When The Beatles crossed the pond, they took America by storm. Frankly, up until Taylor Swift, there was not a musical act that received so much praise from absolutely crazed fans. Thanks to those fans, the Beatles’ initial run in the United States is often referred to as “Beatlemania.” In addition to the fans, the other events that created “Beatlemania” were their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and the six U.S. No. 1 hits they achieved in 1964. Concerning their hits, The Beatles scored their fourth U.S. No. 1 on this day, May 30, 1964, with “Love Me Do”.
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Released in 1963, “Love Me Do” was a hit in the United Kingdom. The Beatles replicated that success, as the single peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 30, 1964. Prior to “Love Me Do” becoming a No. 1 hit, The Beatles had already acquired loads of success in a short period of time. On February 7, The Beatles stepped foot on U.S. soil for the first time. Two days later, they performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. After that, their songs “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “She Loves You”, and “Can’t Buy Me Love” all peaked at No. 1 in the same year.
That being so, “Love Me Do” became the fourth No. 1 single for The Beatles in 1964 alone. Following the No. 1 ranking of the single, The Beatles acquired two more No. 1 songs in 1964 with “A Hard Day’s Night” and “I Feel Fine”. So, while “Love Me Do” did help the Fab Four further solidify their mastery over the American music scene. It was also just a small moment in their grandiose year.
Behind the Making of The Beatles’ Fourth No. 1 Hit
In 1962, with their former drummer, Pete Best, The Beatles recorded “Love Me Do” as an audition for their future producer, George Martin. A week later, The Beatles famously got rid of Best and brought on Ringo Starr. Subsequently, they recorded a version with Starr, but Martin viewed Ringo Starr’s drumming as insufficient.
Given Starr’s insufficient drumming, Martin brought in drummer Andy White to play on the track. Thus, for the third and final recording, White played drums while Starr played tambourine. This was the final recording of “Love Me Do”. After that, the rest is quite literally history.
Photo by Stan Meagher/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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