Paul McCartney’s Isolated Bass Guitar From The Beatles’ “Drive My Car”

The Beatles’ “Drive My Car” was recorded on October 13, 1965 during the Beatles’ first recording session to extend past midnight. Paul McCartney worked closely with George Harrison on the basic rhythm track, the pair playing, in author Ian MacDonald’s description, “similar riffing lines on bass and low guitar”, respectively, as per Harrison’s suggestion. Harrison had been listening to Otis Redding’s “Respect” at the time and, as a result of this influence, “Drive My Car” contains more bottom end than previous Beatles recordings, mimicking the bass-heavy sound in Redding’s Memphis studio. Listen to how McCartney plays the bass line of the chorus differently, sometimes even within the same chorus.