|
SIDE ONE "I Saw Her Standing There" "Misery" "Anna (Go to Him)" "Chains" "Boys" "Love Me Do" ("Ask Me Why" on Version 2)
SIDE TWO "P.S. I Love You" ("Please Please Me" on Version 2) "Baby It's You" "Do You Want to Know a Secret" "A Taste of Honey" "There's a Place" "Twist and Shout"
While the group were high on the British charts, a well known Chicago label would find interest and license the music for release in the United States. Vee Jay were known primarily for blues, R&B, and gospel, and often dabbled in world music for a bit of "non-urban" sales, so releasing a then-unknown group based on what was going on across the ocean seemed like an odd choice.
When Vee Jay released "Please Please Me" single, the label incorrectly credited them as "The Beattles". It would soon become the first Beatles collectible. As for the record, it went nowhere.
The label released "From Me To You"/"Thank You Girl" a few months later, which was the group's second UK single and part of the deal Vee Jay had with EMI. It was on the Billboard charts for a full three weeks, going as high as #116.
The songs on INTRODUCING THE BEATLES consisted of songs from their PLEASE PLEASE ME album. Back then the British "pop" norm was 14 songs on an album. In the U.S. it was 12, so two songs were removed. The album was a complete flop, and it quickly went out of print.
It would take the arrival of the group in the U.S., and Beatlemania, for Vee Jay to reissue the album, this time with a slightly different lineup (two songs replaced by two others). Now that people knew who John, Paul, George, and Ringo were, it pushed the album up to #2.
Vee Jay only had the rights to a few songs, but that didn't stop them from using the same exact songs and releasing them as singles, EP's, and albums, including JOLLY WHAT! THE BEATLES AND FRANK IFIELD ON STAGE, THE BEATLES VS. THE FOUR SEASONS, and SONGS, PICTURES AND STORIES OF THE FABULOUS BEATLES. By the time their license had expired, Vee Jay earned more money than everything in their entire catalog combined.
JOHN BOOK'S MYSPACE http://www.myspace.com/crutmusic
THE RUN-OFF GROOVE http://www.musicforamerica.org/node/114473
BOOK'S MUSIC Podcast http://booksmusic.podomatic.com/
THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/index.php?vst=45730
|