Top of the Charts: “Ticket to Ride”

May 22, 1965 - Hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 today was “Ticket Ride,” a single by the Beatles released last month. The song was written primarily by John Lennon and is credited to Lennon-McCartney. It will be featured in the Beatles’ forthcoming second film.

The Beatles recorded “Ticket to Ride” on Feb. 15 at EMI Studios in London. It was the band’s first recording session since completing the “Beatles for Sale” album on Oct. 26 of last year, after which they toured the U.K. and played a season of Christmas shows in London until mid-January.

In March, the Beatles and their manager, Brian Epstein, selected “Ticket to Ride” and “Yes It Is” to be the A- and B-sides, respectively, of the group’s first single release of 1965. The record was issued by EMI’s Parlophone label on Apr. 9 in the U.K., and by Capitol Records on Apr. 19 in the U.S.

“Ticket to Ride,” the first Beatles track released with a running time exceeding three minutes, topped Britain’s official singles chart for three weeks. It went straight in at No. 1 on the national listings compiled by Melody Maker, where it also stayed for three weeks, and similarly topped Ireland’s singles chart in its first week of release there.

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