The Beetle Beat is representative of the flood of imitation
Beatles records that went on the market when Beatlemania hit it big in 1964. These albums usually feature a few
Lennon-
McCartney covers, some R&B and early rock & roll covers, and are filled out with inane originals incorporating token British catch phrases, like "Big Ben Hop" or "Liverpool Drag." The music was rendered by disinterested session musicians and marketed with a photograph on the cover of four or five mop-topped models in a Beatlesque pose. Some lucky consumers may have picked up an album of this type with
The Beatles actually performing, albeit as backing musicians for
Tony Sheridan. If nothing else, these records illustrate the magnitude of the Beatlemania phenomenon in its heyday. Nowadays, they can be found at the flea market for a cheap laugh.