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I'm Happy Just to Dance with You

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Wikipedia article




"'I'm Happy Just to Dance with You'" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded 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 at a time when he lacked the confidence to compose his own material. Years later, McCartney described it as a "formula song", and Lennon said, "I would never have sung it myself."

The song features a hectic style rhythm guitar in juxtaposition with Harrison's placid vocal. Its composers give it an unexpected choice of chord at the crux of its chorus, augmenting the B7th on "I'm happy just to 'dance' with you". The song is also distinctive in that it begins not with a verse or chorus but with the last four bars of the bridge. According to musicologist Ian MacDonald, its guitar part derives its inspiration from the Rolling Stones' cover of Buddy Holly's song, Not Fade Away.

'Cash Box' described it 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 on a day other than a normal work day. 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 LennonMcCartney 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. An instrumental piano-only version is heard in the 'A Hard Day's Night' film, during rehearsals for a musical television broadcast.

Personnel



*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

:Personnel per Ian MacDonald

Anne Murray cover



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'.

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'

'Bibliography'

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