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It’s not a stretch to say The Beatles completely altered the pop music landscape. Their sweet pop hits won over young fans and reached the top of singles charts in England and the United States. The albums from their studio period remain all-time classics, and some of the most famous songs weren’t singles. Interestingly, the first album The Beatles played on (and the first single) wasn’t one of their records.

George Harrison (left) and John Lennon (middle) of The Beatles perform in Hamburg, Germany, with Tony Sheridan circa 1960.
({l-r) George Harrison, John Lennon, and Tony Sheridan performing live in Hamburg | Ellen Piel – K/Redferns

The first album The Beatles played on was a Tony Sheridan record

The Beatles cut their teeth playing clubs in Hamburg, Germany, in the early 1960s. George Harrison once said the nascent band had no clue what they were doing until they went to Hamburg. The rigorous performing schedule helped mold The Beatles into the band they became. (Adding Ringo Starr on drums didn’t hurt). 

Tony Sheridan, another English musician, had established himself in Hamburg by the time The Beatles came along. According to The Trivia Book of The Beatles, German record producer Bert Kaempfert liked Sheridan enough to sign him to a recording contract in 1961. 

The only trouble was Sheridan didn’t have a band.

So Kaempfert hired The Beatles to be Sheridan’s backing band. The Beat Brothers, as they were billed, were the backing band on “My Bonnie,” the lead song from the album of the same name. Kaempfert released the song as a single in October 1961. The Fab Four’s first single hit shelves in October 1962. So the first single (and first album) The Beatles played on was Sheridan’s, not theirs. 

Once the Fab Four hit it big, the “My Bonnie” single found a shred of the spotlight. It spent a week on the English charts, landing at No. 48 in 1963 per the Official Charts Company. It peaked at No. 26 during its six-week run on the Billboard chart in early 1964. 

The Beatles albums and singles quickly found success

The fact that the first album The Beatles played on was Sheridan’s little-known record is now an interesting footnote in a legendary career. The Fab Four quickly found success when they started releasing their own music.

“Love Me Do,” their first single released in October 1962, lasted 18 weeks on the English chart and peaked at No. 17, per the Official Charts Company. “Please Please Me” went to No. 2 in early 1963, and by April of that year, the Beatles had their first No. 1 single with “From Me to You.”

Sixteen more Beatles singles reached No. 1 in England, including a mind-boggling seven straight, from “A Hard Day’s Night” in July 1964 through “Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigbey” in August 1966. 

The Fab Four shared credit on one of their final singles

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The 1st Beatles Single in America Sold About 7,000 Copies

The first album and single The Beatles played on saw them share the spotlight with Sheridan. After that, the Fab Four did it all themselves. 

Almost.

Harrison briefly quit The Beatles but saved the contentious Get Back sessions when he invited Billy Preston to sit in with the band. The singles for “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Get Back” were both credited to The Beatles With Billy Preston. He was the only non-Beatle to be credited on any of the band’s 71 songs that landed on the Billboard singles chart. The song “Get Back” became a No. 1 hit, spending five of its 12 weeks at the top. The song spent two weeks atop the English charts.

The first album The Beatles appeared on belonged to Tony Sheridan, but it didn’t take long for the Fab Four to find the spotlight on their own.

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