I've always wondered what the effect of flooding the American market with product had on the overall popularity of the Beatles. Probably not much, as they quickly became - and remain - legends. But here in England every single they released after Love Me Do reached number one (except Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields which only reached number 2) which means that when we think of the Beatles it is in terms of their total domination of the charts, and their achieving the ultimate success with everything they released. This almost unblemished track record can only add to the Beatles myth and status. It's a bit like how an athlete who wins virtually every race he competes will have a more "mythical" status than someone who wins lots of races but also fails to win lots of races. And I sometimes feel it's a bit of a shame that the Beatles don't have the same unblemished track record in America as they do here.
Posted by Adam March on April 21, 2012 at 6:23 PM under
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