View source for Beatles for Sale

{{Short description|1964 studio album by the Beatles}}
{{For|the 1965 EP|Beatles for Sale (EP){{!}}''Beatles for Sale'' (EP)}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Beatles for Sale
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[the Beatles]]
| cover      = Beatlesforsale.jpg
| alt        = A photo of the Beatles – George, John, Ringo, and Paul
| released   = {{start date|1964|12|4|df=yes}}
| recorded   = 11 August – 26 October 1964
| studio     = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Pop rock]]|[[folk rock]]<ref name="Erlewine/AM" />|[[rock and roll]]<ref name="Pitchfork"/>|[[Country music|country]]{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=118}}{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=129}}}}
| length     = {{duration|m=33|s=42}}
| label      = [[Parlophone]]
| producer   = [[George Martin]]
| prev_title = [[A Hard Day's Night (album)|A Hard Day's Night]]
| prev_year  = 1964
| next_title = [[Help!]]
| next_year  = 1965
| misc       = 
{{Extra album cover
| header     = Alternative cover
| type       = studio
| cover      = Beatles For Sale Australia.jpg
| border     =
| alt        =
| caption    = Australian cover
}}
}}

'''''Beatles for Sale''''' is the fourth [[studio album]] by the English rock band [[the Beatles]]. It was released on 4 December 1964 in the United Kingdom on [[EMI]]'s [[Parlophone]] label. The album marked a departure from the upbeat tone that had characterised the Beatles' previous work, partly due to the band's exhaustion after a series of tours that had established them as a worldwide phenomenon in 1964. ''Beatles for Sale'' was not widely available in the US until 1987, when the Beatles' catalogue was standardised for release on CD. Instead, eight of the album's fourteen tracks, alongside "[[I'll Be Back (song)|I'll Be Back]]", which was cut from the US version of the ''[[A Hard Day's Night (album)|Hard Day's Night]]'' album, and both sides of the single "[[I Feel Fine]]" / "[[She's a Woman]]", appeared on [[Capitol Records]]' concurrent release, ''[[Beatles '65]]'', and the remaining six of the album's fourteen tracks, including both sides of the US single "[[Eight Days a Week]]" / "[[I Don't Want to Spoil the Party]]", appeared on Capitol Records' seventh release, ''[[Beatles VI]]'', both issued in North America only.

During the sessions, the band ventured into studio experimentation, such as employing a [[Fade (audio engineering)|fade-in]] and incorporating guitar [[Audio feedback|feedback]], and supplemented the basic recordings with percussion instruments such as [[timpani]], African hand drums, and [[chocalho]]. The album reflects the twin influences of [[country music]] and [[Bob Dylan]], whom the Beatles met in New York in August 1964. Partly as a result of the group's hectic schedule, only eight of the tracks are original compositions, with cover versions of songs by artists such as [[Carl Perkins]], [[Chuck Berry]], [[Buddy Holly]] and [[Little Richard]] being used to complete the album. The original songs introduced darker musical moods and more introspective lyrics, with [[John Lennon]] adopting an autobiographical perspective in "[[I'm a Loser]]" and "[[No Reply (song)|No Reply]]". Furthermore, the majority of the songs did not feature themes of love, with only three out of the fourteen tracks mentioning love in a positive light.

''Beatles for Sale'' received favourable reviews in the UK musical press, where it held the number one spot for 11 of the 46 weeks that it spent in the top 20. The album was similarly successful in Australia, where the band's cover of Berry's "[[Rock and Roll Music (song)|Rock and Roll Music]]" also topped the singles chart. One of the songs omitted from the US version of the album, "[[Eight Days a Week]]", became the Beatles' seventh number one in the US when issued as a single there in February 1965. In 2000, the album was voted number 204 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s book ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.
{{TOC limit|3}}

==Background==
When ''Beatles for Sale'' was being recorded, [[Beatlemania]] was at its peak.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=90}} In early 1964, the Beatles had made waves with their television appearances in the US, sparking unprecedented demand for their records there. Over June and July, the band played concerts in Denmark, the Netherlands and Hong Kong, toured Australia and New Zealand,{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=238}} and then returned to Britain for a series of radio and television engagements and to promote their first feature film, ''[[A Hard Day's Night (film)|A Hard Day's Night]]''.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=145–54}} After performing further concerts in Sweden, they began recording the new album in London in mid August, only to then depart for a month-long tour of North America.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=159–60}} While in New York, the Beatles met American [[Folk music|folk]] singer [[Bob Dylan]], who introduced the band members to [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]]. Through Dylan's example, the Beatles, particularly [[John Lennon]],{{sfn|Philo|2015|p=85}} were encouraged to write more introspective lyrics than before.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=46–47}} For his part, Dylan said he recognised that the Beatles "were pointing the direction that music had to go",{{sfn|Philo|2015|p=75}}{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=59}} and he soon began writing songs that embraced youth culture and recording with a rock backing.{{sfn|Gould|2007|pp=252–53}}{{sfn|Philo|2015|pp=78–79}}

''Beatles for Sale'' was the Beatles' fourth album release in the space of 21 months.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=53}} [[Neil Aspinall]], the band's road manager, later reflected: "No band today would come off a long US tour at the end of September, go into the studio and start a new album, still writing songs, and then go on a UK tour, finish the album in five weeks, still touring, and have the album out in time for Christmas. But that's what the Beatles did at the end of 1964. A lot of it was down to naiveté, thinking that this was the way things were done. If the record company needs another album, you go and make one."{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=161}} Noting the subdued and melancholy tone of much of the album, producer [[George Martin]] recalled: "They were rather war weary during ''Beatles for Sale''. One must remember that they'd been battered like mad throughout 1964, and much of 1963. Success is a wonderful thing but it is very, very tiring."{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=53}}

==Songwriting and musical styles==
Although prolific, the [[Lennon–McCartney|songwriting partnership]] of Lennon and [[Paul McCartney]] was unable to keep up with the demand for new material.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=48}}{{sfn|Everett|2001|p=253}} To make up for the shortfall in output, the Beatles resorted to including several cover versions on the album.{{sfn|Everett|2001|p=270}} This had been their approach for their first two albums – ''[[Please Please Me]]'' and ''[[With the Beatles]]'' – but had been abandoned for ''[[A Hard Day's Night (album)|A Hard Day's Night]]''.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=56, 101–02}} McCartney said of the combination on ''Beatles for Sale'': "Basically it was our stage show, with some new [original] songs."{{refn|group=nb|[[George Harrison]], the band's lead guitarist, had contributed one song to ''With the Beatles'', "[[Don't Bother Me]]",{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|p=95}} but no other composition of his appeared on a Beatles album until ''[[Help!]]'' in August 1965.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=203–04}} Commenting on this gap, Martin implied that Harrison's confidence was affected by his bandmates' indifference towards "[[You Know What to Do]]",{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|p=96}} a Harrison composition that the group demoed in June 1964 along with Lennon's "[[No Reply (song)|No Reply]]".{{sfn|Everett|2001|p=248}}{{sfn|Winn|2008|p=186}}}}

