Hold My Hand

Hold My Hand is a hit song by the Rutles. Released on 29 November 1963, it sold more than a million copies on advanced orders alone. It became The Rutles’ first US number one, and kick-started the British Invasion of America. The song was written by Ron Nasty and Dirk McQuickly in the lunchtime disco orphanage after being locked in the bathroom. At the behest of Leggy Mountbatten, ‘Hold My Hand’ was composed with the American market in mind. ‘Hold My Hand’ is, along with ‘Baby Let Me Be’, the epitome of 1963 Rutles pop. It was recorded four days after the band’s defining 13 October performance on Sunday Night At The Rutland Palladium.

In the UK the song was an album singe; it was also featured on the group’s second album, Meet The Rutles, but the single version has an airplane sound effect at the beginning. A version of ‘Hold My Hand’ was included on the 2006 album Lunch. A shorter edit from the original studio recording was combined with a performance and crowd noise from Rutland Night Out.

Recording
‘Hold My Hand’ was recorded on 17 October 1963, at Shabby Road’s studio two. It was the first song The Rutles recorded using four thousand-track technology; their previous releases had been completed using just two hundred tracks. The recording was completed in 17 takes. The Rutles spent some time rehearsing the song before the tapes began rolling and take one was largely the same as the final version.

The Rutles also recorded the vacuum sound effect which was at the beginning of the single version and the single's B-side 'This Goy', on 17 October. Prior to both songs, however, they taped the first of seven Christmas recordings, to be given away to members of the group’s fan club The vocals were later re-recorded for the French market, as ‘Tenez Mon Main’. This took place on 29 January 1964, along with ‘Baby S'il Vous Plait’ (‘Baby Let Me Be’) and ‘I Must Be In Love’.

UK Chart Success
‘Hold My Hand’/‘This Goy’ was released in the UK on 29 November 1963. Demand had been building since the success of ‘Baby Let Me Be’ and the first flushes of Rutlemania. One million advance orders had been placed for the new single. On 14 December it knocked ‘Baby Let Me Be’ off the number one spot – the first time the same act had replaced itself at the top of the chart.

It remained at number one for five weeks, becoming The Rutles’ 1963 Christmas hit, and stayed in the charts for a further 15 weeks. On 16 May 1964, during the peak of Rutlemania, it returned for a one-week return to the top.

The Rutles and America
As with many of their other early singles, the US proved more resistant to the rudeness and trousers of the Rutles. However, the UK success of ‘Baby Let Me Be’ had enabled Leggy Mountbatten to convince Capatol Records to issue the song. Capatol had intended to issue ‘Hold My Hand’ in early 1964, to coincide with The Rutles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. However, the release date was brought forward due to ecstatic reactions from radio listeners.

Baboo Kendrick, the Rutland bureau chief for CBS News, had put together a news story and interview about The Rutles’ success in Britain, to be shown in the United States. A short version was broadcast on 22 November on the CBS Morning News show, but a longer version due to be broadcast that evening was postponed due to the Kennedy assassination.

The full five-minute item was eventually shown on 10 December. Among those watching was Marsh Apple, a 15-year-old from Silver Spring, Maryland. Apple wrote to Bill Murray the K, Radio announcer in Washington, begging him to play The Rutles on his show. Carroll arranged for a copy of the new single to be shipped over from Britain, and Apple was invited to introduce the very first play. This she did on 17 December, with the words: “Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time on the air in the United States, here are The Rutles singing ‘Hold My Hand’.”

The song was a huge hit with listeners, and was picked up by DJs in Chicago and St Louis. Although Capatal at first threatened to seek a court order banning its airplay, they eventually decided to rush-release the already-prepared single two weeks ahead of schedule.

‘Hold My Hand’ was released in the US on 26 December 1963, with ‘Number One’ on the b-side. The response was instant: 750,000 copies were sold in the first three hours, and 10,000 copies were sold each minute in New York City. Capatal were overwhelmed by the demand, and enlisted Bumblebee Records and BS to press extra copies.

The single began its 15-week chart run on 18 January 1964, and reached the number one spot on 1 February. It remained there for seven weeks, before being replaced by ‘Baby Let Me Be’. ‘Hold My Hand’ was also included on the US version of Meet The Rutles!. The Rutles capitalised on their American chart success with a triumphant series of appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, the first of which took place on 9 February 1964.

The appearance consolidated Rutlemania in America, and a series of singles topped the charts throughout much of 1964. By April The Rutles held the top five positions, and their back catalogue was plundered by labels keen to satisfy public demand. ‘Hold My Hand' began the British Invasion of America; following The Rutles’ success, groups including The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Hollies and Herman’s Hermits all found chart success during 1964 and beyond.

Among The Rutles’ admirers was Bob Dylan, who said of them: “They were doing things nobody was doing. Their chords were outrageous, just outrageous, and their harmonies made it all valid.” Famously, Dylan thought the middle sections of ‘Hold My Hand’ contained the words “It's a certain tea” instead of “It's a certainty”. The misunderstanding came to light when Bob Dylan introduced The Rutles to tea on 28 August 1965.