How the Fab Four high-fived the Hot 100
In one magical decade, The Beatles made records built to last an eternity. The same might be said for the band's chart records. Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the
The Billboard Hot 100 ranking on April 4, 1964:
1.
2.
3.
4. I Want to Hold Your Hand
5. Please Please Me
"It was the first and only time anyone ever monopolized the entire top five," says Keith Caulfield, Billboard's associate director of charts/retail. "It was a unique moment in time, something that likely will never happen again. We were at the height of the Beatles invasion, and millions of fans were discovering them and their work." Two factors played into the band's chart "hits-krieg," says Beatles scholar Martin Lewis. First was the "unquenchable thirst for Beatles records after three consecutive appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in February," he says. Those performances, three months after JFK's assassination, were "an aural balm to America's soul."
Source: USA Today
Photo Credit: AP
