THE BEATTLES (misspelled): "Please Please Me" b/w "Ask Me Why" -- VEE JAY #498

$

1,714

THE BEATLES (THE BEATTLES) ULTRA-RARE ORIGINAL!

“PLEASE PLEASE ME” b/w “ASK ME WHY”, VEE JAY CATALOG #498

This is the rarest version of the misspelled first U.S. 45 RPM record by THE BEATTLES (“Beatles” misspelled with two Ts).  It is not to be confused with the far more common issue from 1964.  Released in February 1963, this is the first record released in the United States to bear the Beatles name. 

Manufactured by the American Record Pressing Co. (ARP), the record has thin silver lettering on a black label with an oval logo and a multicolored outer rim band.  The labels have hashtag (#) instead of “VJ” in front of the catalog number.  The labels also have songwriter credits (J. Lennon-P. McCartney) in microprint, the master numbers, and the words “VOCAL”, “TIME”, AND CONCERTONE SONGS-ASCAP” printed in capital letters.

Master number 63-2967 is hand-etched adjacent to the “AUDIO MATRIX” machine stamp on side A (Please Please Me).  There is no hand-etching on side B, which likely makes this copy even more rare than others.  There is no pressing-plant logo in the trail-off areas, which indicates the record was pressed by Southern Plastics.

The single comes in an original early 1963 VEE JAY “circular logo” sleeve, which is the same on both sides, with “VEE JAY” printed six times around the center hole and the company address at the bottom.

MEDIA

Record: VG to VG+ (using Goldmine standards).  Both sides of this rare record have minimal light marks in places, none of which affects the sound of the record.  There are no spots which can be felt with the fingertip.  Both sides of the record play through perfectly, with no skips, no pops, and no significant surface noise.  The record looks great (see pictures), with the only drawback being a small checkmark in the yellow area of the label on side A (put there by an old girlfriend without permission, many years ago).  If not for the label checkmark, this record would almost certainly be graded a VG+.

Sleeve: The sleeve is in very decent shape for being 57 years old (better shape than I was in at that age!).  There are three small tears on one side emanating from the center hole.  One is about an inch in length, the other two about a quarter-inch each. 

HISTORY

America wasn’t quite ready for the Beatles when this record was released in early 1963.  So, the result is one of the rarest, most historic Beatles records there is.  It’s considered one of a few “Holy Grail” items for Beatles collectors.  The Beatles recorded “Love Me Do” in September 1962, a few weeks after the deal that contracted the group to Vee Jay, and the single hovered in the twenties of the British charts from November to January.  The Beatles’ next single, “Please Please Me” b/w “Ask Me Why”, hit #1 in March 1963.  When it reached #2 in early February, Vee Jay decided to release the single in the U.S., which they did on February 25, 1963 (VJ 498).  The song did get some airplay from Chicago top 40 giant WLS and was placed on their top 40 chart for two weeks, making it the first local top 40 appearance for the group in the U.S.  The group was so unknown, even to their own record company, that their name was misspelled “The Beattles” on all initial issues of the record, as well as in advertisements in the trade journals, and on the top 40 charts.

VALUE

The highly-regarded Jerry Osborne’s “Rockin’ Records Reference Book and Price Guide” (which I purchased several years ago) listed the value of this record at anywhere from $1,000 up.  I’ve checked several internet auction-site results and have found only six copies of this record being sold in the past four years: October 2017: a near-mint-minus selection sold for $6,000; July 2018: one that had the owner’s name written on the label sold for $1,200; April 2019: a very worn version sold for $1,000; and July 2020: one disc sold for $780.57 (very worn), one for $1359.67, and one for $1,580.55 (both more worn than mine). 

So, I think it’s fair that I start the bidding at $1,200.  This may be your last opportunity in quite awhile to get a copy of this very rare record that is this good, and at a price this low. 

Item will be shipped domestically free-of-charge in a well-protected case, with insurance.  Winning international bidder: Ebay's Global Shipping Program will indicate the shipping charges at checkout.

Good luck to all bidders! --Steve