4 hours Ago By Dan Haygarth, Ellie Hook
The Beatles weren't just a rock and roll sensation but a cultural phenomenon. Their rapid ascent began in 1963, captivating audiences across the UK and Europe. Come February 1964, they blazed through the United States, dominating the airwaves with the smash hit I Want To Hold Your Hand and capturing over 73 million viewers on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Their stellar rise from Liverpool's Cavern Club saw them become global superstars in mere years , with the frenzy of Beatlemania quickly becoming a profitable venture. It didn't take long for the Fab Four to venture into cinema. Just one month after their American breakthrough, they commenced production on A Hard Day's Night, their first movie.
Director Richard Lester helmed the quartet— Paul McCartney , George Harrison , Ringo Starr , and John Lennon —who played whimsical versions of themselves in this comedic flick, which followed two zany days leading up to a TV show appearance. The movie's soundtrack also marked their third studio album, notable for being comprised entirely of original Beatles compositions. The quirky title A Hard Day's Night serendipitously emerged at the film's summing-up stage, originating from an offhand remark by Ringo.
Paul recounted in The Beatles Anthology how the film was nearly complete when they stumbled upon the unexpected joy of titling it: "We'd almost finished making the film and this fun bit arrived that we'd not known about before, which was naming the film." Paul shared a whimsical anecdote about the genesis of one of The Beatles' enduring hits, in which casual banter turned into iconic lyrics during a session at Twickenham studios. Paul recounted: "So we were sitting around at Twickenham studios having a little brain-storming session; director Dick Lester, us, Walter Shenson (film producer), Bud Ornstein (European head of production for United Artists) and some other people were sitting around trying to come up with something and we said, 'Well, there was something Ringo said the other day'.
.. He said after a concert, 'Phew, it's been A Hard Day's Night.
'" "John and I went, 'What? What did you just say?' He said, 'I'm bloody knackered, man, it's been A Hard Day's Night'. 'Hard day's night! F-----g brilliant! How does he think of 'em? Woehayy!' So that came up in this brain-storming session, something Ringo said, 'It was A Hard Day's Night'." Adding his piece, Ringo explained back in 1964: "We went to do a job, and we'd worked all day and we happened to work all night.
I came up still thinking it was day I suppose, and I said, 'It's been a hard day...
' and I looked around and saw it was dark so I said, '...
night!' So we came to 'A Hard Day's Night'." In a burst of creative rivalry documented by John Lennon himself in a 1980 interview with Playboy, he said: "The next morning I brought in the song ..
. 'cuz there was a little competition between Paul and I as to who got the A-side – who got the hits. "If you notice, in the early days the majority of singles, in the movies and everything, were mine .
.. in the early period I'm dominating the group .
.. The reason Paul sang on 'A Hard Day's Night' (in the bridge) is because I couldn't reach the notes.
" Initially, Paul wasn't exactly sold on using the phrase as a song title. He and John weren't accustomed to being dictated what their songs should be called. Reflecting on their creative process, Paul shared with The Beatles Anthology: "Usually, John and I would sit down and if we thought of something we'd write a song about it.
But Walter Shenson asked John and me if we'd write a song specially for the opening and closing credits. "We thought about it and it seemed a bit ridiculous writing a song called 'A Hard Day's Night' – it sounded funny at the time, but after a bit we got the idea of saying it had been a hard day's night and we'd been working all the days, and get back to a girl and everything's fine..
. And we turned it into one of those songs." The iconic track was laid down at EMI Studios on April 16, with the band nailing it in under three hours.
Mr Shenson was blown away by how quickly it all came together, remarking: "There were John and Paul with guitars at the ready and all the lyrics scribbled on matchbook covers. "They played it and the next night recorded it. It had the right beat and the arrangement was brilliant.
These guys were geniuses." The tune soared to number one on charts globally, and in a groundbreaking moment, The Beatles' single 'A Hard Day's Night' alongside its namesake album clinched the top spot in both America and the United Kingdom in August 1964—a historic first for any band. It's a song that Paul McCartney still cherishes, regularly featuring it as the opener for his latest 'Got Back' tour shows.
Beatles guru George Martin was confident from the get-go about the energetic track's potential. In Mark Lewisohn's 'The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions', he is quoted saying, "We knew it would open both the film and the soundtrack LP, so we wanted a particularly strong and effective beginning. The strident guitar chord was the perfect launch.
".
