On March 21, 1964, The Beatles scored their second consecutive No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with “She Loves You.” The pop-rock classic with the infectious “yeah, yeah, yeah” chorus replaced the Fab Four’s breakthrough hit, “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” which had spent seven straight weeks at the top of the chart.
“She Loves You” held the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 for two weeks, and then was replaced by yet another Beatles tune, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” which topped the chart for five straight weeks.
Co-written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, “She Loves You” was already huge hit in the U.K. long before its success on this side of the pond. Released on August 23, 1963, in the U.K., the song spent six non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 there between September and early December. “She Loves You” was the best-selling single in the U.K. for 1963, and remains The Beatles’ most successful single in their home country.
The song actually was first released as a single in the U.S. on September 16, 1963, on Swan Records. This was a couple months before the Fab Four signed a stateside deal with the Capitol label.
It finally entered the Hot 100 in January 1964, and really took off when The Beatles performed the tune on their famous Ed Sullivan Show appearance on February 9. “She Loves You” sat at No. 2 behind “I Want to Hold Your Hand” for four weeks before taking over the No. 1 spot.
Source: Matt Friedlander/americansongwriter.com