Mrs. Livingston Said It

"[Alan] called me one day and said he wanted to come  home for lunch, and he never came home for lunch, so I knew it was important. When he got home, he said to me, very seriously, 'The music business has been big bands, then Frank Sinatra, then Elvis. This is the next step.' And he played me this song, I Want to Hold your Hand, a very nice title. But the way they sang! 'I wanna hold your ha-a-a-a-a-nd!' I said, 'Alan, that's the worst thing I've ever heard.' "

—Nancy Olson Livingston on her late husband's decision as head of Capitol Records to ignore her plea and release the first Beatles single in the U.S. in January 1964. As reported by the New York Times' Bruce Weber in his March 17, 2009 obit of Alan W. Livingston.

Comments

[John Cooper]

If only he had listened to his wife. :(

[Red Colm O'Sullivan]

History has proved her right.

[John Cooper]

Wiki entry -

Within a few years, Livingston moved on to the adult music arena and became Vice President in charge of all creative operations of the company. He signed Frank Sinatra when Sinatra was at a low point in his career. Livingston wanted Sinatra to work with arranger Nelson Riddle, however Sinatra was reluctant to do so out of his loyalty to Axel Stordahl with whom he had worked for most of his career. The first Sinatra/Stordahl recordings for Capitol failed to produce the magic Livingston and producer Voyle Gilmore were looking for, and Sinatra agreed to try a session with Riddle on April 30, 1953. The impact was immediate, producing the classic "I've Got the World on a String." However, it was "Young-at-Heart" that became the defining moment in Sinatra's comeback, peaking at #2 during its 22-week run on the charts in the spring of 1954.

[John Cooper]

Hmmmmmmm....that Wiki entry seems in conflict with Dave Dexter's accounting of the Sinatra situation in Dexter's book, "PLAYBACK".