I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
{{Short description|1964 single by the Beatles}}
{{Infobox song
| name = I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
| cover = File:Imhappyjusttodancewithyou.png
| alt =
| caption = US picture sleeve (reverse)
| type = single
| artist = the Beatles
| album = A Hard Day's Night
| A-side = I'll Cry Instead
| released = {{Start date|1964|07|20|df=y}}{{cite web |url=http://www.beatlesebooks.com/happy-just-to-dance |title=I'm Happy Just to Dance With You |publisher=Beatlesebooks.com |access-date=May 15, 2016}}
| recorded = 1 March 1964
| studio = EMI, London
| genre = Rock
| length = {{Duration|m=1|s=58}}
| label = Capitol (US)
| writer = Lennon–McCartney
| producer = George Martin
| chronology = The Beatles US
| title = I'll Cry Instead
| title2 = I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
| prev_title = And I Love Her
| prev_year = 1964
| next_title = Matchbox
| next_year = 1964
}}
"I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=163}} and recorded in 1964 by the English rock band the Beatles for the film soundtrack to A Hard Day's Night. Lead vocals are by George Harrison, whose performance in the film marked the first mass media depiction of Harrison singing lead.
Composition
The song was written specifically for George Harrison to sing. Years later, McCartney referred to it as a "formula song,"{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=163}} while Lennon remarked, "I would never have sung it myself."{{sfn|Harry|2000|p=546}}
Musically, the track stands out for its contrast between a frenetic rhythm guitar and Harrison’s calm, understated vocal delivery. One of its notable compositional features is an unexpected chord change in the chorus—an augmented B7th on the line "I'm happy just to dance with you." The song is also distinctive in its structure, beginning not with a verse or chorus but with the final four bars of the bridge.{{sfn|Hal Leonard|1993|p=492}} According to musicologist Ian MacDonald, the guitar part was inspired by the Rolling Stones' cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away."
Cash Box praised the song as "a stomp-a-rhythmic delight." {{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=July 18, 1964 |page=12 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohstory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1964/CB-1964-07-18.pdf |magazine=Cash Box }}{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Recording
The Beatles recorded "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" on a Sunday, the first time they had used Abbey Road Studios on a day other than a normal work day.{{sfn|Harry|2000|p=546}} United Artists released the song on the album A Hard Day's Night on 26 June. It was also included on the album Something New, released by Capitol Records on 20 July. It hit #95 on the Billboard Top 100 chart on 1 August 1964, its only appearance on that chart. It is one of only two Lennon–McCartney songs sung by Harrison during the group's career, the other song being "Do You Want to Know a Secret".
The group also recorded a version for the BBC's From Us to You radio show. The session took place on 17 July 1964 at the BBC Paris Studio in London, and was first broadcast on 3 August that year.{{sfn|The Beatles Bible|2008}} An instrumental piano-only version is heard in the A Hard Day's Night film, during rehearsals for a musical television broadcast.
Personnel
According to Ian MacDonald:{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=112}}
- George Harrison – lead vocal, lead guitar
- John Lennon – backing vocal, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass
- Ringo Starr – drums, African drum
- George Martin – producer
- Norman Smith – engineer
Anne Murray cover
{{Infobox song
| name = I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
| cover = File:Anne-murray-im-happy-just-to-dance-with-you-mono-capitol-s-removebg-preview.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Anne Murray
| album = Somebody's Waiting
| B-side = What's Forever For
| released = {{Start date|1980|06}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Easy listening, adult contemporary
| length =
| label = Capitol (US)
| writer = Lennon–McCartney
| producer =
| prev_title = Lucky Me
| prev_year = 1980
| next_title = Could I Have This Dance
| next_year = 1980
}}
Anne Murray included a cover of "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" on her 1980 album Somebody's Waiting. Murray had had some success in previous years covering other Beatles songs such as "You Won't See Me" and "Day Tripper." Unlike the Beatles' original, Murray's version of "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is an adult-contemporary ballad. Murray's version of the song was released as a single in mid-1980, reaching No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 23 on the Billboard country chart, and No. 13 Adult Contemporary.
Chart performance
;The Beatles
;Anne Murray
Other cover versions
- The Cyrkle released a version of the song on their 1967 album, Neon.[http://www.discogs.com/Cyrkle-Neon/release/1017843 The Cyrkle, Neon] Retrieved January 10, 2016
- Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings included a cover of the song on their 2007 album Jukebox. The Smithereens also released a cover on their 2008 album, B-Sides The Beatles.{{AllMusic |class=album |id=mw0000795509 |label=B-Sides the Beatles |first=Mark |last=Deming |access-date=December 27, 2016 }}
Later uses
Tori Kelly sang the song as the character Millie Pede in Beat Bugs, an Australian-Canadian animated children's television series.
References
Notes
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
- {{cite book
| publisher=Hal Leonard
| year=1993
| title=The Beatles - Complete Scores
| location=Milwaukee
| isbn=0-7935-1832-6
| ref={{SfnRef|Hal Leonard|1993|p=492}}
}}
- {{cite book
| last=Harry
| first=Bill
| year=2000
| author-link=Bill Harry
| title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated
| publisher=Virgin Publishing
| location=London
| isbn=0-7535-0481-2
}}
- {{cite web
| work=The Beatles Bible
| year=2008
| title=I'm Happy Just To Dance With You
| url=http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/im-happy-just-to-dance-with-you/
| access-date=19 October 2008
| ref={{SfnRef|The Beatles Bible|2008}}
}}
- {{cite book
| last=MacDonald
| first=Ian
| year=2005
| author-link=Ian MacDonald
| title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties
| publisher=Pimlico (Rand)
| location=London
| edition=Second Revised
| isbn=1-84413-828-3
}}
- {{cite book
| last=Miles
| first=Barry
| year=1997
| author-link=Barry Miles
| title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now
| publisher=Henry Holt & Company
| location=New York
| isbn=0-8050-5249-6
| url-access=registration
| url=https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile
}}
{{Refend}}
External links
{{Wikiquote|A Hard Day's Night (album)}}
- {{Notes on|http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/ihjtdwy.shtml}}
{{A Hard Day's Night}}
{{The Beatles singles}}
{{Anne Murray}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Capitol Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin
Category:Songs written for films
Category:Songs written by Lennon–McCartney