On this day . . .
On this day in music history: February 21, 1966 - “Nowhere Man” by The Beatles is released. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, it is recorded October 21 - 22, 1965 in Studio Two at Abbey Road Studios in London. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, it is the twenty fourth US single for the legendary rock band from Liverpool, UK. Composed primarily by John Lennon, he comes up with the song after spending five hours trying to write something without success. Finally, the words and melody come to him all at once. Lennon shows what he’s come up with to McCartney, who helps him complete the song. “Nowhere Man” represents another departure for The Beatles, with Lennon and McCartney writing more introspective material, moving away from the subject matter of their earlier work which focused more on love and romance. Another one of the songs’ crowning touches is the dual guitar solo played by George Harrison and John Lennon on a pair of matching ‘61 sonic blue Fender Stratocasters, purchased for them by their roadie Mal Evans from Grimwoods Music in Whitstable, Kent. When the song is mixed, Lennon and Harrison asks producer George Martin and engineer Norman Smith, double the amount of treble on the guitars to create an even brighter and cutting sound that is instantly apparent on the finished recording. Originally a track on the UK version of “Rubber Soul, the song is left off of the US version of the album and is instead released as a stand alone single backed with the country flavored “What Goes On” (#81 Pop) sung by Ringo Starr, also extracted from the UK version of “Rubber Soul”. “Nowhere Man” peaks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 26, 1966. Both songs make their US album debut on the compilation “Yesterday And Today” in June of 1966. “Nowhere Man” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
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