The Beatles is the ninth official album by the English rock group The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is commonly known as "The White Album" as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed in grey letters (and, on the early LP and CD releases, a serial number) on its plain white sleeve. The album was the first that The Beatles undertook following the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, and the first released by their own record label, Apple. The album's original title, A Doll's House, was changed when the English progressive rock band Family released the similarly titled Music in a Doll's House earlier that year. The White Album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide.
The Beatles was written and recorded during a period of turmoil for the group, after visiting the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India and having a particularly productive songwriting session in early 1968. The group returned to the studio for recording from May to October 1968, only to have conflict and dissent drive the group members apart. Ringo Starr quit the band for a brief time, leaving Paul McCartney to perform drums on some of the album's songs. Many of the songs were "solo" recordings, or at least by less than the full group, as each individual member began to explore his own talent.
Upon release in November 1968, the album received mixed to positive reviews and reached #1 on the charts in the United Kingdom and the United States. The album is notable for the eclectic nature of its songs, which has divided critics in evaluating the album's legacy. In 2003, the album was ranked number ten on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
Song List: Side 1 1. Back in the USSR - 0:00 2. Dear Prudence - 2:43 3. Glass Onion - 6:39 4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - 8:57 5. Wild Honey Pie - 12:06 6. The Continuing Story of Bungalo Bill - 13:07 7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - 16:13 8. Happiness is a Warm Gun - 20:59 9. Martha My Dear - 23:42 10. I'm So Tired - 26:11 11. Blackbird - 28:14 12. Piggies - 30:32 13. Rocky Raccoon - 32:37 14. Don't Pass Me By - 36:18 15. Why Don't We Do It in the Road? - 40:00 16. I Will - 41:42 17. Julia - 43:28 Side 2 1. Birthday - 46:23 2. Yer Blues - 49:05 3. Mother Nature's Son - 53:06 4. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey - 55:55 5. Sexy Sadie - 58:19 6. Helter Skelter - 1:01:34 7. Long, Long, Long - 1:06:05 8. Revolution 1 - 1:09:09 9. Honey Pie - 1:13:25 10. Savoy Truffle - 1:16:06 11. Cry Baby Cry - 1:19:02 12. Revolution 9 - 1:22:13 13. Good Night - 1:30:27
