After the success of “She Loves You” in the UK, John Lennon and Paul McCartney knew they possessed songwriting talent. But even they couldn’t predict that their next release, “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, would change pop culture forever. In this article, we will dive into the story, meaning, and legacy behind The Beatles’ iconic song.
The Story Behind the Song
Before the release of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, The Beatles already had national success with the singles “From Me to You” and “She Loves You”. They emerged as the most popular band in the UK and their popularity coined the term ‘Beatlemania’.
But The Beatles failed to reach the United States, mainly because American subsidiary Capitol Records refused to release their songs as singles. It is rumored manager Brian Epstein urged Lennon and McCartney to write a song targeting the American market. Their reply? “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.
Lennon and McCartney wrote the song in Jane Asher’s parental house, where McCartney had recently moved in. He had a relationship with the actress and briefly turned their house into the band’s writing base.
Jane Asher’s brother Pete Asher later recalled in an interview with Gibson: “My mother had a practice room that she used to give private oboe lessons when she wasn’t teaching at The Royal Academy, where she was a professor. There was just a piano, and an upright chair and a sofa. Paul used that room to write in, from time to time.”
One afternoon John Lennon visited the Asher household. In the practice room, in about an hour, Lennon and McCartney wrote “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. Both McCartney and Lennon confirmed they wrote the song ‘eyeball to eyeball’ while ‘playing into each other’s noses’.
“Paul called me down to listen to a song they had just finished,” Pete Asher continued. “I went downstairs and sat on the sofa, and they sat side by side, on the piano bench. That’s where they played ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ for the first anywhere. They asked me what I thought. I said, ‘I think it’s very good.” (laughs)
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” was eventually recorded on 17 October 1963. The Beatles needed 17 takes to finish the song. A month later, with over a million pre-orders, the song was released in the UK. The song quickly rose to the top of the charts, where it dethroned the band’s own song “She Loves You”.
As ‘Beatlemania’ was entering new heights in the UK, manager Brian Epstein was finally capable to convince Capitol Records to release a Beatles single in the US. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was scheduled to be released in mid-January of 1964, to promote the already planned performance of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in February.
Read more: The 10 Best Beatles Songs of All Time
But US radio station WWDC imported a copy of the song from the UK, which became a huge radio hit. As a result, Capitol Records decided to release the song earlier, on 26 December 1963. In the first three days alone, the single sold 250.000 copies. On the 18th of January, it entered the US Charts, and on the 1st of February, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” topped the US Billboard Hot 100.
8 days later The Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. The band’s performance was watched by 73 million Americans, and started the ‘British Invasion’ of music and ‘Beatlemania’ in the US. Pop culture would never be the same.
The Meaning of the Song
The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” is a fairly simple song about love. The lyrics portray the narrator’s desire to hold the hand of the person he loves the most.
On personal terms, the song could reflect Paul McCartney’s love for Jane Asher, and/or John Lennon’s love for Cynthia Lennon, as those were the women the musicians were dating at the time. If the song has a personal meaning, it’s more likely to be about Paul McCartney and Jane Asher, as the two started dating shortly before the song was written.
Read more: The Story Behind “In My Life” by The Beatles
The Song’s Legacy
The Beatles reportedly wildly celebrated when they found out “I Want To Hold Your Hand” topped the US Charts. The song topped the charts in 8 other countries too.
It’s undeniable that “I Want To Hold Your Hand” is one of the most important and impactful single releases of all time. As critic Ian MacDonald wrote: “Every American artist, black or white, asked about ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ has said much the same: it altered everything, ushering in a new era and changing their lives.”
To this day, the song is the best-selling Beatles single worldwide, selling over 12 million copies. A deserved milestone for the single that would change pop culture forever.
That’s how it happens the new generation learns from this also it comes out a little harder a little faster rap heavy metal still respect an old box guitar in the middle of nowhere strings to thick where is my damn pick it’s not on tune wtf the song remains the same
As a young boy, this was the first song I ever played on a jukebox. It was Sunday lunch out after church. My father immediately jumped up ran to the jukebox and unplugged it. It started a lifelong obsession with rebellion and rock and roll for me.
I was home from college for Christmas vacation when I heard I want to Hold Your Hand/ I Saw Her Standing There on the radio. I bought a copy and brought it back to school. In the few days that intervened Beatlemania had taken hold. People I didn’t know came to my room because somehow they had heard I had the Beatles record. I must have played that record a hundred times in the next few days. Music was never the same again.