On April 4, 1964, The Beatles achieved a chart feat that seemed like it would never be broken, when the band held the top five places on the Billboard Hot 100.
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That day, “Can’t Buy Me Love” replaced “She Loves You” at No. 1 on the chart, moving up from No. 27 the previous week. “Twist and Shout” went from No. 3 to No. 2, “She Loves You” dropped to No. 3, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” slid down from No. 3 to No. 4, and “Please Please Me” dropped from No. 4 to No. 5.
The Fab Four’s assault on the Hot 100 also included seven other entries on the chart. “I Saw Her Standing There” was at No. 31, “From Me to You” at No. 41, “Do You Want to Know a Secret” at No. 46, “All My Loving” at No. 58, “You Can’t Do That,” at No. 65, “Roll Over Beethoven” at No. 68, and “Thank You Girl” at No. 79. If the wasn’t enough, there also were two songs about The Beatles on the tally: “We Love You Beatles” by The Carefrees was at No. 42, while “A Letter to The Beatles” by The Four Preps claimed the No. 85 slot.
Beatles Singles Were Issued by Various Labels
An unusual thing about the five Beatles singles at the top of the Hot 100 was that they were released by four different labels. “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” were issued by Capitol Records, which had signed the band to a U.S. deal at the end of 1963.
However, because Capitol had initially hesitated to sign the group, a number of other labels had first attained rights to release select Beatles songs. So, “She Loves You” was released on Swan Records, “Twist and Shout” was issued by Tollie Records, and “Please Please Me” was released by the Vee-Jay label.
The Beatles’ Dominance at the Top of the Billboard Hot 100
“Can’t Buy Me Love” went on to spend five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 before it finally was knocked from the top spot by Louis Armstrong’s “Hello, Dolly!” on May 9.
That ended an impressive 14-week run for the Fab Four at No. 1 at the Hot 100, as “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” had held the top spot for seven and two weeks, respectively, before “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
The Beatles’ Record Was Eventually Broken
The Beatles’ record of holding the top five spots on the Hot 100 was equaled by Drake in September 2021, when the Canadian singer/rapper place five songs from his then-new album Certified Lover Boy at the top of the chart. Tracks from Drake’s album also were ranked from No. 7 to No. 12 on the tally, giving him 11 of the top 12 songs that week.
Then, in October 2022, Taylor Swift overtook The Beatles and Drake by holding the top 10 spots on the Hot 100 with songs from her album Midnights.
It’s worth noting that The Beatles’ achievement took place during an era when sales and chart positions were factored differently. In the digital era, every song on an album can basically be considered a single because of streaming and download figures.
