1965 Beatles No. 1 Hit Ranked the 'Absolute Best Song in History'
Sixty-one years ago today, one of the most iconic tracks of all time, which was ranked the “Absolute Best Song in History” more than 50 years later, hit No. 1. The fact that The Beatles’ “Yesterday” has continued to be celebrated across generations of listeners is especially noteworthy since it nearly wasn’t released for a fascinating reason.
‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles Hit No. 1 on October 9, 1965
After The Beatles’ “Yesterday” was first released on September 13, 1965, the song quickly rose in popularity. Less than a month later, on October 9, 1965, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for a total of four weeks. The only tracks from the legendary rock band that stayed at No. 1 for longer than that are “Hey Jude,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Get Back,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Why ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles Almost Wasn’t Released
On September 13, 2020, Ultimate Classic Rock released an article that chronicled how The Beatles’ “Yesterday” began its journey to leaving a mark on music history. It noted the well-known story that the melody for “Yesterday” came to Paul McCartney in his dreams. It also focused on the lesser-known fact that the song was in jeopardy of never being released because McCartney was seriously worried about the track. The article quoted him stating that he was so worried that the song was an unintended rip-off of a previous track that he consulted with his peers to see if they’d heard the melody before.
“For about a month, I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before. Eventually it became like handing something in to the police. I thought if no one claimed it after a few weeks, then I could have it.”
Even after overcoming that barrier that nearly convinced McCartney not to even record “Yesterday,” the song’s success was still in peril. As the Ultimate Classic Rock article noted, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr questioned if the song should be released as a single since it was so different than the rest of their music. In fact, there was even talk about putting the song out as a McCartney solo track. Ultimately, the article quotes McCartney saying the band agreed to release it as a Beatles single in America, and its legacy grew from there.
Source: mensjournal.com/Matthew Thomas
