Flashback Friday: The Beatles - 50 Years Ago

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: The Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

A day late but not a dollar short, the Flashback Friday track for today takes us 50 years into the past and the release and charting of the first American hit for The Beatles. Yes, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" a single penned by Lennon and McCartney and vocalized mainly by John Lennon became the first big hit in America by the Fab Four. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on January 18, 1964 and by early February was a #1 hit single. It held on to the #1 spot for 5 weeks and established The Beatles as a bonafide hit making rock n roll group.

They would invade America a few weeks later by showing up for their famous live performances on CBS TV's "Ed Sullivan Show". The rest as they say, is history!




Original Capitol Records issue 45 rpm.


My CD3 version of "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

50 Years ago I was only a kid when I first heard the song. From the time I heard it on the radio or somewhere unknown, I was hooked. The Beatles became my favorite rock n roll group of all time... the gold standard to all other rock acts that followed. To me "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is the first signature song among many that was recorded by The Beatles until their break-up in 1970.

I never owned the original 45 but have many reissues of the song on various Beatles singles and albums on different types of media.