Today in Music (1964): Top of the Pops aired for the first time

January 1, 1964 Top of the Pops launched in Britain.

The British music television show Top of the Pops launched on New Year’s Day in 1964. BBC producer Johnnie Stewart created TOTP, inspired by the Radio Luxembourg show Teen and Twenty Disc Club. Each show counted down the hits from the past week. The #1 song was featured every week, but otherwise a song did not generally appear if it had been on the previous week or was heading down the charts. The inaugural show featured The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Hollies, and Dusty Springfield. The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was the #1 song that week. Each week consisted of performances of some of the most popular music artists and counted down the week’s hit singles. While the show aired live, artists actually mimed to the songs. Over the show’s history, however, there were times when songs were performed at least partially live. Traditionally TOTP aired on BBC 1 on Thursdays, but in 1996 it moved to Fridays and then in 2005 it moved to Sundays on BBC 2. The show was broadcast until July 30, 2006, becoming the world’s longest-running weekly music show. The show also aired an annual look at the best-selling singles of the year on Christmas Day. Even after the show’s cancellation, that tradition continued. Resources: Dave’s Music Database: “History Index” for more important dates in music history Dave’s Music Database: “Music Makers’ Birthdays” BBC.co.uk: Top of the Pops Wikipedia: Top of the Pops First posted 1/1/2012; updated 12/30/2023.

Today in Music (1964): The Beatles hit #1 with “Can’t Buy Me Love,” locking down the top 5

Can’t Buy Me Love The Beatles

Writer(s): John Lennon, Paul McCartney (see lyrics here) Released: March 16, 1964 First Charted: March 21, 1964 Peak: 15 US, 15 CB, 11 GR, 14 HR, 1 CL, 13 UK, 3 CN, 16 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 1.55 UK, 7.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 31.6 video, 97.0 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Billboard Hot 100 chart for April 4, 1964 has been called “the most famous chart of all-time.” KL It marked the week that the Beatles soared to #1 with “Can’t Buy Me Love,” from #27 the week before. It was the biggest leap to the top in the history of the chart. It also made the Beatles the first act to score three consecutive chart-toppers. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” hit the top in February and stayed for 7 weeks. It was succeeded by “She Loves You” for two weeks, which succumbed to “Can’t Buy Me Love” which held on for five weeks. That, however, was only the beginning. Not only were “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” still in the top 5, but they were joined by two other Beatles’ tunes – “Twist and Shout” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” That gave the Fab Four the top five songs on the Billboard chart. They also had seven more songs on the Hot 100 for a total of twelve. The next week they added two more for a then-record fourteen songs on the chart. FB The glut of material was due to the success of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” released by Capitol Records. Other record companies then released their Beatles’ product as well. “Can’t Buy Me Love,” however, was considered the official follow-up single to “Hand.” The song had the largest advance order in history with 2.1 million. FB The song also preceded the Beatles’ first film, A Hard Day’s Night, and was featured on the soundtrack. It has been called “the first truly perfect marriage of rock music and celluloid.” TC Paul McCartney wrote the song while the group was touring in France in January 1964. They recorded it in Paris – the only Beatles’ session outside of London. TC The “R&B flavoured song is very much Paul’s, featuring his double-tracked vocal instead of harmonies from John Lennon.” KL It also features “a memorable guitar solo from George Harrison and Ringo plays tom-toms as well as drums.” KL Producer George Martin suggested beginning the song with the chorus, “giving it not only a hook but also extra momentum.” TC Ella Fitzgerald covered the song, after which “it became OK for midde-of-the-road and jazz singers to do Beatles songs.” KL Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Beatles FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 145. TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 60. DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 31. KL Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh (2005). 1000 UK Number One Hits: The Stories Behind Every Number One Single Since 1952. London, Great Britain: Omnibus Press. Page 98. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 3/29/2021; last updated 9/15/2023.

The Beatles had the top 5 songs in the U.S.: April 4, 1964

image courtesy of mybeatles.net

The height of Beatlemania was never more apparent in the United States than during the week of April 4, 1964. That week, The Beatles commanded the top 5 spots on the Billboard Hot 100. “Can’t Buy Me Love” made what was then the largest leap to #1 from #27 the week before. It held that record until 2002 when Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This” vaulted to #1 from #52. She would then break her own record in 2009 when “My Life Would Suck Without You” leapt from 97 to 1.

Closing in behind “Can’t Buy Me Love” were “Twist and Shout” (2), “She Loves You” (3), “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (4), and “Please Please Me” (5). It was also significant in that it marked The Beatles’ third consecutive chart-topper. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was knocked from the top by “She Loves You” which, in turn, gave way to “Can’t Buy Me Love.” In the history of the Hot 100, no other act has had three consecutive #1 songs.

The closest anyone has come to duplicating the feat was in 2005 when 50 Cent had top five hits with “Candy Shop” and “Disco Inferno” and a guest spot on The Game’s “How We Go” in the weeks ending March 12 and March 19.

In that same week, The Beatles had a whopping 7 more titles on the Hot 100 – “I Saw Her Standing There” (31), “From Me to You” (41), “Do You Want to Know a Secret” (46), “All My Loving” (58), “You Can’t Do That” (65), “Roll Over Beethoven” (68), and “Thank You Girl” (79). The following week, “There’s a Place” and “Love Me Do” also charted, giving The Beatles a record 14 slots on the Hot 100 for the week ending April 11, 1964.

Can’t Buy Me Love

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Awards:

• one of the top 100 acts of all time
• one of the top 100 groups/duos of all time
• one of my personal favorite top 100 acts of all time
• Hollywood Walk of Fame stars for people in the recording industry
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee

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Resources and Related Links:

• The Beatles’ DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
• the DMDB page for “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
• the DMDB page for “She Loves You”
• Billboard.com: April 4, 1964: The Beatles Make Hot 100 History by Gary Trust (4/4/11).
• BeatlesBible.com: The Beatles occupy the Billboard Hot 100 top five

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