The album features eight Lennon–McCartney compositions.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=110}} In addition, the pair wrote both sides of the non-album single, "[[I Feel Fine]]" backed with "[[She's a Woman]]",{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=101, 103}} which accompanied the LP's release.{{sfn|Everett|2001|p=252}} At this stage in their partnership, Lennon and McCartney rarely wrote together as before, but each would often contribute key parts to songs for which the other was the primary author.{{sfn|Norman|1996|p=257}} Nevertheless, Lennon's level of contribution to ''Beatles for Sale'' outweighed McCartney's,{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=119}}{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=181}} a situation that, as on ''A Hard Day's Night'', author [[Ian MacDonald]] attributes to McCartney's commitment being temporarily sidetracked by his relationship with English actress [[Jane Asher]].{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=155}}{{refn|group=nb|Lennon referred to McCartney's distractedness in an interview for [[Radio Luxembourg]] in late December 1964, saying, "Sometimes I do much more work than Paul, but we won't mention that, will we?"{{sfn|Winn|2008|p=289}}}}

At the time, Lennon said of the album: "You could call our new one a Beatles [[country and western]] LP."{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=255}} Music critic [[Tim Riley (music critic)|Tim Riley]] views the album as a "country excursion",{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=118}} while MacDonald describes it as being "dominated by the [country-and-western] idiom".{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=129}} The impetus for this new direction came partly from the band's exposure to US country radio stations while on tour;<ref name="Quantick/BBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/c2rj/|first=David|last=Quantick|title=The Beatles ''Beatles for Sale'' Review|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|year=2010|access-date=11 April 2017|archive-date=26 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526084542/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/c2rj/|url-status=live}}</ref> in addition, it was a genre that [[Ringo Starr]] had long championed.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=179}} Lennon's "[[I'm a Loser]]" was the first Beatles song to directly reflect Dylan's influence.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1996|p=168}} Author Jonathan Gould highlights the influence of [[blues]] and country-derived [[rockabilly]] on the album's original compositions and in the inclusion of songs by [[Carl Perkins]] and [[Buddy Holly]]. He also comments that Dylan's acoustic folk sound was a style that the Beatles tended to identify as country music.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=258}}

McCartney later said that ''Beatles for Sale'' inaugurated a more mature phase for the band, whereby: "We got more and more free to get into ourselves. Our student selves rather than 'we must please the girls and make money' …"{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=160}} According to author [[Peter Doggett]], this period coincided with Lennon and McCartney being feted by London society, from which the pair found inspiration among a network of non-mainstream writers, poets, comedians, film-makers and other arts-related individuals. Doggett says that their social milieu in 1964 represented "new territory for pop" and a challenge to British class delineation as the Beatles introduced an "arty middle-class" sensibility to pop music.{{sfn|Doggett|2015|p=327}}

==Recording==
The sessions for ''Beatles for Sale'' began at [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI Studios]] on 11 August, one month after the release of ''A Hard Day's Night''. The majority of the recording sessions took place during a three-week period beginning on 29 September, following the band's return from the US tour. Much of the production was done on "days off" from performances in the UK, and much of the songwriting was completed in the studio.

[[George Harrison]] recalled that the band had become more sophisticated about recording techniques: "Our records were progressing. We'd started out like anyone spending their first time in a studio – nervous and naive and looking for success. By this time we'd had loads of hits and were becoming more relaxed with ourselves, and more comfortable in the studio&nbsp;…"{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=160}} The band continued to develop their sound through the use of [[multitrack recording|four-track recording]], which EMI had introduced in 1963. They were also allowed greater freedom to experiment by the record company and by George Martin, who was gradually relinquishing his position of authority over the Beatles, as their label boss, throughout 1964, and was increasingly open to their non-standard musical ideas.{{sfn|Millard|2012|pp=178–79}} The sessions resulted in the first use of a [[Fade (audio engineering)|fade-in]] on a pop song, at the start of "[[Eight Days a Week]]",{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=104}} and the first time that guitar [[Audio feedback|feedback]] had been incorporated in a pop recording, on "I Feel Fine".<ref>{{cite web|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/i-feel-fine-t4282118|title=The Beatles 'I Feel Fine'|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=4 April 2017|archive-date=10 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510012042/http://allmusic.com/song/i-feel-fine-t4282118|url-status=live}}</ref>

The band introduced new instrumentation into their basic sound, as a way to illustrate the more nuanced style adopted by Lennon in his lyric writing.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=39–40}} This was especially evident in the range of percussion instruments, which, mainly played by Starr, included the band's first use of [[timpani]], African hand drums{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=39–40}} and [[chocalho]].{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=49}} According to MacDonald, the Beatles adopted a "less-is-more" approach in their arrangements; he cites "[[No Reply (song)|No Reply]]" as an example of the group beginning to "master the studio", whereby doubling basic parts and the use of [[Reverberation|reverb]] lent the performance "depth and space".{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=131–32}} As he had done since ''With the Beatles'', Harrison continued to vary his guitar sounds, favouring a [[Gretsch]] Tennessean guitar for the first time, in addition to using his twelve-string [[Rickenbacker 360/12]].{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=129fn}} Author André Millard describes this period as one in which the recording studio changed its identity from the Beatles' perspective, from a formal workplace into a "workshop" and "laboratory".{{sfn|Millard|2012|p=179}}

Recording was completed on 26 October,{{sfn|Babiuk|2002|p=146}} partway through the band's four-week tour of the UK.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=173, 175}} On 18 October, the Beatles had rushed back to London from Hull,{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=174}} to record the A-side of their forthcoming single, "I Feel Fine", and three of the album's cover tunes (in a total of five takes).{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|pp=50–51}} In an interview published the day before this session, Lennon admitted that the need for new original songs was "becoming a hell of a problem".{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=256}} The band participated in several mixing and editing sessions before completing the project on 4 November.

