“I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND”

(John Lennon – Paul McCartney)

With this monumental hit song, "England’s Phenomenal Pop Combo," as the LP “Meet The Beatles!” referred to the group on its front cover, immediately became America’s Phenomenal Pop Combo. All US residents paying attention in 1964 will undoubtedly say that “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was their first indoctrination into Beatlemania. While their first three US single releases of 1963 only made small ripples in the pond that was American music, this single, rush-released on December 26th, 1963, was the tsunami that not only dominated the record charts, but monopolized the hearts and minds of the entire population of the country. Everyone, young and old, was at least a bit curious as to who the originator of this incredibly unique sounding music could be.      

The single was originally scheduled for release on January 13th, 1964, but the release date was moved forward due to great public demand. Their demand originated, in part, from a 15-year-old girl living in Washington DC named Marsha Albert. After seeing a November 16, 1963 feature on the CBS Evening News about The Beatles, she wrote a letter to a local radio station, WWDC, demanding why they weren’t broadcasting any music from this huge “sociological phenomenon,” as this CBS news report referred to this group. "It was not so much what I had seen, it's what I had heard," Marsha Albert stated in the book "The Beatles' Helping 'Hand.'" "They had a segment where they played a clip of "She Loves You" and I thought it was a great song...I wrote that I thought The Beatles would really be popular here, and if (WWDC disc jockey Carroll James) could get one of their records, that would really be great." 

Even though the TV show featured their previous hit “She Loves You,” Carroll James arranged to have their recent British single brought over to the radio station (with the help of a stewardess on a flight from Britain) and played on the air on December 17th, 1963. "Carroll James called me up the day he got their record," Marsha Albert continued, "and said, 'If you can get down here by 5 o'clock, we will let you introduce it,'" which she did. That song was “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”      

The radio response was amazing and immediate, listeners lighting up the phone lines at WWDC to ask where they could buy this new record (which they couldn’t quite yet). WWDC played the song repeatedly, with Carroll James interrupting it in the middle of the song with the phrase “This is a Carroll James exclusive” so that no one would be able to record the song off of the broadcast to use elsewhere. With their usual playlist consisting of music from Bobby Vinton and Andy Williams, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" stood out like a sore thumb. An uninterrupted tape recording of this song was quickly delivered to a disc jockey in Chicago who also played it on the air, receiving great response from their listeners. They, in turn, sent a tape copy of the song to a radio station in St. Louis who also had the same favorable experience. This all happened within days of its first broadcast on December 17th in Washington D.C.      

Capitol Records caught wind of this and then threatened to arrange for a court order to stop radio stations from airing the song before their release date of January 13th, 1964. When radio programmers ignored this, Capitol realized that they needed to respond quickly in order to meet demand. First off, the label decided to move up their planned release date for their first Beatles single from January 13th, 1964 up to December 26th, 1963. Second, with Capitol's agreed-upon investment of $40,000 as a campaign to launch The Beatles into America underway, along with the commotion the song was already creating in three key US cities, the record label decided to bump up the initial pressing of 200,000 discs to an even million. In order to accomplish this, Capitol decided to commission pressing plants other than their own to press the record to ensure that they were made quickly enough to appear in record shops throughout the country before the end of the year.        

By December 26th, 1963, there could hardly be found a popular radio station in the US that wasn’t playing “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” as well as its b-side “I Saw Her Standing There.” Shortly thereafter, most radio stations were playing any additional Beatles song that they could get their hands on, such as the band's three unsuccessful singles released earlier in 1963. Capitol’s pressing plants must have beefed up production even after their initial million copies were pressed, because by January 10th, 1964 the single had already sold over 1,000,000 copies. (The Beatles were presented with a gold record for the single as early as February 10th, 1964 at a ceremony at the Plaza Hotel during their first US visit.) In fact, 250,000 copies were sold within the first three days of release! In New York City alone, it was estimated that 10,000 copies were purchased every hour. By March 28th, 1964, the single had sold 3.4 million copies and, in total, it went on to sell 5 million copies in the US alone.     

The Beatles always stated that making it in the US would be the ultimate fantasy, claiming that the group were great admirers of American music and that nobody from Britain had ever made it big there. John Lennon explained, “Cliff (Richard) went to America and died. He was fourteenth on the bill with Frankie Avalon.” He felt that they did not stand a chance in America.      

When the single hit #1 on the US Cashbox chart on January 25th, 1964 (they hit #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on February 1st, 1964), the impact became unbeleivably amazing for The Beatles themselves. They were in Paris, France performing a three week engagement at the Olympia Theater, which began on January 15th, 1964. After returning from a show on the 25th of that month, they received a telegram from Capitol Records relating that they were #1 in America. McCartney related their excitement: “We all tried to climb onto Big Mal’s (Evans) back to go around the hotel suite. We didn’t come down for a week.” Ringo said they “all just started acting like people from Texas, hollering and shouting ‘Yahoo!’”      

They celebrated that evening by going to dinner at the George V Hotel with Brian Epstein (who made everyone laugh by putting a chamber pot on his head), George Martin (who was present to produce German versions of “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” as well as “Can’t Buy Me Love”) and Judy Lockhart-Smith (George Martin’s assistant and future wife). The excited atmosphere is captured by a famous photograph of a pillow fight The Beatles had in the hotel room that evening.      

