''The Beatles' Story'' is the sixth album by the English rock band
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
in the United States, issued on 23 November 1964 by
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
. It is a documentary
double album
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
featuring interviews, press conferences, and snippets of original or orchestral versions of Beatles songs, with
voice-over
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...
narration. The album's original liner notes described it as a "narrative and musical biography" of
Beatlemania
Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...
. It was produced by Los Angeles–based songwriter and producer
Gary Usher and disc jockey and lyricist
Roger Christian, and narrated by John Babcock,
Al Wiman and Christian.
Capitol issued the album in response to the
Vee-Jay Records LP ''
Hear the Beatles Tell All'', a compilation of radio interviews with the band carried out by Los Angeles disc jockeys. The company also sought to compete with unauthorised Beatles interview records issued by the Radio Pulse Beat label, which released three such LPs hosted by Ed Rudy. ''The Beatles' Story'' peaked at number 7 on the
''Billboard'' Top LPs chart and was certified
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. In 2014, Capitol reissued the album as part of the Beatles' ''
U.S. Albums'' box set.
Development
Originally, Capitol Records intended to create an album from the group's show at the
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018.
The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...
,
which took place on 23 August 1964. A recording was made of the concert, but the Beatles and their producer,
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
, deemed it of insufficient quality due to the poor sound and the volume of the fans' screaming. ''The Beatles' Story'' nevertheless contains a 48-second excerpt of "
Twist and Shout" from the Hollywood Bowl performance. It was the first record to include a recording of the Beatles in concert.
Using audio from interviews and press conferences, interspersed with music, ''The Beatles Story'' was produced by
Gary Usher and
Roger Christian. Among the segments were items devoted to each of the four Beatles –
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
,
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
and
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
– and others on their manager,
Brian Epstein, and Martin. The
Hollyridge Strings performed the
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
versions of the Beatles' songs heard on the album. The voice-over commentary was written and narrated by John Babcock and, on behalf of radio station
KFWB of Hollywood,
Al Wiman and Christian.
Release and reception
Capitol released ''The Beatles' Story'' in the US on 23 November 1964, on the same day as the band's "
I Feel Fine" single. The front cover of the LP contained individual photos of the band members, taken by photographer Joe Cavello, above a
Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
. The album spent 17 weeks on the
''Billboard'' Top LPs chart. It peaked at number 7 on 2 January 1965 and remained in that position for three further weeks while the band's new studio album, ''
Beatles '65
''Beatles '65'' is an album by the English rock band the Beatles that was issued in the United States and Canada in December 1964. Released as the North American alternative to ''Beatles for Sale'', it was the band's fifth studio album culled by ...
'', was number 1. ''The Beatles' Story'' was certified a
gold record by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
on 31 December 1964. It was the Beatles' fifth Capitol album, all of which had been released within a year of the band's commercial breakthrough in the US. Author
Barry Miles comments that the documentary record was "blatantly exploitative" but this was insufficient to deter American fans.
The album was also issued in Canada. It was released by Toshiba EMI in Japan on the Apple label (in
stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
) in a box set with a deluxe 24-page 12"x12" booklet that contains the entire text of the script in English and Japanese. The album was being prepared for release on
digital audio tape in 1996, but when the format failed commercially the plan was scrapped.
In 2014, ''The Beatles' Story'' was made available on CD for the first time as part of the Beatles' box set ''
The U.S. Albums
''The U.S. Albums'' is a box set compilation album, compilation comprising the remastered American albums released by the Beatles between 1964 and 1970. The box set was released on 21 January 2014 in the United States, marking the fiftieth anni ...
''.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
describes it as "a tedious neo-documentary record" and "cornball show biz, with radio announcers delivering a spit-shined script designed to bridge segments between canned interviews".
In his review for the ''
Toronto Sun
The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...
'', Darryl Sterdan said ''The Beatles' Story'' was a "cash-grab" by the record company and a "50-minute mish-mash ... dashed off for early Christmas shoppers". He added: "Amazingly, it went gold. This one is also new on CD. Really, they needn't have bothered."
Track listing
Songs
Portions of the following songs appear on the album:
* "
I Want to Hold Your Hand"
* "
Slow Down"
* "
This Boy
"This Boy" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney). It was released in November 1963 as the B-side of the band's Parlophone single "I Want to Hold Your Hand". In the United State ...
"
* "
You Can't Do That
"You Can't Do That" is a song written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released by the English rock band the Beatles as the B-side of their sixth British single "Can't Buy Me Love". It was later released on their third UK alb ...
"
* "
Can't Buy Me Love"
* "
If I Fell"
* "
And I Love Her"
* "
A Hard Day's Night"
* "
Twist and Shout" (live)
* "
Things We Said Today
"Things We Said Today" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released in July 1964 as the B-side to the single " A Hard Day's Night" and on their album of the sam ...
"
* "
I'm Happy Just to Dance with You
"I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded in 1964 by the English rock band the Beatles for the film soundtrack to ''A Hard Day's Night''. Lead vocals are by George Harrison, whose perfo ...
"
* "
Little Child
"Little Child" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1963 UK album ''With the Beatles''. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney for Ringo Starr, but Starr was instead given "I Wanna Be Your Man" as his album song.
B ...
"
* "
Long Tall Sally
"Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a rock and roll song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and Little Richard. Richard recorded it for Specialty Records, which released it as a single in March ...
"
* "
She Loves You"
* "
Boys
A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man.
Definition, etymology, and use
According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...
"
Charts and certifications
Chart performance
Certifications
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
''The Beatles' Story'' on DAT and cassette
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatles' Story, The
1964 albums
The Beatles albums
Capitol Records albums
Albums recorded at the Hollywood Bowl
Documentaries about music
Spoken word albums by British artists