==Songs==
===Original compositions===

===="No Reply"====
"[[No Reply (song)|No Reply]]" is about a young man who is unable to contact his apparently unfaithful girlfriend, although he knows she is home.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hertsgaard, Mark.|title=A day in the life : the music and artistry of the Beatles|date=1996|publisher=Pan Books|isbn=0-330-33891-9|location=London|oclc=60293710}}</ref> Beatles music publisher [[Dick James]] was pleased with the song, saying Lennon had provided "a complete story".{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=104–05}} Reviewer David Rowley said that its lyrics "read like a picture story from a girl's comic" and evoked a picture "of walking down a street and seeing a girl silhouetted in a window, not answering the telephone".{{sfn|Rowley|2002}} Sequenced as the first track on ''Beatles for Sale'', the song served as an uncharacteristic album opener, given its dramatic and resentful mood.{{sfn|Spencer|2002|pp=130–31}}

MacDonald attributes effectiveness to the acoustic guitar backing and the treatment given to Martin's piano part, which is rendered as "a darkly reverbed presence" rather than a distinct instrument.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=131}} The vocals on the song are "massively haloed in echo", contributing to a mid-section providing "among the most exciting thirty seconds" of all the Beatles' recordings.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=132}}

===="I'm a Loser"====
Music critic [[Richie Unterberger]] singles out "[[I'm a Loser]]" as "one of the very first Beatles compositions with lyrics addressing more serious points than young love".{{sfn|Unterberger|2005a}} Rowley considered it to be an "obvious copy of Bob Dylan", as when Lennon refers to the listener as a "friend", Dylan does the same on "[[Blowin' in the Wind]]".{{refn|group=nb|The Beatles had already used "my friend" in this way in their 1963 B-side "[[I'll Get You]]" and in their March 1964 single "[[Can't Buy Me Love]]". In the case of those two love songs, MacDonald says the form of address conveyed "the casual etiquette of a coolly unromantic new age".{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=105}}}} He also said its intention was to "openly subvert the simple true love themes of their earlier work".{{sfn|Rowley|2002}} In Riley's view, "I'm a Loser" inaugurates a theme in Lennon's writing, in which his songs serve as "personal responses to fame".{{sfn|Riley|2002|pp=118–19}}{{refn|group=nb|Later examples, according to Riley, include "[[Help! (song)|Help!]]", "[[I'm Only Sleeping]]", "[[Baby, You're a Rich Man]]", "[[Don't Let Me Down (Beatles song)|Don't Let Me Down]]" and "[[Instant Karma!]]"{{sfn|Riley|2002|pp=118–19}}}}

===="Baby's in Black"====
As the third track on the album, "[[Baby's in Black]]" conveys the same sad and resentful outlook of the two preceding songs.<ref name="Erlewine/AM" /> Unterberger views it as "a love lament for a grieving girl that was perhaps more morose than any previous Beatles song".{{sfn|Unterberger|2005b}} It was the first song recorded for the album{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=47}} and features a two-part harmony sung by Lennon and McCartney. McCartney recalled: "'Baby's in Black' we did because we liked [[waltz]]-time&nbsp;... And I think also John and I wanted to do something [[blues]]y, a bit darker, more grown-up, rather than just straight pop."{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=160}} Beatles historian [[Mark Lewisohn]] cites the band's dedication to achieving a discordant twanging sound for Harrison's lead guitar part, and Martin's objection to the song opening with this sound, as an example of the Beatles breaking free of their producer's control for the first time.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=47}}{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=106}} To achieve the desired swelling effect, Lennon knelt on the studio floor and altered the volume control on Harrison's Gretsch as he played.{{sfn|Babiuk|2002|p=134}}{{refn|group=nb|The same volume-swell effect was a feature in some of the band's recordings from early 1965,{{sfn|Babiuk|2002|pp=134, 159}} by which point Harrison had acquired a volume/tone-control pedal to create the sound.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=54}}{{sfn|Everett|2009|p=52}}}}

===="I'll Follow the Sun"====
"[[I'll Follow the Sun]]" was a reworking of an old song. McCartney recalled in a 1988 interview: "I wrote that in my front parlour in [[20 Forthlin Road|Forthlin Road]]. I was about 16&nbsp;... We had this [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] image in [[Liverpool]], a rock and roll/R&B/hardish image with the leather. So I think songs like 'I'll Follow the Sun', ballads like that, got pushed back to later."{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=12}} Author [[Mark Hertsgaard]] cites its inclusion as a reflection of the shortage of original material available to the band, since McCartney acknowledged that the song "wouldn't have been considered good enough" for their previous releases.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=105}} Martin nevertheless later named it as his favourite song on ''Beatles for Sale''.<ref>''Beatles For Sale'' mini-documentary, 2009 CD re-issue</ref>

===="Eight Days a Week"====
"[[Eight Days a Week]]" marked the first time the Beatles brought a partly formed song into the studio and completed the writing process as they recorded it.{{sfn|Millard|2012|p=179}} Two recording sessions, totalling nearly seven hours, on 6 October were devoted to the song, during which Lennon and McCartney experimented with various techniques before settling on a final structure and arrangement. Each of the first six takes featured a strikingly different approach to the beginning and end sections of the song; the eventual chiming guitar-based introduction was recorded during a different session and edited in later. The song's opening fade-in served as a counterpoint to pop songs that close with a [[Fade (audio engineering)|fade out]].<ref name="Unterberger/EightDays">{{cite web|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/eight-days-a-week-mt0010100313|title=The Beatles 'Eight Days a Week'|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=10 April 2017|archive-date=11 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411055810/http://www.allmusic.com/song/eight-days-a-week-mt0010100313|url-status=live}}</ref> Hertsgaard writes that the surprise provided by the fade-in was heightened for LP listeners due to the track being sequenced at the start of side two.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=104}} Lennon was later highly dismissive of "Eight Days a Week", referring to it in a 1980 interview as "lousy".<ref name="Unterberger/EightDays" />

===="Every Little Thing"====
The dark theme of the album was balanced by "[[Every Little Thing (Beatles song)|Every Little Thing]]", which Unterberger describes as a "celebration of what a wonderful girl the guy has".{{sfn|Unterberger|2005e}} McCartney said of the song: "'Every Little Thing', like most of the stuff I did, was my attempt at the next single&nbsp;... but it became an album filler rather than the great almighty single. It didn't have quite what was required."{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=174}} Musicologist [[Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]] says the chorus's incorporation of "leaden" [[parallel fifth]] harmonies, supported by Starr's timpani, was the inspiration for a proto-[[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] version of the song recorded by the English [[progressive rock]] band [[Yes (band)|Yes]] in 1969.{{sfn|Everett|2001|pp=258, 403}}

===="I Don't Want to Spoil the Party"====
Lennon's "[[I Don't Want to Spoil the Party]]" returns to the sombre mood established by the opening three tracks.<ref name="Erlewine/AM" /> MacDonald considers the performance to be the album's "most overt exercise in country-and-western", aided by the tight snare sound, Harrison's rockabilly-style guitar solo, and the despondent minor-third harmony part. MacDonald likens the effect to "I'm a Loser", in that Lennon's confessional tone is again couched in "a protective shell of pastiche".{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=129–30}}

