1963
Tune Tuesday: The Beatles 1964
Fifty-five years ago, today, the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart was I Want to Hold Your Hand. Written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, it was recorded October 17, 1963, at EMI Studios in London.
From The Beatles Dot Com:
[…] it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment. It was also the group’s first American number one, entering the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 18 January 1964 at number forty-five and starting the British Invasion of the American music industry.
From The Beatles Bible:
“A telegram came through to Brian from Capitol Records of America. He came running in to the room saying, ‘Hey, look. You are number one in America!’ I Want To Hold Your Hand had gone to number one. Well, I can’t describe our response. We all tried to climb onto Big Mal’s back to go round the hotel suite: ‘Wey-hey!’ And that was it, we didn’t come down for a week.”
“It was such a buzz to find that it had gone to number one. We went out to dinner that evening with Brian and George Martin. George took us to a place which was a vault, with huge barrels of wine around. It was a restaurant and its theme was… well, the bread rolls were shaped like penises, the soup was served out of chamber pots and the chocolate ice cream was like a big turd. And, the waiter came ’round and tied garters on all the girls’ legs. I’ve seen some pictures of us. There is a photograph around of Brian with the pot on his head. It was a great feeling because we were booked to go to America directly after the Paris trip, so it was handy to have a number one. We’d already been hired by Ed Sullivan so, if it had been a number two or number ten we’d have gone anyway but, it was nice to have a number one. We did have three records out in America before this one. The others were on two different labels. It was only after all the publicity and the Beatlemania in Europe that Capitol Records decided, ‘Oh, we will have them.’ They put out I Want To Hold Your Hand as our first single but, in fact, it was our fourth.
Los Angeles Times Article 02-10-1964 (left)
Ed Sullivan Show Shots 02-09-1964 (right)
From the Ottawa Journal:
Will We All Become Beatle Nuts?
Here’s What the Reviewers Say…“Anyone who is not a teenage girl obviously is unqualified to comment on the sight of The Beatles in action. Heaven knows we’ve heard them enough. It has been impossible to get a radio weather bulletin or time signal without running into “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” And now, having seen the four performers on Ed Sullivan’s show Sunday night, Beatlemania is even more of a mystery to an elderly viewer.”
~Cynthia Lowry (Associated Press)
“It is now clear why President de Gaulle has been giving England such a hard time about the Common Market. He undoubtedly saw The Beatles and decided nothing doing. As you certainly know, America saw the four-member rock’n’roll British group live on television last night. Pandemonium reigned. Vive La France.”
~Rick DuBrow (United Press International)
“”You can tell right away its The Beatles and not anyone else,” is the opinion of a 15-year-old specialist on the topic who saw them on the Ed Sullivan show. The age of 15 (or 16, or 14 or 13) is essential in Beatle experts. And, so, taking the above axiom as gospel, an attempt was made to find out just what is musically unique about the English group that is now visiting our shores.”
~Theodore Strongin (The New York Times)
“It seems The Beatles came, sang and conquered…all that is but, the TV reviewers. Most of the time, these reviewers have real troubles finding something to write about. Ask them… When Elvis Presley first appeared on the popular musical scene and made his TV début, did they praise him? No. In fact, most beat singers who come under the TV reviewer’s eagle eye rarely receive a word of praise. It seems obvious the reviewers came to bury the teenage favorites and not to praise them. Again, the teenage taste has been mocked. As long as this superior feeling is put across, the younger generation will continue to make their idols…and won’t give a darn who likes them.”
~Sandy Gardiner (Ottawa Journal)
Though this song didn’t win any awards, The Beatles did receive The Best New Artist award at the 7th Annual Grammy Awards.
Lyrics:
Oh yeah, I’ll tell you something,
I think you’ll understand,
Then I’ll say that something,
I wanna hold your hand,
I wanna hold your hand,
I wanna hold your hand.
Oh please say to me
You’ll let me be your man,
And please say to me,
You’ll let me hold your hand,
Now let me hold your hand,
I wanna hold your hand.
And when I touch you
I feel happy inside,
It’s such a feeling
That my love I can’t hide,
I can’t hide, I can’t hide.
Yeah, you got that something,
I think you’ll understand,
When I feel that something,
I wanna hold your hand,
I wanna hold your hand,
I wanna hold your hand.
