It Was 50 Years Ago Today: I Want To Hold Your Hand

It’s time for our second week of the month feature; and in honor of The Beatles’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, we’ll take a look at the Billboard Hot 100 chart for this week in music history. I already dealt with the topic of their appearance back in 2011, so I won’t be talking about my personal recollections of that important night.

This week we’ll look at the songs at the top of the charts and finish off the week with a track from the number one album of the week of February 9 to February 15, 1964. Starting with the number one record of the week, we’ll move back up the chart.

Recorded in October 1963, The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was The Beatles’ first recording using state-of-the-art four track reel-to-reel recording equipment. It took 17 takes to finish the song and George Martin compressed John Lennon’s rhythm guitar to achieve an almost organ like sound.

While “This Boy” was the flip side for the UK release on Parlophone, Capitol selected “I Saw Her Standing There,” which allowed the record further chart as a double sided hit. The “B” side peaked at #14. The “A” Side, which was performed live on the Sullivan show, had already hit the #1 mark in the previous week and would remain at the top spot for a total of seven weeks.

Prior to being issued in America, a disc jockey at WWDC in metropolitan Washington saw Walter Cronkite’s December 10, 1963 piece on the CBS Evening News and had several copies of the British issue flown over from London aboard a BOAC flight to DC. Through the sharing of these copies with other jocks in major markets, the single began to break out in the US prior to its Capitol release on December 26.

In early January, after an aggressive marketing campaign by Capitol, the single was certified as a million-seller and attained gold status in the US. In today’s music climate, special marketing in conjunction with a major release is expected; however, Capitol’s promotion of The Beatles during the winter of '63-'64 was unprecedented and was like nothing anyone had ever seen before.

The efforts paid off.  On April 8, 1964, The Beatles dominated the Top 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with “Can’t Buy Me Love” at #1, “Twist and Shout” at #2, “She Loves You” at #3, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” at #4 and “Please Please Me” at #5. In addition, “Meet The Beatles” and “Introducing the Beatles” placed at the top two slots on the Top 200 Albums chart during the same week. No one has ever been able to match this combined feat.

By the way, the label and picture sleeve shown above comes from my own collection.

John Mayall: Room To Move

John Mayall may be considered the grandfather to a number of top bands. This list includes Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Mark-Almond, and others who studied under the tutelage of the master: Mr. John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers. In 1969 when Mick Taylor left the Bluesbreakers to join The Rolling Stones as their lead guitarist, the band folded. Mayall decided that his music needed a turning point – to move away from the loud electric guitars and drums; and so, he formed his next band that provided a slightly subdued version of the blues.

Today’s bubbling under recording comes from that era – a new band, a new sound, and a new record label – Polydor. It truly was “The Turning Point” and the album by that moniker came to fruition with the recordings of a live show from the Fillmore East on July 12, 1969.

Released as an un-charting single, “Room to Move” features Mayall on harmonica, vocals, and mouth percussion; Johnny Almond on flute and mouth percussion; Jon Mark on acoustic guitar; and Steve Thompson on bass. What a great tune that showcases this tight band in a live context. Who knew in 1969 that the human beat box would ever be so extremely popular.

The Hollies: Indian Girl

For today’s Friday Flipside, we take you back to 1972 with a non-album “B” side by The Hollies: “Indian Girl.” Released only in North America as a single, it’s “A” side, “Long Dark Road,” was a mid-charter in the US (#26) and Canada (#24).

“Long Dark Road” was released as the follow-up single to “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” and both appeared on the “Distant Light” album in 1971. “Indian Girl,” however, was not released on an album until it appeared on the 2007 CD release of the 1972 album “Romany.” It was one of the CD’s 8 bonus tracks.

“Indian Girl” was penned by Terry Sylvester who also handled the lead vocals on the cut. Sylvester joined The Hollies in 1969 as a replacement for Graham Nash. Like Nash, he typically handled the high tenor harmonies. When Sylvester released his self-titled solo album in 1974, he remade “Indian Girl.” His solo version, complete with steel guitar, was not released as a single. Personally, I prefer The Hollies’ treatment of this classic “B” side.

Twofer Tuesday: The Michael Stanley Band

By suggestion from my friend Greg Rector, I bring a new Tuesday feature – “Twofer Tuesday.” Actually, I’ve been considering this for some time as the idea is similar to a feature we had at WOAY AM/FM in Oak Hill, WV. Nearly every AOR station in the 80s did “Twofer Tuesdays,” so many will be familiar with the concept. Greg even volunteered a few selections for this feature’s maiden voyage. Today, we feature two cuts from The Michael Stanley Band’s “Heartland” album from 1980.

