The Beatles’ Producer Wanted ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ to Grab You ‘By the Scruff of the Neck’
A famous producer wanted The Beatles‘ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to catch listeners off guard. He discussed what he thought of the final song. In addition, he revealed what he thought of three of The Beatles as people.
What The Beatles’ producer thought of ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ on a technical level
George Martin was The Beatles’ regular producer. During a 1995 interview with The Christian Science Monitor, Martin recalled The Beatles introducing him to the music of American rockers such as Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Their music sounded different from the British music of the era because of the technology they used.
Martin was asked if he could recreate that American sound by importing foreign technology. “No, because it’s not just technology,” he opined. “It’s a combination of the type of song, the type of arrangement, the type of singing, the type of playing, the instruments in the studio, and above all knowing how to use the technology to put it on a disc.”
The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” sounded radically different from the other British songs of the time. Martin explained what he want to accomplish with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” “I was consciously trying to get a sound that grabbed you by the scruff of the neck and said: ‘Listen to this,'” Martin said. “With that song, it technically all seemed to knit together.”
George Martin revealed what he thought of The Beatles when he 1st met them
In addition, Martin explained his chemistry with the Fab Four. “It was kind of instantaneous,” Martin said. “We simply hit it off. I thought they were terrific. They were kooky. They were unusual. They were a little bit arrogant, but it was fun as well.”
Martin was asked about his relationship with the then-surviving Beatles: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. “I’ve grown up with them,” he said. “They’re my friends. And they’re still the same arrogant, opinionated devils they always were; success hasn’t changed them in that regard!”
How ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ performed on the charts in the United States
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” became The Beatles’ first No. 1 single in the United States. The hit topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping seven weeks, staying on the chart for a total of 15 weeks. In the U.S., the tune appeared on the album Meet the Beatles! That record reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks. It remained on the chart for 74 weeks altogether.
The tune inspired covers from several major artists, including The Supremes, Petula Clark, and the cast of Glee. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” also appeared in the Fab Four jukebox musicals Yesterday and Across the Universe. In the latter, T.V. Carpio performs a cover of the song that transforms it into a sad ballad about the pain a closeted lesbian character feels.
Martin wanted “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to be something special — and it was.
