The Beatles

On November 16, 2010, after years of bitter wrangling and legal disputes, the entire Beatles catalog of thirteen studio albums, Past Masters and the Red and Blue greatest-hits albums were released for digital distribution on Apple, Inc.'s iTunes. The tracks were made available as either complete album purchases or individual downloads`. At the same time, a rare video recording of the fab four's first US concert (1964) was also released for purchase as part of a digital "boxed set" of the entire catalogue - and, for a limited time, for free streaming as well.

On September 9th, 2009, Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games released The Beatles: RockBand music video game, including 45 digitally remixed Beatles songs (additional tracks have since become available as downloads). On the same day, after a painstaking four-year-long digital remastering process, the core Beatles catalogue was reissued, including the Past Masters compilation of rare and non-album tracks. Three months later, the catalogue was released digitally for the first time on an official, limited edition run of 30,000 USB flash drives - in both FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), an open and royalty-free digital format, and the more widely used MP3 format (a patented audio encoding process of lesser quality). The Beatles had finally entered the digital age - with a bang!

In 2009, the Recording Industry Association of America certified that The Beatles have sold more albums in the United States than any other recording artist/s in history.

In 2008, Billboard magazine celebrated the U.S. singles chart's fiftieth anniversary by releasing a comprehensive list of the all-time top-selling Hot 100 artists - and the Beatles ranked number one - followed by Madonna, Elton John, Elvis Presley and Stevie Wonder. Paul McCartney and Wings came in at #11, the only former Beatle to make the Top 100.

The Beatles' 2006 compilation/remix album, Love, was their first album available in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound (as a DVD audio disc). Although not officially credited to The Beatles, the album won two GRAMMY Awards - which were shared by George & Giles Martin as producers and Paul Hicks and Tim Young, engineers.

Although the GRAMMY website only shows The Beatles as having won a total of 7 GRAMMY Awards - including three in 1996 for new recordings and music videos connected with The Beatles Anthology series - other sources, not counting individual, post-Beatle awards, credit the band with anywhere from 12 to 20 Grammies (often depending on what is defined as a Beatles award and what is considered an individual award).

The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 with part of their bio stating that they "startled the ears and energized the lives of virtually all who heard them. Their arrival triggered the musical revolution of the Sixties, introducing a modern sound and viewpoint that parted ways" with the past. John Lennon [1994], Paul McCartney [1999], George Harrison [2004] and producer George Martin [1999] have each been inducted individually as well. Unfortunately, the band's induction ceremony was marred by the ongoing, acrimonious peevishness which has tortured their fans since the 1970's. Paul McCartney refused to attend, leaving George, Ringo and Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, to be inducted by fellow British legend Mick Jagger. McCartney released a brief statement that read: "After 20 years, the Beatles still have some business differences which I had hoped would have been settled by now. Unfortunately, they haven't been, so I would feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion."

On Sunday, June 25, 1967, The Beatles took part in the first live, international, globally linked satellite television broadcast in history - the Our World (International TV special). They sang their newest song, "All You Need Is Love", live (along with a prerecorded backing track) for the largest television audience ever up to that time - an estimated 400-700 million people worldwide. The two-and-a-half hour BBC/Eurovision program included creative artists representing nineteen different nations - each performing or appearing in separate segments featuring their respective countries. It was an incredibly complex undertaking - involving control rooms in over 31 countries around the world, three satellites (Intelsat I, Intelsat II, and ATS-1), over 1.5 million km of cable and some ten thousand technicians, producers, translators and staff. Although the agreed upon ground rules (everything had to be live and no politicians or heads of state must be seen) attempted to depoliticize the event, given the tumultuous times, it was an imposable task. Four days before the broadcast, the Eastern Bloc countries, led by the Soviet Union, dropped out over the West's response to the "Six Day" Middle Eastern war - darkening a significant portion of the global audience. The broadcast was also taking place at the height of the Vietnam War and The Beatles wanted to convey a positive message of peace, hope and love. Their performance, transmitted live to the universe at 8:54 p.m. GMT, included some famous friends invited to help create a festive atmosphere and join in on the chorus'. Among the fortunate few were Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Moon, The Small Faces, Michael Nesmith and Graham Nash.

