Great Facts About The Beatles

The Beatles first U.S. Concert was in Washington D.C.

The Beatles first U.S. #1 hit with Billboard was “I Want To Hold Your Hand”. It reached #1 on 2/1/64, just 8 days before their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show

The Beatles first U.K. #1 (on any chart) hit was “Please Please Me” on 3/2/63

The First Beatle album to contain nothing but Lennon/McCartney compositions was A Hard Day’s Night

Allan Williams was the Beatles first manager

Pete Best was their first drummer

Stu Sutcliffe was their first bass player

The first Beatles song to chart with Billboard in the U.S. was “From Me To You” on 8/3/63 released by Vee Jay Records. They would not hit Billboard’s chart again until 1/18/64 when “I Want To Hold Your Hand” entered the chart at #45

The first Beatles song to chart with Melody Maker in the U.K. was “Love Me Do” on 10/27/62

The first non-Beatles artist to hit the U.K.’s  Melody Maker chart with a Beatles song was Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas with “Do You Want to Know a Secret” in May of 1963

The first non-Beatles artist to hit the U.S’s Billboard chart was Peter and Gordon with “A World Without Love” in May of 1964

The first Beatles song to employ an outside musician was “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” EMI arranger, Johnnie Scott played the flute.

The first all acoustic Beatles song was “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”

The first Beatles song to be influenced by Bob Dylan was “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, pretty interesting song.

The first Lennon/McCartney song NOT about love was “Help”

The first person to appear ♫On The Cover Of The Rolling Stone♫ was John Lennon

“ I Feel Fine” contained the first intentional use of feedback (yes, it was intentional despite the press reporting it as a electronic mistake)

The first Beatles song with a faded-up intro was “Eight Days A Week”

George’s first composition was “Don’t Bother Me”

The first time a satellite was used to broadcast something worldwide was the Beatles live performance of “All You Need Is Love” in June of 1967.

The Beatles were the first to do a stadium concert in August of 1965 from Shea Stadium

“Can’t Buy Me Love” was the Beatles first song with just one singer

“Can’t Buy Me Love” was the first record to sell a million copies before its release

Beatlemania! With the Beatles was the Beatles first album released in Canada and North America.  It was issued by Capitol Records of Canada on 11/23/63

“My Bonnie/The Saints” by Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers (The Beatles) was the first released record that the Beatles appeared on. It was released in October of 1961 and reached #5 on the German Hit Parade

The Beatles first North American release was “Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You” a Capitol of Canada 45 released on 2/4/63

George was the first Beatles to visit America. He visited his sister, Louise, in Benton Illinois in September of 1963

Julian Lennon was the first Beatle child, born on April 8, 1963

The first Beatle to record a solo Number one hit was George Harrison with “My Sweet Lord” in January 1971

