"I Want to Hold Your Hand"

Song: “I Want to Hold Your Hand”

Album: (Not Released on LP)

Written by Lennon and McCartney and recorded in October 1963, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was instrumental to the Beatles success in the United States.

Epstein, worried about the band’s lack of success in the across the Atlantic, encouraged them to write a song that would appeal to American listeners. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was that song. John and Paul composed it in the basement of the house of Jane Asher, Paul’s then-girlfriend. Lennon described it as a true collaboration between he and Paul, saying they wrote the song “eyeball to eyeball” and played into each other’s noses.

Epstein convinced Capitol Records to release the song as a single in the U.S. in December of 1963 (B-sided by “I Saw Her Standing There”). Fans loved it, but most critics, at least at first, dismissed it as fad music that wouldn’t pass the test of time.  Bob Dylan, however, was impressed by their “outrageous” chords. And the song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. But it lost to, of all songs, “The Girl from Ipanema.” I'm not kidding.

I believe the clip below is from the Beatles’ February 1964 performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.