‘A Hard Day’s Night’ was released as a single in the United States on Monday 13 July 1964, issued on Capitol Records as Capitol 5222, with ‘I Should Have Known Better’ as its B-side. It sold more than a million copies in America in its first five weeks on sale.
| Date | Monday 13 July 1964 |
| Format | 7-inch single |
| Label | Capitol Records (Capitol 5222) |
| A-side | ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ |
| B-side | ‘I Should Have Known Better’ |
| Peak position | Number 1 (USA) |
| Weeks at number 1 | 2 (from 1 August 1964) |
The release
‘A Hard Day’s Night’ was the title track of The Beatles’ debut feature film and their fourth US album. The single entered the American charts five days after its release, and from 1 August 1964 spent two weeks at number one. On that same day, a remarkable record was set: The Beatles simultaneously held the number one positions in the single and album charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
The parent album had been released in the US by United Artists, who owned the rights to the film soundtrack. However, Capitol Records — The Beatles’ primary US label — retained the ability to issue individual songs from the soundtrack in other formats, which is why several tracks appeared as Capitol singles despite the album being on a different label. The single sold more than a million copies in America in its first five weeks on sale.
The song
‘A Hard Day’s Night’ was written by John Lennon, with a middle eight contributed by Paul McCartney. The title came from a malapropism by Ringo Starr, who remarked after a long day of filming: “It’s been a hard day’s night.” Lennon seized on the phrase and wrote the song overnight, delivering it the following morning.
The song opens with one of the most famous chords in rock history — a Fadd9 played by George Harrison on his 12-string Rickenbacker 360/12, combined with McCartney on bass and Lennon on his six-string acoustic. The chord’s precise composition was the subject of academic debate for decades before being definitively analysed using Fourier transforms by mathematician Jason Brown in 2004.
It was recorded at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, on 16 April 1964, in nine takes. Producer George Martin added a piano overdub. The song was completed in a single session.
The film
A Hard Day’s Night was directed by Richard Lester and released in the UK on 6 July 1964 — one week before this single release in the US. Shot in black and white in a mock-documentary style, it followed The Beatles through a fictionalised 36 hours in their lives, featuring Wilfrid Brambell as Paul McCartney’s grandfather.
The film was a critical and commercial triumph, praised for its wit, energy, and innovative cinematography. It is now widely regarded as one of the greatest music films ever made and was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2001.
The record set on 1 August 1964
When ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ reached number one in the US on 1 August 1964, The Beatles achieved something unprecedented: they simultaneously held the top position in the singles and albums charts in both the UK and the US. On that day:
- US singles chart: ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ (Capitol 5222)
- US albums chart: A Hard Day’s Night (United Artists)
- UK singles chart: ‘A Hard Day’s Night’
- UK albums chart: A Hard Day’s Night
No act had achieved this double-double before, and it has rarely been matched since.
Capitol Records and The Beatles in America
Capitol Records, a subsidiary of EMI, had initially declined to release Beatles records in the United States, passing on ‘Love Me Do’, ‘Please Please Me’, and ‘From Me To You’. It was only after the success of ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ — released in the US on 26 December 1963 — that Capitol fully committed to the group. By the summer of 1964, The Beatles were the dominant force in American popular music, and Capitol’s relationship with the group was one of the most lucrative in the label’s history.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- When was ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ released in the US?
- ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ was released as a single in the United States on 13 July 1964, on Capitol Records (Capitol 5222).
- What was the B-side of the US ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ single?
- The B-side was ‘I Should Have Known Better’, also from the A Hard Day’s Night soundtrack.
- Did ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ reach number one in the US?
- Yes. ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ reached number one in the US on 1 August 1964 and spent two weeks at the top. On that day, The Beatles simultaneously held number one in the singles and albums charts in both the UK and the US.
- Who wrote ‘A Hard Day’s Night’?
- ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ was written primarily by John Lennon, with a middle eight by Paul McCartney. The title came from a Ringo Starr malapropism. Lennon wrote the song overnight after hearing the phrase.
- Why was the ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ album on United Artists rather than Capitol?
- United Artists owned the rights to the film soundtrack and released the album in the US. Capitol Records retained the right to issue individual songs as singles, which is why the single appeared on Capitol while the album was on United Artists.
- How many copies did ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ sell in America?
- The single sold more than a million copies in America in its first five weeks on sale.
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