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The Beatles · S6 E3
Can't Buy Me Love
Number one in America and Britain simultaneously. On April 4, 1964, the Beatles hold the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100. Nobody has done it before or since
Billboard magazine offices, New York, April 4, 1964. The editors stare at the Hot 100 chart and count the same band name five times in a row. Positions one through five. All Beatles.
"Can't Buy Me Love" (The Beatles, 1964). The single that went to number one in both America and Britain within days of release. 2.1 million advance orders before anyone had heard a note. This is what total cultural domination sounds like.
The Week Nobody Could Believe
On April 4, 1964, the Beatles held the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously. Number one: "Can't Buy Me Love." Number two: "Twist and Shout." Number three: "She Loves You." Number four: "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Number five: "Please Please Me." No artist had ever done it before. No artist has done it since.
Sources
Lewisohn, Mark. "The Complete Beatles Chronicle." Hamlyn, 1992.
Gould, Jonathan. "Can't Buy Me Love." Three Rivers Press, 2007.
TAP TO REVEAL: How many advance orders did "Can't Buy Me Love" receive?
“On April 4, 1964, the Beatles became the first and only act to occupy positions one through five on the Billboard Hot 100. The music industry had no framework for understanding what was happening. Capitol Records was pressing records around the clock and still couldn't keep up with demand.”
— Based on Lewisohn's "The Complete Beatles Chronicle" (1992) and Gould's "Can't Buy Me Love" (2007)
Can't Buy Me Love, The Beatles (1964)
"Can't Buy Me Love" was recorded at EMI Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris in January 1964, while the Beatles were performing at the Olympia Theatre. George Martin flew the mobile recording equipment to Paris specifically for this session. The song skips straight to the chorus, no intro, no verse first, just Paul's voice shouting the title over George's guitar. Listen for how stripped back the arrangement is compared to the lush productions they'd been doing: bass, drums, guitar, vocal. Nothing else. The simplicity is the weapon.
Sources
Lewisohn, Mark. "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions." Hamlyn, 1988.
MacDonald, Ian. "Revolution in the Head." Chicago Review Press, 2005.
EMI Pathé Marconi Studios, Paris
The Paris studio where "Can't Buy Me Love" was recorded in January 1964, while the Beatles were on a three-week residency at the Olympia Theatre. George Martin brought equipment from Abbey Road specifically for the session. The biggest American hit of 1964 was recorded in France.
April 4, 1964
She Loves You, The Beatles (1963)
"She Loves You" was the Beatles' biggest UK hit before America happened. It sat at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 4, 1964, one of the five Beatles songs in the top five. The "yeah, yeah, yeah" hook was so infectious that it became shorthand for the entire band. For an episode about total chart domination, this song is proof that the Beatles didn't just have one hit in America. They had a backlog of UK smashes that all landed at once, like a dam breaking.
She Loves You, The Beatles (1963)
"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah." Three words and three syllables that became the most recognizable hook of the 1960s. What makes the lyric unusual is that it's told in the third person: the singer isn't declaring his own love, he's telling a friend that a girl still cares about him. It's generous, almost selfless, and completely unlike anything else on the radio in 1963. George Martin initially thought the "yeah, yeah, yeah" ending was too corny. The Beatles kept it anyway.
In which country was "Can't Buy Me Love" actually recorded?
Five songs in the top five, a number one in two countries, and the biggest advance order in history. But the Beatles are about to meet the one person who will change how they think about music forever. Next: a hotel room in New York, Bob Dylan, a joint, and the night the lyrics start getting deeper.
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