The Michael Stanley Band was the darling of the Rust Belt. From Cleveland, OH, they constantly packed the local arenas whenever they played on their home field. While the band had three major record deals with Epic, Arista, and EMI-America, they failed to garner a large national base.

With disappointing album sales and being dropped from Arista, the band took it upon themselves to record the “Heartland” album and shop it to various labels. If that failed, they would release it themselves.

The tactic worked, as EMI-America picked up MSB and released four of their albums. Three of these would become their highest charting releases. While they failed have a Top 20 album, they had a good chart showing for a band who had a limited regional following.

“Heartland” featured two single releases “He Can’t Love You” and “Lover.” Released in 1980, “He Can’t Love You” was written by keyboardist Kevin Raleigh who also sings lead on the cut. “He Can’t Love You” became the band’s highest charting single when it peaked at #33 in 1981.

The follow-up single, “Lover,” didn’t fare as well and the band’s fourth highest charting single at #68. Michael Stanley, who wrote “Lover,” sings lead. Both songs feature the tenor saxophone work of Clarence Clemons of the Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.

Buddy Holly: Peggy Sue Got Married

Sneaking in my Media Monday Selection in the waning hours of February 3, I present to you a Buddy Holly song on this 55th anniversary of his death. Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa during the early morning hours of February 3, 1959. While I was just three years old at the time, I remember "the day that the music died." My brother came home from high school that afternoon saddened by the news that one of his rock ‘n roll icons had passed.

In honor of Holly, I've chosen a recording that later become one of his posthumous non-hit single releases. “Peggy Sue Got Married” was originally recorded in Buddy Holly’s New York apartment on December 8, 1958 – less than two months prior to his death. I'm featuring this acoustic version today, as it was the rendition used in the 1986 motion picture of the same name. The original reel-to-reel recording featured only Holly and his acoustic guitar.

In 1959, producer Jack Hansen took this sequel to Holly’s hit “Peggy Sue” and added session musicians and back up vocalists to complete the recording. While it charted at #13 in the UK, this September 1959 release was a flop in the US and failed to make it to the Hot 100. Another version recorded in 1964 featured The Fireballs for the instrumentation and was produced by Norman Petty using the original Holly acoustic track from New York.

Although, Buddy Holly died in 1959 – I'm reminded of the cover for “Buddy Holly and the Crickets’ 20 Golden Greats” LP from 1978 that echoed the sentiments that “Buddy Holly Lives.”  As long as we are playing his music, he lives on.

Sire: Lay Down Your Weary Tune

For our final look at Sire Records, we travel back to 1972 when McGuinness Flint released “Lay Down your Weary Tune.” Like Fleetwood Mac, McGuinness Flint was named for two members of the band – guitarist Tom McGuinness and drummer Hughie Flint.

Previously a five piece band, McGuinness Flint had been whittled down to four members that also included founding member Dennis Coulson and the band’s newest addition, Dixie Dean, on bass. When they issued the album “Lo and Behold: Words and Music by Bob Dylan,” the band was listed as Coulson, Dean, McGuinness, Flint.

While the songs on the album were all written by Dylan, none had been released by the author at the time. “Lay Down your Weary Tune” was previously recorded by The Byrds for their “Turn! Turn! Turn!” album; however, McGuinness Flint’s version failed to chart. Even at that, it is a good interpretation of a song written by one of the premier songwriters of our era.

Sire Records: Hey Mama

Before they started having a couple of hit records, the Climax Blues Band was just that – a blues band. In fact, so influenced by the Chicago blues, they called themselves the Climax Chicago Blues Band. They dropped the “Chicago” moniker to avoid confusion with Chicago Transit Authority with the band’s release of their fourth LP: “Tightly Knit.”

It is that album from 1971 that we pull the lead cut to help fulfill our look at Sire Records. “Hey Mama,” the lead track, showcases the talent of this band that doesn’t normally get the recognition they deserve. Guitarist Pete Haycock takes the lead vocals on this cut while his fantastic lead guitar work interplays with a variety of instrumentation handled by Colin Cooper. Cooper plays all of the horn parts and the fantastic amplified harmonica parts.

Not to be forgotten, the glue of the song is laid down by keyboardist Arthur Wood, bassist Derek Holt, and drummer George Newsome. The rhythm section of the Climax Blues Band provides some great kicks in “Hey Mama.” This 1971 release was made when musicians were musicians. The album was re-released in 1976 with the addition of the band’s take on the Willie Dixon classic, “Spoonful.”

“Tightly Knit,” with its unique cover, was originally released in Britain on Harvest Records, an EMI subsidiary. Capitol, who was the EMI arm in the US, did not pick up the option for the Climax Blues Band; therefore, the independent Sire Records was their label in North America.