‘A Hard Day’s Night’ as the beginning of pop music

What the Beatles did with three seconds, with one chord, was create an entirely new world.

Dear My First Child,

The first sound that comes from all of this is the first sound of pop music. The opening chord of the whole thing. One twelve-string Rickenbacker 360 guitar played by George Harrison. One Hofner violin bass played by Paul McCartney. A Gibson J-160 six-string guitar played by John Lennon. Somewhere a drum played by Ringo Starr. Even a Steinway piano chord played by George Martin. All at once. One big, bold, brash chord.

BLAEEEEEEEEEEE!

Well, there is no word for it. It just is. Three seconds of isolated music that projects repressed energy, bursting into the open world with one joyous push. Everything before it was preparation — the Beatles’ early records, which were attempts to master old standards and set new directions from those launching points; Phil Spector and his loud but clean Wall of Sound; Elvis and his fake blackness strutting around in an oppressed society; and all the blues and R&B and rock ’n’ roll left in the dust. What the Beatles did with three seconds, with one chord, one stunning, shimmering, angular chord, was create an entirely new world.

This is a world your father loves. This is the world that has Bowie and Zeppelin, Michael and Madonna, and Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. All of it points to the moment the Beatles played one magical chord, something like a G7sus4/A.

“Great,” you’re saying. Then again, you’ve just been born, which means you’re not saying anything. But stay with me on this.

You’ve just been born. You’re beautiful. I’m overcome with elation because you’re here, and I can look into your eyes and watch you blink and fidget and know that your mother and I made you, that you are a product of our love for each other. There is nothing in this wide, wonderful world like you, and there never will be anything like you again. Welcome.

Chances are albums will still be around when you’re old enough to read this. So the point is this: The finest albums ever made had a lot of great songs on them. Sometimes musicians would write songs in accordance with a singular theme. Sometimes musicians would release albums of multiple vinyl records or compact discs, simply to have more songs on the album. Those things are double albums, even triple albums. More on those later.

In 2016, as I’m writing this, the album is still in vogue but not as necessary. Musicians now release songs by themselves, usually over the internet, sometimes on streaming services. But most musicians still release albums, as they’re a great way to get many songs in one place.

In my opinion, the earliest actual pop music album is “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles. The Beatles, by the way, is one of the greatest things to ever happen to music. Of all the musicians that play what’s considered pop music, the Beatles were and still are the best. They began in the early 1960s and ended in 1970, which means they predate me and your mother. But you will hear the Beatles quite a lot. Everyone knows the Beatles, and just about everyone loves the Beatles. Hopefully you will love the Beatles, too.

“A Hard Day’s Night” was their third proper album, after 1963’s “Please Please Me” and “With the Beatles,” both released in the Beatles’ home country of England. In the United States the Beatles’ albums were a little different. But “A Hard Day’s Night” for both England and the United States has most of the same songs.

Also, “A Hard Day’s Night” was a soundtrack, which means it featured music included in a movie. In this case it was the Beatles’ first movie, also titled “A Hard Day’s Night.” The Beatles were immensely popular worldwide by 1964, so having them act in a movie was a smart decision. The more the Beatles are seen and heard, the better.

The movie opens the same way the album does: BLAEEEEEEEEEEE!

That chord again. In the film it blasts the Beatles onto a London street, where they’re running from screaming girls who want only to be near the band. To see the four electric boys galloping madly in black-and-white is affirming, and it’s a landmark scene in filmmaking. In music, that chord is even bigger.

Understand that before that chord, the Beatles mostly presented good but highly rigid original pop songs like “Love Me Do,” “All My Loving” and “She Loves You.” The songs certainly had energy, but the energy filled the rhythm neatly, like cream inside a supermarket cupcake, instead of oozing through it. Their covers allowed them to experiment a bit more, like the wild “Twist and Shout,” maybe their best cover to date and a demand for respect. “A Hard Day’s Night” is visceral. It knocks down the door.

And before the Beatles the music was straight and tidy. The girls who sang above Phil Spector’s dizzying rhythms never outshone the well-pressed template the crazy producer laid down. Even Elvis Presley, who appropriated black rhythm and blues for a broader white audience, kept a relatively homogenized sound. So to hear an opening chord like that of “A Hard Day’s Night,” to ingest the jarring nature of the moment, juxtaposed with the rollicking, rambunctious rhythm of the song, is to hear a seismic shift in youth’s influence on music.

And thus, pop music is born.

Pop music is the youthful, vibrant rhythm. It’s a constant adventure of melody, leaping and winding from one hook to the next. Often there’s rebellion in pop, sometimes outward, sometimes slyly, deeply within the margins, in even the most bubblegum of the music. Pop is fun, always, but frequently punctured by a hidden sharpness that signifies all is not quite right.

That’s because in everything, all the time, everything is never quite right. The world is imperfect, as are humans, and it’s a tough thing to learn it at any age. Pop music allows us, whenever possible, to drift into a world where imperfection isn’t readily apparent. Girls and guys speak in cliche to find and keep love. The best times of your life are always in front of you. Give it your best and anything is possible.

These can be true, of course, but not forever, not when there’s constant challenge and obstacle. But that’s why pop music is wonderful. It allows us to imagine a world of perfection, a world of unity, hope and joy, while reminding us, just enough, that challenges remain. Life isn’t easy, but life can always be met with a smile.

Pop music is the soundtrack to a smiling life. We can dance those rhythms and ride those melodies through any obstacle. We can unabashedly sing everything from T-Boz to Boz Scaggs because, well, what are the options? I fully believe that life is better with pop music.

Listen to that chord again: BLAEEEEEEEEEEE!

Everything you need to know is in that chord. All the excitement and elation that comes with living. All the anticipation and frustration, the waiting and the wailing — it’s all right there. Grab it. Love it. Hear it.

Love,
Dad