64 Years Ago Today: The Beatles Released Their First Single and It Barely Charted

Sixty-four years ago today, the Beatles released the record that started everything—and it hardly looked like the beginning of a global phenomenon. "Love Me Do," released in the U.K. on Oct. 5, 1962, was the band's first single, but it peaked at just No. 17, according to Official Charts.  That modest debut looks almost impossible in hindsight. The Beatles' official history of the song confirms that it eventually got a very different reception in America: "Love Me Do" reached No. 1 in the U.S. in 1964.

For the band, simply hearing their own record in public felt enormous. "First hearing 'Love Me Do' on the radio sent me shivery all over," George Harrison recalled, according to The Beatles Story. "It was the best buzz of all time."

Paul McCartney remembered its chart appearance as a dividing line. "If you want to know when we 'knew' we'd arrived, it was getting in the charts with 'Love Me Do'," he said. "That was the one. It gave us somewhere to go."

The breakthrough was particularly meaningful because the Beatles were still proving that audiences would accept their original material. "Love Me Do" was an early Lennon-McCartney composition, and the band had previously leaned heavily on covers.

Related: 58 Years Ago Today: One of the 'Greatest Songs of All Time' Was Released. The Beatles Recorded It With Three Drummers.

The strangest part of the story may be behind the drum kit. The Beatles recorded "Love Me Do" three times in 1962—with Pete Best, Ringo Starr and session musician Andy White each playing drums on a different recording, according to the Beatles' official Anthology history.

The original U.K. single featured Starr on drums. When the group returned to EMI Studios a week later, producer George Martin had brought in White, leaving the newly recruited Starr playing tambourine. The White recording later appeared on Please Please Me.

Source: yahoo.com/Lauren Harrison

Read More<<<