Paul McCartney had related in retrospect that The Beatles were determined not to go to America until they had a #1 record there. So, it was explained by Paul, when they heard the news of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” reaching #1, they started making plans to go there. The actual truth, though, is explained by Harrison. “We were booked to go to America directly after the Paris trip, so it was handy to have a #1,” he said. “We’d already been hired by Ed Sullivan, so if it had been a #2 or #10 we’d have gone anyway.”      

Their phenomenal impact in the US was due, in part, to current popular music trends, or lack thereof, that permeated radio airwaves. Observing carefully what was popular in American music in the previous year, we can easily conclude that the US was due to find a new sensation. Elvis Presley's output was relegated mostly to movie soundtrack songs and the remainder of the pop charts were taken up with a mish-mash of uneventful musical trends. 

Surf music was being pioneered by The Beach Boys (who flourished later after that trend wore off), folk was in high gear (Peter, Paul & Mary, The Rooftop Singers and The Kingston Trio), romantic balladeers were strong (Steve Lawrence, Bobby Vinton and Al Martino), not to mention a vast array of hit novelty songs (such as “Dominique,” “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh” and “Sukiyaki”). The exciting rock and roll trend that was championed in the late '50s by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis had indeed died down to a low rumble. “Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen was not enough to revitalize the rock and roll fever that seemed to have died. The phrase “Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay” appeared to have been a false claim.      

In the climate of such mediocrity, The Beatles stood out in full force. It was obvious that they had taken the baton from Elvis to deliver that same measure of rock and roll excitement back to the US for the next generation to enjoy. This excitement had not ceased to exist since December 1963, as The Beatles (along with Elvis) have maintained their die-hard devotees well into the next century. Indeed, later generations of devotees are succumbing to the excitement with every passing decade. And it all began on December 26th, 1963 with the release of “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”
    

Songwriting History

Brian Epstein had been encouraging Lennon and McCartney to compose a new song with the intention that it would go over well with US audiences because The Beatles' first few singles had flopped so badly there. With that in mind, both of them met in the “rambling basement” of Richard and Margaret Asher’s residence on 57 Wimpole Street in the west end of London in September of 1963 (while on holiday) for composing a new song with American audiences specifically in mind. Paul had been dating their daughter, actress Jane Asher, since earlier in the year and was spending much time at her parents’ house whenever he was in London. He was there so much, in fact, that the “small, rather stuffy music room” in the basement, where Margaret Asher gave oboe lessons, became Paul and John's songwriting base for a good period of time. This continued after Paul accepted the invitation to move into their attic room on Wimpole Street permanently.      

Lennon described this song as a 50/50 collaboration, “one on one, eyeball to eyeball,” and Paul agreed. "I remember when we got the chord that made the song," Lennon remembered, adding: "We were in Jane Asher's house, downstairs in the cellar playing on the piano at the same time. We had ‘oh, you-u-u…got that something…’ And Paul hits this chord and I turned to him and said, ‘That’s it!...Do that again!’ In those days we really used to absolutely write like that, both of us playing into each others' noses.” That chord, a B7 as heard when they first sing the lyric "I want to hold your hand," became the inspiration of the moment which propelled them through the rest of the song.

In Paul's book "The Lyrics," he related: "One of the things I had always thought to be the secret of The Beatles was that our music was self-taught. We were not ever consciously thinking about what we were doing. Anything we did came naturally. A new breathtaking chord change would not happen because we knew how that chord related to another chord. We wern't able to read music or write it down; we just made it up. My dad was exactly the same. There's a certain joy that comes into your stuff if you didn't mean it, if you didn't try to make it happen and it happens of its own accord. There is a particular magic about that. So much of what we did came from a deep sense of wonder rather than study. We did not study music at all really."      

John appeared to have been influenced by photographer Robert Freeman (who took their legendary “Meet The Beatles!” front cover photo) for a particular part of the song. Robert Freeman, who then lived in an apartment beneath Lennon’s place in Kensington, was attempting to educate John in jazz and experimental music. One track on an LP Robert Freeman had introduced to him featured a “musical phrase repeated, as if the record had stuck,” according to the photographer. John used this effect on the lines “I can’t hide, I can’t hide, I can’t hide.”      

Gordon Waller, friend of Peter Asher who formed the popular duo Peter and Gordon, recalled being present the day John and Paul wrote the song. Gordon Waller rememered being invited down to hear them perform an early rendition of their new creation. Lennon played pedal organ while McCartney was on piano. "It wasn’t totally complete,” remembered Gordon Waller, “but the structure and the chorus were there."

"There was an eroticism behind it all," Paul related in his book "The Lyrics." "If I'd heard myself use that word back when I was seventeen, there would have been a guffaw. But eroticism was very much a driving force behind everything I did. It's a very strong thing. And, you know, that was what lay behind a lot of these love songs. 'I want to hold your hand' (and probably do a lot more!)...'I Want To Hold Your Hand' is not about Jane (Asher), but it was certainly written when I was with her. To tell you the truth, I think we were writing more to a general audience. I may have been drawing on my experience with a person I was in love with at the time - and sometimes it was very specific - but mostly we were writing to the world."      

Their excitement with the song led to them introducing it to George and Ringo in order to fine-tune it before their next recording session on October 17th, 1963. The song appears to have already been pigeon-holed to be their next single at this point because their second UK LP, “With The Beatles,” was almost fully completed at the time of recording. 

