the next month they were rejected by Decca Records, which they were hoping to join. In spite of this, they got the opportunity to impress George Martin, producer at EMI-Parlophone records, and signed with them in April 1962 (Steinberg). In August of that year, the group finally became complete when drummer Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best. Starr had previously been playing with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and was eager to join the booming group. One of their largest and still early steps was their radio debut in which they performed three songs, including Roy Orbisons Dream Baby, on the BBC on March 7 (Beatles Online). However, their biggest steps were yet to come, for instance hitting number two on the British charts with the song Please Please Me. They had recorded their first two albums at EMI Studios in September of 1962, and began a chart-topping reign that would last for years afterwards (Beatles Beatles).The next and biggest stage was their infamous trip to America, but not before topping the U.S. charts with the single I Want to Hold Your Hand prior to having even arrived. This single, the first of the Beatles American singles, was released on Capitol Records, which was EMIs American counterpart. The Beatles' conquest of America early in 1964 launched the British Invasion, as a flood of rock and roll bands from Britain overtook the pop charts. This event was possibly the single most important event in the history of the Beatles, if not in the entire history of pop music, because it marked a literal invasion of a completely new and fresh style of music. This style of music was, at the time, just what the U.S. needed, due to the recent assassination of its president. During the week of April 4, 1964, two months after their arrival in the U.S., the Beatles set a record that is likely never to be broken when they occupied all five of the top positions on Billboard's Top Pop Singles chart, with "Can't Buy Me Love at Number O...
