The Beatles
The first Beatle to record a solo Number one hit was George Harrison with “My Sweet Lord” in January 1971
The bass drum head with the Beatles logo that Ringo Starr used during the band's first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show was bought by a memorabilia collector in the mid-1990s for around $50,000. By 2006, it's estimated value had risen to half-a-million dollars.
John Lennon named his band the Beatles after Buddy Holly's 'Crickets.'
The contract that made Brian Epstein the Beatles' manager was never really valid. Both Paul and George were under 21 at the time and needed a legal guardian to sign. Epstein himself never signed the document at all.
In 1967, under Britain's open-ended tax system, The Beatles were in the 96% tax bracket.
John Lennon sang into a condom-covered microphone to protect himself from electric shocks while trying to achieve an underwater sound for The Beatles hit "Yellow Submarine," but they never used the zany recording
The album simply titled "The Beatles", which most fans call The White Album, was originally slated to be named "A Doll's House". That title was scrapped after the British progressive band Family released an album earlier in 1968, bearing a similar title.
In 2000 George Michael paid £1.45m for the Steinway piano on which John Lennon wrote 'Imagine.'
In 1972, "Let It Be" was the first Beatles' song to be released in the Soviet Union.
When the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th, 1964, producers received over 50,000 applications for the 728 seats in the TV studio.
January 2002, George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" replaced Aaliyah's "More Than A Woman" at #1 - the only time that a deceased artist has taken over from another deceased artist at #1
Faced with the Beatles' breakup, Paul McCartney told the others he wanted the band to get back to its roots and tour little clubs. John Lennon said he was nuts.
Stu Sutcliffe was their first bass player
In 1962 a contest was held by the Mersyside Newspaper to see who was the most popular band in Liverpool. The Beatles won the contest by calling in and posing as different people voting for themselves.
The Beatles' last concert tour appearance was a 33-minute performance at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on Monday August 29th, 1966. The Park's capacity was 42,500 but the Beatles only filled 25,000 seats, leaving entire sections unsold. The last song they played was not even one of their own tunes. It was Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally".
At the end of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life," an ultrasonic whistle, audible only to dogs, was recorded by Paul McCartney for his old English sheepdog "Martha".
Among those who sang the chorus of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" were Marianne Faithful, Graham Nash, Jane Asher, Patti Boyd, Keith Moon and Mick Jagger.
The first time that Dick Clark heard a Beatles' record he said, "I don't know what the heck you're so excited about...it'll never fly."
The mighty final chord of The Beatles' "A Day In The Life" was played by ten hands on three pianos simultaneously.
According to producer George Martin, the 60's Batman TV theme tune inspired George Harrison of the Beatles, to write the hit song "Taxman"
Andy White, who played drums on The Beatles' track "Love Me Do", which was included on the Beatles Greatest Hits album, did not earn any money in royalties from it. He only received his original session fee of £7 ($14 US), which is not even enough for him to buy his own copy of the album.
The Beatles played the Las Vegas Convention Center in 1964. Some 8,500 fans paid just $4 each for tickets.
George Martin, who produced The Beatles most successful recordings, first rose to prominence by recording comedy records.
John Lennon deliberately wrote nonsense words to "I Am The Walrus" to throw off listeners who tried to find hidden meanings in his lyrics.
The blistering guitar lead in George Harrison's song, "Taxman" is the exact same guitar part heard at the ending fade of the song. It was copied and re-recorded onto the end.
The first Beatles song to chart with Billboard in the U.S. was “From Me To You” on 8/3/63 released by Vee Jay Records. They would not hit Billboard’s chart again until 1/18/64 when “I Want To Hold Your Hand” entered the chart at #45
The Beatles first North American release was “Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You” a Capitol of Canada 45 released on 2/4/63
Frank Sinatra used to refer to "Something" as his favorite Lennon-McCartney song. However, it is a George Harrison composition
In the first two years after the Beatles fired drummer Pete Best, they would gross over 24 million dollars. Best went to work as a baker, earning 8 pounds a week.
The Beatles song "Martha My Dear" was written by Paul McCartney about his sheepdog Martha.
When Paul McCartney wants to play some of his old Beatles' hits in concert, he must pay a royalty fee to Michael Jackson, who bought the publishing rights for $47.5 million in 1985.
After John Lennon made his unfortunate remarks about the Beatles being "more popular than Jesus", the Bishop of Montreal, the Rt. Rev. Kenneth Maguire said: "I wouldn't be surprised if The Beatles actually were more popular than Jesus. In the only popularity poll in Jesus' time, he came out second best to Barabbas."
More than 2,500 cover versions of The Beatles' "Yesterday" exist, making it the most recorded song in history
The song title of the Beatles' "Penny Lane" is derived from the name of a street in the Beatle's hometown of Liverpool.
Julian Lennon was the first Beatle child, born on April 8, 1963
In October, 1963, when New York disc jockey Murray “the K” Kaufman played five records for his audience to vote on, The Beatles’ “She Loves You” came in third, behind a Four Seasons single and something called “Coney Island Baby” by The Excellents.
