Meet the Beatles

The UK and US Top Ten when the Beatles debuted:

UK Top 10 - 13 October, 1962

Telstar - The Tornados
The Loco-Motion - Little Eva
Sheila - Tommy Roe
It Might As Well Rain Until September - Carole King
She's Not You - Elvis Presley
It'll Be Me - Cliff Richard
What Now My Love - Shirley Bassey
I Remember You - Frank Ifield
You Don't Know Me - Ray Charles
Don't That Beat All - Adam Faith


US Top 10 - 13 October, 1962

Sherry - The Four Seasons
Monster Mash - Bobby Boris Pickett
Ramblin' Rose - Nat King Cole (pictured)
Let's Dance - Chris Montez
I Remember You - Frank Ifield
Green Onions - Booker T and the MGs
Do You Love Me? - The Contours
Patches - Dickey Lee
Alley Cat - Bent Fabric and his Piano
If I Had A Hammer - Peter, Paul & Mary


Das Beeb is trying to make the standard case that the Beatles' appearance immediately altered the nature of rock and roll. I don't see that. 'Telstar', 'The Locomotion' and 'Do You Love Me?' were all pretty plainly more avant-garde than anything on the Beatles' first or second albums. Telstar, especially, is a stunner. When the Beatles finally did change the direction of history, I think, it was because they were already famous for producing really good Top Forty radio pop, the best of the age, and used that fame and goodwill to blaze a new musical direction around late 1964 or so. Many have tried it since, and most have crashed and burned. The Beatles succeeded.

I'm surprised too by how many of these songs I know, and how many still get regular radio play.