===="What You're Doing"====
The lyrics of "[[What You're Doing]]" concern McCartney's relationship with Jane Asher{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=131}} and demonstrate an aggrieved tone that was uncharacteristic of his writing.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=131}}{{refn|group=nb|Asher was also the muse for McCartney compositions such as "[[I'm Looking Through You]]" and "[[You Won't See Me]]", from ''[[Rubber Soul]]'', "[[We Can Work It Out]]",{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=131, 180}} and "[[For No One]]", from ''[[Revolver (Beatles album)|Revolver]]''.{{sfn|Sounes|2010|p=144}}}} Author Simon Philo identifies the song's combination of musical arrangement, "sonic texture" and lyrics as an early example of the influence of cannabis on McCartney, who said the drug made him start "really thinking for the first time".{{sfn|Philo|2015|pp=84–85}} The recording features a syncopated drum pattern and a jangly Rickenbacker guitar [[riff]],{{sfn|Everett|2001|p=260}} as well as an instrumental [[Coda (music)|coda]] that McCartney introduces by playing high up on the neck of his [[Höfner]] bass.{{sfn|Spencer|2002|pp=131–32}} A satisfactory arrangement proved elusive until the band remade the track on the final day of the ''Beatles for Sale'' sessions.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=181}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|pp=49, 51}} While highlighting the studio techniques used to achieve the completed recording, MacDonald considers "What You're Doing" to be a possible rival to "I Feel Fine" as the Beatles' "first sound experiment".{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=130–31}}{{refn|group=nb|McCartney later dismissed the track as "a bit of filler", however, saying, "Maybe it's a better recording than it is a song&nbsp;..."{{sfn|Miles|1997|pp=175–176}}}}

===Cover versions===
Several of the album's cover versions had been staples of [[The Beatles in Hamburg|the Beatles' live shows in Hamburg]] and at [[The Cavern Club]] in Liverpool during the early 1960s.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=179}} These songs included [[Chuck Berry]]'s "[[Rock and Roll Music (song)|Rock and Roll Music]]", sung by Lennon, Buddy Holly's "[[Words of Love]]", sung by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, and two by Carl Perkins: "[[Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby]]", sung by Harrison, and "[[Honey Don't]]", sung by Starr.{{refn|group=nb|Although Lennon and Harrison were the lead vocalists when the Beatles performed "Words of Love" over 1961–62, McCartney replaced Harrison for this 1964 studio recording. Similarly, Starr replaced Lennon as the singer of "Honey Don't".{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=180–81}}}} "[[Mr. Moonlight (song)|Mr. Moonlight]]", which was originally recorded by [[Piano Red|Dr. Feelgood and the Interns]], was Lennon's "beloved obscurity", according to Erlewine,<ref name="Erlewine/AM" /> and the subject of a remake towards the end of the ''Beatles for Sale'' sessions. A cover of [[Little Willie John]]'s "[[Leave My Kitten Alone]]" was taped on 14 August, during the same session as the discarded version of "Mr. Moonlight", but was omitted from the album.{{sfn|Babiuk|2002|p=134}}{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|p=102}}{{refn|group=nb|Sung by Lennon, "Leave My Kitten Alone" was widely [[bootleg recording|bootlegged]]{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=133}} before receiving an official release on 1995's ''[[Anthology 1]]'' compilation.{{sfn|Babiuk|2002|p=134}}}}

A medley of "[[Kansas City (Leiber and Stoller song)|Kansas City]]" and "[[Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!|Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey]]" was sequenced as the final song on side one of the LP.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=53}} In McCartney's description, his performance on the track required "a great deal of nerve to just jump up and scream like an idiot"; his efforts were egged on by Lennon, who "would go, 'Come on! You can sing it better than that, man! Come on, come on! Really throw it!'" The medley was inspired by [[Little Richard]], who similarly combined [[Leiber and Stoller]]'s "Kansas City" with his own composition, "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!"{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=180}}{{refn|group=nb|On the original ''Beatles for Sale'' sleeve, the song was listed as "Kansas City" ([[Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller|Leiber & Stoller]]). After the lawyers for Venice Music complained, the record label was revised to read "Medley: (a) Kansas City (Leiber/Stoller) (P)1964 Macmelodies Ltd./KPM. (b) Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey! (Penniman) Venice Mus. Ltd. (P)1964."}} Riley considers that, although McCartney's presence on ''Beatles for Sale'' appears relatively slight next to Lennon's, his performance of "Kansas City" goes some way to readdressing the balance.{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=119}} Hertsgaard says that the irony evident in Harrison's delivery of "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" "allows the Beatles to close the album with a not-so-veiled comment on the oddities of living inside Beatlemania".{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=101}}

==Artwork==
The downbeat mood of ''Beatles for Sale'' was reflected in the album cover,{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=115}} which shows the unsmiling, weary-looking Beatles{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=255}}{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=99–100}} in an autumn scene in London's [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]].{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=110–11}} The cover photograph was taken by [[Robert Freeman (photographer)|Robert Freeman]], who recalled that the concept was briefly discussed with [[Brian Epstein]] and the Beatles beforehand, namely that he produce a colour image of the group shot at "an outside location towards sunset".{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=132}} Music journalist Lois Wilson describes the result as "the very antithesis of the early-'60s pop star".{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=132}} The cover carried no band logo or artist credit, and the album title was rendered in minuscule type compared with standard LP artwork of the time.{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=132}}

''Beatles for Sale'' was presented in a gatefold sleeve – a rare design feature for a contemporary pop LP{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=132}} and the first of the Beatles' UK releases to be packaged in this way.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=111}} Part of the inner gatefold spread showed the band members in front of a photo montage of celebrities, including film stars [[Victor Mature]], [[Jayne Mansfield]] and [[Ian Carmichael]], all of whom the Beatles had met during 1964.{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=132}} This inner gatefold image anticipated [[Peter Blake (artist)|Peter Blake]]'s revolutionary cover design for the Beatles' 1967 album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''.{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=132}}{{sfn|Larkin|2006|p=487}}

According to music journalist [[Neil Spencer]], the album's title was an apt comment on the band's unprecedented commercial value as entertainers, given the wealth of Beatles-related merchandise introduced over the previous year.{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=130}} The sleeve notes for ''Beatles for Sale'' were written by [[Derek Taylor]],{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=255}} who, until a recent falling out with Epstein, had been the band's press officer throughout their rise to international stardom.{{sfn|Talevski|1999|p=415}} In his text, Taylor focused on what the Beatles phenomenon would mean to people of the future:{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=99–100}}

{{blockquote|There's priceless history between these covers. When, in a generation or so, a [[radioactive]], cigar-smoking child, picnicking on [[Saturn]], asks you what the Beatle affair was all about, don't try to explain all about the long hair and the screams! Just play them a few tracks from this album and he'll probably understand. The kids of AD 2000 will draw from the music much the same sense of well being and warmth as we do today.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=111}}}}