The inspiration for the line "I read the news today, oh boy, four thousand holes in Blackburn Lancashire" in The Beatles' song "A Day In The Life" came to John Lennon after he read a newspaper article about a plan to fill 4,000 potholes in the roads of the Northwestern English town of Blackburn.
The Beatles featured two left handed members, Paul and Ringo.
The first Beatles song to be influenced by Bob Dylan was “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, pretty interesting song.
The first time a satellite was used to broadcast something worldwide was the Beatles live performance of “All You Need Is Love” in June of 1967.
The first 'live' television satellite program to air worldwide was a two-hour show called Our World, in which The Beatles performed "All You Need is Love" on June 25, 1967.
The first person to appear ♫On The Cover Of The Rolling Stone♫ was John Lennon
John Lennon often expressed his dislike for Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister that he was named after. He felt so strongly that he had his middle name changed from Winston to Ono after he married Yoko.
In 1962 the Beatles made the group's TV debut performing Roy Orbison's "Dream Baby" on the BBC show "Teenager's Turn."
Although The Ed Sullivan Show was the first TV program in America to host the Beatles, it was not their first US TV appearance. On December 7, 1963, The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite featured footage of Beatles fans at a concert. The Beatles' first US television appearance was on The Jack Parr Show on January 4th, 1964 when Parr showed a film of the band playing "She Loves You".
Hey Jude is the Beatles' most commercially successful single.
Ringo Starr's solo recording career began in 1970, just before the break-up of the Beatles, with "Sentimental Journey", an album of pop standards said to have been recorded to please his mother.
“Can’t Buy Me Love” was the first record to sell a million copies before its release
George Harrison expressed his feelings about the break-up of The Beatles by saying: "The saddest thing was actually getting fed up with one another."
At age 14, George Harrison joined his friend Paul McCartney's band, the Quarry Men, led by John Lennon.
The first non-Beatles artist to hit the U.S. Billboard chart was Peter and Gordon with “A World Without Love” in May of 1964
The Beatles at one point were paying to work. Their taxes were over 100%.
The Beatles 4th UK #1 single, "Can't Buy Me Love", had advanced sales of over 2.1 million, setting the record for the greatest advanced orders in the UK.
John Lennon wrote the Beatles song "Dear Prudence" when Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, wouldn't "come out and play" with Mia and the Beatles at a religious retreat in India.
George’s first composition was “Don’t Bother Me”
The Beatles, with Pete Best on drums, made the group's TV debut performing Roy Orbison's 'Dream Baby' on the BBC show 'Teenager's Turn' in 1962.
In 1964, an acoustics expert from New South Wales University measured the noise level during a Beatles' concert at 112 decibels. That's between 10 and 20 decibels higher than a Boeing 707 jet flying at 2,000 feet.
The Beatles first U.K. #1 (on any chart) hit was “Please Please Me” on 3/2/63
The last time all four Beatles were ever together was in a recording studio during a mixing session for "Abbey Road" on August 20th, 1969.
Pete Best was their first drummer
When The Beatles' single "Ticket To Ride" was first issued, the fine print under the title said "From the United Artists Release Eight Arms To Hold You", which was the original name for the film Help!.
Including Ringo, there have been at least five drummers for The Beatles. Norman Chapman (for the Silver Beatles), Tommy Moore, Pete Best and Jimmy Nichol.
The first Beatles song to chart with Melody Maker in the U.K. was “Love Me Do” on 10/27/62
The first non-Beatles artist to hit the U.K.’s Melody Maker chart with a Beatles song was Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas with “Do You Want to Know a Secret” in May of 1963
John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in the basement of Jane Asher's house. She was Paul's girlfriend, to whom he would later become engaged to, but never married.
“Can’t Buy Me Love” was the Beatles first song with just one singer
After recording a number of demo songs on January 1st, 1962, The Beatles received a rejection letter from the Decca Recording Company that said "We don't like their sound and guitar music is on the way out."
For the "Yellow Submarine" movie, actors were used to voice the Beatles' lines.
While the Beatles were still struggling to establish themselves, they were turned down by five different British record companies.
Although many fans thought that the Beatles "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" was about LSD, John Lennon would later say that he got the inspiration for the song from a picture that his son Julian had painted at school.
Brian Epstein, a record store owner in London, was asked by a customer for a copy of the record, "My Bonnie", by a group known as The Silver Beatles. He didn’t have it in stock so he went to the Cavern Club to check out the group. He signed to manage them in a matter of days.
None of The Beatles played instruments on "Eleanor Rigby", though John Lennon and George Harrison did contribute harmony and backing vocals. Instead, Paul McCartney used a string octet of studio musicians, composed of four violins, two cellos, and two violas all working off a score written by producer George Martin.
