# The Beatles' Second Album
**The Beatles' Second Album** is a compilation album assembled by [Capitol Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/capitol-records) for the United States market, released on April 10, 1964 as the label's second Beatles LP[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums). Although it was Capitol's second release, it was actually the third Beatles album issued in America, following *Meet The Beatles* and Vee-Jay's *Introducing The Beatles*[2](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album). The title itself was a marketing simplification; the Billboard book of number one albums notes that the label was practicing a bit of revisionist history with the name[3](https://number1albums.com/the-beatles-second-album-the-beatles-may-4-1964/). [Neil Aspinall](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-aspinall), the band's long-time associate, reacted in kind: "You mean Capitol actually put out an LP called 'The Beatles' Second Album'?!"[2](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | April 10, 1964, Capitol Records, catalog numbers T 2080 (mono) and ST 2080 (stereo)[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums) • [4](https://thebeatlesbeat.net/USA-2.htm) |
| Contents | 11 tracks: five covers omitted from *Meet The Beatles!*, three songs previously released in the U.S. by Swan and Vee-Jay, "You Can't Do That", and two March 1964 recordings, "I Call Your Name" and "Long Tall Sally"[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums) |
| Firsts | First LP released anywhere in the world to feature "I Call Your Name" and "Long Tall Sally"[2](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album) |
| Chart performance | Replaced *Meet The Beatles!* at Number 1 on Billboard's albums chart, holding the top spot for five weeks[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums) |
| Sales | 1,668,435 copies sold by the end of 1964; 2,051,486 by the end of the 1960s[5](https://www.beatlesbible.com/albums/the-beatles-second-album/) |
| Character | Contains few ballads or slower songs, and is noted for being more "rock and roll" than other Beatles albums[2](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album) |
| Reissues | CD in 2004 (*The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1*) and 2014 (*The U.S. Albums*); 180-gram mono vinyl in the 2024 box set *The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono*[2](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album) • [1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums) |
## Track listing
All eleven tracks are as listed on the album[2](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album):
**Side A**
1. "Roll Over Beethoven"
2. "Thank You Girl"
3. "You Really Got A Hold On Me"
4. "Devil In Her Heart"
5. "Money"
6. "You Can't Do That"
**Side B**
1. "Long Tall Sally"
2. "I Call Your Name"
3. "[Please Mr. Postman](https://www.edgepedia.org/please-mr-postman)"
4. "I'll Get You"
5. "She Loves You"
The two new recordings, "I Call Your Name" and a cover of [Little Richard](https://www.edgepedia.org/little-richard)'s "Long Tall Sally", were cut in March 1964 during sessions for the band's first film, *A Hard Day's Night*[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums). Three songs, including "She Loves You" and "I'll Get You", had previously appeared in the United States on the Swan and Vee-Jay labels, which had released Beatles material before Capitol secured the American rights[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums).
## How the album was assembled
Capitol secured exclusive U.S. rights to the Beatles' recordings from EMI shortly before the band's February 1964 American visit, and rushed out *Meet The Beatles!* on January 20, 1964, drawing 12 tracks largely from the U.K. album *With The Beatles* while replacing five cover songs with three originals[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums). Those five displaced covers became the backbone of *The Beatles' Second Album*, alongside the singles and the two new recordings[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums) • [6](https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/the-superdeluxeedition-guide-to-the-beatles-capitol-albums/).
The timing also reflects the label rivalry of early 1964. Capitol had taken legal action that limited Vee-Jay's right to release certain Beatles songs only until October 1964, after which the recordings would become Capitol's property[5](https://www.beatlesbible.com/albums/the-beatles-second-album/). This kind of repackaged album would remain the norm for the Beatles' American releases until 1967[2](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album).
A pressing detail marks the album's rushed production: because the label copy for the record was prepared before Capitol received the master tapes for "Long Tall Sally" and "I Call Your Name", the labels on first pressings do not list the running times for those two songs[7](https://www.yokono.co.uk/collection/beatles/usa/lp/usa_lp_capitol_t2080.html).
## Commercial performance
The album hit the American market at the height of [Beatlemania](https://www.edgepedia.org/beatlemania). By early April 1964, more than 3.6 million copies of *Meet The Beatles!* had sold, and on April 4 the Beatles swept the top five positions of the Billboard Hot 100, a chart record that still stands[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums). *The Beatles' Second Album* replaced *Meet The Beatles!* at the top of the albums chart and stayed there for five weeks[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums); the Billboard book identifies the chart-topping week as May 4, 1964[3](https://number1albums.com/the-beatles-second-album-the-beatles-may-4-1964/).
Before Capitol could rush-release the album, two other Beatles-related LPs had already appeared on the chart: an MGM album of early recordings, *The Beatles with Tony Sheridan and Their Guests*, and a Vee-Jay compilation titled *Jolly What!*[3](https://number1albums.com/the-beatles-second-album-the-beatles-may-4-1964/). Sales of *The Beatles' Second Album* itself were strong and durable: 1,668,435 copies by the end of 1964, rising to 2,051,486 by the end of the decade[5](https://www.beatlesbible.com/albums/the-beatles-second-album/).
## Later reissues
The album stayed in circulation in several forms. Capitol reissued it on CD on July 28, 1988, then in 2004 in the four-disc set *The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1*, which used the original Capitol masters in both mono and stereo on one disc[2](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album). The 2014 *The U.S. Albums* box set included it again, but that version featured reworked EMI masters instead[2](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album).
For the 60th anniversary of the 1964 American releases, Apple Corps Ltd., Capitol, and UMe issued *The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono*, an eight-LP box set released November 22, 2024, collecting the seven U.S. albums, including *The Beatles' Second Album*, analog cut for 180-gram vinyl from the original mono master tapes[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums). The reissues carry essays by the American Beatles historian Bruce Spizer, and the lacquers were cut by Kevin Reeves at Nashville's East Iris Studios[1](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums).
## References
1. [The Beatles' 1964 U.S. Albums In Mono, The Beatles (official site)](https://www.thebeatles.com/us-1964-albums)
2. [The Beatles' Second Album (United States, 1964), About The Beatles](https://aboutthebeatles.com/the-beatles-second-album)
3. [The Beatles' Second Album — The Beatles, May 4, 1964, Billboard Book of Number One Albums](https://number1albums.com/the-beatles-second-album-the-beatles-may-4-1964/)
4. [The Beatles US LPs on Capitol & Apple labels, The Beatles Beat](https://thebeatlesbeat.net/USA-2.htm)
5. [The Beatles' Second Album, The Beatles Bible](https://www.beatlesbible.com/albums/the-beatles-second-album/)
6. [The SuperDeluxeEdition guide to The Beatles Capitol Albums](https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/the-superdeluxeedition-guide-to-the-beatles-capitol-albums/)
7. [The Beatles U.S. LPs Capitol Label / Mono / The Beatles' Second Album (T-2080), yokono.co.uk](https://www.yokono.co.uk/collection/beatles/usa/lp/usa_lp_capitol_t2080.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license