Recording History

The recording history for the song is quite uncomplicated. The group only needed a single session to begin and finish "I Want To Hold Your Hand," since they already fine-tuned it prior to their October 17th, 1963 session at EMI Studio Two, which was just four days after The Beatles' defining October 13th, 1963 performance on the popular British television show "Sunday Night At The London Palladium," drawing up to 15 million viewers in their home country.        

Seventeen takes of the song were recorded during this afternoon / evening session, which started at 2:30 and ended at 10 pm (including an hour and a half break from 5:30 to 7 pm.). It appears that the song officially began being worked on at 7 pm because the first items recorded on this day included the first edition of their “Beatles’ Christmas Record” which, beginning with an edit of the recording done on this day, would be sent on a flexi-disc to subscribers of their Official Beatles Fan Club. Also recorded in the earlier session on this day was an attempt at a remake ("take 12") of The Miracles’ hit “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me,” which they ended up not using, deciding that the version they recorded on July 18th, 1963 would suffice after all.        

John Lennon insisted on trying a remake of “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” on this day, no doubt, because this was the first day that The Beatles were allowed by EMI to use a four-track recording console for their recordings. Lennon was convinced that four-track recording would improve the quality of the band's interpretation of this classic Miracles song, allowing for it to sound even better than what they had achieved on a two-track console.         

Everything The Beatles recorded prior to this day was on two-track recording equipment, which put a limit on the possibilities one could achieve in the studio. With four-track recording, an artist would be able to, according to EMI engineer Ken Townsend, “do a basic rhythm track and then add on vocals and whatever else later. It made studios into much more of a workshop.” EMI previously had four-track recording equipment but they only used it for more serious recording artists, such as in the case of classical music. They didn’t feel that pop music needed to utilize the advanced capabilities that four-track recording could provide. 

Since The Beatles had by that time brought in much more financially to EMI than had the classical releases, they felt that the band had earned their keep and offered them four-track capabilities from this date on. It is quite coincidental that, starting with this monumental recording, The Beatles were ushered into a new era of recording technology that continued with them throughout their recording careers till 1968 when, during the recording of their ‘White Album,’ EMI studios graduated to the even more advanced eight-track recording console.      

After their abandoned attempt at re-recording “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me,” Lennon confidently called up to George Martin in the control booth, exclaiming: “you’d better come on down here and have a listen to our next number one record.” This statement solidifies two things: the first was that “It Won’t Be Long” was no longer in consideration for their next single by this time (as originally planned) and, second, that George Martin was still being utilized by The Beatles for his expertise in arranging their material. In this case, with the exception of a slight alteration in tempo and some adjustments in vocal harmonies, the song was perfectly arranged in advance by The Beatles themselves. There wasn't much that George Martin needed to do to improve it.      

When listening to the 17 takes (some false starts) of the song, you can’t help but notice McCartney’s leadership role in full force even at this early stage of The Beatles’ career. His bossiness is quite apparent throughout the session, such as at the beginning of "take one" where, when Lennon suggests playing it slower, Paul quickly asserts “NO…shhh!” and demands a “clean beginning,” as well as instructing Ringo on the “attack” needed at the start of the song. McCartney later admitted in his 1997 book "Many Years From Now": “I have heard the tapes recently of me counting in 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'...and I'm being pretty bossy: 'Shhh, shhh! Clean beginning, c'mon everyone. One, two, no, c'mon get it right!' and I could see how that could get on your nerves...Yes, okay, in the studio I could have been overbearing, because I wanted to get it right.” Nonetheless, as Ringo later admitted, Paul’s bossiness “contributed to really great products” as was the case with this song. McCartney’s determination may have been just what was needed in order to achieve the greatness that “I Want To Hold Your Hand” achieved.      

It has been noted that "take one" sounded very similar in structure to the final take because of their knowing the song very well by the time they entered the studio on this day. What we easily notice is that there were newer ideas that progressively entered into the mix as the sessions wore on. One of these was on "take two" where the band began to hush the instrumentation on the bridge, rather than the rocking rhythm guitar that John played on "take one." Another idea, beginning with "take four," was McCartney’s adding the familiar “sh” sound to words with an “s” sound, some examples being “I think you’ll undershtand” and “shay that shomthing.” This habit was something The Beatles heard on American records and, by coincidence, made for better mastering because of the reduced amount of sibilance, or distorted “s” sounds.       

Although the actual tracking information appears to be lost, we do know that this song took a whopping 17 takes to get right, which included all four Beatles playing and singing simultaneously. This song was the studio debut of Paul’s newly acquired 1963 Hofner bass, his original 1961 model having “seen so much work that it was held together with sellotape,” remembered Paul in 1967. As witnessed by young engineer Geoff Emerick, John kept flubbing his vocals throughout the song, this undoubtedly being the reason why The Beatles needed so many takes to perfect the song. It was suggested by Geoff Emerick that these mistakes were due to either his usual poor memory or his even poorer eyesight.

Handclaps along with double-tracking Lennon's lead vocals were then added as overdubs onto a finished "take 17." The handclaps were done by all four Beatles huddled around one microphone, clowning around as they habitually did, which was evidence of the fun atmosphere obtained whenever the group was working together in the recording studio in their earlier years. Since the complete recording of the song’s UK b-side, “This Boy” was also recorded at this session, we can estimate that “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was recorded between 7 and 8:30 pm on October 17th, 1963.        

