The Beatles (person)

The Beatles are my favorite band, and are considered by many to be the best band ever. They are one of the most prolific bands ever as well. During their career (from 1962 - 1970), they released 13 studio albums. They recorded over 160 songs in this time. And they wrote their own songs! At one point, they held the #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 spots on the US Charts simultaneously. They were extremely popular, sparking Beatlemania all around the globe. Their songs are catchy, creative, and at times extremely innovative (Tomorrow Never Knows, anyone?). At least part of the reason for this is because of the genius of their producer, George Martin, who is often called "the fifth Beatle." Another man that was invaluable in The Beatles' rise to fame was their manager, Brian Epstein. His hard work and dedication to the Beatles was critical in landing them a recording contract and in the success of their music.

For an excellent biography of the Beatles, check out The Love You Make, by Peter Brown. It is an excellent biography. (It might be hard to find though). For a not so excellent biography of the band, you can listen to what John said, as printed in The Anthology:

Once upon a time there were three little boys called John, George an Paul, by name christened. They decided to get together because they were the getting together type. When they were together, they all wondered what for after all, what for? So all of a sudden they all grew guitars and formed a noise. Funnily enough, no one was interested, least of all the three little men. Sooo… on discovering a fourth little even littler man called Stuart Sutcliffe running about them, they said, quote: ‘Sonny, get a bass guitar and you will be all right,” and he did – but he wasn’t all right because he couldn’t play it. So they sat on him with comfort until he could play. Still there was no beat, and a kindly old aged man said, quote: ‘Thou hast not drums!’ We had no drums! They coffed. So a series of drums came and went and came. Suddenly, in Scotland, touring with Johnny Gentle, the group (called the Beatles called) discovered they had not a very nice sound – because they had no amplifiers. They got some. Many people ask what are Beatles? Why Beatles? Ugh, Beatles, how did the name arrive? So we will tell you. It came in a vision – a man appeared on a flaming pie and said to unto them, ‘From this day on you are Beatles with an A.’—‘Thank you, Mister Man,’ they said, thanking him.

Below is a discography of the singles that they released for both the US and the UK. Also, there is a complete UK discography, including release dates.

Beatles' Albums were released several weeks earlier in the UK than they were in the US. Also, as is mentioned above, there are fewer UK releases than US releases because Parlophone, The Beatles' British label, didn't put together compilations of singles (and tracks that were skipped over on regular albums to make room for singles) like Capitol Records did.