On March 28, 1964, The Beatles became the first rock and roll artists to be immortalized in London's famed Madame Tussauds waxwork museum. Dougie Millings, the group's personal tailor (who appeared as such in A Hard Day's Night), supplied the original collarless "Beatle suits" for the first set of wax figures. Because of the rapid-fire image changes the band went through, however, the museum had to regularly update both the statues hair and wardrobe styles - although currently, the display has returned to showcasing "the boys" in their initial 1964 "fab four", "Beatle-suited" fashion. Forty-one years later (2005), after being rediscovered in a back room at Madame Tussauds, four waxwork heads of The Beatles were sold at auction for approximately $150,000. Three of the four heads, on loan from the waxwork museum, were used by artist Peter Blake in 1967 as part the backdrop for the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. The busts of John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr can be seen on the left side of the iconic cover, wearing conservative dark suits and ties. A different, albeit similar, waxwork head of Paul McCartney was used for his figure in the photo shoot. In July of the following year, the guitar on which Paul strummed his first chords to impress John Lennon, was auctioned as well - for over $600,000.

The Beatles final film, Let It Be (1970), won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score, their only Academy Award.

On October 16, 1965, all four Beatles were appointed "Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire" (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. Although the awards were justifiably based on the band's enormous economic contribution to Great Britain, which was in line with precedent, several previous recipients felt that the award was somehow "demeaned", and returned theirs publically. Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who recommended them for the honor, admitted that it was more than money which motivated him : "I saw the Beatles as having a transforming effect on the minds of youth, mostly for the good. It kept a lot of kids off the streets. They introduced many, many young people to music, which in itself was a good thing. A lot of old-stagers might have regarded it as idiosyncratic music, but the Mersey sound was a new, important thing. That's why they deserved such recognition."

The Beatles, as a singular entity, were included in Time magazine's compilation of the twentieth century's 100 most influential people. In a special issue, "TIME 100: Heroes & Icons of the 20th Century", the Beatles were referred to as "the world's most astonishing rock-'n'-roll band."

On August 14, 2005, each of the four Beatles was featured on the cover of TV Guide. The four issues have become collectors items.

As a group, The Beatles have appeared in a number of films: Starring Roles: A Hard Day's Night (1964), Help! (1965), Magical Mystery Tour (1967) and Yellow Submarine (1968 ) - although they only appeared briefly and their animated personas were voiced by others. Documentaries: Myriad concerts and television programs were recorded by The Beatles over the years, most as-of-yet available only via bootlegs. The cream of those that have surfaced : The Beatles Live - Ready, Steady, Go! (1964), The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit (1964/1991), The Beatles at Shea Stadium (1965/1966), Let It Be (1969) and The Beatles Anthology (1995/1996).

Three members of The Beatles have appeared on The Simpsons: Ringo Starr appeared first, in Brush with Greatness (Season 2). Three years later, George Harrison appeared in Homer's Barbershop Quartet (Season 5). Paul and Linda McCartney) appeared in Lisa the Vegetarian (Season 7).

In 2000, VH1 named "The 100 Greatest Rock Songs" and The Beatles had 9 of the top 79: 9 - "Hey Jude" 12 - "Yesterday" 20 - "A Day In The Life" 23 - "I Want To Hold Your Hand" 32 - "Let It Be" 57 - "Twist And Shout" 59 - "She Loves You" 61 - "Strawberry Fields Forever" 79 - "A Hard Day's Night"

In November of 2003 Rolling Stone magazine published a list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time" and The Beatles placed 11 albums on the list: 1 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 3 - Revolver 5 - Rubber Soul 10 - The Beatles ("The White Album") 14 - Abbey Road 39 - Please Please Me 59 - Meet The Beatles (U.S. release) 86 - Let It Be 332 - Help! 388 - A Hard Day's Night 420 - With The Beatles

