The Beatles Do You Want To Know A Secret b/w Thank You Girl 45 RPM single

• Picture Sleeve
• VJ 587
• Spizer cat. no. VJ 587.06
  

This is the fifth Vee-Jay single by The Beatles, originally released "on or about" March 19, 1964. This particular copy is the sixth label variation so it was likely pressed at a later date, but still in 1964. Vee-Jay Records (or VJ for short), had the fortune of gaining the rights to press Beatles records after Capitol Records (EMI's American cousin) actually, initially passed on the group. The songs that they acquired were the songs that appeared on the British, "Please Please Me" LP, which were pretty much the only ones The Beatles had recorded at the time. Not being the most well-run venture, VJ tended to squeeze as many releases out of this batch of songs as possible. This was one of their later singles that was actually released after Capitol had finally seen the light and started pressing their own records - the ones that we in the States all know and love. For some months after Capitol got their act together, VJ was in litigation to try to hold on to the rights to continue repackaging that same group of songs. This single came about during that period.
This Do You Want To Know A Secret 45 marks the first time, in the US or the UK, where George Harrison was the lead vocalist on a Beatles single. This catchy, John Lennon & Paul McCartney penned tune scored a #2 hit for Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas in England about a year earlier. George's version with the Fabs also hit #2 on the American Billboard singles chart, for one week, on May 9th, 1964.
The B-Side, Thank You Girl, is a great example of their ability to use their new drummer's (Ringo, duh) hard-hitting rhythm within the context of a catchy pop love song. John and Paul do great harmonies throughout and John returns to harmonica with some catchy hooks. You may notice, however, that the early mono version on this single lacks a few of the harmonica overdubs that are now found on the commonly released versions of this song that you can buy on CD today. Also, this one's in mono, so it sounds better anyway. :-)

Price is OBO (Or Best Offer).

Picture Sleeve VG++  Record VG+

Vinyl Condition
The vinyl is visually graded VG plus (VG+) due to light surface scratches, a little bit of fraying around the hole, and a name written on the A-Side label just above the word "Secret" in the title. There are no deep scratches that can be felt. Vinyl retains some of its original gloss, but not a ton. It looks like a good cleaning would help a lot. 
Picture Sleeve Condition

The picture sleeve is graded VG plus plus (VG++). 

No splits, rips, writing, or stickers

This is a fantastic copy of this sleeve. Edges and corners are crisp. The only defects are a piece of tape in the upper left corner on one side and some very, very slight wrinkling and a tiny bit of ring wear on one side. Otherwise it is a really beautiful specimen.


Careful Packaging
Record will be packed in standard cardboard mailer with cardboard filler pieces on each side. Vinyl will be removed from the sleeve (where applicable) and placed in a generic sleeve to help prevent damage due to jostling during shipping. Both will be placed in a protective plastic sleeve. I've bought over a hundred records on eBay recently and I've seen how bad and how good packaging can be. Trust me, I will do what I can to make sure your record gets to you undamaged! 
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Happy bidding!