Today in History, July 10: A Hard Day's Night

1964, on July 10, the English rock band the Beatles releases in Britain their third studio album: A Hard Day's Night.

A Hard Day's Night contains on side one songs from the soundtrack to their movie "A Hard Day's Night". The American version of the album was released two weeks earlier, on June 26, 1964, with a different track listing. In contrast to their first two albums, all 13 tracks on A Hard Day's Night were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney showing the development of their songwriting talents. The album includes the title track, with its distinct opening chord, and the earlier released "Can't Buy Me Love", both transatlantic number-one singles for the band.

The title of the album was the unintended creation of drummer Ringo Starr. According to Lennon in a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine: "I was going home in the car and Dick Lester*** suggested the title, 'Hard Day's Night' from something Ringo had said. I had used it in 'In His Own Write', but it was an off-the-cuff remark by Ringo. You know, one of those malapropisms. A Ringo-ism, where he said it not to be funny ... just said it. So, Dick Lester said, 'We are going to use that title.'"

A Hard Day's Night is the first Beatles album to feature entirely original compositions. And the only one where all the songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. With nine out of thirteen tracks, Lennon dominates the songwriting, as well as being the lead singer on these same nine tracks (though McCartney sings lead on the chorus part of the title track, which otherwise is strictly Lennon territory). Lennon and McCartney co-wrote "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You", while McCartney wrote "And I Love Her", "Can't Buy Me Love", and "Things We Said Today". This is also one of three Beatles albums, along with Let It Be and Magical Mystery Tour, in which Starr does not sing lead vocal on any songs.

According to music critics, George Harrison's resonant 12-string electric guitar leads were hugely influential. The movie "A Hard Day's Night" helped persuade the Byrds, then folksingers, to plunge all out into rock & roll. The Beatles would be hugely influential on the folk-rock explosion of 1965. Their success, had begun to open the US market for fellow English bands like the Rolling Stones and the Animals. They as well inspired young American groups to mount a challenge of their own with self-written material.

In 2000, Q, a popular music magazine, placed A Hard Day's Night at number five in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2012, A Hard Day's Night was voted 307th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

***Dirk Lester was the director of the movie "A Hard Day's Night"