Beatles discography

The Beatles on Metacafe

2009-05-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Beatles - Twist & Shout (live in 65)

Beatles - Twist & Shout (live in 65) - Click here for another funny movie.

The Beatles - 'You Got to Hide Your Love Away' Music Video

The Beatles - 'You Got to Hide Your Love Away' Music Video - The best bloopers are a click away

The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand

The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand - For more funny movies, click here

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - The most popular videos are here

Songs and Albums of The Beatles

2009-05-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

Let's go back to the childlike days of 1963, and remember fondly just how innocent it was and too, how much fun these days were. Remember? This was back in the days when teenagers who possessed a 45 rpm record was like currency was to adults. As a teenager, you carried these singles proudly like gold, and if you were lucky, you just may have had one of the few EP's, those extended play 45's with four and perhaps more tracks. These were the days when singles cost about twenty-five cents, which is all most teenagers could afford. Albums, or LPs as they were commonly referred to in the 50s and 60s, were generally beyond the financial reach of most teenagers. Generally, most LPs cost between three and four dollars, which was only for mono. If the stereo version was available, it cost one dollar more - -much too expensive for most.

This album was The Beatles debut album, released on March 22, 1963 in the United Kingdom. Had it not been for the total faith of George Martin in The Beatles, they never would have had an album released, at least not this soon. The Beatles had two singles released in the United Kingdom prior to this album. They were: Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You on October 5, 1962, followed by Please Please Me/ Ask Me Why on January 11, 1963. With their moderate success, and not having conquered America yet, they actually did not warrant an album. During these times in the early sixties, the only performers who were allowed the artistic freedom to record albums with any songs they liked were Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. All the other performers did albums that were supported by their one hit song, or perhaps a film soundtrack. If you go back and look at all the pop albums from this period, they generally consisted of their one hit combined with merely filler songs. It is also true that many times some of these filler or hackwork songs came to be bigger hits than the original hit for which the album was made.

During this same time period in the United States, The Beatles had released only one single prior to their first album, which was Please Please Me / Ask Me Why released on February 25, 1963. The United States counterpart to The Beatles first UK album was on Vee-Jay records titled, Introducing The Beatles. The albums were different not only in title but also in picture and design, with the US version having only twelve tracks to the UK's fourteen.

What makes this US release even more fascinating is that the two songs that were left off were Please Please Me / Ask Me Why. I guess since Vee-Jay had released these on the single earlier, they felt it was not necessary to include them here. The US album's cover reads exactly, "Introducing The Beatles, England's No.1 Vocal Group." I guess not too many people have this album or have perhaps have seen it. I am fortunate, I feel, to have a copy, as well as have the stereo version. When EMI released the CD version of "Please Please Me" they chose to release it in the mono version, and as of this writing in the year 2001, the stereo version has not been released, other than on the original vinyl.

When EMI released the original debut album "Please Please Me," they wrote on the cover, "The Beatles - -Please Please Me with Love Me Do and 12 other songs." This idea was that which supports the sixties thinking that albums had to contain and support previous single hits.

Of the fourteen tracks on "Please Please Me," only eight were written by The Beatles, that is, Lennon and McCartney. As with all my articles on The Beatles in this column, only those actually written by The Beatles are cited herein with the lyrics. One of the amazing facts about this album, especially by today's recording standards, is that ten of the fourteen tracks were recorded and completed in one day, on February 11, 1963 in a 15-hour session. This was more of a standard operational fact in the record business during this time, as the companies wanted to ensure the LP reached the teenage market as soon as possible, hopefully before the group died out. They didn't know it then, but this was certainly the last thing to worry about with The Beatles. But still, this album was a risk, because at the time of it's release, The Beatles had not yet had a number one hit. We can all credit George Martin for having the insight to believe in The Beatles. It is true however, that George Martin at this moment in time, believed that rock n'roll was a thing of the past, and would not last much longer. This is one of the reasons The Beatles included six songs written and previously recorded by others on this album.

When this album was recorded, it was done so on a two-track recorder at Abbey Road. When George Martin mixed the album, it was done first in mono, then a very rudimentary stereo version. Audiophiles, or more exactly, stereophiles today are still requesting a stereo version CD of this album. But, The Beatles themselves thought that their mono versions captured their true sound, and that these were the best representation of their work at the time, and George Martin agreed. Based on this, I think that if The Beatles had been asked, which they weren't, whether to release this album CD in mono or stereo, they would have chosen the mono version.

Beatles discography

2009-05-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

The Beatles were a rock and pop band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and skiffle, the group worked with different musical genres, ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, style and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. After the band broke up in 1970, all four members embarked upon successful solo careers.

The Beatles were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music, selling over one billion records internationally. In the United Kingdom, The Beatles released more than 40 different singles, albums, and EPs that reached number one, earning more number one albums (15) than any other group in UK chart history. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, The Beatles have sold more albums in the United States than any other band. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Beatles number one in its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. According to that same magazine, The Beatles' innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s, and their influence on pop culture is still evident today. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of top-selling Hot 100 artists to celebrate the chart's fiftieth anniversary; The Beatles topped it.

The Beatles discography:

East Coast Invasion - Audiobook
Love
Maximum Beatles
Let It Be... Naked
Magical and Mystical Words
Compact Disc EP Collection
The Beatles 1
1962 Live at the Star Club in Hamburg
Things We Said Today
Savage Young Beatles
Yellow Submarine Songtrack
Quote Unquote, Vol. 2
Beatles Tapes, Vol. 4: Hong Kong '64
The Beatles Anthology: 3
The Beatles Tapes [Two-CD Interview]
The Beatles Anthology: 2
The Savage Young Beatles in Hamburg 1961: A Musical Biography
Beatles Tapes, Vol. 3: The 1964 World Tour
Inside Interviews
Beatlemania
Beatles: In Their Own Words - A Rockumentary
Dark Horse: The Secret Life of George Harrison
Things We Said Today: Talking with the Beatles
Lost Beatles Interviews
Paul McCartney: Beyond the Myth
John Lennon Forever
The Beatles Anthology: 1
Live at the BBC
Here There and Everywhere
Beatles Tapes, Vol. 2: Early Beatlemania 1963-1964
Compact Disc Singles Collection
The Beatles Box Set [1992]
Not a Second Time
The Beatles Box Set [1988]
Past Masters Volume Two
Past Masters Volume One
West Coast Invasion!
Live in Hamburg 1962
In the Beginning: The Early Tapes
Let It Be
Abbey Road
The Beatles [White Album]
The White Album
Magical Mystery Tour
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Revolver
Rubber Soul
Help!
Beatles For Sale
A Hard Day's Night
With The Beatles
Please Please Me

The Beatles on Youtube

2009-05-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

The Beatles - Something (1969)

Help! - The Beatles

The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down (1969)