The Secret First Chord from ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ [VIDEO] When it
comes to legendary sounds in the history of rock and roll, few
are more beautiful and fascinating than the first chord of the
Beatles hit “A Hard Day’s Night.” George Martin, the producer
who recorded the track in April of 1964, has in the past
explained that both he and the band knew the song would need a
strong opening as it would open both the film ‘A Hard Day’s
Night’ and the soundtrack album. Music scholars and Beatles
fanatics have often debated the exact chord structure. For his
Guitarology 101 series, Randy Bachman recently unveiled the
complete structure of the chord. Bachman met with Giles Martin,
George Martin’s son and a record producer himself, who had
access to all of the Beatles master recordings which had been
converted to digital. In the clip below, Bachman explains the
breakdown of the chord including the individual parts played by
George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon.