(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 - "Love Me Do"
Hit Number 1: May 30, 1964
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
In a previous entry on this blog, there was a song called "Hey! Baby" by Bruce Channel. Channel never went on to record any other big hits, and is often called another one of those "one hit wonders". His song was alright, but didn't have anything incredible about it. However, Channel can go to his grave knowing two things concerning his lone hit: It inspired many school bands to have the song in their playing repertoire, and it inspired the Beatles in one of their songs. "Hey! Baby" did have a prominent harmonica part, and John Lennon thought it was cool, so he decided to build in a prominent harmonica part into a Beatles song. That's the backstory on how the harmonica came to be in "Love Me Do".
Now, even the biggest Beatles fans don't know something unique about "Love Me Do". It was the first Beatles song ever released. (That's sometimes mistaken to be "I Want to Hold Your Hand" or "Please Please Me") It was written primarily by Paul McCartney all the way back in the late 50s (though Lennon did chip in a little bit) and it was recorded in 1962, about two years before Beatlemania arrived in the U.S. It was also the first song that the group performed with Ringo Starr on the drums rather than Pete Best, who was kicked out of the band. It was the song that got them on the map in their native England, and began their worldwide reign of terror. The most notable thing about the song, is definitely that harmonica though. The harmonica you hear on the recording was one that Lennon had stolen from a music shop. He first got the idea to use a riff similar to "Hey! Baby" after being at a show along with the other Beatles where Bruce Channel was performing his hit single, since it was the summer of 1962, and his song was still heavily played on the radio at the time. Lennon was impressed with the way Channel's harmonica player, Delbert McClinton, played the instrument. Lennon was still relatively unfamiliar with the harmonica, so he asked McClinton for some advice on how to play the instrument. Lennon's harmonica playing is also heard on tracks such as "Please Please Me" and "From Me to You". So maybe we have Delbert McClinton to thank for that.
If you go by structure of a song, "Love Me Do" really isn't much. But it's one that can absolutely steal your heart. That wailing harmonica from Lennon is an instant jolt to any listener as the song begins, and the close harmonies from him and McCartney are just as good on "Love Me Do" as they are in any other early Beatles song. Also just like the other Beatles hits in that era, it's one of the most memorable songs, possibly ever in their history. I swear, some people might listen to this song once, and they could have it memorized. It's a very simple song, but sometimes simple is a good thing!
Unfortunately there is just way too much for me to cover here, but the story on how "Love Me Do" came to be involves a lot of uncertainty from the Beatles. They were still a pretty new band, they had already been declined for a record deal from Decca (idiots), and they had just kicked Pete Best out of the band. They had no idea if they would get anywhere, and Lennon's harmonica playing was simply just a little experiment. They had nothing to lose, so they constructed something simple and not flashy at all, which is pretty evident on "Love Me Do". Obviously the explosion of "Love Me Do" was way higher than what they were expecting, and they were unknowingly about to embark on the most historical and important musical journey ever.
GRADE: 8/10
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