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TL;DR:

  • John Lennon felt The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” inspired a song from the 1970s.
  • He was correct.
  • “I Want to Hold Your Hand” became a massive hit in the United States.
The Beatles with mop tops during the "I Want to Hold Your Hand" era
The Beatles | CBS Photo Archive / Contributor

The Beatles‘ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” inspired a song from the 1970s. John Lennon noticed the similarity. Subsequently, he confronted the song’s writer while drunk.

A rock star admitted to reusing the intro of The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand’

Devo is a nerdy rock band most known for the hit single “Whip It.” During a 2022 interview with Stereogum, Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh discussed one of his band’s early songs.

“If you listen to the first song on the first Devo record, I start off ‘Uncontrollable Urge’ with basically the same intro as ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand,'” Mothersbaugh revealed. “In the song, there’s a deconstructed ‘yeah yeah yeah.’ It didn’t go unnoticed by John Lennon.”

A drunken John Lennon sang some of The Beatles’ lyrics to Mark Mothersbaugh’s face

Mothersbaugh discussed John’s reaction to this similarity. “He came to a Devo show at Max’s Kansas City,” he said. “The stage is way in the back, you have to wait for everybody to leave so you can pack up your gear and drive home. I remember the night, the second or third show we did there, John Lennon was coming out drunk with Ian Hunter from Mott the Hoople, they’re holding each other up.

“He looks over and I’m sitting in the passenger seat of the Econoline I’m going to be sleeping in that night,” he added. “He comes over and sticks his head right in front of my face and he stinks like beer and he goes ‘Yeah yeah yeah yeah!’ right in my face.”

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How ‘Uncontrollable Urge’ and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ performed on the pop charts in the United States

“Uncontrollable Urge” was never a single, so it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, which was a minor hit. The album hit No. 78 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 18 weeks.

Meanwhile, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was a massive hit. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven of its 15 weeks on the chart. Aside from “Hey Jude,” it lasted longer at No. 1 than any of the group’s other songs. The track appeared on Meet the Beatles! The album peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks, remaining on the chart for 74 weeks altogether.

“I Want to Hold Your Hand” was a huge hit and it had an impact on Devo.

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