The Beatles

History	Lists	Beatle Lessons	"Songs of The Beatles" books
Record Release Orientation    The Original UK Releases    US Releases (history of)  Types of Records    Singles (45s)    EPs    LPs	CDs of original LPs  UK Releases    Singles ("45"s)    EPs (names & contents)    LPs (names)    LPs (names & contents)  US Releases    Singles ("45"s)    EPs    LPs (names & contents)	Please Please Me Period   With The Beatles Period   Beatle Lessons overview	Ken Westover has written a 12-volume series of books about the music of the Beatles. He divided the Beatles' career into Periods, one for each of the original albums, then wrote a book about each. Click here for an overview of the series. For details about a particular book or Period, click on the album of interest in the 'Quick links to Period pages' bar below.

Record Release Orientation

The Original UK Releases

US Releases

The Beatles were a British band who recorded and released records in the UK. At that time, no British band had ever had a hit record in the US. Songs released in the UK were often screened by US labels for possible release in the US, but few were selected. In other words, in 1962, there was a bias in the US against UK recording artists.

The Beatles had a recording contract with Parlophone. Parlophone was one of several record labels owned by a large UK company called EMI. EMI also owned a US record label, Capitol Records. As a result of this relationship, Capitol had the first opportunity to decide whether or not it wanted to release a Beatles record in the US (the "right of first refusal").

Capitol turned down the Beatles first three singles ('Love Me Do', 'Please Please Me', 'From Me To You') and their first LP (Please Please Me). Brian Epstein and George Martin then had to find some other label to release Beatle records in the US. They eventually uncovered a small rhythm and blues label in Chicago to release them: Vee-Jay Records.

Capitol next turned down the Beatles 4th single ('She Loves You'). For various reasons (some colorful), Vee-Jay lost the rights to release any more Beatle songs. Epstein and Martin had to find another label to release 'She Loves You'. They found a small Philadelphia label: Swan Records.

By the time the Beatles released their 2nd LP (With The Beatles) and 5th single ('I Want To Hold Your Hand'), Beatlemania was spilling over into the US. Capitol could no longer ignore the Beatles. They began releasing Beatle songs in the US starting with the single 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'.

Although EMI owned Capitol, Capitol was given a completely free hand in deciding what to release and how. Capitol would receive master tapes of Beatle songs from Parolphone. Capitol would then re-package and release them in what they thought was the most commercially successful way. In some cases, songs were re-mixed by Capitol to give them a more "American" sound. The Beatles had no influence or control over this process until 1968, when The Beatles (the "White Album") became the first US LP to be identical to the UK original.

Types of Records

The "single", also called a "45" because it rotated at the 45 revolutions per minute (rpm) setting on the record player, featured one song on each side. A 45 had two sides, designated as the "side-A" and "side-B". The song being promoted by the record company (considered the most "commercial") was placed on the A-side, and was the side most likely to be played on the radio. A single in the UK and US were similar in most ways - the "hit" song was on the A-side and both spun at 45 rpm. However, the center of a UK 45 came with a center that could optionally fit over a narrow or wide spindle. A 45 was usually refered to by the name of the song on the A-side.

An Extended Play (EP) record was the same as 45 except there was more than one song per side. It sold for more than a 45 but less than an LP. An EP had a title like an LP, which was sometimes the name of the most commercial song on the EP. The EP format never caught on in the US, although three Beatle EPs were released there.

A Long-Playing (LP) record was physically larger than an EP or 45, and contained more songs. Further, an LP rotated at 33 and 1/3 rpms. An LP was the most expensive of the three records. It had a title, sometimes taking the name of the most commercial song on the LP.