The song was mixed for mono and stereo on October 21st, 1963 with only George Martin and Engineer Norman Smith present. The mono mix was used for the worldwide single release and the stereo version was only released, interestingly, on a rare Australian single. With an advance order of one million copies in Britain, this mono mix totally saturated the market in the UK, the only reason it was initially kept out of the #1 spot on the British charts being the resurgence in popularity of  their previous single, "She Loves You." Once "I Want To Hold Your Hand" acheived the top spot in their native country, it stayed there for five weeks (a total of 21 weeks in the Top 50) and sold 1.25 million in the UK alone, second only to the 1.3 million that "She Loves You" sold. These two singles were the biggest selling records in Britain throughout the '60s. 

The Beatles recorded this song a total of three times for BBC radio broadcasts, all of these recordings being done very shortly after the release of the British single. The song's first BBC recording was on December 17th, 1963 at London's Playhouse Theatre for the BBC radio show “Saturday Club,” this recording being done on this day between 3 and 6:30 pm and produced by Jimmy Grant and Bernie Andrews and airing on December 21st between 10 am and 12 noon. Interestingly, since this was the Christmas episode of this famous show, The Beatles also recorded a 29-second selection entitled "Chrimble Mudley," which comprised a small excerpt of their first five British singles, the most recent being "I Want To Hold Your Hand," along with a bit of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," this also being produced by Jimmy Grant and Bernie Andrews and broadcast during this same show.

Their second BBC recording of the song was on December 18th, 1963 at BBC Paris Studio in London between 7 and 10:30 pm, this being produced by Bryant Marriott and featured in the very first installment of their BBC radio show “From Us To You,” which was broadcast on "boxing day," December 26th, 1963 between 10 am and noon. Their last BBC recording of the song occurred on January 7th, 1964 at Playhouse Theatre in London between 2:30 and 4 pm for another episode of "Saturday Club," which was produced by Jimmy Grant and Bernie Andrews and broadcast on February 15th of that year between 10 am and 12 noon.

Another recording session for "I Want To Hold Your Hand" took place on April 19th, 1964. Its purpose was to provide a pre-recorded soundtrack for the British television special “Around The Beatles,” which was broadcast by the BBC on May 6th and June 8th, 1964. This new recording was edited with new versions of their first four British singles to comprise a “Beatles Medley” for the group to lip-sync to in front of a studio audience. This session, which was done on three-track tape, took place at IBC Studios in London, England, with Jack Good as producer and Terry Johnson as engineer. This rare British TV special eventually became available on DVD and for streaming.        

This song was performed one other time in EMI Studios. Since Ringo was detained in Britian because of his tonsils as well as pharyngitis, a replacement drummer needed to be auditioned to take his place for The Beatles’ upcoming world tour. Session drummer Jimmy Nicol was brought into EMI Studio Two to rehearse six songs, including “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” on June 3rd, 1964. The session was not recorded, but the audition was a success. The next day, the four of them were in Copenhagen giving their first concert on the world tour.

The song's recording session history also includes one live performance on August 23rd, 1964. That was the date The Beatles performed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. The group's entire performance was recorded with the intention of releasing it as a live album by the end of 1964, which never did happen. Capitol's vice-president Voyle Gilmore produced the recording along with George Martin and Hugh Davies as engineer. A rough stereo mix was made on August 27th, 1964 but their live recording of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" remains in the vaults until this day.

Two additional stereo mixes of the official EMI recording of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" were made later. The second stereo mix was on June 8th, 1965 by Norman Smith and Engineer Ron Pender, who placed the vocals in the center of the mix. This mix was reportedly never used, at least not in the UK or US. The third and final stereo mix of this song was done on November 7th, 1966 for inclusion on the UK compilation LP “A Collection Of Beatles Oldies,” which came out there on December 10th, 1966. This stereo mix, created by George Martin and engineers Geoff Emerick and Mike Stone, is the stereo mix used on CD to this day. An interesting note concerning the mix utilized for the stereo “Meet The Beatles!” album is that, even though a stereo mix was made in time for Capitol records to use for the album, it was not delivered to the US. Capitol hastily prepared a mock-stereo version of the song separating the lows on the left channel and the highs on the right channel. This means that a true stereo version of the song was not available in America until February 10th, 1984, this stereo mix appearing only on promotional copies of the 20th Anniversary edition of the Capitol single.

Sometime in 2015 Giles Martin (son of George Martin) and engineer Sam Okell revisited the master tape of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in Abbey Road Studios in order to create a new stereo mix, the result being included on the newly mixed "Beatles 1" compilation released that year. Then, sometime in 2016, Giles Martin received access to the live recording The Beatles made of the song at the Hollywood Bowl on August 23rd, 1964 and produced a version for inclusion on the long-awaited remastered version of "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" which came out later that year. 

The last time this song was brought into a recording studio by a Beatle was at some point in August or September of 1980. John Lennon was recording his classic 1980 album “Double Fantasy” and at times classic Beatles music was heard during the sessions. Engineer Lee DeCario related: "I remember we were editing something and Lennon was bored so he went out into the studio, grabbed the Fender Telecaster B-bender guitar that Rick Nielsen (from Cheap Trick) gave him, plugged it in, and sat on the amp all day playing Beatles songs. It was great, you’d walk by and you’d hear him singing and playing ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand.’"

