 The album title was intended as a pun combining the falseness intrinsic to pop music and rubber-soled shoes.Lennon said the title was McCartney's idea and referred to "English soul".In a 1966 press conference, Starr said they called the album "Rubber Soul" to acknowledge that, in comparison to American soul artists, "we are white and haven't got what they've got", and he added that this was true of all the British acts who attempted to play soul music.