I Saw Her Standing There

Recorded at Abbey Road in February of 1963 and released in England a month later, I Saw Her Standing There was chosen by Capitol Records for the B-side of the single, I Want to Hold Your Hand, which came out in December of the same year in the United States. The song also took the pole position in the Beatles' first album, Please Please Me. Because of its upbeat rhythm and message, the Beatles usually sang it as their concert opener. By February of 1964, the song had placed in Billboard's "Hot 100" and stayed there for 11 weeks, rising as high as 14th. (The A-side of the single was number one for seven weeks straight, starting in January of 1964). McCartney originally called the song "Seventeen" when he conceived it on his way home after a concert. He and Lennon collaborated on the final arrangement. McCartney later declared that he "pinched" the bass riff from Chuck Berry's Talkin' About You. The final mix was released with McCartney's spirited "one-two-three-four" at the beginning, even though count-ins are almost always edited out. This count-in, however, became something of a Beatles trademark as their fame spread.