Sometime during 2023, Giles Martin was given the task of creating a "demix remix" of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to be featured on the 50th Anniversary edition of their classic compilation album "The Beatles / 1962 - 1966" ("The Red Album"). With Peter Jackson's AI technology, Giles Martin was able to utilize the "new machine-learning techology" so that the "individual elements that were put to tape and were therefore impossible to separate" could now be "untangled, allowing Giles Martin to put these original recordings back together with even greater clarity and impact," as explained by John Harris in the liner notes of the above mentioned album. The "clarity and impact" is especially witnessed here on "I Want To Hold Your Hand," which is arguably the best presentation of the song to date.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO A BRIEF AUDIO HISTORY OF THIS SONG ON OUR PARTNER WEBSITE "THE BEATLES SONG BY SONG"

Song Structure and Style

While the structure of this song follows the familiar pattern of most of the early Beatles catalog, namely the 'verse/ verse/ bridge/ verse' structure (or aaba) it is anything but ordinary, because there are many interesting surprises along the way. Because Lennon and McCartney were painstakingly working to make this song palatable to American audiences, listeners witness a lot of unique characteristics in the arrangement, no doubt including suggestions made by George Martin in the recording studio as he was prone to do.

It was decided to begin the song with the final repetitive four and a half measures of the bridge played instrumentally but with a driving beat, creating an intense excitement that was meant to herald the appearance of Beatlemania in the US, saying, in effect, "Here We Are." This element was a product of the repetitive influence, it has been claimed, from Robert Freeman's jazz LP as noted above. 

What is striking about this intro, and confusing as well, is how the song begins midway through the measure with the accent on the final eighth note of the measure instead of the down beat of the next measure. Upon hearing the song for the first time (if we can possibly remember the first time we heard it), the listener is thrown off balance by the ambiguity created. The down beat of the song is only fully recognized when the vocal quarter notes are heard. That is why the equilibrium of dancers as well as listeners was thrown off by this intro, although the effect is only momentary. We all found our footing after the first eight seconds had passed and then we got it.

We now enter into the opening verse that comprises twelve measures. The vocals here are delivered in unison by John and Paul for the first seven measures of each verse, only to strikingly change to higher register harmonies on the word "hand" sung during the second appearance of the B7 chord on the eighth measure of the verse. That eighth measure was where all the focus was directed, since everyone played and sang differently on that measure. Ringo played accents and drum fills, Lennon stopped playing altogether, Paul held the one note on the bass, and the overdubbed handclaps, which maintained a regular pattern throughout the first seven measures, dropped out for the rest of the verse only to resume when the next verse began. William Mann, music critic of The Times in London, described the eighth measure of these verses to be an "octave accent" and a "median" chord change, referencing these things as "a trademark of Lennon - McCartney songs." 

Continuing into the ninth measure, their unison vocals resume throughout except, once again, when they sing the word "hand" that features a staggered descending melody line.

The song's second verse is identical with its intricate structure with only a slight change in the lyrics. These lyrics include the line "let me be your man" which, no doubt, was a throw-back to the recently composed "I Wanna Be Your Man," which was sung by Ringo and recorded by The Rolling Stones that year.

Entering the bridge, we now witness a transition into a subdued but melodic feel throughout the opening seven measures, thus allowing the tension to be momentarily relieved. The listener hears Ringo play a closed hi-hat, Harrison picking single-note phrases from the chords, and McCartney innovatively playing multiple strings on his bass during the fifth and sixth measures, repeating the technique he utilized five weeks earlier on "All I've Got To Do," while unison singing is performed by John and Paul. This all changes midway through the seventh measure as we now see the origin of the introduction: The repetitive, supposedly Robert Freeman-inspired melodic phrase, punctuated by the same driving force heard when the song began. The vocals now strategically shift to harmony sung very powerfully, repeating the phrase "I can't hide" (or as Bob Dylan and many others thought, "I get high").

The structure of the bridge becomes the perfect segue into the next verse, identical in structure to the previous two except for different lyrics. Interestingly, the listener can detect someone, most likely Paul, whispering the word "something" in the sixth measure just after the phrase "when I say that something" is heard. As another bridge is then performed in order to again relieve the tension, we see the introduction of harmony vocals throughout, which adds a dynamic touch to distract us from the identical lyrics of the previous bridge. Another change detected in this bridge is with Paul's bass playing, playing two strings simultaneously throughout the first seven measures this time instead of just the fifth and sixth measures as in the previous bridge.

The fourth and final verse is then performed, which is a virtual repetition of their third verse, one of the notable differences being in the line "when I feel that something," instead of "say that something." The big difference, though, is that the verse comprises fifteen measures instead of the usual twelve. The additional three measures make up the dramatic conclusion that consists of the song's title being repeated for a fourth time with the word "hand" held out on Paul's higher harmony for two full measures. For the first of the two measures (the fourteenth in the verse) The Beatles perform a hard-hitting waltz tempo accentuating each beat with a driving force before resolving into a G major chord, thus creating an "amen" cadence. No more suitable conclusion could be written for a song that would leave a nation breathless and, in the case of teenage females, screaming. 

Even though John and Paul sing all of the lyrics completely through the song, Lennon can easily be designated to be the lead vocalist because McCartney is who lifted up to a higher harmony whenever the need would arise, thus leaving John to deliver the melody line. McCartney's bass performance is efficient but rudimentary throughout, only straying from the signature chord notes during the melodic instrumental phrase of the second and sixth measures of each verse.

