The Beatles – The Early Beatles (1965):  The worldwide phenomenon of Beatlemania that first swept Great Britain and then arrived in the United States at the very end of 1963 caught the recording industry off-guard on more than one occasion.  Decca Records had an opportunity to sign the Beatles and decided against it (their lucrative consolation prize was their recording contract with the Rolling Stones).  Then, Capitol Records had the first crack at releasing Beatles singles over here and was slow to get on board, allowing small American labels a chance to release Beatles songs.  After “I Want to Hold Your Hand” raced to the top of the American charts in early 1964, their previous British single “She Loves You” had already come out on Swan Records and became the Beatles’ second smash hit in America.  Vee-Jay Records and their subsidiary Tollie Records also licensed many of the Beatles’ early songs, enough for four singles and a million-selling album called Introducing . . . The Beatles that was released a few months before the Capitol album Meet the Beatles!.  In fact, during that remarkable week in April 1964 when all of the top 5 songs on the Billboard singles chart were Beatles songs – in order, they were “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Twist and Shout”, “She Loves You”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, and “Please Please Me” – just 2 were Capitol releases (#1 and #4). Ultimately, EMI Records’ licensing agreement with Vee-Jay expired, allowing Capitol to release these recordings as The Early Beatles.  The songs include the Beatles’ first single, “Love Me Do” b/w “P.S. I Love You” (released originally in September 1962 a few weeks after Ringo Starr became their new drummer), with most being recorded during 1963.