Vee Jay albums had the great pleasure of releasing the
very first Beatles album in the United States on January 27, 1964. The name is,
Introducing… The Beatles. Vee Jay records did not always publish British boy bands.
They were a successful black company that made its fame and fortune off of
R&B, blues, and soul records. Then in 1962, they had a chance to release a number
one British single by Frank Ifield in the United States called “I Remember You”.
In addition to them releasing that single, they accepted a five year contract
with a British band, not known by anyone, known as The Beatles.
In the beginning, The Beatles did not have that much
attention in the US at all. Their first single that was released did not even
make the top 100 billboards for pop. Vee Jay records also spelled their band
name wrong as ‘The Beattles.’ After, they finally released another single with
their band name spelled correctly. The single, ‘From Me to You/Thank You Girl’,
made it to #116 on the billboard for pop music.
Vee Jay records finally decided to release a Beatles
album in July of 1964. That album will later bring much attention to their
record company. Once the decision was made to release the album, a lot of drama
erupted in the company. Many people quit who held the higher positions in the
company. Also, Capital Records, who were the record company for the Frank
Ifield, were creating problems for the release in the United States. They felt
that because The Beatles piggy backed with Frank Ifield, that Vee Jay did not have
the right to release the album. Vee Jay records felt that was not the case so
they proceeded with the album.
Capitol Records still had some control of The Beatles.
They offered a $50,000 contract that Vee Jay could not pass up.
The album was rush released on January 6, 1964. The
single, “Please Please Me” was also re-released and became more popular than it
had on its original release date. Vee Jay records beat Capitol records by a few
days with their release of “Meet the Beatles.”
This action was not unnoticed by The Capitol. They quickly
filed many law suits against Vee Jay. After many suits and countersuits being
files, the courts ruled against Vee Jay records because of their use of the
songs “Love Me Do” and P.S I Love You.” Vee Jay quickly replaced those songs
with “Please Please Me” and “Ask Me Why.” The new version of the album was
released on January 27, 1964.
The Beatles have since been a phenomenon in pop music.
There is rarely one person that does not know who that group is.
The Beatles are such an influential group in pop culture. They had a movement that was not just throughout their country, but international. I still love The Beatles, almost thirty years since their last song. It was interesting reading their beginning because they did not start fast. They had to develop as artists and they turned into the pop and rock music kings. Capitol Records really got their hands on a music gem that will be treasured for all time.
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