Beatles, written by McCartney and led on vocal by Paul McCartney. Off-beat-chord rocker; lyric contains ‘turns me on’ — first such on a single. Recorded 8 October 1964 as the B-side to ‘I Feel Fine,’ this McCartney rocker features off-beat chord voicings challenging conventional harmonic expectation. The boundary-pushing lyric established new pop content norms.

The session work falls within the band’s Beatlemania (1962–1964) period, recorded 8 October 1964 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road. George Martin produced; Norman Smith engineered. The off-beat chord work required precise voicing and timing coordination across guitar and bass. Paul’s energetic vocal delivery and percussive rhythm section emphasise raw energy — minimal overdubbing, maximum groove.

What’s distinctive

At 3:01 it sits in the upper quarter by length. One of 65 songs led primarily by Paul. Written by Paul McCartney. Take count: 7 — takes 1–7 in a single afternoon session on 8 October 1964; take 6 “best”, take 7 attempted but take 6 was clearly better. Introduces the chocalho to Beatles recordings.¹

Recording

She’s a Woman was recorded in a single afternoon session on 8 October 1964 in Studio Two at EMI, Abbey Road: takes 1–7, with take 6 deemed “best”. “A superb Paul McCartney composition with blues-style vocal, sung in such a high pitch that he was accused at the time of screeching. Not at all. This fine song was indicative of Paul’s fast growing awareness of other forms of popular music, and the ease with which he could slip into those styles.” The recording was completed efficiently in three and a half hours; take 7 was attempted but take 6 was clearly better.¹
Chocalho debut — “Ringo — in addition to his fine drumming — utilised a percussion piece new to Beatles songs, a chocalho, a cylindrical metal shaker containing lead shot or peas.” The chocalho is listed in the 1964 instruments and equipment inventory. Its introduction on She’s a Woman is part of the broader trend documented across 1964: “the overdubbing of percussion onto songs also became a much more common occurrence.”^1,2
Paul’s triple instrumental role — “Paul added piano to his vocal and bass playing.” McCartney therefore played three instruments on the recording: Höfner 500/1 bass, Steinway grand piano and lead vocal — all within a seven-take session. The piano addition alongside bass and vocal is characteristic of McCartney’s growing multi-instrumentalist approach, a pattern that would become more pronounced through Help! and Rubber Soul.¹
Double-tracked guitar solo — She’s a Woman is one of six 1964 recordings documented as featuring a double-tracked guitar solo: “‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Baby’s In Black’, ‘Words Of Love’, ‘Matchbox’, ‘She’s A Woman’ and ‘I Feel Fine’ all had double-tracked guitar solos. Again, the fourth track of the tape machine made this a relatively simple task, and double-tracking instruments would become a common practice from this point on.” The four-track format’s fourth track enabled guitar double-tracking far more easily than the earlier twin-track method.²
Non-album single — “The song was not for the in-the-works LP, materialising instead as a single.” She’s a Woman was therefore never intended for Beatles for Sale; it was written and recorded specifically for the B-side of the forthcoming I Feel Fine single (Parlophone R 5200, 27 November 1964).¹

Equipment

Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road — Studio Two¹
Tape machine	Telefunken M10 four-track²
Console	REDD.51 (installed January 1964)²
Microphones	AKG D19c (drum overhead); AKG D20 (bass drum, bass amp); Neumann U47 (amplifiers); Neumann U48 (vocals, figure-of-eight)²
Outboard / effects	RS124 Altec compressor (Main Faders I & II, rhythm tracks), Fairchild 660 limiter (Main Faders III & IV, vocal tracks), EMT 140 plate reverb²
Guitars	Rickenbacker 360-12 (Harrison 12-string), Gretsch Country Gentleman/Tennessean (Harrison), Höfner 500/1 violin bass (McCartney)²
Amplifiers	Vox A.C.100 Super De-Luxe (John and George, from August 1964)²
Piano	Steinway B grand piano (Paul, overdubbed)¹
Percussion	Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl kit; chocalho (cylindrical metal shaker — first Beatles use)^1,2

