![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/The-Beatles-02-The-Ed-Sullivan-Show-February-9-1964-America-Beatlemania-CBS-Television-Far-Out-Magaz.webp\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Credit: Far Out \/ Bernard Gotfryd<\/p>\n
Living in the shadow of The Beatles<\/a> wasn\u2019t a singular experience; so many great songs and artists were kept from achieving the full official recognition they deserved due to the reign of the four beloved Liverpudlians.<\/p>\n Take The Beach Boys\u2019 classic pop anthem, \u2018God Only Knows\u2019, released in 1966, which was forced to look miserably on from the second spot due to the never-ending reign of the double A-side Beatles track blocking it, namely \u2018Yellow Submarine\u2019 and \u2018Eleanor Rigby\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n Or how about two years earlier, in 1964, when The Isley Brothers\u2019 hit \u2018Twist and Shout\u2019 was blocked from the top spot by The Beatles\u2019 hit \u2018Can\u2019t Buy Me Love\u2019. It peaked at number two, but only for a moment, as The Beatles held the entire top five during April of 1964.<\/p>\n This tale is told up and down the chart history of The Beatles\u2019 reign of terror, as Beatlemania swept the globe and Paul McCartney\u2019s handsome, rough, Scouse drawl converted every last sceptic. From their soaring entry into the charts with hits like \u2018Please Please Me\u2019 in 1963, they were an unstoppable force throughout the entirety of the decade, except for one band who were able to withstand and conquer the storm before, after, and during its worst typhoons. <\/p>\n Before Beatlemania had dug its fangs into even the most unsuspecting victims, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons<\/a> became the first group in Hot 100 history to score three consecutive number-one singles, in the form of \u2018Sherry\u2019 and \u2018Big Girls Don\u2019t Cry\u2019 in 1962 and \u2018Walk Like a Man\u2019 in 1963. They occupied the number one position for an extraordinary 13 consecutive weeks.<\/p>\n The group\u2019s fourth top single came in 1964, just as The Beatles\u2019 performance on The Ed Sullivan Show took the rockers to new heights. Still, The Four Seasons went for gold with \u2018Rag Doll\u2019, which stayed in the top spot in the US for two weeks, born on a street in Manhattan when a young girl washed songwriter Bob Gaudio\u2019s car in Hell\u2019s Kitchen. Not bad at all for a personal anecdote.<\/p>\n All that was left now was for the band to prove that they could land at the top of the podium after John Lennon departed from The Beatles and their earth-shattering reign came crashing to an unceremonious end<\/a>. It took some time (more than a decade since their last number one), but the band of friends managed to land another miracle with \u2018December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)\u2019, which soared to the top of the charts in 1976.<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n It was a different recipe that cooked up the winning take, as Valli\u2019s signature falsetto was pushed to the side for drummer Gerry Polci\u2019s pleasant drawl soaking up the limelight in the verses. A true collaborative affair, bass player\u00a0Don Ciccone\u00a0delivered the recognisable falsetto line: \u201cAnd I felt a rush like a rolling ball of thunder \/ Spinning my head around and taking my body under\u201d.<\/p>\n Despite the evident competition between the two groups, there was never any bad blood. The Four Seasons went so far as to cover The Beatles\u2019 classics, such as \u2018Fool on the Hill\u2019 and \u2018We Can Work It Out\u2019, though these singles were never in with a chance of chart success. Let the Fab Four do what the Fab Four did best.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/faroutmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/themes\/far-out-magazine\/img\/google-discover.svg\")
<\/a> The Far Out Beatles Newsletter<\/p>\n