After Paul's song, "Penny Lane" became a Beatles hit, the street signs for the actual Penny Lane in Liverpool disappeared with such regularity (as they did on the real Abbey Road), that the town reverted to simply painting 'Penny Lane' on the buildings, rather than have street signs. 
"Strawberry Fields" was named for a real place, Strawberry Field, a children's home run by the Salvation Army in Liverpool. Its location was near John's childhood home, and it has since been demolished. 
Though there was a woman named Eleanor Rigby in Liverpool, she was not the inspiration for the song. Paul simply made up the name. The Father McKenzie in "Eleanor Rigby," was almost called Father McCartney, when Paul first composed the lyrics. However, a search in the phone book yielded the more general name McKenzie. The song has been recorded over 200 times, with interpretations by Diana Ross and the Supremes, Paul Anka, Frankie Valli, the Four Tops, Johnny Mathis, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Vanilla Fudge. 
The group's name had numerous inspirations. Stuart Sutcliffe noted that a motorcycle gang in the film, "The Wild One," was called 'The Beetles,' and John Lennon reportedly had a dream (this story needs to be taken with a grain of salt as John also once reported that he was Jesus Christ) in which a man appeared "on a flaming pie," saying, "You will be Beatles with an 'a'." The band members were also influenced by the name of Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets. 
Contrary to popular belief, the title for "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was prompted by 4-year-old Julian Lennon's description of a painting he brought home from school, not the drug, LSD. John Lennon has been said to have preferred Elton John's rendition of the song, and played background guitar and backup vocals on John's version, credited as "Dr. Winston O'Boogie and his Reggae Guitars." 
Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" for Julian Lennon, John's son. 
Though the Beatles were still largely unknown in the U.S. in October 1963, Ed Sullivan got his first glimpse of Beatlemania on Halloween of that year. His plane at Heathrow Airport outside London was delayed due to hordes of screaming Beatles fans welcoming the boys back from an overseas concert. When he was notified about the cause of the delay, Ed Sullivan said, "Who the hell are the Beatles?" That experience prompted him to book them on his show in 1964. (The Beatles, for their part, had not previously heard of Ed Sullivan). 
Though "The Ed Sullivan Show" was the first TV program in America to host the Beatles, (February 9, 1964), ABC and CBS shot concert footage of the band in November 1963 as Beatlemania swept England. On December 7, 1963, "The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" featured footage of Beatles fans at a concert, and on Friday, January 3, 1964, Jack Paar's show was the first to broadcast footage of them on a major U.S. show, when Paar played a clip of the Beatles performing "She Loves You." At that point Paar was not a fan, and he disparaged their haircuts on air. 
In June of 1963 a Disc Jockey at WFRX in West Frankfort Illinois became the first person to broadcast a Beatles record on American Airwaves: At this time the Beatles were huge in England, and early that summer, George's mom sent Louise Harrison (George's sister)  the Beatles' latest single, 'From Me to You,' Bartel explains. "And Lou acted as the Beatles advance person, taking their record to local stations to get it played." She decided to take it to WFRX-AM, in West Frankfort, Ill.

