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63 Years Ago, The Beatles Scored Their First of 11 Straight No. 1 Hits—Inspired by a Newspaper Column
The Beatles broke all sorts of new ground during their decade-long reign, both onstage and in the studio. In the nearly six decades since their 1970 split, few musical acts have come close to matching the Fab Four’s musical impact. That musical dynasty officially began 63 years ago today (May 2, 1963) when they first reached the top of the charts with their single “From Me to You”.
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In many ways, “From Me to You” is the earliest example of the masterful songwriting partnership between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who wrote the song on a coach trip to Shrewsbury while the Beatles were on tour with British jazz-pop star Helen Shapiro.
The title came from the letters section in British magazine the New Musical Express, which they were reading at the time.
“We nearly didn’t record it because we thought it was too bluesy at first, but when we’d finished it and George Martin had scored it with harmonica, it was all right,” recalled Lennon in 1980.
The Beatles released “From Me to You” in April 1963, less than a month after their debut studio album, Please Please Me.
Their first two singles, “Love Me Do” and “Please Please Me” had done well in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 17 and No. 2 on the pop charts, respectively. But “From Me to You” catapulted the Fab Four to a new level of fame in their home country, topping what would become the official UK singles chart.
It Was Also a Hit in the United States—but Not By the Beatles
Despite its overwhelming success in the UK, “From Me to You” didn’t gain the same traction across the pond when it was first released.
However, it would become the Beatles’ first song to enter the U.S. pop charts—but not with Lennon and McCartney’s vocals. Instead, singer-songwriter Del Shannon enjoyed minor success with his own version, recorded in 1963.
The Beatles finally hit their mark in the U.S. with the follow-up single “She Loves You”. By the next year, they had five separate singles occupying the top five spots on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time—a first in music history.
Additionally, “From Me to You” would be the first of 11 consecutive British number one hits by the Beatles.
“I asked them for another song as good as ‘Please Please Me’, and they brought me one—’From Me to You’,” producer George Martin later said.
Featured image by Fox Photos/Getty Images
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