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In the studio
The Beatles recorded She Loves You five days after it was written, during a five-hour session in Abbey Road's studio two. Documentation for the session no longer exists, but it was taped on the same day as its b-side, I'll Get You.
The Beatles were especially proud of the final chord, which was previously undiscovered territory for them. As producer George Martin explained to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn:
I was siting in my usual place on a high stool in studio two when John and Paul first ran through the songs, George joining in on the choruses.
I thought it was great but was intrigued by the final chord, an odd sort of major sixth, with George doing the sixth and John and Paul the third and fifths, like a Glenn Miller arrangement. They were saying, 'It's a great chord! Nobody's ever heard it before!' Of course I knew that wasn't quite true.
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
Chart success
She Loves You, more than any other song, was the breakthrough that led The Beatles to international success. Its 'Yeah, yeah, yeah' refrain quickly became synonymous with the band, as were the falsetto 'Whooo's.
Brian Matthew, the radio presenter, reviewed She Loves You in Melody Maker, and called it 'banal rubbish'. None of us had heard the word 'banal' and we thought, '"Banal"? What's that? Soppy? Too rebellious? What does "banal" mean?' But when the record zoomed to number one in the Melody Maker chart the next week, he was on the front page disclaiming his comments: 'No, no - at first I thought maybe it was a little banal... but it grows on you.'
Anthology
America took longer to warm to The Beatles, and the song wasn't a hit at first. Capitol - EMI's US counterpart - refused to release it, and Vee Jay - which had released Please Please Me and From Me To You to little effect - also declined.
From Me To You was released - a flop in America. She Loves You - a big hit in England, big number one in England - a flop in the USA. Nothing until I Want To Hold Your Hand.
Anthology
Desperate for a stateside hit, Brian Epstein licensed the song to Swan Records, based in Philadelphia, although it was picked up by a pitiful few of the crucial US radio stations.
When NBC's The Jack Paar Program screened footage of The Beatles performing She Loves You in January 1964 (footage leased from the BBC, which had been filmed in August 1963 for Don Haworth's documentary The Mersey Sound), America began to take notice of the group.
The song was eventually re-released by Swan in the wake of I Want To Hold Your Hand. It eventually climbed to the top of the US charts, remaining there for a fortnight in March 1964 - before being deposed by Can't Buy Me Love.
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Related articles:
- Live: Majestic Ballroom, Newcastle
- Lennon and McCartney finish writing She Loves You
- Boys
- I'll Get You
- I Got A Woman
