She Loves You

The debut single Love Me Do had exceeded expectations by hitting number seventeen on the British charts.  Even more surprising was the success of the second single Please Please Me, which shot up to the top.  From Me to You cemented the Beatles' hold on the number one spot as their first album Please Please Me achieved the same feat, and the group became frequent performers on television and radio, even earning their own BBC Radio program Pop Go the Beatles.  But it was the fourth single which would catapult the band to the status of a national phenomenon, poised to conquer the world and become one of the biggest acts in the history of show business.

Word had gotten out that the Beatles were scheduled to record on July 1st, 1963, and fans gathered, perhaps for the first time, outside Abbey Road Studios on the day of the session.  Security was unprepared for this eventuality, and a number of fans got into the building, at least one of them making it all the way into studio two before the premises were cleared.  What happened during the actual session following this incident is not known, as the EMI paperwork, usually impeccable, contains absolutely no information about it, including the number of takes, any overdubs, etc.

What we do know is that the song She Loves You, written by Lennon and McCartney only a few days earlier, greatly impressed producer George Martin, engineer Norman Smith, and second engineer, young Geoff Emerick.  The same four musicians, playing the same basic instruments, suddenly displayed a new level of power and confidence, delivering a defining performance for the ages.  The record is an explosion of pure joy, combining the raw exuberance of Please Please Me and I Saw Her Standing There with the pop craftsmanship of From Me to You, cleverly adding the point of view of a friend encouraging another in his relationship.  There had never been anything quite like it before - or since.

The record exploded on the scene in the UK when it was released in late August.  She Loves You was among the songs they performed on the TV show Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium on October 13th.  The following day, the term Beatlemania appeared for the first time in the British press.  The video collection 1+ contains a performance from the Swedish television show Drop In recorded on October 30th during their first tour outside the UK.  Only days later, on November 4th, they played the song at the Royal Command Performance, which can be heard on Anthology 1.

Of course, it was a staple of their stage act, being performed as part of the Beatles Christmas Show in London, during their three week engagement in Paris in early 1964, for two consecutive weeks on the Ed Sullivan Show in the US, at the Washington Coliseum and at Carnegie Hall.  Though it is not part of the official soundtrack, they play it at the end of the concert sequence in the film A Hard Day's Night, securing its status as their signature song.

The song remained in their setlist throughout 1964, including a version which can be heard on the album The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, recorded on August 23rd.  The group played it multiple times on BBC Radio, as well.  The collection On Air - Live at the BBC volume 2 presents a performance from the program Saturday Club recorded on September 7th.

Despite its great popularity, it is amazing to recall that Capitol Records refused to release it initially in the US.  Manager Brian Epstein had to look for a third label when VeeJay Records passed on it, as well.  The tiny Swan Records in Philadelphia took a chance on it, but gave it no promotion and could muster little airplay.  Only after the next single I Want to Hold Your Hand broke through on Capitol Records did She Loves You finally take off.  It became the group's second American number one, soon appearing on the Capitol release The Beatles' Second Album.  Trying to cash in even further, Swan released the German version Sie Liebt Dich as a single, but it barely broke into the Billboard Hot 100.

In the UK, the song appeared on the 1965 EP The Beatles' Million Sellers and on the album A Collection of Beatles Oldies at the end of 1966.  Post career releases of the song include the Red Album in 1973, both the UK and US versions of 20 Greatest Hits, Past Masters Volume One, and on the 2000 collection 1.

The Beatles had many more hits to come, of course, but She Loves You remained their biggest hit in the UK.  Not only that, but in the 1960s - a time featuring an astonishing array of popular music - She Loves You proved to be the biggest selling single of the decade in the UK.  Toppermost of the poppermost, indeed.