I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
| "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Beatles | ||||
| from the album Something New | ||||
| A-side | "I'll Cry Instead" | |||
| Released | 20 August 1964 | |||
| Format | 7-inch single | |||
| Recorded |
1 March 1964 Abbey Road Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 1:58 | |||
| Label | Capitol (US) | |||
| Writer(s) | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |||
| The Beatles US singles chronology | ||||
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"I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney[1] and recorded by the Beatles for the film soundtrack to A Hard Day's Night. Lead vocals are by George Harrison, whose performance in the film marked the first commercial music video segment with Harrison singing lead.
Composition
It was written specifically for George Harrison to sing at a time when he lacked the confidence to compose his own material. Years later, McCartney described it as a "formula song",[1] and Lennon said, "I would never have sung it myself."[2]
Structurally, it features hectic Bo Diddley rhythm and busy banjo style guitar playing in juxtaposition with Harrison's vocal. Its composers give it an unpredictable choice of chord (augmenting the B7th on "I'm happy just to dance with you") right at the crux of its title, jarring the chorus. The song is also unique in that it begins not with a verse or chorus but with the last four bars of the bridge.[3]
Recording
The Beatles recorded "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" on a Sunday, the first time they had used Abbey Road Studios on other than a normal work day.[2]
The group also recorded a version for the BBC's From Us to You radio show. The session took place on 17 July 1964 at the BBC Paris Studio in London, and was first broadcast on 3 August that year.[4]
Personnel
- George Harrison – lead vocal, lead guitar
- John Lennon – backing vocal, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass
- Ringo Starr – drums, African drum
- George Martin – producer
- Norman Smith – engineer
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[5]
Covers
The Cyrkle released a version of the song on their 1967 album, Neon.[6] Anne Murray included a cover of "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" on her 1980 album Somebody's Waiting. Murray had had some success in previous years covering other Beatles songs such as "You Won't See Me" and "Day Tripper." Unlike the Beatles' original, Murray's version of "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is an adult-contemporary ballad. Murray's version of the song was released as a single in mid-1980, reaching No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 23 on the Billboard country chart. Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings included a cover of the song on their 2007 album Jukebox.
Notes
- 1 2 Miles 1997, p. 163.
- 1 2 Harry 2000, p. 546.
- ↑ Hal Leonard 1993, p. 492.
- ↑ The Beatles Bible 2008.
- ↑ MacDonald 2005, p. 112.
- ↑ The Cyrkle, Neon Retrieved January 10, 2016
References
- The Beatles - Complete Scores. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard. 1993. ISBN 0-7935-1832-6.
- Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated. London: Virgin Publishing. ISBN 0-7535-0481-2.
- "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You". The Beatles Bible. 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-84413-828-3.
- Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: A Hard Day's Night (album) |
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