I Want To Hold Your Hand – Live at the Cavern Club
In 1963 the world went from black and white to colour … at least according to many Beatles fans from all around the world today 😉
Their music added something that hadn’t quite existed before. And it all really started in 1963 with their first few singles – including “I Want To Hold Your Hand”.
If you happened to live through that time yourself, we’re dying to know your personal anecdotes of hearing this song on the radio for the first time. Do you remember where you were?
As always, this was recorded and filmed during our last residency show at the Cavern Club back in 2016. We’ve only got 3 more songs to go until we’ve reached the end of our set so we’re excited to share the final videos with you during the upcoming weeks. If you want to see all 25 videos from that night that we have posted so far, you can find them all HERE.
Enjoy!
Mona & Lisa
You should do a version in German, as the Beatles did!
The Twins really rock with the spirit and feelings of the 60’s music, adding their own musical and vocal touches which make the song unique and personal.
I first heard the Beatles in 1963 while on a school cruise to the Baltic. Their music was so different to what was round at the time.
I love your covers of their songs, and all your originals, thank you ladies.
Love all the Cavern performances.
Watching you play this one I was just wondering how it felt to you playing this song in the Cavern Club. Must have given you a warm feeling of happiness and accomplishment playing your heroes songs and knowing you had a successful run in their home club.
I was only around 5 years old when Beatlemania hit the states but I still remember the excitement. We had never heard anything that good before, no one had. The old dime store phonographs the older kids had wore these vinyl 45s down so bad you could hardly understand them. But the beat was still there.
The song that started it all in America…even though it was The Beatles 5th single…it was I Want To Hold Your Hand that finally got America’s attention…and more accurately CAPITOL Records attention.
I am happy to be able to say that I did live through this period, and watched the Beatles’ career unfold in real time. The previous single was She Loves You, which pretty much consolidated the Beatles position in Britain. It had been at number 1 in the charts, slipped, and then returned to number 1. So when the follow-up, I Want To Hold Your Hand was released, it took over from She Loves You at the top of the charts. Then it went to number 1 in the US, and the rest is history. The Beatles appeared on just about every TV show which featured music at this time. There were many such variety-type shows, so they were on TV a LOT! Every such appearance was followed with great anticipation, to see the group perform, and to see what they were wearing, and how long their hair had grown!
I always marvel how you two can take a most challenging song and make playing it look so easy and as always sound so beautiful!
As always, “Thanks for the Memories.”
This is perfection! And it is not an easy song to play. And your vocals, again, perfection! Do you miss playing live?
Our family regularly watched TheEdSullivan Show on Sunday night. I remember as a four year old being told by my dad to sit and watch because something special was coming on. There the Beatles were in black and white and the music and energy left an unforgettable impression on me. I was so surprised to later find out George ’s guitar
was a reddish brown and not black…
When I saw Beatlemania live on stage I thought the band was using the wrong guitars…
This is the Cavern video I’ve been waiting for. I never get tired of hearing (or playing) this song. It makes me so happy to see my favorites play my favorite song ever! Lots of credit to the drummer and bassist for their expertise, but I’m simply amazed at Mona and Lisa’s talents. Mona’s Lennon and Lisa’s high McCartney harmonies are awesome. Mona’s rhythm guitar drives the song while Lisa covers the alternating lead pattern, and the arpeggios in the bridge are just beautiful. I just play it over and over – And I’ll say it again,as for every Cavern video – best live band ever!
February 9th, 1964, as a six-year-old, sitting on the floor of my grandmother’s house in Philadelphia on a Sunday. I was the youngest of 10 cousins sitting around an old B&W television, watching the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show. We watched and listened to All My Loving, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There and I Want to Hold Your Hand.
Life and Music would never be the same. Most of the elders would talk about the haircuts, and screaming lyrics to changing time signatures, but us “young ones” knew, this was the beginning of our music. Beatlemania had arrived in the U.S.A
So a few days late here, but this song to me knocked the door down for the Beatles in the USA and Mona and Lisa made this song what it is and a fabulous cover and the energy that goes along with it as well and the George Harrison riffs from Lisa takes it to another level. And can’t forget Mona with the driving rhythm. So we are getting close to Kansas City and Revolution on the live album and I am just giving you all a heads up. Open the windows in the car or house because the energy from these two songs will blow the windows out of your car or house and hope you all have solid roofs on your house because I feel the twins blew the roof off the Cavern Club!! Just sit back and close your eyes on these numbers coming up and you can feel Lisa on Kansas City just glowing with energy and Mona on Revolution…..ALL RIGHT….ALL RIGHT….ALL RIGHT!!!
Bill and Maddie Isenberg Huge Fans from Pittsburgh Pa USA
Another great cover of an awesome Beatles song! My middle brother and I used to share a bedroom back in the sixties. We would stuff a towel at the bottom of our bedroom door and listen to the radio for the next great song. One night while listening “I Want to Hold Your Hand” played and we were so blown away!! We talked late into the night about the song. I don’t remember any other song that played that night. The next day we bought the record: 45rpm of course! Still one of my favorite songs ever. And, I Loved your cover of the song.
In 1963 my family was in New Orleans, and just a few months short of the Assassination of President Kennedy.
That summer I heard the song I Want To Hold Your Hand and I thought What Is This fantastic song? Then it was quickly turned off by my dad. He didn’t like the music, which was strange because he thought the Monkees were OK.
There was an artist rendition of the Beatles with really short hair. Which my dad liked.
In reality the Beatles hair is very acceptable by today’s standards.
Most of my love and admiration for the Beatles came once I got in College.
However Two very special and uniquely Talented Twins have renewed that love like never before. Their euphoric joy and unmatched passion has brought Beatlemania back to the forefront of music.
Thanks Ladies! And Thanks to your dad for sharing his collection
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️????
In 1963 I was 8 years old, going on nine. A friend of mine, a slightly older boy, was collecting every Beatles album when it was brand new, and I got to hear them on his dad’s incredible sound system.
I wound up buying the “I Want To Hold Your Hand” single and playing it so many times it made my family sick. It was my year for becoming a diehard Beatles fan!
I was in Denver and I can’t remember exactly but when the Beatles mania hit I think I was still into climbing trees and playing sports and piano lessons, but when my Stella guitar arrived then I was listening to everything they were putting out. Mona, Lisa that song was so good because you put you heart and soul into it and I just love those video’s!!! Your presence on stage holds the audience and demands their full attention just as I am sitting at my computer watching and smiling as you go through the song. Bravo!!!! Groovy!!!
For the 25th time I will say. Wow what a wonderful show I wish I had been there… maybe one day if I’m lucky… it’s a dream to see Mona and Lisa on the stage.. very close to them. Thanks dear girls for one more pearl.. stay groovy.
Uh, I wasn’t quite born just yet at the time …a few yrs later I was…lol… I probably either heard on the radio as a kid in the 1970s and from my 2 nd oldest brother ‘s Beatles vinyl that he has and had introduced me to them with back in the day….I love this rendition you did …Rox N Rolls BEATLES-ifully ????????
Love these Cavern Club sessions!
You all were on fire that night. We are so lucky you recorded it. These songs flow out from your hearts so smoothly it’s magic. Bravo!
We love watching these cavern videos! Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
JP
It played now. Thanks!
I was 11 years old in February 1964. My parents controlled the TV and every Sunday night we would watch The Ed Sullivan Show. That night in February was when I first saw the Beatles. I remember my mom saying “In 6 months everyone will forget about them”! My cousin Wanda was living with us. She was 13 and went all out Beatlemania. All the first Beatle albums I heard were Wanda’s. I still remember standing in front of her record player holding the first American Beatles album and listening to “ I Want To Hold Your Hsnd” ! What great memories!!
It’s not often someone would say they’d like to be older than what they are but I was only 4 in 1960 and wish I’d been a bit older to experience and enjoy more of The Beatles during that period.
That aside I wish I was young again. ????
Well I was 5 years old and barely remember it. I was probably more interested in playing with my G.I. Joe or army toys to be honest. My mom had the radio on all the time so I know when The Beatles were on I must have heard them! Early Beatles is my favorite, raw and less overdubbing than later stuff they did. I like it raw without lots of overdubs and without too much production. A lot of stuff today sounds over produced to me.
Hi all!
We are currently trying to figure out why the video does not seem to be playing for some of you. The video is not set to “private” and doesn’t seem to be area restricted. We’ve been trying to recreate the problem on our end (so we can understand it and fix it) but so far no luck.
Could those of you that got the error message let us know if the issue is still there for you after refreshing the page today?
Sorry about that guys, we’ll try to reupload it somewhere else if it is still an issue!
It wouldn’t work yesterday but it worked fine today. I made no adjustments on this end????
Yesterday it didn’t go thru, today is fine.
I too got “video unavailable” with a grey screen last night, but this morning it was OK. I didn’t do anything different on my end. Thanks
By Golly, it works now for me…Yipppeeeeee… not sure why it wouldn’t work yesterday and the other day with the WOTT episode… but am #MLTBuzzLuvGroovified Happy that both work fine for me now ????????
The first time I remember this song was when I was about 10 or 12 I would say in the mid 70s when I saw it on TV. It was an older Beatles rerun show from the 60s. It was indeed different from anything else I saw or experienced musically, the magic the Beatles had came through the TV. I could feel the Beatlemania when this song came on and I saw the screaming fans, people fainting. My older brother and sister who are 8 and 7 years older than me were right into the music. I remember watching the Beatles Shea stadium concert on TV and my brother mentioning how it was so loud the Beatle couldn’t hear themselves. It was incredible to watch.
It was certainly worth the wait with the building anticipation to watch your video Mona and Lisa of this iconic and magic song (my fave early Beatles song). Your wonderful vocals, harmonies, and radiating smiles captures the magic perfectly. Brilliant performance. Thank you!!! 🙂
Wow wow wow I just love it you’ve made the song your own and your harmonies are as usual spot on
Wow, jetzt funktioniert das Video – ansonsten – hätte ich etwas verpasst. Wie immer “coole Mucke” und eure Stimmen harmonieren wieder 1A miteinander.
Drück Euch ganz doll – stay groovy
And there it is…10:00am Saturday morning just waking up from a nap…had to give it another try and SUCCESS !!!! As I listen to the Cavern CD while driving my mind always goes to visualization of each of the songs already sent to the club…but more so to the ones that have already gone public..it’s so much easier to navigate through the regular YouTube because it will just go from one song to another…..like KEVIN HINSON mentioned in his comment you girls bring so much joy to my heart that I thank God everyday for bringing the MonaLisa Twins into my life…you are my entertainment !!! I hope that before my final demise I will have had the opportunity to see you perform live in concert somewhere….as a child I remember laying on the living room floor watching those 3 episodes of Ed Sullivan…but before that my first encounter of the Beatles was walking into my 8th grade homeroom at school one morning and the girls were all gathered around a desk where this one girl was holding the record “I Want To Hold Your Hand” …a 45rpm backed with “I Saw Her Standing There” and the cover was a picture of The Beatles and Paul was sitting down and had a cigarette in his hand …the girls were going crazy and I didn’t know what all the fuss was about…I hadn’t yet heard their songs…it wasn’t long before I’d be walking my paper route with my transistor radio and singing along with “All My Loving” my favorite song at the time….SO THANK YOU GIRLS FOR BRINGING BACK THE FUN AND JOYOUS MEMORIES OF MY EARLY TEENAGE YEARS ❤️????????????????
Like some others, I still have vivid memories of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and the talk went on for days until another appearance. I know that the Fab Four’s music evolved over the next decade but their earliest hits remained my fav’s until today. I had listed to you girls doing this song, riding down the road, many times on the CD, but I was delighted to see it finally. Your bright smiles, amazing voices, and accomplished guitar playing just made my day. The only question now…. how many times will I binge watch it before Im able to let it go for awhile. I can’t speak for others, but you bring so much joy into my life, its hard to put into words. Thank you both so very much !!!! Much love and Stay Groovy
Another wonderful performance by MLT. I remember hearing this for the first time while sitting at the kitchen table on the farm in the early morning as Dad had his coffee. It’s wonderful how music can take you to a different time and place. Thanks for the memories MLT. 🙂
A brilliant version of an amazing song. It brings back Grandma Stucky’s house, Sunday night. The Ed Sullivan show. Brother and I had been looking forward to this for days.
The screams, followed by the opening chords brought Grandma out of the kitchen. She watched for a moment, then walked to the TV and turned it off. The Beatles were too much for this German Mennonite Grandmother.
Dieses Video ist nicht verfügbar It does not work
If the link for the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eReVQ2HpJbM) is opened separately, it is indicated as “Private” so I suspect that the switch to enable Club access is in the OFF position. Just a bit of patience needed I guess.
Video unavailable
Video unavailable
This performance is SO GOOD, that the YouTube algorithms trained to identify a Beatles performance, can’t tell the difference between the MonaLisa Twins and The Beatles!
Why is the video unavailable?
I have the same problem …
Oh, they have to record their songs at chipmunk speed so that the algorithms that scour the net for songs won’t recognize it.
Why, oh why? We beseech the Internet Gods to release this video.
This video is unavailable. ????????
This message is not from MLT guys.
Mona and Lisa have got to know, right?
The same here, someone took it down probably not U tube but those who represent bands.
the same thing
「この動画は再生できません。」と出てしまいます。
I get the message “This video cannot be played.”
Video Not Available message is what I see ☹
I excel at redundancy! No video for me either.
Also, I got the message: This Video Is Unavailable, too.
I remember where I was when I first heard the Beatles. It was late 1963. My neighbor Stevie and I were riding our bikes to school, and he had a small transistor radio with a wrist strap hung on his handlebars. I think the song was “She Loves You”, and from that first, savage drum beat, I was hooked! Been a Beatles fan ever since!
Siri:”Sorry, I didn’t get that. This video is currently unavailable.”
TGIF
JP
Hi Team MLT, the posted video is unavailable.