(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post)
The Beatles - "Can't Buy Me Love"
Hit Number 1: April 4, 1964
Stay at Number 1: 5 Weeks
When the Beatles hit America for the first time, they hit HARD. They were not only the first artists to have back to back #1 hits, but then they followed up their second ("She Loves You") with a THIRD one. And it didn't take long for it to reach the top spot either. Their third and final #1 song of the big three that got them on the map in America, is an ultimate jam "Can't Buy Me Love". When it entered the charts at #27, it leaped all the way up to #1 in just the second week it was on the charts. In the day and age where there were so many different kinds of music, and so many different artists competing against each other for the #1 crown, what the Beatles were able to accomplish in the first part of 1964 was astronomical.
The song was written by Paul McCartney while the Beatles were staying at the George V hotel in Paris. There was some pressure to write a new song, based off the massive success that "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was facing at the time in America. George Martin, the famous Beatles manager, made some slight changes to the song that the group agreed with, and it was on its way, being yet another part of the Beatlemania sweeping the nation. McCartney is open to the idea on how people like to interpret the song, and what it's really about, but in 1966 he revealed one theory people come up with that infuriates him: "When someone suggests that 'Can't Buy Me Love' is about a prostitute, I draw the line".
Of course, it isn't hard to see why some might think the song is about prostitution, but that isn't how I see it, and that's probably not how most people see it. It's just a love song, about a guy who doesn't care a lot for money, cause no matter how much money you have, it can't get you love. Musically, it's more of the same from the Beatles. There's liveliness, excitement, and many hooks that give the song it's immortality. I love the part of the song where McCartney screams heading into a funky and bluesy guitar solo. It's a song where if you don't find yourself tapping your foot along with the beat, you don't have a soul. It's one of those Beatles songs that are more than just a "song". It's legendary. It reigns supreme. It DEFINES the Beatles.
When "Can't Buy Me Love" hit #1, it was then that the Beatles occupied the top five spots on the Hot 100. At #2 was "Twist and Shout" a cover of the Isley Brothers song (the Beatles version is an 8), #3 was "She Loves You, #4 was "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and #5 was "Please Please Me" (another 8). If there was anyone that thought this group would be what they would call "a flash in the pan", then they would be greatly mistaken. Never again will there be so much chart dominance ever, though there would be a couple times where artists got close. (The Bee Gees in 1978 and Drake in 2018 had a hell of run too) But to put those two in the same boat as the Beatles in 1964 is extremely laughable. This kind of thing will never happen again. I guarantee it.
GRADE: 10/10
JUST MISSED:
As I said, "Twist and Shout" by the Beatles was kept off the #1 spot by themselves. Because of course they did. Here it is:
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