On this day in 1964, The Beatles released their second album in the United States,  Meet The Beatles

After EMI subsidiary Capitol Records repeatedly rejected requests from Brian Epstein and George Martin to release Beatles records in the US, an EMI deputy was sent to Los Angeles to order the company to begin producing and releasing albums. 

Despite the covers claim to be the first US album, Meet the Beatles was actually beaten out 10 days earlier when Vee-Jay Records of Chicago released Introducing… The Beatles. However, Meet the Beatles managed to enter the charts first and as a result achieved the number one spot within a month of release.

The album was a huge critical and commercial success, receiving rave reviews and selling nearly 4.7 million copies by the end of the decade.  This success has continued, with Meet the Beatles appearing on numerous greatest rock album lists, including Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” at number 59 and currently sits at 5x platinum.