Yesterday (January 10th) marked the 60th anniversary of the first Beatles album released in the U.S.
With Capitol Records here having passed on putting out the first British Beatles album, Please Please Me, which they had the right do through their connection with EMI/Parlophone in the U.K., the album came out on Vee-Jay Records, a small, Black-owned, independent label based in Chicago. It was given its new title, and two cuts from the British release including the original title track were left off it, although both would come out on singles.
But although the masters were sent to Vee-Jay in the spring of 1963, due to financial difficulties at the label, it would be months until they actually released it under what initially was supposed to be a five-year deal — which after litigation by EMI/Capitol would be reduced to just a few months. As it turned out, Capitol released its first Beatles single, “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” 16 days before Introducing… hit the streets.
The band’s second U.S. album, Meet the Beatles, followed just 10 days later, and their February 9th appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show kicked off Beatlemania in the U.S. Songs on Introducing… include the number-one single “Love Me Do,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and their cover of The Isley Brothers‘ “Twist and Shout.”
Introducing…The Beatles on Vee-Jay would peak at number-two in Billboard and sell over 1.3 million copies. It was certified both gold and platinum in 2014. Capitol would reissue the album until the title The Early Beatles in 1964.
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