Recording Timeline

8 October 1964 (Thu) — recording, takes 1–7, EMI Studio Two — Studio Two, 2.30–6.00pm. P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Ken Scott/Mike Stone. Recording: She’s A Woman (takes 1–7). “The recording was quite straightforward, take one sounding not dissimilar from the ‘best’, take six. They did try a seventh take but six was clearly better.” Paul played bass, piano and lead vocal; Ringo added drums and chocalho. The session was the only recording date for the song — no overdub or re-make sessions followed.¹
12 October 1964 (Mon) — mono and stereo mixing from take 6, Studio Two control room — Studio Two (control room only): 10.00–10.30am. P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Ken Scott. Mono mixing: She’s A Woman (remix 1, from take 6). Stereo mixing: She’s A Woman (from take 6). “The mono remix of ‘She’s A Woman’ was for the UK record market only. A remix for the US was done on 21 October.” Both mono and stereo were completed in the same half-hour morning session, alongside the mono mix of Eight Days A Week (remix 1, from take 13) in the afternoon.¹
21 October 1964 (Wed) — US mono remix from take 6, Room 65 — Abbey Road, Room 65: 2.30–5.45pm. P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Ron Pender. Mono mixing: She’s A Woman (remix 2, from take 6). “The second remix of ‘She’s A Woman’ was expressly for the US.” The same session also produced four mono remixes of I Feel Fine (remixes 1–4 from take 9: remix 3 for the UK single, remix 4 for the US) and mono mixes of I’ll Follow The Sun and Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby.¹

A superb Paul McCartney composition with blues-style vocal, sung in such a high pitch that he was accused at the time of screeching. Not at all. This fine song was indicative of Paul’s fast growing awareness of other forms of popular music, and the ease with which he could slip into those styles.— Mark Lewisohn¹

