To the best of my knowledge the Beatles had three singles released in the U.S. in 1963: Please Please Me/Ask Me Why (Vee Jay, February 1963) From Me to You/Thank You Girl (Vee Jay, March 1963) She Loves You/I'll Get You (Swan, September 1963) No albums were released, although Vee Jay had the Introducing the Beatles album ready to go that summer. It didn't actually hit the shelves until early 1964. My question is does anybody have firsthand memories of hearing the Beatles on U.S. radio, or buying one of their records when John F. Kennedy was still in the White House? Or even secondhand accounts of hearing about this new English band that sounded like nothing ever heard before. This is a topic that very seldom gets discussed. I would love to know if the Beatles had any following whatsoever in the States, even if it was just an underground following in Chicago where some D.J. was spinning these discs.
My father graduated from HS in June of 1963 from suburban Chicago. He absolutely remembered the Beatles in High School. One of his friends put makeshift "The Beatles" artwork (maybe lettering in clay?) on his jalopy that he drove to Morton East HS (Cicero). At least that's how the story goes...
Chicago again... "That's What Love Will Do" - The Impressions It sounds like Curtis was trying his hand at some Merseybeat... "Bad To Me" hit #1 in the UK on 18th August 1963 - The Impressions cut this song on the 21st (at the same session as their #4 hit "It's All Right"):
Not sure about Chicago (as mentioned above, "Please Please Me" got some airplay there), but "From Me To You" did make the airplay chart for station KRLA in Los Angeles in August/September 1963. See #32:
Definitely "Please Please Me" in Chicago in March 1963 --- But it was by a strange band called The "BEATTLES" --- See #35:
Where did Curtis Mayfield hear "Bad To Me" for inspiration? Shortwave radio? Was someone sending him 45s from the UK to the south side of Chicago? I actually don't know Curtis' listening habits, but I know he pretty much plagiarized This Old Heart Of Mine in 1966. Other than that, usually people were stealing from him...
I recall George Martin saying that they deliberately allowed small American record labels to circulate their hits in 1963, as part of a strategy to create some buzz and pressure Capitol into publishing their records in the US. They managed to get some exposure on local radio, particularly around the Chicago area.
Great thread and hopefully lots of answers come in from people who remember firsthand (I was five for most of '63). This period in US Beatle history has always mystified me...the fact that they were setting England on fire and the average record buyer here, basically, had no idea.
Great thread idea. It's also interesting to ask Canadian (like me) fans (but those a lot older than me, ha!) because The Beatles broke big in Canada around September (?) 1963 with, I think, "She Loves You". The "mania" started about four/five months earlier than in the US. (Interestingly, the Ringo-on-drums original "Love Me Do" was also issued as a 45 in Canada in very early 1963, and I think this was the only territory aside from the UK -- well, maybe Ireland -- where this was so.)
What happened was Capitol US had right of first refusal. They were offered the Beatles and refused, then Capitol Canada decided to go for it; talking to Capitol US first about it, and issued Love Me Do in February. Less than 200 copies were initially pressed, and less than 100 were sold. Capitol Canada went on to try again with a few more different singles, as the US side kept refusing. Andrew from Parlogram auctions recently did a new YouTube video about this Canadian history, but it might still in the members-only section.
My friend's mom has those albums on vinyl -- Twist and Shout and Beatlemania... with the Beatles! I had Twist and Shout on cassette back in about 1989, as a kid.
WOW. I’M MORE INTERESTED IN THAT #13. Sun Arise by Australian Rolf Harris!!!!! Who was subsequently convicted and jailed in the UK in 2014 of sex offences committed between 1968 and 1986. I’m from Perth. As he is. I had no idea he had hits in the US
I wonder if it was sent to Vee-Jay (their old label) for consideration - he was more likely to hear it than most. It seems to me that Curtis was always looking for a hit sound to exploit, while simultaneously creating a world of music uniquely his own. Just a theory of mine.
Here's the November 1963 issue of the Beatles Book, which has some news re: the US and a letter from a Liverpool expat in the US describing how she converted two of her US friends to be Beatles fans: https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Beatles-Monthly/Beatles-Monthly-04-OCR.pdf
It's true that "record row" on Michigan Ave was pretty consolidated back in the day. While I personally think the "Effect of Merseybeat Songs on Chicago Soul in 1963" would be a very short term paper, anything is worth investigating to a point. DJ Dick Biondi, Author Robert Pruter, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash, Jerry Butler, and even Gene "Daddy G" Barge AND 98 year old Johnny Pate are all still living. I still think the Chicago Soul writers and artists were listening to relatively low powered WVON and producing music to appeal to that audience first rather than the 50,000 watt clear channel top 40 powerhouse WLS.
The interesting thing was that Canadian radio stations that could be picked up in some American cities apparently made no impact. So no early interest in the Beatles in places like Detroit, Buffalo or Seattle.
