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Patti Smith Easter

"Paperback Writer" was released as a single in the US on 30 May 1966 (and on 10 June in the UK).

Written primarily by Paul McCartney (with John Lennon helping on some of the lyrics), the single knocked The Rolling Sontes' "Paint it Black" (released on 13 May) off the #1 spot in the US, only to be knocked off by Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" (released 12 April) the following week (and return to #1 the week after that).

The b-side, "Rain" was written almost entirely by Lennon (Lennon claims it was his alone, while McCartney claimed he helped with some of the lyrics) and has been described as "the birth of British psychedelic rock," and has been listed as one of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, "perhaps the best Beatles B-side of all" by The Guardian, and 20th best Beatles song by Mojo.

gregorygalloway

“The Ballad of John and Yoko,” written by John Lennon about his marriage to Yoko Ono on 20 March 1969 and the media events surrounding it, was released in the UK on 30 May 1969 (and in the US on 4 June). It was the Beatle’s 17th (and final) #1 hit in the UK. It was also their first single to be released in stereo.

Lennon wrote the song on 14 April and he and Paul McCartney recorded the song that night. George Harrison was away on holiday, and Ringo Starr was filming The Magic Christian, so the recording only includes Lennon (guitars and percussion) and McCartney (bass, drums, piano).

Many US radio stations refused to play the song, due to the phrases “Christ, you know it ain’t easy” and “they’re going to crucify me.”