==Release==
[[File:Beatles ad 1965 just the beatles crop.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Beatles pictured after the [[7th Annual Grammy Awards]] in April 1965, where their wins included the award for [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist]]]]
''Beatles for Sale'' was released in the United Kingdom on EMI's [[Parlophone]] label on 4 December 1964.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=41}} On 14 November, four days after completing their UK tour, the Beatles filmed mimed performances of "I'm a Loser" and "Rock and Roll Music", along with both sides of the "I Feel Fine" single, for broadcast on a special edition of the TV show ''[[Thank Your Lucky Stars (TV series)|Thank Your Lucky Stars]]''.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=176, 177}}{{sfn|Winn|2008|p=283}} The band also promoted the two records with a [[BBC Light Programme]] session, for which they recorded live versions of "I'm a Loser", "Honey Don't", "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" and "I'll Follow the Sun", and an appearance on ''[[Ready Steady Go!]]'', where ''Beatles for Sale'' was represented by mimed performances of "Baby's in Black" and "Kansas City&nbsp;/ Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey".{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=177}}{{sfn|Winn|2008|pp=284, 285}} The group included "I'm a Loser", "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", "Baby's in Black", "Honey Don't" and "Rock and Roll Music"{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=41}} in the set list for their ''Another Beatles' Christmas Show'' presentation, held at London's [[Hammersmith Odeon]] from 24 December until 16 January 1965.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=182, 187}}

The album began its 46-week run on the UK charts on 12 December, and a week later displaced ''A Hard Day's Night'' from the top position.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=111}} After seven weeks at number 1, ''Beatles for Sale'' was displaced by [[the Rolling Stones]]' ''[[The Rolling Stones No. 2]]'' but it returned to the top on 27 February 1965 for a week. After being again displaced by ''The Rolling Stones No. 2'', ''Beatles for Sale'' overtook it for a second time on 1 May, remaining there for another three weeks.<ref name="OCC/Albums">{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/all-the-number-1-albums__7949/|title=All The Number 1 Albums|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=8 October 2019|archive-date=7 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007071922/http://www.officialcharts.com/all-the-number-one-albums-list/_/1983/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was then displaced by ''[[The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan]]'', which was superseded a week later by ''[[Bringing It All Back Home]]'',<ref name="OCC/Albums" /> Dylan's first "electric" album.{{sfn|Philo|2015|p=79}} From the start of 1965 until mid-May, ''Beatles for Sale'' remained in the top three chart positions.<ref name="Mawer 1965">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217020401/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1965.php|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1965.php|first=Sharon|last=Mawer|title=Album Chart History: 1965|publisher=[[Official Charts Company|The Official UK Charts Company]]|date=May 2007|archive-date=17 December 2007|access-date=8 October 2019}}</ref> Eight of the album's tracks were later issued on two four-song EPs:{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=111–12}} ''[[Beatles for Sale (EP)|Beatles for Sale]]'' and ''[[Beatles for Sale No. 2]]'', released in April and June 1965, respectively.{{sfn|Everett|2001|p=252}} In the UK, ''Beatles for Sale'' was the top-selling album of 1964<ref name="Mawer 1964">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217020355/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1964.php|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1964.php|first=Sharon|last=Mawer|title=Album Chart History: 1964|publisher=[[Official Charts Company|The Official UK Charts Company]]|date=May 2007|archive-date=17 December 2007|access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref> and the second-highest seller of 1965.<ref name="Mawer 1965" />

The concurrent Beatles release in the United States, ''[[Beatles '65]]'', included eight songs from ''Beatles for Sale'', omitting the tracks "Kansas City&nbsp;/ Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!", "Eight Days a Week" (a number one hit single in the US in early 1965),{{refn|group=nb|Along with "No Reply" and "I'm a Loser", "Eight Days a Week" had always been considered for release as a single.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=101}}}} "What You're Doing", "Words of Love", "Every Little Thing" and "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party". It instead included "[[I'll Be Back (song)|I'll Be Back]]", which was one of the songs cut from the US version of ''A Hard Day's Night'', and "I Feel Fine" and "She's a Woman".{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|pp=41–42}} The six omitted tracks received an LP release in America on ''[[Beatles VI]]'' in 1965. ''Beatles '65'' was released eleven days after ''Beatles for Sale'' and became the fastest-selling album of the year in the United States.

The cover of the Australian release of the LP featured individual photographs of the Beatles taken at one of the group's Sydney concerts in June 1964.<ref>{{cite news|first=Mark|last=Sawyer|title=Fixing a hole – the great lost Aussie Beatles collection|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/fixing-a-hole--the-great-lost-aussie-beatles-collection-20121005-275ea.html |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=6 October 2012|access-date=13 April 2017}}</ref> Issued as a single in Australia, "Rock and Roll Music" was a number 1 hit there for four weeks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Australian Number One Hits 1960s|url=http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/chartfeatures/aus/aus60.htm|publisher=World Charts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731072733/http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/chartfeatures/aus/aus60.htm|archive-date=31 July 2013|access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref> The song also topped singles charts in Norway<ref>{{cite web|url=https://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Beatles&titel=Rock+And+Roll+Music&cat=s|title=The Beatles – Rock and Roll Music (song)|publisher=norwegiancharts.com|date=23 April 2019|access-date=1 January 2020|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805222422/https://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Beatles&titel=Rock+And+Roll+Music&cat=s|url-status=live}}</ref> and Sweden.<ref>{{cite web|title=Swedish Charts 1962 – March 1966/Kvällstoppen – Listresultaten vecka för vecka > Mars 1965|url=http://www.hitsallertijden.nl/charts/swedish%20charts/SwedishCharts1962-march66.pdf|publisher=hitsallertijden.nl|language=sv|access-date=27 June 2018|archive-date=23 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323012135/http://www.hitsallertijden.nl/charts/swedish%20charts/SwedishCharts1962-march66.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===CD release===
On 26 February 1987, ''Beatles for Sale'' was officially released on compact disc (catalogue number CDP 7 46438 2), as were the band's first three albums.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=386}}{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=109}} The following month, ''Beatles for Sale'' re-entered the UK albums charts, peaking at number 45.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=387}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Datablog|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/sep/09/beatles-albums-singles-music-rock-band|title=The Beatles: Every album and single, with its chart position|publisher=[[The Guardian|theguardian.com]]|date=9 September 2009|access-date=8 November 2019|archive-date=27 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527110359/http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/sep/09/beatles-albums-singles-music-rock-band|url-status=live}}</ref> Having been available previously only as an import in the US, the album was also issued on LP and cassette there on 21 July 1987.

