Original 1966 John Lennon Beatles "I Apologize" Record

$

356

A monumental screw-up or a huge misunderstanding, depending on where you stood on the issue, John Lennon's comments that the Beatles were more popular than religion created a backlash of epic proportions in 1966. A headline news story the world over, in the US the South, especially, took the issue to heart, creating anti-Beatle campaigns that actually did hurt the Beatles record sales. Coupled with the publicity over the ill received Butcher Cover photo initially slated for the "Yesterday and Today" LP but hastily scrapped, it was a difficult period for the Beatles. Some Beatle historians feel the group never recovered from the controversies. In an effort to quell the controversy, the Beatles held a news conference at the Astor Towers, where John attempted to retract the remarks and apologized if his comments were hurtful to anyone. If you listen to him, he actually seems extraordinarily frustrated and worn down, trying desperately to explain that his words were taken out of context and misconstrued, and finally, when his logic failed to impress,  just flat out apologizes.

This conference was recorded by a reporter and subsequently was released by Sterling Productions as a mail-away item only, advertised for a very short period in a Chicago newspaper. As this was a news story and not really a musical performance, the logic (or hope) was that such an LP was not subject to the copyright laws that effectively allowed Capitol Records, only, to release Beatle recordings.

Now a very difficult LP to find, "I Apologize", Sterling 8895-6481, the 12" record is a single sided release of that conference. Lacking any pictures of the Beatles on the cover, the disc included an 8" X 10" glossy photo of the smoking group taken at the conference. In fact, the record looks remarkably like those numerous illegitimate records from the period, with its absolutely blank back rear cover. The B side of the vinyl has a single, silent groove that truly seems a bit odd; why wasn't this just pressed as an EP?

In any event, the example offered here is a GUARANTEED original 1966 pressing, with the correct yellow labels. Unfortunately, the photo is missing, but a copy of that can be found at almost any Beatlefest. There is a removed name from the top center of the cover. Otherwise, the cover is exceptionally nice with solid, unsplit and uncracked seams and edges, little to no corner tip damage and only some minimal ageing to the white background, more pronounced toward the edges. On the rear there is light wear and a few tiny stains. Overall, the cover is graded as a weak VG+.

Housed in the cover is a gorgeous VG to VG+ or better disc, spoiled only by the felt marked name on the label, which has had a light attempt at removal. Not that it matters much, but the B side is as strong, or better, than the A side. This disc still carries the original generic paper dust sleeve, which has aged and has splits at the edge points that contact the record's rim.

Unless you lived near Chicago in 1966, there was no chance that you could obtain this LP and in actuality, you probably didn't know it even existed. Pressed in very small numbers, it is extremely difficult to find today in any condition, much less the VG+/VG+ condition seen here. For completists and lovers of rare regional records, this is an absolute necessity. But even non-Beatle fans will get a real kick out of the tone and desperation of the news conference, a truly historic event in Rock n Roll's long story. Please do not ask us to record the disc or transfer it to a digital format, as these are request we cannot accommodate.

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For estimation purposes only, when packaged this item will weigh approximately 3#, although actual shipping costs will be Invoiced upon the auction's close. But, to get a shipping cost estimate, even for a foreign destination, click here and enter the pertinent information. Shipping point is Zip 06460. Estimated weight is stated above. Preferred service class is Priority Mail within the US and usually International Priority Mail if abroad, for small parcels.

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