Thursday, April 4, 2013

"Bigger than the Beatles"?

I don't think so:
With a 27-1 second-week blast to the top for "Can't Buy Me Love," the Fab Four locked up the chart's entire top five:

The Billboard Hot 100, April 4, 1964

Position, Title
No. 1, "Can't Buy Me Love"
No. 2, "Twist and Shout"
No. 3, "She Loves You"
No. 4, "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
No. 5, "Please Please Me"
Go ask your parents about these songs, kids.  And yes, it was this much of a sensation.  Girls would go to their concerts to scream until the passed out.  As you can hear, it was impossible to get a good live recording of their concerts.:











It's hard to overstate how big a part of my childhood this was.

8 comments:

Rob K said...

"The Beatles were the Jonas Brothers of their generation" --I forget who said it

Unknown said...

Meh. A slightly better than average band, with a few toe-tappers. Their music from 1967 onwards is more interesting and has a few winners, but I still consider them vastly overrated.

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

Boring ol' over-rated Reds...

Old NFO said...

LOL, I love when people try to deny/denigrate the reality of the Beatles or any other historical data... Like Westerns, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, etc...

Anonymous said...

I'm with Unknown. Never "got" the Beatles. I always far preferred the Stones.

Ken said...

Spectacular songcraft. Big part of my childhood too -- later on it was Sam & Dave, the Temptations, and Wilson Pickett. Didn't come to appreciate the Who and the Kinks until I was older (much older, in the case of the Kinks).

Rob K said...

Who's trying "to deny/denigrate the reality of the Beatles or any other historical data"? Their competition was "The Shoop Shoop Song" and "Hello Dolly".

http://www.billboard.com/charts/1964-04-04/hot-100

Chickenmom said...

Never, ever liked any of the British stuff - always a true Rock 'n Roll 50's fan. (guess I'm dating myself)!

Phyllis (N/W Jersey)