McCartney Times

January 8, 1966 was a big day for the Beatles. Not only did their latest single, “We Can Work It Out” hit number 1 on the Hot 100 but their latest album, Rubber Soul also made it to the top of the Billboard 200.Ironically, the two had nothing to do with each other. Even though they were even released on the same day (December 3, 1965) in the U.K., neither side of the single of “Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out” appeared on the Rubber Soul album. Both sides of the single were recorded during the sessions for the album.In the U.K., this was the first record ever to be promoted as if both songs were “A-Sides” and the two hit the top of the British Singles chart on December 16, 1965 where it stayed for five weeks.In the U.S., the two sides were treated as two separate releases on the charts with “We Can Work It Out” reaching number 1 on this day 52 years ago and staying their for two weeks while “Day Tripper” topped out at number 5.Rubber Soul, itself, was a move by the group to take their albums from singles collections with filler tracks to a more cohesive structure. Unfortunately, Capitol in the U.S. didn’t quite get the idea of a fully visualized concept. The original U.K. version of the album had fourteen tracks while the U.S. release had twelve with “Drive My Car”, “Nowhere Man”, “What Goes On” and “If I Needed Someone” not appearing on the U.S. version while the American disc had “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and “It’s Only Love” added.The album topped both the U.S. and U.K. albums charts.The top five singles on January 8, 1966: We Can Work It Out – Beatles The Sound of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel She’s Just My Style – Gary Lewis & the Playboys Flowers On the Wall – Statler Brothers Ebb Tide – Righteous Brothers The top five albums on January 8, 1966: Rubber Soul – Beatles The Sound of Music – Soundtrack Whipped Cream & Other Delights – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass December’s Children (And Everybody’s) – Rolling Stones !!Going Places!! – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass

Source: Vintage Video: The Beatles Hit Number 1 With “We Can Work It Out” and “Rubber Soul” – VVN Music