Dec. 26, 1964 - Hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 today was “I Feel Fine” by the Beatles.
“I Feel Fine,” written by John Lennon, starts with a single, percussive feedback note produced by Paul McCartney plucking the A string on his bass, and Lennon’s guitar, which was leaning against McCartney’s bass amplifier, picking up feedback. This was the first use of feedback on a rock record.
Lennon wrote the song’s guitar riff while the Beatles were in the studio recording “Eight Days a Week” in October. The riff was influenced by a riff in “Watch Your Step,” a 1961 song written and performed by Bobby Parker and covered by the Beatles in concerts during 1961 and 1962.
Backed by “She’s a Woman,” “I Feel Fine” was issued as a single A-side on Nov. 23 in the U.S., with the U.K. release following on Nov. 27. It reached the top of the U.K. charts on Dec. 12, displacing the Rolling Stones’ “Little Red Rooster.”
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