"I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is a song written by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and recorded in 1964 by the English rock band

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

for the film soundtrack to ''A Hard Day's Night''. Lead vocals are by

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

, whose performance in the film marked the first mass media depiction of Harrison singing lead.

Composition

The song was written specifically for

to sing. Years later, McCartney referred to it as a "formula song," while Lennon remarked, "I would never have sung it myself." 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. According to musicologist Ian MacDonald, the guitar part was inspired by the Rolling Stones' cover of Buddy Holly's " Not Fade Away." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' praised the song as "a stomp-a-rhythmic delight."

Recording

The Beatles recorded "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" on a Sunday, the first time they had used

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

on a day other than a normal work day.

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

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 Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

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 "Do You Want to Know a Secret" is a song by English rock band the Beatles from their 1963 album '' Please Please Me'', sung by George Harrison. In the United States, it was the first top ten song to feature Harrison as a lead singer, reaching N ...

". The group also recorded a version for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''From Us to You''

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

show. The session took place on 17 July 1964 at the BBC Paris Studio in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and was first broadcast on 3 August that year. 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 Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...

: *

– lead vocal, lead guitar *

– backing vocal, rhythm guitar *

– backing vocal, bass *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

– drums,

African drum Sub-Saharan African music is characterised by a "strong rhythmic interest" that exhibits common characteristics in all regions of this vast territory, so that Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) has described the many local approaches as constit ...

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

– producer * Norman Smith –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Anne Murray cover

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

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 "Day Tripper" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out" in December 1965. The song was written primarily by John Lennon with some contributions from Paul McCartney and ...

." Unlike the Beatles' original, Murray's version of "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is an adult-contemporary

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

. 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 The Cyrkle is an American rock band active from the early to late-1960s, and since 2016. The group has charted two Top 40 hits, "Red Rubber Ball" and "Turn-Down Day". Career The band was formed by guitarists and lead singers Don Dannemann and T ...

released a version of the song on their 1967 album, ''Neon''. *

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman ( ; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. He was the writer and singer of several hit rock songs, ...

and Burton Cummings included a cover of the song on their 2007 album ''

Jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

''.

The Smithereens The Smithereens are an American rock music, rock band from Carteret, New Jersey. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio lead vocals, (vocals and guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar and backing vocals, vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar and bac ...

also released a cover on their 2008 album, ''B-Sides The Beatles''.

Later uses

Tori Kelly Victoria Loren Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained recognition on YouTube before making it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of ''American Idol'' in 2010 and eventually releasing her debu ...

sang the song as the character Millie Pede in '' Beat Bugs'', an Australian-Canadian animated children's television series.

References

Notes Bibliography * * * * *

External links

* {{authority control 1964 singles 1980 singles The Beatles songs Anne Murray songs The Cyrkle songs Capitol Records singles Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written for films Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Songs published by Northern Songs 1964 songs Parlophone singles Songs about dancing