The Beatles' North American releases

The Beatles experienced huge popularity on the British record charts in early 1963, but record companies in the United States did not immediately follow up the Beatles' successes in the United Kingdom with releases of their own, and even once they began to do so, the Beatles' commercial success in the US continued to be hampered by other obstacles including issues with royalties and public derision toward the "Beatle haircut".

It was nearly a year before a five-minute news story about Beatlemania in the UK, shown on the CBS Evening News on 10 December 1963, led to a teenage girl making an airplay request to a local radio station, which in turn sparked a sequence of events leading to the rush-release of the single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the group's commercial breakthrough.

In the United States, Capitol Records modified the Beatles' albums from their original configurations, altering track listings and artwork. This was done because albums released in the US contained fewer tracks, typically no more than 11 or 12, compared to albums released in the United Kingdom due to differences in the method that publishing royalties were calculated in the two countries. Also, in the American market it was expected for albums to include the current hit single, whereas British albums typically did not duplicate songs released as singles. This resulted in 11 albums being released by Capitol from 1964 to 1966, culled from seven UK albums and various singles. This trend in the Beatles' American discography continued until 1967 when a new recording contract with EMI was signed. Dissatisfied with how Capitol in the US and other companies around the world were issuing their work in almost unrecognizable forms, beginning in 1967 the Beatles gained full approval of album titles and cover art, track listing and running order in North America. Starting with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band the Beatles' albums were released unmodified. Capitol stopped production of the US versions in the early 1980s and after the remaining inventory was sold off, the original UK LPs were released in the US in 1987.

EMI first offered US distribution of the Beatles' records to their American subsidiary, Capitol Records, in 1962. After Capitol declined, a five-year agreement was reached with Vee-Jay Records, an independent (mostly rhythm and blues) label based in Chicago, as part of a deal for the rights to another EMI artist, Frank Ifield. The first Beatles single released by Vee-Jay was "Please Please Me" in February 1963. Art Roberts, music director of popular Chicago radio station WLS, placed "Please Please Me" into radio rotation in late February, arguably the first time a Beatles record was heard on American radio. Radio personality Dick Biondi was the first to play the record on his show. "Please Please Me" reached number 35 on WLS's weekly survey but failed to chart nationally. Vee-Jay released "From Me to You" in May 1963 which reached number 33 at radio station KRLA in Los Angeles, where Biondi was now working. The single "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 116, however, in August Vee-Jay's rights to the Beatles were cancelled by EMI for non-payment of royalties.

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