Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 27, 2004

Yesterday is a song written by Paul McCartney, originally recorded by The Beatles for their album Help! in 1965. "Yesterday" was the first official recording by the group which relied upon a performance by a single member of the band, although the background accompaniment of a string quartet was added a few days later during the editing stage. It is a ballad about unrequited love, and differed greatly from other works by the Beatles, leading the other three members of the band to veto the song's release as a single in the United Kingdom. Although solely written by McCartney, due to his contract with the Beatles the song was credited to both him and John Lennon as "Lennon/McCartney". According to the Guinness Book of Records, "Yesterday" has the most cover versions (over three thousand) of any song yet produced. BMI asserts that it was performed over seven million times during the 20th century alone. (more...)

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