60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
4/4/64 – The Beatles' next single "Can't Buy Me Love" (their first to be released simultaneously in England and America) goes to #1 and stays there for five weeks. It allows The Beatles to hold down the top five spots on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart: “Can’t Buy Me Love” (#1); “Twist And Shout” (#2); “She Loves You” (#3); “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (#4) and “Please Please Me” (#5). Next week, they’ll have FOURTEEN entries in The Top 100.
As we saw last Saturday, that didn't happen on The Super Chart ...
That's because the Super Charts are based on the compiled chart data from all THREE major trade publications at the time ... Billboard, Cash Box and Record World ... and although The Beatles DID manage to hold down The Top Five positions in both Billboard and Cash Box, they failed to do so this week in Record World.
For comparison's sake, Cash Box listed THEIR Top Five records for the week ending April 4th as TWIST AND SHOUT (#1), CAN'T BUY ME LOVE (#2), SHE LOVES YOU (#3), I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND (#4) and PLEASE PLEASE ME (#5) ...
But Music Vendor's chart showed TWIST AND SHOUT (#1), SHE LOVES YOU (#2), CAN'T BUY ME LOVE (#3), HELLO DOLLY by Louis Armstrong (#4) and SUSPICION by Terry Stafford (#5)
With "Twist And Shout" topping two of the three major trades, it also topped our Super Chart (and we have seen it ranked as the #1 song on local charts from all over the country ... so how it failed to do so in Billboard is a bit puzzling.) Still, a move from #27 to #1 in its second week on The Hot 100 was a record that stood for quite some time ... and, as mentioned previously, it had over a million advance orders before it was even released.
Either way, holding down the top five spots in the country was an incredible accomplishment ... and a record that would stand until chart methodology was reconfigured in the 2020's. (kk)
Chuck Buell also sent us his commemorative tribute to this record accomplishment to run again this year in Forgotten Hits ...
So here it is!!!
Kent,
To commemorate the Beatles dominating the Top Five Positions on Billboard's Hot 100 beginning in April of 1964, here's a Chuck Buell Radio Show production I once created to commemorate this remarkable Hit Charting Event.
By tightly editing out the music bridges, those five songs are presented here in just a little over eight minutes!
Oh, yeah. And for those of you who know her, playing the part of the young Beatle Fan introducing each song is the wonderfully talented and ever popular . . . . . Linda!
For any Forgotten Hitters who are still hosting a radio show, or have Friends who are, and would like to use it, please feel free to do so. I would, however, like to know if it was. ( A brief explanation of who I once was may have to be included! Or not! {:~} )
"Do you know who I used to be?!"