On Monday, April 5, 1964, The Beatles were in Marylebone Station, London, filming the opening sequence for A Hard Day's Night, where frenzied fans charge after the lads through the train station and down the street (Boston Place). The scene, which is shown at the very beginning of the film during the titles, is meant to showcase Beatlemania in action. Meanwhile, back in the United States, some eight weeks after the Beatles first landed in New York City, real Beatlemania continued unabated. During the week of April 4, 1964, The Beatles held the top five spots on Billboard's "Hot 100" singles chart - simultaneously! Amazingly, seven other Beatle songs were also listed on the "Hot 100" that week. Neither feat has ever been accomplished by any other artist, ever: 1 - "Can't Buy Me Love" (Capitol) 2 - "Twist and Shout" (Tollie) 3 - "She Loves You" (Swan) 4 - "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (Capitol) 5 - "Please Please Me" (Vee Jay) 31 - "I Saw Her Standing There" (Capitol) 41 - "From Me To You" (Vee Jay) 46 - "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" (Vee Jay) 58 - "All My Loving" (Capitol) 65 - "You Can't Do That" (Capitol) 68 - "Roll Over Beethoven" (Capitol) 79 - "Thank You Girl" (Vee Jay) Additionally, two Beatle tribute records were charting : "We Love You Beatles" by The Carefrees (#42) and "A Letter to the Beatles" by The Four Preps (#85) - giving the Fabs 14 of the top 85 spots. At the same time, they also had the top two albums in the country : Meet The Beatles (Capitol) and Introducing … The Beatles (Vee Jay). Not to be embarrassed by the colonies, UK fans saw to it that The Beatles had the #1 single and the #1 and #3 LP's there, as well.

Saturday Night Live had a running joke in the 1970s, where producer Lorne Michaels would appear on camera, and invite the Beatles to reunite for one more set on the show, for the handsome sum of $3200 (later upped to $3500). The joke spoofed both the grandiose offers made by Sid Bernstein and other promoters to the Beatles to perform again through those years, and the relatively small budget SNL was given to bring on top musical acts. On one show, Johnand Paul (who was visiting John in New York) happened to be watching, and nearly rode down to the studio, just for a laugh. George Harrison did appear on another night; a mock argument happened on camera when he was told he couldn't collect the whole fee, since the offer was only for the whole band.

Their infamous "butcher cover" for the Yesterday and Today album originated from the Beatles' disdain for photo sessions in general and, in particular, for the way Capitol Records in America tended to "butcher" their British LPs in repackaging (Capitol's habit was to skim tracks off albums and release them, perhaps with a stereo mix of their newest single, as the latest "Beatles" album - ignoring the continuity and care that the band and producer George Martin had put into crafting the English versions). Raucous protests over the "butcher shop" cover from fans, parents and radio DJ's forced Capitol to recall the album and re-release it with a different (albeit horrid) cover. Soon afterwards, they also changed their policy and ceased editing the British LP's, releasing all future albums (other than Magical Mystery Tour, which they only added to) as The Beatles intended them to be released.

George Harrison nearly missed The Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show appearance, because he'd come down with the flu. He spent much of their rehearsal time sick in bed at the hotel and only made the show after a doctor came to their suite and administered enough medication to get him through the performance.

According to recent figures, The Beatles had more number one albums on the UK charts (15) and held down the top spot longer (174 weeks) than any other musical act ever.

A Brief Beatle Primer : In 1957, John Lennon formed a band called "The Quarrymen". Paul McCartney, who knew the words to all the key songs, joined shortly thereafter and young George Harrison, who knew some Chuck Berry licks and could play "Raunchy" note-for-note, joined them in early-1958. By the fall of 1959, they had changed their name several times, before settling briefly on "Johnny and the Moondogs", with Lennon being the obvious leader. By January, 1960, Lennon's good friend, Stuart Sutcliffe, joined up as the bass player. Although he couldn't really play very well, he could afford a bass guitar and a big amplifier and he looked really cool in a James Dean kind of way, and that was good enough. The band kept evolving and changing its name, trying out "The Silver Beats", and later, "The Silver Beatles". Then, in August, 1960, in order to land a paying gig at a "strip joint" in Hamburg, Germany, they auditioned and hired drummer Pete Best and settled on calling themselves simply "The Beatles". In Hamburg they played their asses off and learned how to "mach schau". And the rest, as they say, is history.

