Beatlemania

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The Beatles' arrival at America's JFK Airport in 1964 has proved a particularly enduring image of Beatlemania.

Beatlemania is a term that was used during the 1960s to describe fan frenzy (particularly by young teenaged girls) toward The Beatles. Many fans across the world were known to have Beatlemania, which hit the United States hard after The Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. It later became the name of various tribute groups dedicated to singing the songs of The Beatles. These groups have had John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr look-alikes.

The term has had a number of derivatives, usually shortlived, such as Rollermania in the early 1970s to describe a similar phenomenon directed at the Scottish boy band Bay City Rollers, and in the early 1980s, Menudomania to describe frenzy across Latin America for another world famous boy band, Menudo.

The dimensions

One can envision the dimensions of the original Beatlemania during its peak year in 1964 by looking at the unprecedented sales figures caused by it. During 1964, The Beatles sold over 30 million records in America alone:

Singles

Released by Capitol records

I Want To Hold Your Hand – 5 million according to Capitol Records (1 million RIAA-certified)
Can't Buy Me Love – 3 million according to Capitol Records (1 million RIAA-certified)
A Hard Day's Night – 1 million RIAA-certified
I Feel Fine – 1 million RIAA-certified
And I Love Her – unknown
I'll Cry Instead – unknown
Matchbox - unknown

Total: over 10 million (4 million RIAA-certified)

Released by other companies (such as Swan, Tollie, Vee Jay, Polydor)

She Loves You – over 3 million
Please Please Me – 1.1 million
Twist And Shout – 1.2 million
Do You Want To Know A Secret – 1 million (Vee Jay)
Love Me Do – 1.1 million
My Bonnie – unknown
Ain't She Sweet - unknown
All My Loving – unknown
Why – unknown
Sie Liebt Dich – unknown
Four By The Beatles – unknown

Total: over 7.4 million (non RIAA-certified)

Albums

Released by Capitol records

Meet The Beatles! – 4 million (5 million RIAA-certified)
The Beatles' Second Album – over 2 million (2 million RIAA-certified)
Something New – over 2 million (2 million RIAA-certified)
The Beatles' Story – 500,000 ($1 million RIAA-certified)
Beatles' 65 - 1 million (3 million RIAA-certified)

Total: over 10 million (13 million RIAA-certified)

Released by United Artists records

A Hard Day´s Night – 3 million (4 million RIAA-certified)

Released by other companies

Introducing ... The Beatles – 1.2 million
Songs, Pictures & Stories Of The Fabulous Beatles – 400,000
Other Vee Jay releases combined – 155,000
The Beatles With Tony Sheridan & Their Guests – unknown
The American Tour With Ed Rudy – unknown

Total: over 1.7 million (non RIAA-certified)

These sales represent a total of 17.4 million singles and 14.7 million albums giving a grand total of 32.1 million records sold in just 12 months (of which 21 million are certified by the RIAA). Never before or since has a musical act approached sales figures on such a scale in such short a period of time.

Sources:

Spizer, Bruce (2000), The Beatles' Story on Capitol Records, Part 1: Beatlemania & The Singles. New Orleans: 498 Productions.
Spizer, Bruce (2000), The Beatles' Story on Capitol Records, Part 2: Beatlemania & The Albums. New Orleans: 498 Productions.
Spizer, Bruce (1998), The Beatles' Records On Vee Jay. New Orleans: 498 Productions.

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