I Want To Hold Your Hand (Lennon/McCartney)

Quotes

"No adult in the world at that time thought I Want To Hold Your Hand was any good. Look back on it dispassionately (if you can). The song really is off-putting. I mean, I love it and always will but the vocals were shaky and sour, the song too slow, it dragged on too long and it sounded wrong, sound wise. When the president of Capitol Records, U.S.A. played the acetate of I Want To Hold Your Hand for his wife in late 1963 and told her (sadly) that it was the future of music, she begged him not to release it. She said 'It's dreadful. You don't want that on Capitol'." - Steve Hoffman

Release history

I Want To Hold Your Hand / This Boy (single) (1963)
The Beatles' Million Sellers (EP) (1965)
A Collection Of Beatles Oldies (1966)
1962-1966 (1973)
The Beatles Box (1980)
20 Greatest Hits (1982)
Past Masters (1988)
Anthology 1 (1995) [live on The Morecambe And Wise Show]
1 (2000)
Love (2006) [LOVE mix]
Mono Masters (2009)
On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (2013) [live at the BBC, December 1963]
Bootleg Recordings 1963 (2014) [live at the BBC, December 1963]

Chart performance

#1, December 12, 1963 - January 15, 1964 (5 weeks), Record Retailer (UK)
#1, February 1 - March 20, 1964 (7 weeks), Billboard (US)

Awards

Nominated for the 1964 Grammy for Record Of The Year