Album · Compilation
The Beatles’ First!
The Beatles' First! is a German compilation built from recordings made in Hamburg in 1961 and 1962, in which the Beatles act as the backing group for singer Tony Sheridan. It carries the subtitle Recorded in Hamburg 1961 - Featuring Tony Sheridan and Guests, which tells you plainly whose name is up front on these sessions. Polydor released it in West Germany in 1964, and it belongs to the rock and roll side of the band's early story.
For anyone curious about the band before the world-conquering years, it is a fascinating listen. The album kept travelling long after its first release: England got it in 1967, Canada in 1969 under the title Very Together, and the United States in 1970 as In the Beginning (Circa 1960). It is worth hearing as a snapshot of the group working as hired hands in Hamburg.
The Beatles’ First!: tracklist and credits
12 tracks · 32:34Tracklist
- 1Ain’t She SweetMilton Ager and Jack Yellen2:10
- 2Cry for a ShadowGeorge Harrison and John Lennon2:23
- 3Let’s DanceJim Lee2:32
- 4My Bonnie[traditional]2:06
- 5If You Love Me, Baby (Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby)Waldense Hall and Charles Singleton2:53
- 6What’d I SayRay Charles2:37
- 7Sweet Georgia BrownBernie, Pinkard, Casey2:05
- 8The Saints[traditional]3:19
- 9Ruby BabyMike Stoller and Jerry Leiber2:48
- 10WhyCrompton, Petrucciani, Sheridan2:58
- 11Nobody’s ChildCy Coben and Mel Foree3:55
- 12Ya YaDorsey, Levy, Lewis, Robinson2:48
- Produced by
- Bert Kaempfert, Paul Murphy
- Recorded at
- Studio Rahlstedt, Friedrich-Ebert-Halle
- Recorded
- June 1961 and May 1962, Hamburg, West Germany
- Engineered by
- Karl Hinze
- Label
- Polydor
- Length
- 32:34
Line-up
- Pete Best · drums (drum set)
- George Harrison · guitar, electric guitar, background vocals
- John Lennon · guitar, lead vocals, electric guitar, background vocals
- Paul McCartney · bass guitar, electric bass guitar, other vocals, background vocals
- Tony Sheridan · lead vocals, guitar
- Roy Young · piano · guest
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
41.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
47
ListenBrainz listeners
14k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
—
Deezer fans (all editions)
More from The Beatles
Full discography →
Please Please Me
1963
My Bonnie
1963
Twist and Shout
1963
The Beatles’ Hits
1963
No. 1
1963
With The Beatles
1963
Introducing… The Beatles
1964
Meet The Beatles!
1964
Twist and Shout
1964
The Beatles With Tony Sheridan and Guests
1964
All My Loving
1964
Souvenir of Their Visit to America
1964
The Beatles’ Second Album
1964
The Beatles Beat
1964
The Beatles’ Long Tall Sally
1964
Four by the Beatles
1964
Requests
1964
Long Tall Sally
1964
A Hard Day’s Night
1964
Something New
1964
More Requests
1964
Ain’t She Sweet
1964
Extracts From the Film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’
1964
Extracts From the Album ‘A Hard Day’s Night’
1964
Beatles for Sale
1964
Beatles ’65
1964
In Italy
1965
4-By the Beatles
1965
The Early Beatles
1965
Beatles for Sale
1965
Beatles for Sale, No. 2
1965
Beatles VI
1965
Help!
1965
Rubber Soul
1965
The Beatles’ Million Sellers
1965
Yesterday
1966
Greatest Hits, Volume 1
1966
Yesterday and Today
1966
Nowhere Man
1966
Revolver
1966
A Collection of Beatles Oldies
1966
Strawberry Fields Forever
1967
Norwegian Wood
1967
Magical Mystery Tour
1967
Yellow Submarine
1969
Hey Jude
1970
In the Beginning
1970
Let It Be
1970
1962–1966
1973
1967–1970
1973
Rock ’n’ Roll Music
1976
The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl
1977
1962 Live at Star Club in Hamburg
1977
Love Songs
1977
The Beatles Collection
1978
Rarities
1980
The Beatles Ballads
1980
From Liverpool – The Beatles Box
1980
E.P. Collection
1981
Reel Music
1982
20 Greatest Hits
1982
23: The Number Ones
1983
The Early Tapes of The Beatles
1984
Past Masters · Volumes One & Two
1988
Live at the BBC
1994
Anthology 1
1995
Anthology 2
1996
Anthology 3
1996
Yellow Submarine Songtrack
1999
1
2000
Let It Be… Naked
2003
The Beatles The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1 2004
The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1
2004
The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2
2006
Love
2006
The Beatles
2009
Mono Masters
2009
The Beatles in Mono
2009
Tomorrow Never Knows
2012
On Air – Live at the BBC, Volume 2
2013
The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963
2013
The U.S. Albums
2014
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
2017
The Beatles
2018
Abbey Road
2019
Get Back: The Rooftop Performance
2022
Anthology 4
2025
Anthology Collection
2025
The best of 1964
All of 1964 →More Requests
The Beatles · 1964
Requests
The Beatles · 1964
Beatles for Sale
The Beatles · 1964
I Wanna Be Your Man
The Rolling Stones · 1964
It’s All Over Now
The Rolling Stones · 1964
England’s Newest Trouble Makers
The Rolling Stones · 1964
The Second Rolling Stones EP
The Rolling Stones · 1964
Carol
The Rolling Stones · 1964
Volume 2
The Rolling Stones · 1964
Time Is on My Side
The Rolling Stones · 1964
Rolling Stone Hits
The Rolling Stones · 1964
Route 66
The Rolling Stones · 1964
More on Polydor
The label →My Bonnie
The Beatles · 1963
Wish
The Cure · 1992
Hackney Diamonds
The Rolling Stones · 2023
Tommy
The Who · 1969
Songs of a Lost World
The Cure · 2024
Blue & Lonesome
The Rolling Stones · 2016
Perfect Strangers
Deep Purple · 1984
Rising
Rainbow · 1976
The Who
The Who · 1967
This Is My Generation
The Who · 1988
Substitute
The Who · 1976
It’s Hard
The Who · 1982
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date only month precision available
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | April 1964 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | April 1964 | |
| Wikidata | 1964 | |
| Wikidata | April 1964 |
6 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1964 | DE | Polydor | original | |
| April 1964 | DE | Polydor | original | |
| 4 August 1967 | GB | Polydor | other | |
| 1968 | DE | Tip | other | |
| February 1968 | DE | Karussell | other | |
| 9 December 2004 | XE | Polydor | 0602498213230 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: major: best source 735x734, upscaled to 1500 (x2.04)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 735×734 | upscaled: major: best source 735x734, upscaled to 1500 (x2.04) |