Just another Number 1 hit for the band, they were tossing them out at a rapid pace during the stretch of 1963-64. The band never played it live, with John especially feeling it was beneath them. Thing is, it wasn’t. While the subject matter may be trite (“Oooh I need your love, babe, eight days a week”) it is the delivery that elevates the song into the canon of songs demonstrating why The Beatles are the single-most agents of change and evolution in rock and roll.
Groups had done vocal harmonies before, handclaps are commonplace in pop music and rock and roll, there is a wide swath of songs with both acoustic and electric guitars, fade-in and fade-outs, and banal love songs lyrics, so taken apart, the song just doesn’t seem important. However,it is the blending together of these elements that makes “Eight Days A Week” much greater than the sum of its parts.
There is nothing special about the song, necessarily, especially when you examine it with a modern ear. But in 1964 the way everything is combined it helps to elevate the basic pop love song into something more, and as it becomes a number 1 hit, infinitely emulate-able.
Alright, so what the heck is “Beatles Week”?
For some of you, you already know the answer and the rest of this post is moot. For those who want a refresher or don’t know what I am on about, the rest of this post is for you.
Started back in 2008 by my close personal friend “Madmup” Mark Zwolanek on a website that no longer exists, I thought it was a great idea and decided to run with it back the following year. Almost every year since I have done Beatles Week, and since a Beatles week consists of 8 days, there should be 8 days worth of posts, so from December 25 to January 1, inclusive, there are new, somewhat Beatles related blog posts. The intent was to not just celebrate the band, but also to help keep those creative juices flowing and produce some original content during a time when there isn’t a heck of a lot going on or getting posted.
Now, admittedly,there have been a few years that I have missed, particularly these last couple when I haven’t been blogging. This week, something I have looked forward too pretty much each year, provides an opportunity this time around for me to jump back into blogging, hopefully on a regular basis.
Chances are you haven’t made it this far into the blog post. if you have, you might not be familiar with all of my Beatles Week postings, so I present to you my handy compendium of starting points:
No Beatles Week 2017 due to death in the family
No Beatles Week 2019 and 2020 due to decreased or nonexistent blogging
Beatles Week 2021 (the current postings)