When John Lennon's Aunt Mimi bought him his first guitar in the summer of 1956, he practiced constantly. As she watched him play hour after hour, day after day, she finally remarked "The guitar's all very well John, but you'll never make a living out of it."
Beatlemania! With the Beatles was the Beatles first album released in Canada and North America. It was issued by Capitol Records of Canada on 11/23/63
Throughout their career, Ringo received far more fan mail than any of the other Beatles.
The Beatles held the Top Five spots on the April 4th, 1964 Billboard singles chart. They're the only band that has ever done that.
Two songs were recorded by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Elvis: "That's Alright, Mama" and "Yesterday".
On Sunday, February 10th, 1964, the night that the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, an estimated 73 million viewers watched on TV, with over 45 percent of all sets in the US tuned in.
The first Beatles song to employ an outside musician was “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” EMI arranger, Johnnie Scott played the flute.
The First Beatle album to contain nothing but Lennon/McCartney compositions was A Hard Days Night
The Beatles first U.S. #1 hit with Billboard was “I Want To Hold Your Hand”. It reached #1 on 2/1/64, just 8 days before their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show
Keyboard player Billy Preston is the only studio musician to ever get credit on a Beatles' record.
None of The Beatles were invited to attend the private funeral of their manager Brian Epstein. They did however hold a memorial service for their former leader a few weeks later.
Allan Williams was the Beatles first manager
In February and March, 1964, The Beatles sold 60% of all the records sold in the U.S.
The Beatles first U.S. Concert was in Washington D.C.
Layla was written by Eric Clapton to steal George Harrison's wife, Patty Boyd Layla was the nickname Eric had given her.
Paul McCartney originally wrote the first two lines of "I Saw Her Standing There" as "She was just seventeen, Never been a beauty queen." When he sang it for John Lennon, both realized that it was a poor rhyme. Finally, it was John who came up with "She was just seventeen, you know what I mean", which they knew was a perfect sexual innuendo for the song.
“ I Feel Fine” contained the first intentional use of feedback (yes, it was intentional despite the press reporting it as a electronic mistake)
The first Beatles song with a faded-up intro was “Eight Days A Week”
“My Bonnie/The Saints” by Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers (The Beatles) was the first released record that the Beatles appeared on. It was released in October of 1961 and reached #5 on the German Hit Parade
John Lennon shoplifted one of his harmonicas from a store in Holland. He recorded 'Love Me Do' with it.
George was the first Beatles to visit America. He visited his sister, Louise, in Benton Illinois in September of 1963
Rolling Stones guitarist, Brian Jones, played oboe on "Baby You're A Rich Man" by the Beatles
Ten out of the fourteen songs which comprise the Beatles first album "Please Please me" were recorded in little over twelve hours.
The Beatles appear at the end of "The Yellow Submarine" in a short live action epilogue. Their voices for the cartoon movie were done by Paul Angelis (Ringo), Peter Batten (George), John Clive (John), and Geoffrey Hughes (Paul).
For their first two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Beatles were paid just $3500 per show. The expenses alone to bring them to America totaled over $50,000, which was paid for by their manager, Brian Epstein.
The first Lennon/McCartney song NOT about love was “Help”
Glen Campbell, the country star who had a string of hits that crossed over to the pop charts in the late sixties and seventies, began his career as a highly regarded session musician, playing on hits by the Monkees, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, the Association, the Mamas & the Papas, Rick Nelson, the Beach Boys and many others. In 1969, he sold more records than the Beatles and began a three year run hosting his own TV variety series. Despite all of his musical success, he can neither read or write music.
The Beatles were the first to do a stadium concert in August of 1965 from Shea Stadium
The Beatles recorded two different versions of the song "Strawberry Fields Forever". One was a half-tone higher and slightly faster than the other. The group couldn't decide which rendition they liked better and finally asked producer George Martin if he could put them together somehow. When one was slowed down, it fit perfectly with the other, resulting in the song we know today.
The Beatles holds the top spot of album sales in the US (106 million), followed by Garth Brooks second (92 million), Led Zeppelin (83 million), Elvis Presley (77 million), and the Eagles (65 million). Worldwide The Beatles sold more than 1 billion records.
In 1996, Ringo Starr appeared in a Japanese advertisement for apple sauce, which coincidentally is what "Ringo" means in Japanese
On The Beatles 1970, #1 hit, "The Long and Winding Road", Paul McCartney played the piano, and John Lennon played bass. George and Ringo do not appear on the track at all.
The Beatles performed their first U.S. concert in Carnegie Hall.
The first all acoustic Beatles song was “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”
Phil Collins was an extra during the filming of the first Beatles' movie, "A Hard Days Night".
When John Lennon divorced Julian Lennon's mother Cynthia, Paul McCartney composed the song "Hey Jude," to cheer Julian up.
Crosby, Stills and Nash asked Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and George Harrison to join their band. Neil Young who was asked fourth was the first to accept.
John Lennon wrote Good Morning, Good Morning after hearing a Corn Flakes commercial.
