Some highlights of 1964 include:

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law in the United States, prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
• The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, banning the poll tax and other discriminatory voting practices.
• The Beatles made their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in the United States, launching the "British Invasion" of popular music.
• The Tokyo Summer Olympics were held, with Japan making a successful return to the international community after World War II.
• The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by the U.S. Congress, escalating U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
• The first Ford Mustang was introduced.
• Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali) won the world heavyweight boxing championship.
• Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

I wanna hold your hand, I wanna hold your hand. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment.

 

Originally written after manager Brian Epstein urged the band to aspire for a distinctly American sound, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” offered a deft blend of African American rhythm and blues, West Coast surf music and high-octane rock 'n' roll.

 

Controversy exists over the landmark chord that Lennon stated McCartney hit on the piano while they were composing the song. Wolf Marshall considers it is the minor vi (Em) chord (the third chord in the I–V7–vi (G–D7–Em) progression). Walter Everett is of the same opinion.

 

The song was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the basement of Jane Asher's parents' house in Wimpole Street, London. We wrote a lot of stuff together, one-on-one, eyeball to eyeball. Like in 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', I remember when we got the chord that made the song.

 

'Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand', a German-language version of 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', was recorded by The Beatles in Paris in January 1964, along with 'Sie Liebt Dich', a similar reworking of 'She Loves You'.

 

It was also the group's first American number-one hit, entering the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 18 January 1964 at number 45 and starting the British Invasion of the American music industry. By 1 February it topped the Hot 100, and stayed there for seven weeks before being replaced by "She Loves You".