Wednesday, April 04, 2007

This Day in Music History: The Beatles and Can't Buy Me Love (43rd record setting anniversary)




When you of great Beatles songs you think of "Something", "Yesterday", "In My Life" or "The Long and Winding Road." However, there is another song that deserves to be mentioned on the list of great Beatles songs. That song is "Can't Buy Me Love." What is so great about this song? Isn't it just a nice little pop tune? Actually, it has one big thing that would make it added to the list of great Beatle songs. It was #1 on this day in music history, April 4, 1964 when the Beatles set a record that has never been broken. That week the Beatles estabilished the biggest domination of the top 5 in the history of the Billboard charts. What helped this happen was when Capitol records made the Beatles a hit in America other smaller labels, like Swan and Tollie, who held the American rights to their other songs jumped on the band wagon by releasing them. So the top 5 this week was held by the songs as follows.
1. Can't Buy Me Love
2. Twist and Shout
3. She Loves You
4. I Want to Hold Your Hand
5. Please Please Me

It also helped the Beatles set other records. One was the greatest monolopy of the top 100. By April 11 they had 13 songs in the top 100. Can't Buy Me Love also achieved the biggest leap to number 1. It debuted at #27 and the next week it was #1. The song helped the Beatles achieve the most consecutive number one singles. Ath the time the record was held by Elvis with 2 consecutive #1's but the Beatles had 3 with IWant to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, and then Can't Buy Me Love. With all this the last record it set should come as no surprise being largest advance sales. The song was not available on any album at that time. Capitol records only released it as a single. So the sales # of 2,100,000 should not have surprised anyone. With all it achievedfor the Beatles it should be considered their greatest song of all.

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