I Want to Hold Your Hand

Album: Not included on an original Beatles album; issued as a single

Year: 1963

Written by: Lennon & McCartney

By the time I Want to Hold Your Hand was released as The Beatles' fifth single in late 1963, they were the most popular act in Great Britain, and they were starting to create a buzz throughout Europe. "Beatlemania" they began to call it. Teenagers all over Britain went mad for the lovable lads from Liverpool, but America had not yet caught the fan frenzy... until I Want to Hold Your Hand hit our shores.

Released in the United States just once month after the assassination of President Kennedy, which had shocked and saddened the entire nation, I Want to Hold Your Hand instantly cheered all the young Americans up. Many people consider it the greatest of The Beatles "early" songs. Listening to it now, we can hardly understand what a radical new sound this song represented because it is like so much of the music that came after it. But that is because The Beatles created that sound. This is Ground Zero.

John sings the lead vocal, but Paul sings harmony throughout most of the song. The singing is most noteworthy for the high note they hit together when they first say, "I want to hold your haaaand!" It is also one of the first recordings that The Beatles made using Abbey Road Studios' new four-track technology.

This song's impact can not be overstated. Though I was just a baby when it came out, it remains to this day the only Beatles song my 81 year-old father can name.