Even though ''Beatles for Sale'' was recorded on four-track tape, the first CD version was available only in mono.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=386}} The album was digitally remastered and issued on CD in stereo for the first time on 9 September 2009.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=109}}<ref>{{cite news| work=[[Reuters]]| title=Original Beatles digitally remastered| date=7 April 2009| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE5363RN20090407| access-date=10 April 2017| first=Mike| last=Collett-White| archive-date=30 November 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130032253/https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE5363RN20090407| url-status=live}}</ref>

==Critical reception and legacy==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Erlewine/AM">{{cite web|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/beatles-for-sale-mw0000189172|title=The Beatles ''Beatles for Sale''|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-date=9 May 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170509044833/http://www.allmusic.com/album/beatles-for-sale-mw0000189172|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev2      = ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
| rev2Score = B<ref name="Klosterman">{{cite news |last=Klosterman |first=Chuck |author-link=Chuck Klosterman |date=8 September 2009 |url=https://www.avclub.com/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles-1798217828 |title=Chuck Klosterman Repeats The Beatles |newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]] |location=Chicago |access-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522154556/http://www.avclub.com/articles/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles%2C32560/ |archive-date=22 May 2013 |url-status = live|df=dmy }}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="DuNoyer/Blender">{{cite magazine|last=Du Noyer|first=Paul|date=2004|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2965|title=The Beatles ''Beatles for Sale''|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504144627/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2965 |archive-date=4 May 2006 |access-date=27 June 2017}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Consequence of Sound]]''
| rev4Score = A−<ref name="COS">{{cite magazine|last=Balderrama|first=Anthony|date=17 September 2009|url=https://consequence.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-beatles-for-sale-remastered/|title=Album Review: The Beatles – Beatles for Sale <nowiki>[Remastered]</nowiki>|magazine=[[Consequence of Sound]]|access-date=11 January 2013|archive-date=2 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602050338/http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-beatles-for-sale-remastered/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev5= ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''
| rev5Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="McCormick" />
| rev6 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev6Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{sfn|Larkin|2006|p=489}}
| rev7      = [[Music Story]]
| rev7Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|title=The Beatles > Discographie de The Beatles ''(in French)''|url=http://www.music-story.com/the-beatles|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619191846/http://www.music-story.com/the-beatles|publisher=[[Music Story]]|access-date=5 April 2017|archive-date=19 June 2013|url-status = dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]''
| rev8Score = 79/100<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kemp|first=Mark|date=8 September 2009|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire.html|title=The Beatles: The Long and Winding Repertoire|magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|access-date=8 April 2017|page=59|archive-date=23 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023065059/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' 
| rev9Score = 9.3/10<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web|last=Ewing|first=Tom|date=8 September 2009|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13424-beatles-for-sale/|title=The Beatles: ''Beatles for Sale'' Album Review|publisher=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=11 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109042137/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13424-beatles-for-sale/|archive-date=9 November 2020}}</ref>
| rev10= ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev10Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{sfn|Brackett|Hoard|2004|p=51}}
}}
The album received favourable reviews in the UK musical press.{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=132}} Writing in the ''[[NME]]'', Derek Johnson said that it was "worth every penny asked", adding: "It's rip-roaring, infectious stuff, with the accent on beat throughout." [[Chris Welch]] of ''[[Melody Maker]]'' found the music "honest" and inventive, and predicted: "''Beatles For Sale'' is going to sell, sell, sell. It is easily up to standard and will knock out pop fans, rock fans, R&B and Beatles fans …"{{sfn|Spencer|2002|p=132}}

In a more recent assessment, ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' found the album title to hold a "hint of cynicism" in depicting the Beatles as a "product" to be sold. [[AllMusic]] editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] said that "the weariness of ''Beatles for Sale'' comes as something of a shock" after "the joyous ''A Hard Day's Night''". He also cited it as "the group's most uneven album" yet added that its best moments find them "moving from [[Beat music|Merseybeat]] to the sophisticated pop/rock they developed in mid-career".<ref name="Erlewine/AM" />

Tom Ewing of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' said, "Lennon's anger and the band's rediscovery of rock 'n' roll mean ''For Sale'''s reputation as the group's meanest album is deserved".<ref name="Pitchfork"/> Neil McCormick of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' commented that "if this is a low point, they still sound fantastic", adding that "the Beatlemania pop songs are of a high standard, even if they are becoming slightly generic."<ref name="McCormick">{{cite news|last=McCormick|first=Neil|date=4 September 2009|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6139165/The-Beatles-Beatles-For-Sale-review.html|title=The Beatles – Beatles For Sale, review|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London|access-date=11 January 2013|archive-date=14 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814090724/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6139165/The-Beatles-Beatles-For-Sale-review.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Writing in ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'', [[Rob Sheffield]] said that the album contains some poor cover versions yet "I'm a Loser" and "What You're Doing" indicate that the band were continuing to progress. He added: "The harmonies of 'Baby's in Black,' the hair-raising 'I still loooove her' climax of 'I Don't Want to Spoil the Party,' the eager hand claps in 'Eight Days a Week' – it all makes 'Mr. Moonlight' easy to forgive."{{sfn|Brackett|Hoard|2004|p=52}} In his review for [[BBC Music]], [[David Quantick]] highlights Lennon's "brilliant, throat-ripping version" of "Rock and Roll Music" and describes the album as "joyous, inventive and exciting", despite the Beatles' fatigue, and a "transitional" work that showed the group developing their studio craft.<ref name="Quantick/BBC" />

"I'm a Loser" served as a precursor to the 1965 [[Folk rock|folk-rock]] explosion,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/turnover.html|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|year=2001|title=Folk Rock: An Overview|publisher=[[Richie Unterberger|richieunterberger.com]]|access-date=11 April 2017|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109225255/http://www.richieunterberger.com/turnover.html|archive-date=9 November 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> which was led by [[the Byrds]] and defined by a combination of Dylanesque lyrics and Beatles-style harmonies.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=287}}{{refn|group=nb|Recalling how the Beatles' US breakthrough inspired the Byrds to make electric-based rock music, bassist [[Chris Hillman]] said of "No Reply": "There is no rock blueprint for this … This is the stuff which got us all over here to put down the mandolins and banjos and plug in and pay attention to rock again."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Alexander|first=Phil|title=The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=July 2006|page=69|display-authors=etal}}</ref>}} According to ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music'', "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" can be seen "with hindsight" as an early example of [[country rock]], anticipating the Byrds' work in that style, particularly their 1968 album ''[[Sweetheart of the Rodeo]]''.{{sfn|Kingsbury|McCall|Rumble|2012|p=106}} In a February 1970 interview following a recording session with Starr and Harrison, [[Stephen Stills]], then part of the supergroup [[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]], said he first began listening to the Beatles around the time of ''Beatles for Sale'', adding: "that's still where I'm at, incidentally, and so is everybody else – and maybe at that time they were at their biggest and most isolated, and thus at their closest."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Richard|last=Williams|title=Genius, Hard Work and Steve Stills|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|date=28 February 1970}} Available at [https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/genius-hard-work-and-steve-stills Rock's Backpages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101125349/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/genius-hard-work-and-steve-stills |date=1 January 2020 }} (subscription required).</ref>

