Michelle

"Michelle" is the title of a love ballad by the Beatles, co-written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, which featured on their Rubber Soul album. The song departs from most of the Beatles' other recordings in that some of the lyrics are in French.

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"Michelle" has its origins in the popularity of French Left Bank culture during McCartney's Liverpool days. McCartney had gone to a party of art students where a student with a goatee and a striped T-shirt was singing a French song. He soon wrote a farcical imitation to entertain his friends that involved French-sounding groaning instead of real words. The song remained a party piece until 1965, when Lennon suggested he rework it into a proper song for inclusion on Rubber Soul.

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McCartney decided to remain with the French feel of his song and asked Jan Vaughan, the wife of his old friend Ivan Vaughan who was also a French teacher, to come up with a French name and a phrase that rhymed with it. "It was because I'd always thought that the song sounded French that I stuck with it. I can't speak French properly so that's why I needed help in sorting out the actual words," McCartney said.

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Vaughan came up with "Michelle, ma belle," and a few days later he asked for a translation of "these are words that go together well" -- "sont les mots qui vont tr?s bien ensemble". When McCartney played the song for Lennon, Lennon suggested that he put the verse of "I love you" in the middle, and the song was complete.

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The song was a huge hit in 1966 by The Overlanders, who released a cover version of it. In 1999, BMI named "Michelle" as the 42nd-most performed song of the 20th century.

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Michelle is also a very common female name, with its origins in France. It is a female form of the male French name Michel, or Michael in English. Michele is an alternate spelling.

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Ballad: A ballad is a story in a song, usually a narrative song or poem. It is a rhythmic saga of a past affair, which may be heroic, romantic or satirical, political (affected by the previous three types mentioned, refers to either glorifying the exploits or causes of a particular leader or group, and is ...

The Beatles: The Beatles were a British pop and rock group from Liverpool. They are widely regarded as the most important pop group of all time, having achieved broad popular success, critical acclaim and cultural influence. The group shattered many sales records and charted more than 50 top 40 hit singles, incl...

John Lennon: John Winston Ono Lennon, (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), was best known as a singer, songwriter, poet and guitarist for The Beatles. His creative career also included the roles of solo musician, political activist, artist, actor and author. As half of the legendary Lennon-McCartney songw...

Michelle related Images and Photos (experimental)

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Michelle Branch	Michelle Collins	Michelle Mercier	Michelle Collins