The Beatles is proof that regardless of popularity in the music industry, one may still not be able to release a live album as easily as possible.
The Beatles' fans finally got the band's first live album 44 years ago. Titled, "The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl," the album became one of their successful pieces before their split.
However, fans noticed that the first live album took more than a decade before it was released, and the reason behind it did not have something to do with the members' lack of trying.
Two years after the event was recorded live, Capitol Records - the band's US label - started brainstorming to take advantage of The Beatles' popularity.
The idea for a live album occurred, but they hit a glitch due to the limitations of technology in the 1970s and a dispute with the American Federation of Musicians when George Martin wanted to record it at New York's Carnegie Hall.
As it turned out impossible, Martin and The Beatles decided to record the band's first performance at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles instead.
The Making of The Beatles' 1st Live Album
In August 1964, they played a 12-song set in front of nearly 19,000 fans. While the tape smoothly rolled and the entire performance was good, the crowd's screaming made the recordings useless.
"You would record the band in stereo on two tracks and keep the voice separated on the third so that you could bring it up or down in the mix. But at the Hollywood Bowl, they didn't use three-track in quite the right way. ... The recording seemed to concentrate more on the wild screaming of 18,700 kids than on the Beatles on stage," Martin recalled.
The band then continued performing again after their unsuccessful tries. In 1970, they seemingly ditched the idea of releasing a live album as they broke up before "Let It Be" was released a month later.
Capitol immediately approached Phil Spector after the producer successfully made the final LP despite its difficulty.
In 1977, Martin finally received a call from the president of Capitol Records, Bhaskar Menon, asking him to listen to the recorded tapes again.
"My immediate reaction was, as far as I could remember, the original tapes had a rotten sound. So I said to Bhaskar, 'I don't think you've got anything here at all.' But when I listened to the Hollywood Bowl tapes, I was amazed at the rawness and vitality of the Beatles' singing. So I told Bhaskar that I'd see if I could bring the tapes into line with today's recordings," he said.
The producer started working with engineer Geoff Emerick and the two men, and they managed to salvage 13 out of 22 songs. Martin then convinced the four members to give the live album their blessing, and it finally came out in 1977 - earning several records and accolades despite The Beatles' split.
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