Steven Spielberg Reveals the Beatles Song That Changed His Life
Steven Spielberg shares the Beatles track that left a lasting mark on his youth, recounting a heartfelt college memory and the song’s influence on his creative journey.
Some musicians flicker briefly across the charts, leaving behind a handful of catchy numbers before vanishing into the ether. Others, though, become cultural landmarks—names like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, and, of course, the Beatles. Their influence lingers, shaping generations and sparking debates, as seen in the much-talked-about film Yesterday, which playfully suggests that without the Beatles, even everyday staples like Coca-Cola or Harry Potter might never have existed. It’s a stretch, perhaps, but it’s hard to deny the band’s reach, especially when considering the likes of Steven Spielberg, whose own creative path was shaped in part by their music.
Spielberg, never one to keep his inspirations under wraps, has often spoken about the artists who’ve left a mark on him. Walt Disney, he once said, had a greater impact on his outlook than “anybody else” in modern culture. Yet, when it comes to music, it’s the Liverpool quartet—John, Paul, George, and Ringo—who’ve held a special place in his affections. This connection came into sharp focus during his appearance on Desert Island Discs for BBC Radio 4, where he recounted a formative moment from his student days.
College Days and a Song That Struck a Chord
“I was a freshman in college, and there was a girl I liked a lot,” Spielberg recalled.
“She would agree to let me take her out to dinner, or to a jazz club, or out to a movie, but she would never ever, ever let me kiss her. And we were driving back from someplace, and we pulled into the big parking lot by the dorms on the college campus at Long Beach.”
The story takes a turn when a certain Beatles track comes on the radio.
“‘Michelle’ came on. I think we heard it for the first time together on the radio, and the melody is just heart-achingly beautiful. I look over at her, and she’s got tears in her eyes, and just before the song is over, she jumps over on my side of the car and starts kissing me.”
Written by McCartney for the band’s sixth album, Rubber Soul, ‘Michelle’ is a love song with a touch of French, and it clearly struck a nerve. Spielberg was so taken with the moment that, years later, he made a point of sharing the story with McCartney himself. The song’s emotional pull, it seems, has echoed through Spielberg’s own work, perhaps even influencing films like The Terminal and his semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans.
Behind the Making of ‘Michelle’
Not everyone, of course, holds ‘Michelle’ in such high esteem. For many, it’s a gentle highlight from the Beatles’ transition from pop darlings to something a bit more experimental. Lennon, reflecting on the song’s origins, once told Playboy in 1980,
“He and I were staying somewhere, and he walked in and hummed the first few bars, with the words, and he says, ‘Where do I go from here?’”
The pair had been writing together for years, and Lennon’s input was to add a touch of blues to McCartney’s ballad.
“I had been listening to Nina Simone. I think it was ‘I Put A Spell On You.’ There was a line in it that went, ‘I love you, I love you.’ That’s what made me think of the middle-eight for ‘Michelle.’ So, my contributions to Paul’s songs was always to add a little bluesy edge to them. Otherwise, ‘Michelle’ is a straight ballad, right?”
Mixed Reactions from Musical Icons
Yet, the song didn’t win over everyone. Bob Dylan, never one to mince words, offered a rather backhanded compliment in an interview.
“I’m just saying The Beatles have arrived, right? In all music forms, whether Stravinsky or Leopold Jake the Second, who plays in the Five Spot, the Black Muslim Twins, or whatever.”
He went on,
“The Beatles are accepted, and you’ve got to accept them for what they do. They play songs like ‘Michelle’ and ‘Yesterday’, a lot of smoothness there.”
But Dylan’s tone shifted,
“Yeah, it’s the thing to do, to tell all the teeny boppers ‘I dig The Beatles’, and you sing a song like ‘Yesterday’ or ‘Michelle’. Hey God knows, it’s such a cop-out, man, both of those songs.”
For Spielberg, though, ‘Michelle’ remains a touchstone—a song that, for one brief moment, turned a college crush into something rather more memorable.