Meet The Beatles - The Beatles (1964)

[DudeAsInCool]

Meet the Beatles - The Beatles (1964)

For Americans in the full grip of Beatlemania, this was the first album they could buy. Now out of print, Meettook the Fabs' second British record, With the Beatles, dropped five covers and added three tracks, including the singles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There." (This arguably made a hash of the Beatles' artistic intentions yet made for a much better record.) Although a great number of songs in the Lennon-McCartney catalog aren't collaborations, the two wrote "I Want to Hold Your Hand" together on a piano in the basement of Jane Asher, Paul McCartney's actress girlfriend -- as John Lennon put it, "eyeball to eyeball."

Total album sales: 5.7 million

Peak chart position: 1

http://www.rollingstone.com/features/featuregen.asp?pid=2206

[rainbowdemon]

It sounds kind of corny, but this album was a pivitol moment in my life. I first got into music with this one.

[Kooperman]

This was the first album I ever owned....

[cozmikdebris]

Actually, Veejay's "Introducing the Beatles," released in July of '63, was the first Beatles you could buy in America. Trouble was, nobody bought it, because Beatlemania hadn't yet happened in the US. They tried releasing it again in late January '64, a week after "Meet the Beatles" was issued by Capitol. This time it did better, making it to #2 on the Billboard charts.

[dvdpark]

change note Im impressed very good answer....ROCK ON !!

[Kooperman]

Actually, Veejay's "Introducing the Beatles," released in July of '63, was the first Beatles you could buy in America. Trouble was, nobody bought it, because Beatlemania hadn't yet happened in the US. They tried releasing it again in late January '64, a week after "Meet the Beatles" was issued by Capitol. This time it did better, making it to #2 on the Billboard charts.

yup, Introducing The Beatles was the 3rd album I ever owned, after Meet The Beatles and The Beatles Second Album.

[DudeAsInCool]

Very impressive. I remember seeing the album. But it didnt make it my little town store.. Meet the Beatles did.

[MikeHunt]

cozmik...dude ...I never knew that....thanks for the info B)

[cozmikdebris]

When the Beatles signed with EMI in Britain, the American arm (Capitol) was given the option of releasing their product in the US. They passed, and so did several other companies, until Vee Jay stepped up to the plate and released their first single ("Please Please Me/Ask Me Why") in late February, 1963. Despite the fact that it was tearing up the charts in the UK, it did nothing here.

Vee Jay tried again in May of '63, releasing another single, "From Me To You/Thank You Girl." It made it to #116 for a couple weeks. Despite a second failure, they went ahead and released the "Introducing..." album in July, but it would be another 6 months before the Americans embraced the Beatles.

Capitol finally took advantage in January '64, when "Meet the Beatles" was issued. Of course, it went to #1. The funny thing is, by this time, the public was so thirsty for new product that Beatles singles had to be imported from Canada to help meet the demand. Vee Jay suddenly decided this would be a good time to jump back on the bandwagon, reissuing "Introducing...The Beatles" on January 27. They had to replace 2 of the songs ("Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You") with "Please Please Me" & "Ask Me Why" because Capitol now controlled the rights to those songs.

Vee Jay wanted to slip more Beatles product on the market, and cobbled together another album in February, using some of the songs from "Introducing" and some songs by a British singer named Frank Ifield. It was pretty lame. They made two more attempts. In October of '64 they paired the entire "Introducing The Beatles" album with one by The Four Seasons, calling the double album "The Beatles vs. The Four Seasons." However, fans were by now becoming leery of non-Capitol Beatles albums. Less than 2 weeks later they tried yet again, repackaging "Introducing The Beatles" in a new cover, and managed to catch a few fans off guard. The album sold well enough to chart before people realized they were buying the same album for the 3rd or 4th time.

Nearly all subsequent Beatles output would be on Capitol.

[DudeAsInCool]

Which one had My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean? I decided it was a loser because of that cut... Or am I confusing one of the albums with one of the early 45s? PS That was the most comprehensive breakdown I've seen on the subject!

[Kooperman]

reissuing "Introducing...The Beatles" on January 27. They had to replace 2 of the songs ("Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You") with "Please Please Me" & "Ask Me Why" because Capitol now controlled the rights to those songs.

Vee Jay wanted to slip more Beatles product on the market, and cobbled together another album in February, using some of the songs from "Introducing" and some songs by a British singer named Frank Ifield. It was pretty lame. They made two more attempts. In October of '64 they paired the entire "Introducing The Beatles" album with one by The Four Seasons, calling the double album "The Beatles vs. The Four Seasons."

Thanks cozmik for that post! A couple of notes....Ask Me Why was one of my favorite early Beatle songs, so I was glad it made the album. Also, I remember my cousins having those freaky Beatles/Frank Ifield and Beatles vs. Four Seasons albums. I remember laughing at that crap and telling them to trash that stuff.....now they're worth a fortune, lol! Guess a lot of people DID trash them!

[Kooperman]

Which one had My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean?  I decided it was a loser because of that cut...  Or am I confusing one of the albums with one of the early 45s?  PS  That was the most comprehensive breakdown I've seen on the subject!

My Bonnie was an early Beatles song they recorded while working with Tony Sheridan, a mediocre singer. Ain't She Sweet was another one.

http://www.scs.unr.edu/~fdaniels/stuff/tony.htm

[drakee90]

Meet The Beatles was also my first album, and sparked my love for music about 10 years ago

The beatles still work magic today and probably always will

[drakee90]

Meet The Beatles was also my first album, and sparked my love for music about 10 years ago

The beatles still work magic today and probably always will

[Jim Colyer]

I am 59. I bought Meet The Beatles when it came out in the winter of 1964. In a way, it was the first album ever. Albums up to that point consisted of one good song heard on radio and 11 duds behind it. On Meet The Beatles, every song was a good one. I do a lot of Beatles karaoke. A song from this album I do is George Harrison's Don't Bother Me. I also like John Lennon's Not A Second Time, a little known song. http://www.jimcolyer.com/music/