John's rhythm guitar provides a structural backdrop for the dazzling effects sprinkled through the track, even simply providing a strummed guitar for every chord change in each bridge. George's guitar phrases are used as casual accents throughout the song and, although not essential to the structure, they provide an interesting diversion during the framework of the song. Meanwhile, Ringo's drum work, while not the power-play he is capable of being when utilizing the "beat" style of their Cavern Club days, is dependable and proficient delivering suitable drum fills and powerful accents where needed.

What The Beatles most definitely put on display for this song, aside from their instrumentation, is the songwriting expertise of the Lennon/McCartney team and the overall effect it created. Standout musicianship isn't needed here, such as with impressive guitar solos, walking bass lines, or rollicking drum beats. The group does not distract us with musical showmanship in this song because it is not needed. The effervescent vocal delivery, along with its masterful songwriting, is all that was necessary to carry this masterpiece to the heights that it achieved.

Lennon stated that he never paid much attention to lyrics in the early Beatles days, thinking they were less important than delivering a coherent melody and structure. It wasn't until Bob Dylan suggested that he use the forum of The Beatles' popularity to deliver meaningful statements that Lennon turned his attention to lyric writing. His earlier view is especially evident in "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as these lyrics are extremely perfunctory. No deep meanings here, just that the singer is attracted to a young lady with whom he wants to make the outward display of holding hands. After all, it makes him "happy inside," and there is nothing wrong with that. 

American Releases

The first release of the song in the US was on the Capitol single released on December 26th, 1963. It only took three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 to reach the #1 spot; #45 on January 18th, #2 on January 25th, and #1 on February 1st, 1964. The record stayed at #1 for seven consecutive weeks until it was displaced by Swan Records' latest re-release of "She Loves You." This was in its second week at #1 on the Billboard chart when the band made their first legendary appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. At this point, the remainder of the agreed upon $40,000 that Capitol hadn’t yet spent to promote The Beatles was halted because, as Capitol President Alan Livingston stated, “I never got through the $40,000. The record exploded and the rest is history." The "I Want To Hold Your Hand" single sold over five million copies in the US alone, becoming the #1 song of the year 1964 in America according to Billboard magazine. The song was nominated for "Record Of The Year" at the Grammy Awards in 1964 but lost to "The Girl From Ipanema" by Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, which only peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year.      

The next release of the song was on January 20th, 1964 on the Capitol album “Meet The Beatles!,” which remained at #1 on the US Billboard album chart for 11 weeks and remained on the chart for a remarkable 69 weeks. This LP was then released on CD on January 21st, 2014, both the mono and stereo mixes being contained on a single disc. A mono edition of the LP on opaque blue vinyl was then released on November 22nd, 2024 to be sold exclusively at Target stores. In conjunction with the original 1964 release of this album, this song made its third appearance in February of 1964 with the distribution of “The Beatles Open-End Interview” EP that was sent to disc jockeys throughout the US. Side one of the disc featured recorded statements from the band for use with an included script for simulating a personal interview with The Beatles. After the interview segment, the record moves directly into their first Capitol single “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” This extremely hard to find EP is quite the collectors’ item today.

The next US release of the song was on May 4th, 1964 on a Capitol compilation album called "Chart Busters Volume 4." Both sides of their first single were featured on this LP which, while only selling moderately, was one in a series of sampler albums put out by Capitol Records for previewing their latest releases.

The next two appearances of the song on record were just partial sections and are mentioned as noteworthy side-points. The first was on the Capitol documentary double LP “The Beatles’ Story,” which was released on November 23rd, 1964 and peaked at #7 on the US Billboard album chart. The song appeared within the track “Beatlemania In Action” on side one of the first LP. Surprisingly, "The Beatles' Story" also came out on CD on January 21st., 2014, but only as contained in the 13 album box set titled "The US Albums." The second noteworthy partial release was a July 1964 souvenir 7" album to celebrate the opening of Capitol's pressing plant in Jacksonville, Illinois. The compact 33 disc titled “The Capitol Souvenir Record” included an excerpt of various noteworthy hit songs on the Capitol label including “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”      

The next release of the song occurred on April 2nd, 1973 with the first legitimate “greatest hits” package entitled "The Beatles / 1962-1966" (aka "The Red Album"). This double album peaked at #3 on the US Billboard album chart and interestingly still featured the ‘duophonic’ stereo mix of the song that appeared on the “Meet The Beatles!” album, although a stereo version had existed for nearly ten years by that time. This compilation album's first compact disc release, which now finally contained the true stereo mix, was on October 5th, 1993, the remastered CD version being released on October 19th, 2010 and on vinyl on October 31st, 2014.

Because of EMI's decision to release a box set that included all of the British Beatles albums as well as an additional album entitled "Rarities" that included recordings that did not appear on any British Beatles album, Capitol had initially decided to release this album in America. 2,000 promotional copies of this album were manufactured (#SPRO-8969) and later another unlimited number of advance copies (ESN-SN-12009) were printed in the autumn of 1979. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was included on this proposed album in replacement of "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand" from the UK "Rarities" album, but this entire project was abondoned due to the fact that this and most of the songs contained therein were still available on other Beatles albums in the US at that time. These promotional albums are very collectible today.