WFRX was a typical middle-of-the-road station, but it did have a show that played youth-oriented music. The disc jockey of the show, Marcia Raubach, was just a high-school girl (her father owned the station). So, in June 1963, for the very first time anywhere in the United States, Marcia cued up the Beatles, and "From Me to You" went over the air in Southern Illinois. Bartel believes Marcia should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, right alongside Murray the K.
Among the people on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band are Stuart Sutcliffe, Laurel and Hardy, Marilyn Monroe, Karl Marx, boxer Sonny Liston, Bob Dylan, Lenny Bruce and Shirley Temple. 
Shirley had visited the Beatles in their dressing room backstage at a San Francisco concert in 1964. It is said when the Beatles requested her permission to use her image on the cover of the album, she was the only celebrity who insisted upon hearing the disc before granting permission.
Mae West, at first, refused saying “What would I be doing in a lonely hearts club?” The boys each wrote her a personal note explaining how much it would mean to them to have her on the cover and she agreed.
Leo Gorcey, Slip, of the Bowery Boys, asked for a $500 fee and was left off the cover.
On George’s All Things Must Pass album the back-up singers are listed as The George O’Hara- Smith Singers. It’s really George, double and triple tracked.
On the Beatles Abbey Road album those incredible voices you hear on “Because” are John, Paul & George doing 3-part harmony….layered over 3 times, or triple-tracked…in essence, giving you 9 voices.
Timothy Leary and Tommy Smothers did some of the background clapping on John's song, "Give Peace a Chance," recorded in a hotel in Montreal. 
Before she was Cher, singer "Bonnie Jo Mason" recorded the novelty song, "I Love You Ringo." 
Paul Simon, Mick Jagger, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd and Bill Murray (who played Bill Murray the K) had cameos in Eric Idle's spoof feature film about the Beatles, "The Rutles." 
Though she bought him his first guitar, John's Aunt Mimi discouraged him from a career in music, saying, according to John: "The guitar's all right as a hobby, but it won't earn you any money." Years later, John gave her a silver plaque with that quote engraved upon it. 
The Beatles’ third studio album A Hard Day’s Nightis the only album in Beatles’ career that exclusively contains Lennon-McCartney compositions. 10 of its 13 tracks were written by John and Paul wrote the other 3.
The sleeve of the Beatles’ first album called Please, Please Me had the distinction of having credited John and Paul’s compositions as McCartney–Lennon instead of Lennon–McCartney. One reason could be the fact that the first two Beatle songs chosen to be put on record (by the group’s producer) are "Love Me Do" and “P.S. I Love You," both McCartney compositions. Sorry, Yoko but those are the facts!
Lennon first wore his famed round eyeglasses during the shooting for the film "How I Won the War" where he had a cameo role. It was believed that while in-between shoots, he was writing a song later to be known as "Strawberry Fields Forever." 
John’s "Julia," which appeared on the Beatles White Album and a song dedicated to his late mother Julia, and wife Yoko, was the only Beatle song wherein he played alone, without assistance from the rest of the group.
Paul McCartney had done the same many times. In "Yesterday," string instrumentalists helped him record what would be hailed as the most covered song of all time. 
Here’s a big one…who plays that incredible guitar solo during “The End” on the BeatlesAbbey Road album? Actually it’s Paul, George and John, in that order the whole way through, trading licks. Each mini solo lasts just 2 bars or 4 seconds. Paul and George are using their Telecasters Electric Guitar and John his Casino Electric Guitar.
Before writing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," George Harrison randomly picked up a book on a shelf, opened it and read the first word he saw. The word was ‘gently.’
Incidentally, legendary Eric Clapton played the crying ‘lead guitar’ on the song. George was waiting for Eric in his garden one morning when the inspiration for the song “Here Comes the Sun” came to him.
John Lennon considered his lyrics on "Across the Universe" as one of his best. He described it as a "piece of poetry that strongly stood alone, without the help of its melody." John had to wake up from his bed to finish the song after its melody kept ringing in his ears.
Paul McCartney's song 'Yesterday", which was recently voted the most popular song of the century by a BBC poll, had music written before the lyrics. Paul used the working line 'scrambled eggs, oh my baby how I love your legs' before coming up with 'yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away' while composing this song.
The song 'Strawberry Fields Forever" is actually two versions of the song mixed together by George Martin. One was a half-tone higher and slightly faster. When it was slowed down it somehow fit together with the other version perfectly. Then John liked both versions and couldn't decide on one and asked Martin if he could put them together somehow. When he tried it - it worked! You can find the 2 versions fitted together at the one minute mark of the song.
The Beatles featured two left handed members, Paul, whom everyone saw holding his Hoffner bass left handed, and Ringo, whose left handedness is at least partially to blame for his 'original' drumming style. 
The Beatles song "Dear Prudence" was written about Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, when she wouldn't come out and play with Mia and the Beatles at a religious retreat in India
John Lennon originally wrote "Come Together" as a campaign slogan for counterculture guru Timothy Leary's failed California gubernatorial campaign against Ronald Reagan. 

The song was also the subject of a lawsuit claiming that a lyric in the song was lifted from Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me." The Beatles' lyric was "Here comes ol' flat-top. He come groovin' up slowly." The Chuck Berry lyric was "Here come up flat top. He was groovin' up with me." The Beatles and Berry's publisher settled out of court. John agreed to record 3 of his songs on his upcoming Rock n Roll album.
“Dr. Robert" was mostly a Lennon composition, with help from McCartney for the middle. The song is about a prominent New York doctor who supplied acid and speed to rock stars and the entourage of Andy Warhol. In his Playboy interview, Lennon said that, in another sense, he himself was also Dr. Robert since he was usually the Beatle who carried and dispensed pills while on tour. Pete Shotton also commented that Lennon was amused at everyone singing along without knowing the song's real meaning.
In the song “Getting Better” the opening guitar riff is actually played by George Martin who is hitting the strings inside a piano with a mallet.

 Source and Read More: The Beatles History