... one of the most important dates in Beatles History ...
Because THAT'S the date (according to The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart)
that The Beatles accomplished something that had NEVER been done before
...
And has never been done since ...
On March 29, 1964, The Beatles held down THE TOP FIVE POSITIONS on The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart!
It was Beatlemania at its "in your face" utmost ... and, admittedly, The United States was a little bit late to the party ... but we wasted NO time catching up!
After the release of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" ... and their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show ... the floodgates opened ... The Beatles were EVERYWHERE ... and The British Invasion had officially begun.
The Beatles hit #1 on The U.S. Singles Chart for the first time on January 26, 1964 when their U.S. break-through single "I Want To Hold Your Hand" reached the summit ... and they didn't give up that top spot on the charts until May 3rd, when the unlikely "Hello Dolly" by the nearly 63-year-old Louis Armstrong finally knocked them off their throne.
"I Want To Hold Your Hand" hit #1 on January 26th ... and stayed there for an incredible seven consecutive weeks ... before it was knocked out of the top spot by "She Loves You", a Beatles single originally released here seven months earlier to deaf U.S. ears.
"She Loves You" remained at #1 for two more weeks before it was replaced by The Beatles' brand new single "Can't Buy Me Love", which vaulted from #27 to the top of the charts in only its second week on the chart on March 29, 1964. It sat there for the next five consecutive weeks, giving The Beatles an incredible run of 14 straight weeks in the #1 position.
The impact of Beatlemania was never more obvious than the chart issued for the week beginning March 29th ... coming in at #5 was "Please Please Me", a record that had already peaked at #3 a couple of weeks earlier. Still holding on at #4 was their first chart-topper, "I Want To Hold Your Hand", followed at #3 by the previous week's #1 Record, "She Loves You."
Holding down the #2 spot was The Beatles' version of "Twist And Shout" (a record that actually reached #1 on many of the other U.S. Charts) ... followed by their latest global release (yes, America had finally caught up!), "Can't Buy Me Love", which managed to top the charts in only its second week on the list!
Perhaps just a remarkable is the fact that The Beatles also held down the #31 spot ("I Saw Her Standing There"), the #41 spot ("From Me To You", a former British #1 Record ... but the B-Side of "Please Please Me" here in the States), the #46 spot ("Do You Want To Know A Secret?"), the #58 spot ("All My Lovin'" ... such was the demand for Beatles merchandise that even this single brought in from CANADA made our charts!), the #65 spot ("You Can't Do That"), the #68 spot ("Roll Over Beethoven", another Canadian single) and the #79 spot ("Thank You Girl").
In addition, records like "We Love You Beatles" by The Carefrees and "A Letter To The Beatles" by The Four Preps could also be found on the chart this week.
So could new music by British Invasion acts like The Dave Clark Five ("Glad All Over", #10 and "Bits And Pieces", #48), The Searchers ("Needles And Pins", #15), The Swinging Blue Jeans ("Hippy Hippy Shake", #24) and Dusty Springfield ("Stay Awhile", #75).
We again salute The Beatles for the incredible accomplishments. You'll find them in our Sound Advice column today, too ... and be sure to check back tomorrow for an update on our popular "Who Played The Very First Beatles Record In America" series.