The next US appearance of the song was on October 15th, 1982, with the Capitol LP titled “20 Greatest Hits.” The album only reached #50 on the Billboard album chart, but furnished a single album “greatest hits” package intended for a declining Beatles fan base so they would not need to invest in two double album sets in order to have all of the essential Beatles hits. This idea developed into the single CD “Beatles 1” released in 2000, which superseded this album and rendered it pointless to reissue.

The first time "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was paired with "This Boy" on a single in America as it was in the UK was on December 6th, 1982 as featured in the vinyl box set titled "The Beatles Singles Collection." When this box set was released as "The Beatles CD Singles Collection" on November 11th, 1992 and as a reissued vinyl set titled "The Singles Collection" on November 22nd, 2019, this same single was included.

Just over twenty years after it was released as a single in America, Capitol Records released an anniversary edition of the original "I Want To Hold Your Hand" 45 on February 10th, 1984. Interestingly, the picture sleeve utilized for this release airbrushed out the cigarette from Paul's right hand, making this photo more "politically corect." Promo copies of this single feature the song's mono mix on one side (as contained on the commercial release) and the stereo mix on the other side with a special catalog number "7-PRO-9076." This is the first time that the stereo mix made by George Martin on November 7th, 1966 was made available in America, the label stating "Stereo version never before available as single in US."

Then came the CD “Past Masters, Volume One,” which was released on March 7th, 1988. The intended purpose of this album, along with “Past Masters, Volume Two,” was to make all of the released Beatles songs available on CD for the first time. With this disc, all of America now had “I Want To Hold Your Hand” available to them in true stereo. Both volumes of "Past Masters" were combined and released on vinyl on October 24th, 1988 under the simple title "Past Masters," this set being remastered and re-released on September 9th, 2009 on CD and on November 12th, 2012 on vinyl.

On June 30th, 1992, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was included within the box set entitled “Compact Disc EP Collection.” Its appearance was due to it being on the original British EP “The Beatles’ Million Sellers,” which was released on December 6th, 1965.

In March of 1994, Capitol released the single once again in their Cema "For Jukebox Only" series on clear vinyl, this once again being a pairing of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" with "This Boy" as originally released in Britain. 

The next release was on the highly anticipated “Anthology 1” album, which featured a live performance of the song from December 2nd, 1963, on the British comedy/variety television program entitled “The Morecambe And Wise Show.” The album was released on November 21st, 1995 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard album chart, staying there for three weeks, while remaining in the charts for 29 weeks total. It sold over a million units in the first week of release and has reached the 4 million mark in the US.       

Then arrived the aforementioned “Beatles 1” album, this CD being released in America on November 14, 2000. The album debuted at #1 on the US Billboard album chart and, after falling to #2 for two weeks, reclaimed the top spot and stayed there to acquire a total of 8 weeks at #1. The album spent an amazing 197 weeks in the Billboard album chart, and went on to sell over 11 million copies in America and over 31 million copies worldwide. The remastered version of this album was released in September of 2011 and a newly mixed version was released on November 6th, 2015.

On July 17th, 2001, a compilation box set was released under the title "Produced By George Martin," which contained an extensive amount of examples of George Martin produced accomplishments through his entire career. His historic production of The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was included within "Disc Three (That Was The Decade That Was)" as well as the single disc edition of this set that was released on November 6th, 2006.

On November 15th, 2004, a box set was released called “The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1,” this set having both the mono and the “duophonic” stereo mixes as featured on the original “Meet The Beatles!” album releases.

Not to be forgotten is the album “Beatles Love,” which was released on November 21st, 2006. It was a soundtrack album featuring Beatles music remixed for the famous Beatles Cirque du Soleil program. George Martin and his son Giles Martin created this album as a musical landscape and as a foundation for this famous acrobatic show. The abbreviated rendition of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” that appears in the show and on the album features elements of both the studio recording and their live performance at the Hollywood Bowl, which comprised the audience sounds heard in the background. This album peaked at #4 on the US Billboard album chart and has sold well over 2 million copies to date.

September 9th, 2009 was the release date for the new compact disc box set “The Beatles In Mono,” which featured a remarkable remastered mono version of the song as contained on the disc "Mono Masters." The vinyl edition of this box set was first released on September 9th, 2014.

On November 11th, 2013, the album "On Air - Live At The BBC Volume 2" was released, which featured yet another rendition of "I Want To Hold Your Hand," this recorded on December 18th, 1963 for the radio program "The Beatles Say From Us To You." They even went as far as performing their handclap overdub on this version as they had on the original EMI recording, the band then erupting in applause as the song concludes. Also released around this date was a fourteen-track sampler of the above album for promotional purposes, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" being included therein.

On December 17th, 2013, iTunes released a 59 track compilation album entitled "Bootleg Recordings 1963" that was only available on their downloading platform. The Beatles' rendition of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" from December 21st, 1963 for the BBC show "Saturday Club" was included on this album. The purpose of this release was to extend the copyright of these recordings under European Union law from 50 years (which would have expired at the end of 2013) to 70 years (until 2033), this being considered an official release. This compilation album was only available in the US on that date to those in the know for a number of hours for $39.99 in its entirety or to be purchased as individual tracks, but was made available for purchase as well.

In promotion of the 2014 box set "The US Albums," a 25-song sampler CD was manufactured for limited release on January 21st, 2014, this containing the stereo mix of "I Want To Hold Your Hand."

