On this day in music history: January 8, 1966 - “We Can Work It Out” by The Beatles hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks (non-consecutive). Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, it is the eleventh chart topper for legendary the British rock quartet. McCartney is inspired to write the song after an argument with his then girlfriend, actress Jane Asher. He writes the main verses and chorus, and when he isn’t able to complete it, he enlists Lennon’s help, who writes the songs’ bridge. The song is recorded during the sessions for the “Rubber Soul” album beginning on October 20, 1965 and is completed on October 29, 1965. It is initially released as a stand alone double A-sided single with “Day Tripper” (#5 Pop). “We Can Work It Out” enters the Hot 100 at #36 on December 18, 1965, rocketing to the top three weeks later. It spends two weeks at number one, then slips back to number two for one week when “Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sounds Of Silence returns to the top, then retakes the top spot for one more week. Both “We Can Work It Out” and “Day Tripper” make their US LP debut on the compilation “Yesterday And Today” in June of 1966, and in the UK on “A Collection Of Beatles Oldies (But Goldies!)” in December of 1966. When the US single release is re-pressed by Capitol Records in 1969, “We Can Work It Out” and “Day Tripper” are mistakenly manufactured with the red and white “target” Starline series budget priced label. The single like other Beatles 45’s carry a full list price, and were to be pressed with the newly introduced orange and red “target” label. The copies pressed with the incorrect label originate from Capitol’s Jacksonville, IL pressing plant, and are quickly replaced with the correct label. The small number of error pressings are not destroyed, and instead are shipped to retail and sold. Because of the minimal number of copies pressed with the wrong label, it becomes one of the rarest and most sought after Beatles records by collectors. One of the last copies to surface on the collector’s market sold for over $1,800 in 1995. “We Can Work It Out” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

What a truly great song and this is destined to become part of the British songbook if you will. This is the period that I really began to sit up and take notice of 'something going on' for the Fab Four. Gone are the more cloying sentiments and juvenile 'She Loves You' statements and this seemed to me to herald the era of the more mature relationship based songwriting that the boys would excel at, George too if it come to that ['Think For Yourself']. I think this is the first time I considered as a callow youth that my generation understood that life was brief . . . . . 

"Life is very short, and there's no time For fussing and fighting, my friend I have always thought that it's a crime So, I will ask you once againTry to see it my way Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrongWhile you see it your way There's a chance that we might fall apart before too longWe can work it out . . . . . . . "