If you’ve never seen Randy Bachman deconstruct The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” chord, watch this.

The construction of that marvelous opening chord for “A Day’s Night” by The Beatles was the subject of speculation for decades. Was it one guitar or two? How was the chord formed? Who played it?

Some years ago, Randy Bachman had a chance to visit Abbey Road where Giles Martin, son of George, but the original master tape on a machine so they could take it apart.

Randy explains (via Noise11): “I heard the first chord. It was George on a 12-string and it’s a F chord. But you put a G on top and you put a G on the bottom. And you put a C next to that G. Now, put on Paul’s bass. Paul is playing a D on the bass and John’s rhythm guitar was a D chord with a suss four which means it has got a G note on it”.

Ever wonder about the opening chord to #TheBeatles Hard Day’s Night? Here’s a clip from my Guitarology 101 archives where I got the scoop directly from the source. Cheers! #rocknroll #history #chord #UK pic.twitter.com/xjNBdc8q2L

— Randy Bachman (@RandysVinylTap) November 27, 2024