On September 9th, 2016, The Beatles' August 23rd, 1964 performance of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was included as a bonus track on the long-awaited remastered LP "Live At The Hollywood Bowl."

A new 50th Anniversay edition of the compilation album "The Beatles / 1962 - 1966" (aka "The Red Album") came out on November 10th, 2023, the new stereo mix of "I Want To Hold Your Hand," as detailed above, being featured here. This expanded release included 12 additional songs for a total of 38 tracks, and was made available as a double compact disc and as a triple vinyl release on both black and red vinyl.

On April 20th, 2024, Apple released "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as one of four 3" singles on Record Store Day as a special "RSD Exclusive Release." Only 1500 copies each were made of these limited edition releases which can only be played using 3" turntables, Crosley Manufacturing also releasing a limited edition package on this day including a special Beatles Mini Turntable, record carrying case and all four Beatles singles. These releases were made in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of The Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th, 1964.

Live Performances

There is no evidence to suggest that they performed the song live in-between the time that they composed it in September and its UK release on November 29th, 1963, most likely because they felt the song would be further refined in the studio, which it was. But only three days following its British release as a single, they premiered the song on the ever popular “Morcambe and Wise” TV show.    

From that point on, through until the end of their first extensive world tour in November of 1964, this song was a solid fixture in their abbreviated live set. Most notable was its inclusion in their landmark appearance at the London Palladium on January 12th, 1964, as well as in their 19-day concert performances at the Olympia Theatre in Paris beginning on January 15th, 1964.      

The next stop for the band was their American debut where they performed “I Want To Hold Your Hand” for all three Ed Sullivan Show appearances, wanting to promote their current American #1 hit. Their brief US concert stint in February also featured the song, as seen in the footage for the February 11th, 1964 Washington D.C. show held at the Washington Coliseum Sports Center.      

British TV got another of many glimpses of this song on their television special “Around The Beatles,” broadcast on May 6th and June 8th, 1964. The song was performed as part of a medley that consisted of the first five British singles.      

The group's world tour, which commenced on June 4th in Copenhagen and also included the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and eventually the US, featured the song consistently in their set list. As the world tour ended in Bristol on November 10th, 1964, it appears that “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was then dropped from their set list for good. After all, by that time they had two more British #1 hits and a new LP to promote, which was the soundtrack to their blockbuster movie “A Hard Day’s Night.”

While Paul never thought to include "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in the set list of any of his solo tours, there was an occasion that he and his touring band performed the song on stage. This occurred during his sound check on July 4th, 1990 in Washington D.C. at the RFK Stadium. This was the very last occurrence of any of The Beatles playing this groundbreaking song.

Conclusion

George Martin has described "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as "the apex of Phase One of The Beatles' development." He then stated, "When they started out, in the 'Love Me Do' days, they weren't good writers. They had stole unashamedly from existing records. It wasn't until they tasted blood that they realized they could do this, and that set them on the road to writing better songs."

From start to finish, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” is truly one of the most exciting records The Beatles ever recorded. From the historic significance of its explosion onto the American charts to the cultural effect it has had on rock and roll to this day, the formative Lennon/McCartney songwriting team surely "hit the nail on the head" as to what would go over well in America. To say that the song "took the country by storm" would be quite an understatement, let alone selling 15 million copies worldwide.         

An avid reader can usually determine the effect of a cultural phenomenon by its detractors. The Beatles, and this song in particular, were viewed as a threat to all that was deemed to be sacred and decent in the country. A sterling example of the older generation's distaste for this influence was with New York radio station WNEW continually saying on the air that “I Want To Hold Your Hand” made some people want to hold their noses. Anchorman Chet Huntley, on an NBC Evening News broadcast, refused to show footage of The Beatles arriving at Kennedy Airport in February of 1964, actually saying on air that, because of “the subject of the film” footage taken on that day, he felt that “there is absolutely no need to show any of” that footage. Since 1964, what other recording artist, or song, has ever provoked this much resistance? Time has definitely proven to be in the favor of The Beatles, as now the innocence of the song “I Want To Hold Your Hand” can only leave us wondering what all the subversive talk was about.

Song Summary 

“I Want To Hold Your Hand”

Written by:  John Lennon / Paul McCartney 

• Song Written: September 1963
• Song Recorded: October 17th, 1963 
• First US Release Date: December 26, 1963
• US Single Release: Capitol #5112
• Highest Chart Position: #1  (7 weeks) 
• First US Album Release:  Capitol #ST 2047 “Meet The Beatles!” 
• British Album Release: Parlophone #PCS 7016 “A Collection Of Beatles Oldies” 
• Length: 2:24 
• Key: G major 
• Producer: George Martin
• Engineers: Norman Smith, Geoff Emerick

Instrumentation (most likely): 

• John Lennon – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (1958 Rickenbacher 325), Handclaps
• Paul McCartney - Lead and Harmony Vocals, Bass Guitar (1963 Hofner 500/1), Handclaps
• George Harrison – Lead Guitar (1962 Gretsch 6122 Country Gentleman), Handclaps
• Ringo Starr – Drums (1963 Ludwig Downbeat Black Oyster Pearl), Handclaps

Written and compiled by Dave Rybaczewski

"Twist And Shout" PREVIOUS    -    NEXT "I Saw Her Standing There"

"Clarity" by Dave Rybs

CLICK HERE to hear the author's new album "Clarity"

Sign Up Below for our MONTHLY BEATLES TRIVIA QUIZ!