The Beatles Vinyl Record Albums

In 1957, Paul McCartney joined a Liverpool, England group known as The Quarrymen of which John Lennon was the leader. In 1958, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliff joined and formed the first lineup of the goup that would become The Beatles. Two years later, in 1960, they changed their name to The Silver Beatles, which was shortened to The Beatles. Also, in 1960, Pete Best joined as their first permanent drummer. The Beatles regularly played at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. The Beatles recorded their first officially released music, backing Tony Sheridan on his "My Bonnie" single at the Top Ten club in Germany. In September 1962, The Beatles recorded their first single, "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You". Both songs were Lennon/McCartney originals, and made it ot the lower end of the British Top 20. Their second single, "Please, Please Me" topped the British charts in early 1963 and began a string of number one hits. The Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show fanned the flames of "Beatlemania" and it spread to America in 1963. Capitol Records released "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in December of 1963. For the next six years, The Beatles dominated popular music from both artisitic and commercial viewpoints. They continued with pushing the forefront of music in the rock, pop, folk rock and psychedelia genres until late in 1969 when The Beatles broke up because of personal conflicts after recording Abbey Road. All four members went on to have successful solo careers.