Studio Notes

Chocalho — first Beatles recording to feature the instrument — The chocalho — “a cylindrical metal shaker containing lead shot or peas” — is documented as “a percussion piece new to Beatles songs.” It appears in the 1964 instruments inventory alongside the bongos, dumbek, African drum and congas, all drawn from EMI’s trap cupboard. The chocalho’s presence on She’s a Woman continues the pattern of percussion expansion that began with the maracas on Please Please Me and the bongos on A Hard Day’s Night: “the entire group contributed to percussion tracks, often choosing esoteric pieces from the EMI trap cupboard.”^1,2
Double-tracked guitar solo as 1964 practice — She’s a Woman is one of six 1964 recordings with a documented double-tracked guitar solo. “1964 was also the year that the double-tracking of instruments became commonplace on Beatles sessions.” The four-track format’s availability of a fourth track “made this a relatively simple task” compared to the twin-track era, where the only two tracks were typically spoken for by rhythm and vocals. The double-tracked guitar solos on the six listed 1964 recordings represent the transition point between an impractical novelty (on twin-track) and routine studio technique (by Help! and beyond).²
REDD.51 console + RS124/Fairchild compressor chain — The same REDD.51 desk and outboard patching documented across the Beatles for Sale era applies: “Each of the four Main Fader channels on the REDD.51 desk had an item of outboard gear inserted into it: Main Faders I and II always had RS124 Altec compressors inserted; III and IV always used… Fairchild 660 limiters (after early 1964). This patching arrangement was directly tied to the four-track tape layout.” Drums, bass and guitars (Tracks 1 and 2) passed through the Altec compressors; vocals (Tracks 3 and 4) through the Fairchild limiters.²
AKG microphone setup (post-transition) — By October 1964, Norman Smith had completed the transition from STC to AKG microphones on the drum kit. The AKG D19c served as drum overhead and the AKG D20 on bass drum and Paul’s bass amplifier — “notable changes to his drum mic’ing setup, settling on the D19c as overhead and D20 on bass drum” — choices that “would also be standard for the rest of the group’s years at the studio.” John and George’s A.C.100 Super De-Luxe amplifiers were mic’d with U47 microphones; vocals went through a U48 in figure-of-eight.²
Echo chamber — dry recording, chamber at mix — By 1964, Norman Smith had changed his practice: “at the start of 1964, Norman Smith finally stopped printing the chamber to tape during recording. Instead, everything was recorded to tape dry, and chamber was added during the mix.” She’s a Woman’s recording therefore followed the dry-to-tape approach, with any echo chamber applied during the 12 October and 21 October remix sessions rather than during the 8 October recording.²
Separate UK and US mono mixes — Unusually, She’s a Woman received two separate mono mixes — remix 1 on 12 October for the UK market and remix 2 on 21 October expressly for the US. The same pattern applied to the A-side I Feel Fine (remixes 3 and 4 for UK and US respectively). The practice of preparing separate UK and US mono mixes reflects the different mastering and pressing requirements of Parlophone (UK) and Capitol (US) at this date.¹
Room 65 mix session — The 21 October US remix was carried out in “Abbey Road, Room 65” rather than a studio control room. Room 65 was a dedicated mix/editing room used for remix work when the main studios were booked for recording sessions. The same Room 65 session produced four I Feel Fine mono remixes, suggesting a concentrated afternoon of single-preparation work.¹
Vox A.C.100 Super De-Luxe amplifiers — By October 1964, John and George had been using the A.C.100 Super De-Luxe amplifiers for approximately two months (since the August Beatles for Sale sessions). The A.C.100 replaced the Vox A.C.50 Super Twin; the inventory notes “Vox A.C.50 Super Twin (2) (through July)” and “Vox A.C.100 Super DeLuxe (2) (August and on).” The higher-wattage A.C.100 head delivered more clean headroom through the paired bass cabinets.²

Releases

1964 UK single I Feel Fine / She’s a Woman (27 November 1964, Parlophone R 5200, B-side) — Released mono master from take 6, mixed 12 October 1964 (remix 1) by Norman Smith with Ken Scott as 2E. “The mono remix of ‘She’s A Woman’ was for the UK record market only.” “Another massive worldwide success, selling more than a million copies in the USA within a week of issue and more than 800,000 within five days of issue in the UK, passing the million mark on 9 December.”¹
1964 US single I Feel Fine / She’s a Woman (23 November 1964, Capitol 5327, B-side) — Released mono master from take 6, mixed 21 October 1964 (remix 2) by Norman Smith with Ron Pender as 2E, in Room 65. “The second remix of ‘She’s A Woman’ was expressly for the US.” The US remix was therefore a different mix from the UK release.¹
1964 stereo mix (from take 6, 12 October 1964) — The stereo mix was completed on the same morning as the UK mono (12 October, Ken Scott as 2E). No separate US stereo remix is documented. This stereo mix appeared on the US Beatles ’65 (Capitol ST 2228, 15 December 1964) and subsequent stereo compilations.¹

Sources

Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (New York: Harmony Books, 1988), 49–50, 52.
Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, Recording the Beatles: The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums (Houston: Curvebender Publishing, 2006), 376, 380–82, 384.

Frequently asked

Who wrote She’s a Woman?

“She’s a Woman” was written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney.

Who sings lead on She’s a Woman?

The lead vocal on “She’s a Woman” is by Paul McCartney.

When was She’s a Woman recorded?

“She’s a Woman” was recorded on 8 October 1964 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, Studio Two.¹

How many takes did She’s a Woman require?

Seven takes; take 6 was “best.” Take 7 was attempted but take 6 was clearly better.¹

On this page

Story

What’s distinctive

Recording

Equipment

Recording Timeline

Studio Notes

Releases

Sources

Frequently asked