I Want to Hold Your Hand
I Want to Hold Your Hand is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, of The Beatles and recorded on October 17, 1963. It was
the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment.
With
advance orders exceeding one million copies in the United Kingdom, I Want to Hold Your Hand would have gone
straight to the top of the British record charts on its day of release (November 29, 1963) had it not been topped by the group's first million-seller She Loves You, their
previous UK single. They waited two weeks to release, I Want to Hold Your Hand
which stayed at # 1 for five weeks and remained in the UK top 50 for 21 weeks. The
song was re-released on December 6, 1982, in the UK.
It
was the group's first American #1 hit, entering the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 18, 1964, at number 45 and starting the British Invasion of the American music industry. By
February, it topped the Hot 100 and stayed there for seven weeks before being
replaced by She Loves You. It
remained on the Billboard chart for 15 weeks. I Want to Hold Your Hand became the Beatles' best-selling single worldwide selling more than 12 million copies.
The Beatles
came to America for the first time on February 7,1964, greeted at the airport by
screaming fans. I Want to Hold Hand
was the #! song in the country at the time, and it stayed on top for seven
weeks. Their next single released in the US was She Loves You, replacing it at the top.
An Added note
Paul McCartney and John
Lennon wrote I Want To Hold Your Hand at the request of their manager, Brian
Epstein. He wanted them to write something for the American market which
they had yet to break
into.
Enjoy your walk down memory lane with this live performance on The Ed Sullivan Show on 2/9/64.
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