Throwback Thursday: The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night Tops the Charts
It was 55 years ago today that The Beatles’ title track and album from the film A Hard Day’s Night would both reach the number one spot on the Billboard charts and would remain there for two consecutive weeks. At the same time, both the track and album mirrored in popularity in Britain, gaining the top spot on the charts as well--the first time in music history an event like this had occurred.
The film itself is a mockumentary-style story starring the four band members in a fictitious plotline involving their everyday fame, which begins with a comedic chase sequence with the title track playing in the background in which the group attempts to escape the crazed fans running after them throughout London. The band’s drummer, Ringo Starr, seemingly summarized the attitude towards the film the best, “we’re just having a good laugh, and everyone seems to enjoy it… what's the point in being serious all the time?”
On its own, the title track is one of The Beatles’ most prominent landmarks; incorporating every aspect of the band’s early sound, and paving the way for other groups of the sixties (ie. The Byrds, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones). However, the most prominent feature in the song is without a doubt the first very iconic chord played, which is now instantly recognizable as being Beatlesque. The thunderous chord serves as an attention grabber or hook that The Beatles incorporated into many of their songs. Famously the song “I Feel Fine” (which was written and released around the same time as A Hard Day’s Night) used feedback to create an ear-crackling opening sound.
The album also includes some other great songs such as the ballad titled “If I Fell,” with the famous two-part harmony between John and Paul. While this is more or less a straightforward love song, the softer, ballad structure foreshadowed powerful songs like “Yesterday” and “In My Life.” Moreover, “Can’t Buy Me Love” is the one other track from the album that gained the number one position on its own in the charts, and became a highlight in their career doing so.
With A Hard Day’s Night, The Beatles continued capturing the momentum that was caused by “I Want to Hold Your Hand” being released in the United States. Lyrically this album is the first in The Beatles’ discography to feature every single song written by the Lennon-McCartney duo. Thus A Hard Day’s Night can be seen as not only a beacon of early Beatlemania, but an album that displays the growth and potential of the most prolific band of all time.
Listen to the album on Spotify:
Listen to the album on Apple Music:
