Ach-Tunes - Artists who performed their hits in multiple languages (Episode 44)

As the relevance of rock and roll began to explode, labels and
managers wanted to exploit and milk those hits for all they were
worth, for fear of it being a fad and dying out quickly. To
maximize popularity and exposure, labels in the UK would often prep
bands for European tours by having their stars record their own
hits in other languages. Most famously, the Beatles were
strong-armed into recording German versions of both “I Want to Hold
Your Hand” and She Loves You”. These were recorded in Paris and for
I Want to Hold Your Hand, they simply recorded the new vocals over
the existing instruments like a Liverpudlian karaoke night. With
“She Loves You” however, the masters had been erased by EMI which
had been standard practice at the time. They re-recorded the whole
song, which made this the only song they recorded outside of
London. Today, we go over a marketing gimmick designed to expand
popularity and ingratiate bands to potential fans across the globe.
Some bands were far more prolific and successful with their foreign
language recordings. Some were abysmal. Enough of them were
fascinating. These are some of the stories of bands and artists
performing their own tunes in foreign languages.   Subscribe
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