Can’t Buy Me Love: Introduction
“Can’t Buy Me Love” is a track from The Beatles’ album, “A Hard Day’s Night.” Indeed, the song was also a single, which reached number one across the world. Furthermore, the B-side is equally good: “You Can’t Do That.”
In Detail
- Release Date: March 16, 1964 (US), March 20, 1964 (UK)
- Format: 7″ single (A-side) (B-side is “You Can’t Do That“), also an album track
- Recorded: January 29, 1964, February 25 and March 10, 1964
- Studio: EMI’s Pathé Marconi Studios, Paris (January 29, 1964) EMI Studios, London (February 25; March 10, 1964)
- Genre: Pop, rock
- Track Duration: 2:11
- Record Label: Parlophone R5114 (UK) Capitol 5150 (US)
- Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney
- Producer: George Martin
- Engineers: Norman Smith, Geoff Emerick
Performers And Instruments
- Paul McCartney: double-tracked vocal, also the bass guitar
- John Lennon: acoustic rhythm guitar
- George Harrison: double-tracked twelve-string lead guitar
- Ringo Starr: drums
Other Performer
- Norman Smith: hi-hat
Where To Find The Beatle Song “Can’t Buy Me Love”
You can still buy the song on the following releases:
**The original version of the song is on the single and their 1964 album. Click on the album images to see what other great songs they contain.
Can’t Buy Me Love: The Single
Paul McCartney wrote the song, which is credited to the Lennon-McCartney partnership. “Can’t Buy Me Love” is a classic Beatles’ song. They released it as a single in March of 1964, then as an album track in July of that year.
“That’s Paul’s completely. Maybe I had something to do with the chorus, but I don’t know. I always considered it his song.”
John Lennon
All We Are Saying, David Sheff
McCartney wrote the song in the George V Hotel, Paris. At the time, The Beatles were appearing at the city’s Olympia Theatre during a 19-day residency.
However, Beatlemania had kicked into gear by now and the band needed to produce more material, especially since they were due to make their first film soon. So, they moved an upright piano into one of their suites in order to continue their songwriting.
Discounting “My Bonnie” which credits Tony Sheridan, this song became The Beatles’ sixth UK single.
Song Structure And Meaning
Although this was an early Beatles’ composition, the song’s verse has a twelve-bar blues structure, something they wouldn’t normally do with their own material. Also, this is the first Beatles’ single to feature only one singer, Paul McCartney.
“Can’t Buy Me Love is my attempt to write a bluesy mode. The idea behind it was that all these material possessions are all very well, but they won’t buy me what I really want. It was a very hooky song.”
Paul McCartney
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
In 1966, when asked by an American journalist about the “true” meaning of the song, McCartney replied:
“I think you can put any interpretation you want on anything, but when someone suggests that ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ is about a prostitute, I draw the line….”
“The idea behind it was that all these material possessions are all very well, but they won’t buy me what I really want.”
Film Inclusion
Although the B-side didn’t make it into the 1964 film “A Hard Day’s Night,” the A-side did. In short, this was the sports field scene where the band members clowned around together. This was just after they cheekily took the fire exit to escape from their manager, “Norm” (Norman Rossington), while exclaiming, “We’re out!”.
However, due to the popularity of the song, it appears twice in the film. The second occurrence is where John, Paul and George try and “rescue” Ringo from the police station. They run to and from the station, with police pursuing them in a manner similar to a Keystone Cops chase.
Recording Studio
The Beatles began recording “Can’t Buy Me Love” on January 29, 1964, at EMI’s Pathé Marconi Studios, Paris, during a late-morning/afternoon session. They recorded 4 takes, and the second one appears on the 1995 album “Anthology 1.” On this day, they also recorded “Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand” (takes 1–11) and “Sie Liebt Dich” (takes 1–14).
Once the takes of “Can’t Buy Me Love” came back to Abbey Road Studios, they removed the background vocal harmonies. On February 25th, McCartney re-recorded and overdubbed his lead vocal part. Therefore, the single became their first to have only one singer with none of their trademark harmonies.
The final mix, including a hi-hat overdub from engineer Norman Smith, took place on March 10. This happened while The Beatles were busy filming “A Hard Day’s Night.” It was necessary because when they played the original tape back, there was a ripple in it, resulting in the intermittent loss of treble on Ringo’s hi-hat cymbal.
In the early 1960s, The Beatles would record regularly for BBC Radio shows and take advantage of the free publicity while appealing to their fans. The version on their 1994 album, “Live At The BBC,” is from the show “From Us To You,” airing on March 30, 1964 (recorded on February 28).
They also recorded it later for another episode of that show and again for the “Saturday Club” airing on April 4.
Can’t Buy Me Love: Chart Success
The single became their fourth number one in the UK. It also went to the top of the charts in many other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand.
However, it was their dominance in the American charts which became a sensation. Not only did this single reach number one, but their records held the top five places on April 4.
The other songs were “Twist And Shout,” “She Loves You,” “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” and “Please Please Me.” No other band or artist has since matched that.
During its second week at the top, the band had fourteen songs in the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.
Also in 1964, Ella Fitzgerald reached number 34 in the UK charts with McCartney’s song. Her jazz version was from her album, “Hello, Dolly.”
Take A Listen
Once you try this song out, leave us a comment below.
