The Early Beatles

The Early Beatles is the The Beatles' sixth release on Capitol Records, and their seventh album for the American market, released in mono (catalogue number T 2309) and stereo (ST 2309). The album resembles more of an early compilation because all of the tracks had previously been featured on the early 1964 Vee-Jay release Introducing... The Beatles. The front cover photo for this album is the same as the back cover photo for the British LP Beatles for Sale. This album is available on compact disc as part of The Capitol Albums, Volume 2 box set (catalogue number CDP 0946 3 57498 2 3.)

Vee-Jay had gained American rights to the tracks before the group became popular in America (because Capitol, the US division of EMI which owns The Beatles' record label Parlophone, had refused to release the group's records), and their releases had initially failed to chart. But after the group became popular, Vee-Jay, still having the rights to the early material, were able to re-release them in America and this time the records sold in the millions. Capitol tried to stop Vee Jay from releasing the tracks, but were not successful. But by 1965, Capitol was finally able to get the American distribution rights from Vee-Jay, who had decided to return to their core business of selling R&B records.

Though Vee-Jay had compiled four Beatles albums from these sessions (all of which charted), when released on Capitol, the album still sold and charted inside the top 50.

Track listing
The album includes eleven of the fourteen tracks from the group's first British LP Please Please Me. Tracks not included are: "I Saw Her Standing There" (included on Meet the Beatles!), "Misery", and "There's a Place". The latter two tracks would finally get a Capitol LP release in 1980 in the American version of the Rarities album. Two other tracks originally released by Vee-Jay in America but also not included in this album were "From Me To You" ( which wasn't released on an LP in America until the post breakup compilation "1962-1966" and "Thank You Girl, which Capitol had already released on the LP "The Beatles Second Album"

Side one

 * 1) "Love Me Do" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
 * 2) "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley and Bert Russell)
 * 3) "Anna (Go to Him)" (Arthur Alexander)
 * 4) "Chains" (Gerry Goffin and Carole King)
 * 5) "Boys" (Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell)
 * 6) "Ask Me Why" (Lennon/McCartney)

Side two

 * 1) "Please Please Me" (Lennon/McCartney)
 * 2) "P.S. I Love You" (Lennon/McCartney)
 * 3) "Baby It's You" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David, and Barney Williams)
 * 4) "A Taste of Honey" (Ric Marlow and Bobby Scott)
 * 5) "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" (Lennon/McCartney)