FAST FACTS: 50 YEARS AND GOING STRONG

The song was recorded during a session between June 14 and 17, 1965, at the EMI recording studios in Abbey Road, London.

It was first released on the Help! album in the UK in August 1965. A few weeks later, the single was launched on the American market as the B-side to “Act Naturally”.

“Yesterday” was the No. 1 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart in 1965 for four weeks.

A string quartet accompanied Paul McCartney on the original recording. This was one of the first times classical music had appeared in a pop song.

“Yesterday” was the first Beatles song to win wide appeal in the adult market, which also gave the band credibility. Prior to the song’s release, the Beatles had been seen as a teenybopper band.

The track runs for two minutes and three seconds.

In 2000, both MTV and Rolling Stone magazine voted “Yesterday” the No. 1 pop song of all time.

With over 3000 versions recorded since its release, “Yesterday” is one of the most covered songs of all time. Its competitors include George Gershwin’s “Summertime” and the Christian hymn “Amazing Grace”.

Artists who have covered “Yesterday” include Boyz II Men, Ray Charles, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, Nana Mouskouri, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Supremes, Andy Williams and Tammy Wynette.

Up until 1999, “Yesterday” held the honour of being the most-played radio song. Despite John Lennon having little involvement in the song’s composition, “Yesterday” is credited “Lennon/McCartney”. Prior to the November 1995 release of The Beatles Anthology album, Paul McCartney approached John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, asking for the writing credit to be changed to “McCartney/Lennon”. She refused.

McCartney eventually took matters into his own hands in 2003, switching the credit to “Paul McCartney and John Lennon” with the release of his Back in the U.S. album.