Thursday, August 9, 2012

"Please Please Me" by The Beatles

Tonight I am still exhausted from having done three eulogies all  at once (Marvin Hamlisch, R. G. Armstrong, and Norman Alden in yesterday's post), so tonight I will leave you with a song. It was tomorrow in 1964 that The Beatles re-released four singles in the United States: "Do You Want To Know A Secret," "Please, Please Me," "Love Me Do," and 'Twist And Shout." Needless to say, with Beatlemania at its height in the United States, these singles performed much better on the Billboard chart than they had when they were initially released.

Of these singles, I believe the most significant to be "Please Please Me." It was the second single ever released by The Beatles and their first huge hit in the United Kingdom ("Love Me Do" did well, but was not a megahit). I also believe it is also the earliest example of a power pop--electric guitar driven music combined with Everly Brothers style harmonies. "Please Please Me" is then historic on multiple levels. This is footage from their historic February 1964 convert in Washington, D.C.

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