Back in the U.S.S.R.
Paul McCartney began writing the song as "I'm Backing the UK" in January 1968. This title came from a national campaign that had gained wide support just before the band left for India. The Beatles departed for their Transcendental Meditation course shortly after this political slogan became popular. During the retreat, McCartney altered the title to reflect a different destination entirely. He drew inspiration from Chuck Berry's 1959 hit song "Back in the U.S.A." and transformed its patriotic sentiment into a Soviet context. Donovan, the Scottish singer-songwriter who joined them at the ashram, recalled McCartney playing these funny little ditties regularly. Mike Love of the Beach Boys also heard the song on acoustic guitar over breakfast in Rishikesh. Love suggested that the bridge section should focus on girls in Russia, mimicking the style of the Beach Boys' "California Girls". McCartney later described the track as a kind of Beach Boys parody based on Berry's work. He transposed the patriotism of Berry's song into a Soviet setting where Georgia girls and Ukraine girls were celebrated like California beauties.
The sessions for the White Album took place at EMI Studios in London during August 1968. On the 22nd of August 1968, Ringo Starr walked out of rehearsals for this specific song. He quit because he was tired of McCartney's criticism of his drumming and the bad atmosphere generally. The other three Beatles continued the session without him. Ken Scott, the band's recording engineer, created a composite drum track from bits and pieces of multiple takes. Five takes were recorded with McCartney on drums, Harrison on electric guitar, and Lennon on Fender Bass VI. Take 5 was chosen as the best version for the final mix. During overdubbing on the 23rd of August, McCartney and Harrison added bass parts and lead guitar parts. Harrison played the guitar solo in the instrumental break while McCartney contributed a high-pitched single-note solo over the final verse. The opening and closing sounds featured a tape loop of a Viscount turboprop aircraft landing on a runway. This effect represented an aural cartoon according to music critic Tim Riley. MacDonald described the musical arrangement as a thunderous wall of sound that included handclaps and Beach Boys-style harmonies.
Apple Records released the double album known as the White Album on the 22nd of November 1968. Back in the U.S.S.R. was sequenced as the opening song on this record. In 1969, Apple issued the track as a single in Scandinavia backed by Starr's composition Don't Pass Me By. On the 25th of June 1976, Parlophone released it as a single in the UK to promote the compilation album Rock 'n' Roll Music. The B-side was Twist and Shout making it the first EMI single by the Beatles to include a non-original composition. It peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and number 11 in Ireland. A version by Chubby Checker reached number 86 in Canada on the 28th of April 1969. In September 2022, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the song a silver certification for sales exceeding 200,000 units. The single was subsequently included in the Beatles Singles Collection box set released by EMI's World Division in December 1982. This made it the 24th single in that series.
Alan Smith described the song as a fantastic piece of screaming excitement in his NME album review. David Griffiths called it a perfectly ingenious opening track that served to disorientate the average listener politically and socially. Geoffrey Cannon argued that the band failed to engage with the contemporary rock audience like the Rolling Stones had done. Nik Cohn complained that the middle eight was pure surf-age Beach Boys but all half-hearted and limp. Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone described it as the perfect example of the Beatles' ability to quote from others' work. Richard Goldstein praised the double album's burlesque of musical forms saying it represented almost a mock-history of pop. Tim Riley describes the track as Brian Wilson with sex appeal and an example of how McCartney straddled ironic distance between genre treatments and fresh material. Billy Bragg noted that 1968 marked when love affairs with American culture began to turn sour due to Vietnam atrocities and political assassinations. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 85 on their list of the 100 Greatest Beatles Songs while Mojo placed it at number 64 in 2006.
The John Birch Society's magazine cited the song as further evidence of the Beatles' supposed pro-Soviet sentiments among anti-communist groups. The line You don't know how lucky you are boys left many such organizations stunned by its apparent meaning. Ian MacDonald described the song as a rather tactless jest given that the Soviet Army had recently invaded Czechoslovakia. Some members of the New Left also criticized the band for this gesture during the turbulent times of 1968. David Noebel said the lyrics had left even the Reds speechless regarding their influence on Western youth. Tommy O'Callaghan views the parody as a peace offering that mocked the perceived unsexiness of Soviet culture. The Beatles were officially derided in the Soviet Union as the belch of Western culture throughout the 1960s. Despite never performing there themselves, Elton John was permitted to visit the country in 1979 for a historic concert tour. He sang Back in the U.S.S.R. as his closing song ignoring an official request after his opening show not to do so.
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Common questions
When did Paul McCartney begin writing Back in the U.S.S.R.?
Paul McCartney began writing Back in the U.S.S.R. as I'm Backing the UK in January 1968.
Who played drums on the final version of Back in the U.S.S.R.?
Ringo Starr walked out of rehearsals for Back in the U.S.S.R. on the 22nd of August 1968, so Ken Scott created a composite drum track from five takes recorded with Paul McCartney playing drums.
What date was Back in the U.S.S.R. released as a single in the UK?
Parlophone released Back in the U.S.S.R. as a single in the UK on the 25th of June 1976 to promote the compilation album Rock 'n' Roll Music.
Why did critics describe Back in the U.S.S.R. as a Beach Boys parody?
Mike Love suggested that the bridge section of Back in the U.S.S.R. should focus on girls in Russia mimicking California Girls, and Paul McCartney later described the track as a kind of Beach Boys parody based on Chuck Berry's work.
How did anti-communist groups react to the lyrics of Back in the U.S.S.R.?
The John Birch Society cited Back in the U.S.S.R. as evidence of pro-Soviet sentiments because the line You don't know how lucky you are boys left many such organizations stunned by its apparent meaning.