 | This article may relate to a different subject or has undue weight on an aspect of the subject. Specifically, Beatlemania. (February 2017) |
| History of the Beatles |
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The Beatles experienced huge popularity on the British record charts in early 1963, but record companies in the United States did not immediately follow up with releases of their own,[1] and the Beatles' commercial success in the US continued to be hampered by other obstacles, including issues with royalties[2] and public derision toward the "Beatle haircut".[3]
It was nearly a year before the Beatles became widely popular in the US. CBS Evening News aired a five-minute news story about Beatlemania in the UK on 10 December 1963; this led to a teenage girl making an airplay request of a local radio station, which in turn sparked a sequence of events leading to the rush-release of the single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the group's commercial breakthrough.[4]
In the United States, Capitol Records modified the Beatles' albums from their original configurations, altering track listings and artwork. This was done because albums released in the US contained fewer tracks, typically no more than 11 or 12, due to differences in how publishing royalties were calculated in the two countries.[5] Also, in the American market it was expected for albums to include the current hit single, whereas British albums typically did not duplicate songs released as singles. This resulted in 11 albums being released by Capitol from 1964 to 1966, culled from seven UK albums and various singles. This trend continued until 1967, when the Beatles signed a new recording contract with EMI.
The Beatles were dissatisfied with how Capitol and other companies around the world were issuing their work in almost unrecognizable forms, so they gained full approval rights beginning in 1967 concerning album titles and cover art, track listing and running order in the United States; their albums were released unmodified starting with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Capitol stopped the production of the US versions in the late 1980s, and the original UK LPs were released in the US beginning in 1987.[6][7]
- ^ JPGR Retrieved: 29 January 2007
- ^ "The Beatles on Vee Jay Records". Retrieved 19 August 2006. Retrieved: 29 January 2007
- ^ Spitz (2005), p.461
- ^ I Want to Hold Your Hand Retrieved: 29 January 2007.
- ^ Hank Fox (4 March 1967). "Disk Firms Swing to Less-Groove Policy". Billboard. pp. 1 & 10.
- ^ Grein, Paul. "Beatles' British Albums Will Replace U.S. Versions" Billboard December 7, 1985: 84
- ^ Weiner, Allen J. The Beatles: The Ultimate Recording Guide (1992): 146