''Beatles for Sale'' was ranked the 71st-best album in the 1987 edition of [[Paul Gambaccini]]'s book ''[[Critic's Choice: Top 200 Albums|Critic's Choice]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/world_critics_lists.htm|title=The World Critic Lists|publisher=rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=5 June 2017|archive-date=5 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505150910/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/world_critics_lists.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref> based on submissions from an international panel of 81 critics and broadcasters.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jonathan|last=Taylor|title=Pop Critics Pick Rock's Top 100|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-03-25-8701230198-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Daily News]]|date=25 March 1987|access-date=12 November 2019|via=[[Chicago Tribune|chicagotribune.com]]|archive-date=11 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111151244/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-03-25-8701230198-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2000, it was voted number 204 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s book ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=101}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| headline  = Side one
| all_writing = [[Lennon–McCartney]], except where noted
| extra_column = Lead vocals{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=122–41}}
| title1  = [[No Reply (song)|No Reply]]
| extra1  = Lennon with McCartney
| length1  = 2:15
| title2  = [[I'm a Loser]]
| extra2  = Lennon
| length2  = 2:30
| title3  = [[Baby's in Black]]
| extra3  = Lennon and McCartney
| length3  = 2:04
| title4  = [[Rock and Roll Music (song)#The Beatles version|Rock and Roll Music]]
| note4  = [[Chuck Berry]]
| extra4  = Lennon
| length4  = 2:31 
| title5  = [[I'll Follow the Sun]]
| extra5  = McCartney
| length5  = 1:49
| title6  = [[Mr. Moonlight (song)#The Beatles' version|Mr. Moonlight]]
| note6  = [[Roy Lee Johnson]]
| extra6  = Lennon
| length6  = 2:38
| title7  = [[Kansas City (Leiber and Stoller song)#The Beatles' version|Kansas City]]/[[Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!#Cover versions|Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!]]
| note7  = [[Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller|Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller]]/[[Little Richard|Richard Penniman]]
| extra7  = McCartney
| length7  = 2:38
| total_length    = 16:25
}}
{{Track listing
| headline      = Side two
| extra_column  = Lead vocals<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|MacDonald|2005|pp=122–41}}; except "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party": {{Harvard citation no brackets|Winn|2008|p=273}}.</ref>
| title1        = [[Eight Days a Week]]
| extra1        = Lennon
| length1       = 2:43
| title2        = [[Words of Love#The Beatles' version|Words of Love]]
| note2         = [[Buddy Holly]]
| extra2        = Lennon, McCartney and Harrison
| length2       = 2:04
| title3        = [[Honey Don't#The Beatles version|Honey Don't]]
| note3         = [[Carl Perkins]]
| extra3        = Starr
| length3       = 2:57
| title4        = [[Every Little Thing (Beatles song)|Every Little Thing]]
| extra4        = Lennon
| length4       = 2:04
| title5        = [[I Don't Want to Spoil the Party]]
| extra5        = Lennon with McCartney
| length5       = 2:33
| title6        = [[What You're Doing]]
| extra6        = McCartney
| length6       = 2:30
| title7        = [[Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby#The Beatles' version|Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby]]
| note7         = Carl Perkins
| extra7        = Harrison
| length7       = 2:26
| total_length  = 17:17
}}

==Personnel==
According to Ian MacDonald:{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=122–41}}

'''The Beatles'''
*[[John Lennon]]&nbsp;– lead, harmony and backing vocals; acoustic and electric rhythm guitars; harmonica, piano, tambourine, handclaps
*[[Paul McCartney]]&nbsp;– lead, harmony and backing vocals; bass and acoustic guitars; piano, [[Hammond organ]]; handclaps
*[[George Harrison]]&nbsp;– harmony and backing vocals; lead (6- and 12-string) and acoustic guitars; [[African drum]], handclaps; lead vocals on "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby"
*[[Ringo Starr]]&nbsp;– drums, tambourine, [[maracas]], [[timpani]], [[Cowbell (instrument)|cowbell]], packing case, [[Bongo drum|bongos]]; lead vocals on "Honey Don't"

'''Additional musician'''
*[[George Martin]]&nbsp;– piano, producer

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Chart positions===

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Weekly chart performance for ''Beatles for Sale''
! style="width:20em;"|Chart (1964–65)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book | title=Australian Chart Book (1940–1969) | author=Kent, David | publisher=Australian Chart Book | location=Turramurra | year=2005 | isbn=0-646-44439-5}}</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
|-
|Finland ([[Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref name=Finland>{{cite book|first=Jake|last=Nyman|year=2005|title=Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja|edition=1st|publisher=Tammi|location=Helsinki|isbn=951-31-2503-3|language=fi}}</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
|{{album chart|Germany|1|id=5553|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=16 May 2016}}
|-
|Italian Albums (HitParadeItalia)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_weeka/1965/hpa19650313.html|title=HitParadeItalia - Top Album N.11 del 13 Marzo 1965
|language=it|publisher=HitParadeItalia}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|{{album chart|UK|1|artist=Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=16 May 2016}}
|-
! style="width:20em;"|Chart (1987)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|{{album chart|Netherlands|17|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|align="left"|[[UK Albums Chart]]<ref name="ukchart87">{{cite web| url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/beatles%20for%20sale%20(1987%20version)/| title=Beatles for Sale (1987 Version)" > "Chart Facts| publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]| access-date=28 June 2017| archive-date=9 August 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809001211/http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/beatles%20for%20sale%20(1987%20version)/| url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|45
|-
! style="width:20em;"|Chart (2009)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|{{album chart|Austria|68|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|{{album chart|Flanders|79|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|{{album chart|Wallonia|96|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|{{album chart|Finland|35|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|{{album chart|Italy|84|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|{{album chart|New Zealand|40|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|{{album chart|Spain|74|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|{{album chart|Sweden|31|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|{{album chart|Switzerland|65|artist=The Beatles|album=Beatles for Sale|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
|align="left"|UK Albums Chart<ref name="ukchart87" />
|align="center"|56
|}
{{col-2}}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications and sales==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for ''Beatles for Sale''}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Argentina|artist=The Beatles|title=Beatles for Sale|relyear=1964|type=album|award=Platinum|certref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=&album=&LanDesde_MM=1&LanDesde_AA=1980&LanHasta_MM=12&LanHasta_AA=2010&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706084844/http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=&album=&LanDesde_MM=1&LanDesde_AA=1980&LanHasta_MM=12&LanHasta_AA=2010&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP |archive-date=6 July 2011|title=Discos de oro y platino|language=es|access-date=29 June 2021|publisher=[[Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas]]}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=album|artist=The Beatles|title=Beatles for Sale|award=Gold|certyear=2009|access-date=15 September 2013}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|artist=The Beatles|title=Beatles for Sale|award=Gold|relyear=1965|access-date=15 September 2013}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=album|title=Beatles For Sale|artist=The Beatles|award=Platinum|relyear=1964|id=2009-09-11|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|note=Reissue}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|artist=The Beatles|title=Beatles for Sale|nocert=true|relyear=1964|salesamount=750,000|note=original release|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LiAEAAAAMBAJ&dq=i+feel+fine+beatles+750,000+billboard&pg=PA8|title=Beatles Scoring High in U.K. on Single, Album, New Film Set|magazine=[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]|first=Chris|last=Hutchins|via=Google Books|page=8|date=26 December 1964|accessdate=30 January 2022}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|artist=The Beatles|title=Beatles for Sale|award=Gold|access-date=15 September 2013|id=9381-1786-2|relyear=2009|certyear=2013|note=2009 release}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|artist=The Beatles|title=Beatles For Sale|award=Platinum|relyear=1987|certyear=2001|note=1987 release|access-date=15 September 2013}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}
{{small|{{sup|{{Dagger}}}} BPI certification awarded only for sales since 1994.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23927271|title=Beatles albums finally go platinum|work=[[British Phonographic Industry]]|publisher=[[BBC News Online|BBC News]]|date=2 September 2013|access-date=4 September 2013|archive-date=10 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410171041/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23927271|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