And when I touch you
I feel happy inside,
It’s such a feeling
That my love I can’t hide,
I can’t hide, I can’t hide.
Yeah, you got that something,
I think you’ll understand,
When I feel that something,
I wanna hold your hand,
I wanna hold your hand,
I wanna hold your hand.
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 25
A song you like by an artist no longer living…
I’ve already posted some Prince videos and I will have to work hard to keep this post trimmed down.
Can’t do a post like this without The King of Rock and Roll…Elvis. I grew up with this music.
Then, we can’t do a post with The King of Pop…Michael. His Off The Wall album was the third album I ever owned, behind Surf & Drag and Grease.
Next up, The Queen of Disco…Donna. Her music covered my life from 10 years old to 18.
The Beatles were never played in my house. Their music was just not part of my childhood. I discovered who they were after they split up and I liked a lot of solo stuff that came out. My favorite was George. I liked his scratchy, squeaky voice. Paul came in second.
This one covers two that have left us…Freddie and Bowie. This song spoke to me at 15 and still does to this day (and I was extraordinarily annoyed when Vanilla Ice ripped it off).
This came out after I started college. Teena was the Ivory Queen of Soul.
Ok. I’m stopping at seven (I could be here all night). I grew up with this music, as well and still remember all the words. I previously posted my favorite of his songs related to the Gold Rush of 1896. So, I will post my second favorite. I give you Johnny Horton.
Tune Tuesday: October 9, 1963
We are traveling back to 1963! Fifty-five years ago, today, the #1 Billboard Hot 100 song was Bobby Vinton‘s version of Blue Velvet.
The song was written and composed by Lee Morris and Bernie Wayne (whom also wrote “There She Is”, The Miss America song).
Tony Bennett recorded the first version in 1951 with Percy Faith‘s Orchestra. It’s highest rank was on Cash Box Top 50 at #12. The Clovers (Love Potion No. 9) recorded a version in 1955 that reached #14 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
Though there have been many, many versions of the song recorded, including versions from Bobby Rydell, Brenda Lee, Pat Boone, Sammy Davis Jr., The Lettermen, Isabella Rossellini and Barry Manilow, Bobby Vinton‘s version was the most popular…and my favorite. ~Victoria
The #1 Billboard Hot Country song was Abilene (Kansas, not Texas) by George Hamilton IV.
The #1 Billboard R&B song was Heat Wave by Martha and The Vandellas. And, I’m pretty sure everyone knows about Linda Ronstadt‘s remake in 1975. It was a great version, too but, it never made it to a #1 position on any chart.
National One-Hit Wonder Day
September 25 has six celebrations and one ‘fourth Tuesday in September’ day. With today being Tune Tuesday, I couldn’t pass this up. Today, we honor National One-Hit Wonder Day. And, curiously, the folks at National Day Calender have no idea when this particular celebration was created.
Do you have a favorite one-hit wonder? I have several. But, for today, I will jump back ten years from my previous Tune Tuesday post. I’m a large fan of surfing music, so here are a couple from 1963. ~Victoria
Pipeline by The Chantays peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1963.
Wipe Out by The Surfaris peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the Autumn of 1963.
Also celebrated today:
National Lobster Day (Yum!)
National Comic Book Day
National Tune Up Day
National Research Administrator Day (That’s a mouthful.)
Math Story Telling Day (Who knew math needed stories…)
National Voter Registration Day (Fourth Tuesday in September)
Cheers and enjoy!
Flick Friday: The Fugitive 1993
Twenty-five years ago, today, the number one movie was The Fugitive, a suspense film that was based on the TV Show that ran from 1963 to 1967 on ABC starring David Janssen.
Tommy Lee Jones won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and, the film was nominated for Best Cinematography, Film Editing, Best Original Score, Sound, Sound Effects Editing and Best Picture. Jones reprised his role of U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the spin-off U.S. Marshals.
Some trivia: The bus/train wreck is a tourist attraction in Dillsboro, North Carolina.
The television show started before I was born and I was just an infant when it ceased production. I have picked up a re-run or two over the years. Harrison Ford managed to capture the intensity that David Janssen displayed nearly 30 years earlier. ~Victoria
