1962–1966

1962–1966 (also known as the Red Album) is a compilation album of songs by the English rock band the Beatles, spanning the years indicated in the title and the albums Please Please Me through to Revolver with numerous intervening single releases. Released with its counterpart 1967–1970 (the "Blue Album") in 1973, the double LP peaked at number 3 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it topped the Cash Box albums chart and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart while 1967–1970 reached the top spot. The album was re-released in September 1993 on compact disc, charting at number 3 in the UK. The album was instigated by Apple Records manager Allen Klein shortly before he was dismissed from his position. Even though the group had success with cover versions of songs, particularly "Twist and Shout", the original release of 1962–1966 contains only songs composed by the Beatles. It also omits any George Harrison compositions from the era, such as "Taxman", and as such, consists entirely of Lennon–McCartney originals. As with 1967–1970, the compilation was created by Apple and EMI/Capitol Records in response to a bootleg collection titled Alpha Omega, which had been sold on television the previous year. Print advertising for the two records made a point of declaring them "the only authorized collection of the Beatles". The success of the two official double LP compilations inspired Capitol's repackaging of the Beach Boys' 1960s hits, starting with the 1974 album Endless Summer. A deluxe expanded version of the album was released in 2023. The new release contained remixes of a majority of the tracks, and it added tracks not on the original release, including songs written by Harrison, cover songs and more tracks from Revolver.