The Beatles initial 1962 recording contract with Parlophone Records (a division of EMI) was for a series of singles - at a minimal royalty rate. After "Please Please Me" became a hit, however, EMI gave them a full five-year contract for singles and albums - with better royalties. When it expired in 1967, Brian Epstein negotiated a new deal for "the boys" just before he died. With those basic terms fulfilled by late-1969, Allen Klein was able to get The Beatles the highest royalty rate ever paid up to that time - a whopping 69¢ per album. John Lennon had already effectively quit the band, but he agreed to keep mum about it until the deal was completed. A few months later, as his first solo album was being released, Paul McCartney announced his departure and The Beatles were history.

Chronological List of Beatles Primary Sound Recording Releases 1962 (1-5). . . . . . . . . My Bonnie/The Saints (Single) - Tony Sheridan/The Beatles 1963 (3-22). . . . . . . . Please Please Me - Parlophone (LP) 1963 (4-11). . . . . . . . From Me to You/Thank You Girl - Parlophone (Single) 1963 (7-12). . . . . . . . My Bonnie (Polydor EP) - Tony Sheridan/The Beatles 1963 (8-23). . . . . . . . She Loves You/I'll Get You - Parlophone (Single) 1963 (11-22). . . . . . . With The Beatles - Parlophone (LP) 1964 (June). . . . . . . . .The Beatles First (Tony Sheridan) - Polydor (German LP) 1964 (6-19). . . . . . . . Long Tall Sally - Parlophone (EP) 1964 (7-10). . . . . . . . A Hard Day's Night - Parlophone (LP) 1964 (11-27). . . . . . . I Feel Fine/She's a Woman - Parlophone (Single) 1964 (12-4). . . . . . . . Beatles for Sale - Parlophone (LP) 1965 (8-6). . . . . . . . . Help! - Parlophone (LP) 1965 (12-3). . . . . . . . We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper - Parlophone (Single) 1965 (12-3). . . . . . . . Rubber Soul - Parlophone (LP) 1966 (6-10). . . . . . . . Paperback Writer/Rain - Parlophone (Single) 1966 (8-5). . . . . . . . . Revolver - Parlophone (LP) 1967 (6-1). . . . . . . . . Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Parlophone (LP) 1967 (11-27). . . . . . . Magical Mystery Tour - Capitol (LP) 1968 (3-15). . . . . . . . Lady Madonna/The Inner Light - Parlophone (Single) 1968 (8-26). . . . . . . . Hey Jude/Revolution - Parlophone (Single) 1968 (11-22). . . . . . . The Beatles (White Album) - Parlophone (LP) 1969 (1-13). . . . . . . . Yellow Submarine - Parlophone (LP) 1969 (5-30). . . . . . . . Ballad of John & Yoko/Old Brown Shoe - Parlophone (Single) 1969 (9-26). . . . . . . . Abbey Road - Parlophone (LP) 1970 (3-6). . . . . . . . . Let It Be/You Know My Name - Parlophone (Single) 1970 (5-8 ). . . . . . . . .Let It Be - Parlophone (LP) 1977 (April). . . . . . . . Live at the Star-Club - Hamburg, 1962 - Bellaphon (German LP) 1977 (5-4). . . . . . . . . The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl - Parlophone (LP) 1988 (3-7). . . . . . . . . Past Masters - Parlophone (CD) 1994 (11-30). . . . . . . Live at the BBC - Parlophone (CD) 1995 (11-21). . . . . . . The Beatles Anthology 1 - Parlophone (2 CD) 1995 (12-4). . . . . . . . Free As A Bird - Parlophone (EP CD) 1996 (3-4). . . . . . . . . Real Love - Parlophone (EP CD) 1996 (3-18 ) . . . . . . . The Beatles Anthology 2 - Parlophone (2 CD) 1996 (10-28 ) . . . . . . The Beatles Anthology 3 - Parlophone (2 CD) 2003 (11-17). . . . . . . Let It Be... Naked - Parlophone (CD) 2006 (11-20). . . . . . . Love - Parlophone (CD/DVD-Audio) (All dates for UK releases (except Capitol/Polydor), only non-LP singles incl)