Following its inclusion on Rubber Soul, the song was released as a single in some European countries and in New Zealand, and on an EP in France, in early 1966.

I just had it as an instrumental in C.[6]The words and style of "Michelle" have their origins in the popularity of Parisian Left Bank culture during McCartney's Liverpool days.

Lennon was inspired by a song he heard the previous evening, Nina Simone's version of "I Put a Spell on You", which used the same phrase but with the emphasis on the last word, "I love you".

[12] He showed Harrison the notes during the recording session[13] and then accompanied the guitarist (on piano, out of microphone range) when the solos were overdubbed.

[13] EMI's Parlophone label released Rubber Soul on 3 December 1965 in Britain,[14] with "Michelle" sequenced as the final track on side one of the LP.

[15] The album was widely viewed as marking a significant progression within the Beatles' work and in the scope of pop music generally.

[16] Recalling the album's release for Mojo magazine in 2002, Richard Williams said "Michelle" represented "the biggest shock of all" to a contemporary pop audience, as McCartney conveyed "all his nostalgia for a safe childhood in the 1950s, itself a decade suffused with nostalgia for the inter-war security of the '20s and '30s, the era to which this song specifically refers.

[23] "Michelle" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1967,[24] against competition from "Born Free", "The Impossible Dream", "Somewhere My Love" and "Strangers in the Night".

[26][27] In a contemporary review for the NME, Allen Evans described "Michelle" as a "memorable track" with a "bluesy French sound" in which McCartney's vocal was supported by "[the] others using voices as instruments".

[28][29] Record Mirror's reviewer admired the lyrics and said that the song was "just remotely, faintly, slightly similar to 'Yesterday' in the general approach" and "another stand-out performance".

[30] Eden of KRLA Beat described "Michelle" as a "beautiful ballad", adding: "Although it doesn't sound at all like his fantastic 'Yesterday', it is another tender love song, sung as only Paul could sing it.

"[31] Jazz critic and broadcaster Steve Race admitted being "astonished" by the album, and added "When I heard 'Michelle' I couldn't believe my ears.

"[32] Among the Beatles' peers, Bob Dylan, whose work was especially influential on Lennon and Harrison's songwriting on Rubber Soul, was dismissive of McCartney's ballad style.

"[33] From 1970, McCartney's standing among music critics suffered as the authentic rock 'n' roll qualities personified by Lennon came to be valued over his former bandmate's more eclectic tastes.

[36] "Michelle" was the most successful track from Rubber Soul for other recording artists[37] and attracted dozens of cover versions within a year of its release.

[38] Author Peter Doggett lists it with "Yesterday" and several other Beatles compositions, mostly written by McCartney, that provided contemporary relevance for "light orchestras and crooners" in the easy listening category, persuaded adults that the new generation's musical tastes had merit and, by becoming some of the most widely recorded songs of all time, "ensured that Lennon and McCartney would become the highest-earning composers in history".

In his comments on the Lennon–McCartney composition, Steve Race remarked that Vaughn's arranger had altered the second chord to incorporate an A♭ note, thereby "taking all the sting out" of the unorthodox change.

Race said this was indicative of how a formally trained arranger "was so attuned to the conventional way of thinking he didn't even hear what the boys had done".

American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan also covered the song, while Matt Monro recorded it in 1973 with a string quartet.

's; and French bandleader Paul Mauriat, whose interpretation author John Kruth describes as "the most elegant Muzak version" of the song.