==See also==
* [[Outline of the Beatles]]
* [[The Beatles timeline]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
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* {{cite book |last=Badman |first=Keith |title=The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=London |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7119-8307-6}}
* {{cite book |author=The Beatles |author-link=The Beatles |year=2000 |title=The Beatles Anthology |publisher=Chronicle Books |location=San Francisco, CA |isbn=978-0-8118-2684-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Brackett |editor-first1=Nathan |editor-last2=Hoard |editor-first2=Christian |year=2004 |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'' (4th edn)'' |location=New York, NY |publisher=Fireside/Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac}}
* {{cite book |last1=Castleman |first1=Harry |last2=Podrazik |first2=Walter J. |title=All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975 |publisher=Ballantine Books |location=New York, NY |year=1976 |isbn=0-345-25680-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/alltogethernowfi0000cast}}
* {{cite book |first=Peter |last=Doggett |year=2015 |title=Electric Shock: From the Gramophone to the iPhone: 125 Years of Pop Music |publisher=The Bodley Head |location=London |isbn=978-1-847922182}}
* {{cite book |last=Everett |first=Walter |year=2001 |title=The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-19-514105-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesasmusicia00ever}}
* {{cite book |last=Everett |first=Walter |title=The Foundations of Rock: From "Blue Suede Shoes" to "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-531024-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Gould |first=Jonathan |title=Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain and America |publisher=Piatkus |location=London |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7499-2988-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Hertsgaard |first=Mark|author-link=Mark Hertsgaard |title=A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles |publisher=Pan Books |location=London |year=1996 |isbn=0-330-33891-9}}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Kingsbury|editor-first1=Paul|editor-last2=McCall|editor-first2=Michael|editor-last3=Rumble|editor-first3=John W. |title=The Encyclopedia of Country Music'' (2nd edn)'' |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-539563-1}}
* {{cite book|editor-first=Colin|editor-last=Larkin |year=2006 |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''(4th edn)'' |location=London |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-531373-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Lewisohn |first=Mark |year=1996 |title=The Complete Beatles Chronicle |publisher=Chronicle Press |isbn=1-85152-975-6}}
* {{cite book |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |title=The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962–1970 |publisher=Bounty Books |location=London |year=2005|orig-year=1988 |isbn=978-0-7537-2545-0}}
* {{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |year=2005 |title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties'' (2nd rev. edn)'' |publisher=Chicago Review Press |location=Chicago, IL |isbn=978-1-55652-733-3| url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/revolutioninhead0003macd}}
* {{cite book |last=Miles |first=Barry |year=1997| author-link=Barry Miles |title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now |publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]] |location=New York |isbn=0-8050-5249-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile}}
* {{cite book |last=Miles |first=Barry |title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years |year=2001 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=London |isbn=0-7119-8308-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Millard |first=André |title=Beatlemania: Technology, Business, and Teen Culture in Cold War America |year=2012 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore, MD |isbn=978-1-4214-0525-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Norman |first=Philip |title=Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generation |publisher=Fireside |location=New York, NY |year=1996|orig-year=1981 |isbn=0-684-83067-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Philo |first=Simon |title=British Invasion: The Crosscurrents of Musical Influence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WqiDBQAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, MD |isbn=978-0-8108-8626-1|access-date=17 May 2019|archive-date=7 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207030438/https://books.google.com/books?id=WqiDBQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |first=Tim |last=Riley|author-link=Tim Riley (music critic) |title=Tell Me Why – The Beatles: Album by Album, Song by Song, the Sixties and After |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=Cambridge, MA |year=2002|orig-year=1988 |isbn=978-0-306-81120-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/tellmewhybeatles00rile}}
* {{cite book |last=Rowley |first=David |year=2002 |title=Beatles for Sale |publisher=Mainstream Publishing |isbn=1-84018-567-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Schaffner |first=Nicholas |title=The Beatles Forever |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York, NY |year=1978 |isbn=0-07-055087-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesforever00scha}}
* {{cite book |last=Sounes |first=Howard|author-link=Howard Sounes |title=Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-00-723705-0}}
* {{cite book |chapter=''Beatles For Sale'': Some Product |first=Neil |last=Spencer |year=2002 |title=Mojo Special Limited Edition: 1000 Days of Beatlemania (The Early Years – April 1, 1962 to December 31, 1964)|title-link=Mojo (magazine)#Special editions |location=London |publisher=Emap |pages=130–33}}
* {{cite book |first=Nick |last=Talevski |title=The Encyclopedia of Rock Obituaries |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=London |year=1999 |isbn=0-7119-7548-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/tombstoneblues00nick}}
* {{cite web | last=Unterberger | first=Richie | year=2005a | authorlink=Richie Unterberger | title=Review of "I'm A Loser" | work=[[AllMusic]] | url={{Allmusic|class=song|id=t462339|pure_url=yes}} | accessdate=7 November 2005 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501095304/https://www.allmusic.com/song/t462339 | archive-date=2011-05-01 }}
* {{cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |year=2005b |title=Review of "Baby's in Black" |work=[[AllMusic]] |url={{AllMusic |class=song |id=t462340|pure_url=yes}}
| access-date=7 November 2005}}
* {{cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |year=2005e |title=Review of "Every Little Thing" |work=[[AllMusic]] |url={{AllMusic |class=song |id=t4372225|pure_url=yes}}
| access-date=7 November 2005}}
* {{cite book |first=Richie |last=Unterberger |title=The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film |publisher=Backbeat Books |location=San Francisco, CA |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-87930-892-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Winn |first=John C. |year=2008 |title=Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume One, 1962–1965 |publisher=Three Rivers Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-307-45239-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Womack |first=Kenneth |year=2014 |title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, CA |isbn=978-0-313-39171-2}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{Discogs master|type=album|45799|name=Beatles for Sale}}
* [http://www.thebeatles.com/album/beatles-sale ''Beatles for Sale'' at the Beatles' official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711045141/https://www.thebeatles.com/album/beatles-sale |date=11 July 2021 }}
*[http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/dba04sale.html Beatles comments on each song]

{{Beatles for Sale}}
{{The Beatles albums}}
{{UK best-selling albums (by year) 1956–1969}}
{{UK Christmas No. 1 albums in the 1960s}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1964 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by George Martin]]
[[Category:Albums with cover art by Robert Freeman (photographer)]]
[[Category:Parlophone albums]]
[[Category:The Beatles albums]]