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WMCA GOOD GUYS / "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND"
CAPITOL RECORDS PROMOTIONAL 45RPM CUSTOM PICTURE SLEEVE
ISSUED: JANUARY 1964

CONDITION: (SLEEVE) VG+ / (RECORD) VG+++
ITEM#: PR835
PRICE: $10,775

DESCRIPTION
(ACTUAL SCANS)

RADIO STATION WMCA IN NEW YORK CITY ADDED "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND" TO ITS PLAY LIST ON DECEMBER 26, 1963, THE DAY THE SINGLE WAS RELEASED. IN APPRECIATION, CAPITOL RECORDS PREPARED A CUSTOM SLEEVE WITH A PICTURE OF THE WMCA GOOD GUYS DISC JOCKEYS ON ONE SIDE AND THE STANDARD "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND" PICTURE AND INFORMATION ON THE OTHER. THE PROMOTIONAL SLEEVES WERE PAIRED WITH COPIES OF THE CAPITOL SINGLE AND GIVEN TO LISTENERS AS PRIZES IN THE STATION'S BEATLES WIG CONTEST. CONTESTANTS WERE INSTRUCTED TO TAKE PHOTOS OF THEIR FRIENDS OR FROM NEWSPAPERS AND TO DRAW BEATLES WIGS ON THEM. THE TWO MOST ORIGINAL ENTRIES WERE ALSO AWARDED $57 FROM RADIO 57, WMCA.

HERE IS AN IMAGE OF THE ORIGINAL FEBRUARY 1964 NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE LOWELL "BEATLES WIG"
WHICH INCLUDED THE BLURB "AS ADVERTISED ON WMCA".

THE PRODUCTION RUN FOR THE WMCA SLEEVE WAS EXTREMELY LIMITED. ACCORDING TO ONE OF THE "GOOD GUYS" DJ'S PICTURED ON THE SLEEVE, HE STATED THAT THE STATION RECEIVED ONLY 200 COPIES OF THE SLEEVE FROM CAPITOL RECORDS. ACCORDING TO BEATLES EXPERT AND AUTHOR PERRY COX, ALTHOUGH IT'S REPORTED THAT 1,000 OF THESE RARE SLEEVES WERE ORIGINALLY MANUFACTURED, HE BELIEVES THE ACTUAL NUMBER TO BE NOTABLY LESS AND IN LINE WITH THE 200 NUMBER STATED BY ONE OF THE "GOOD GUYS". TODAY, THERE ARE LESS THAN TWENTY COPIES OF THIS SLEEVE THAT ARE KNOWN TO STILL EXIST. ALONG SIDE VEE-JAY'S "ASK ME WHY" PROMOTIONAL TITLE SLEEVE, THE WMCA GOOD GUYS CUSTOM SLEEVE HAS UNDOUBTEDLY BECOME ONE OF THE RAREST AND MOST VALUABLE OF ALL BEATLES RECORD SLEEVES AMONG THE COLLECTOR'S WORLD. THERE ARE NO VARIATIONS OF THIS SLEEVE, FOR IT WAS PRODUCED ONLY ON THE EAST COAST.

THE CONDITION OF THIS EXAMPLE IS A SOLID VG+. THE PHOTO AND GRAPHICS ON THE "WMCA GOOD GUYS" SIDE ARE BOLD, CRISP AND CLEAR. THERE IS SOME SPORADIC PAPER WEAR ALL ALONG THE HIGH-END TOP EDGE. THERE ARE NO SEAM SPLITS. THERE ARE TWO SMALL PAPER DENTS VISIBLE ON THE EDGE OF THE LOWER-CUT "GOOD GUYS" SIDE, YET THE AREAS REMAIN INTACT. THE TONE OF THE SLEEVE OVERALL REMAINS A CLEAN WHITE WITH SOME PROPER AND TYPICAL AGE TONING. THE "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND" SIDE IS BRIGHT AND CRISP AS WELL. THERE IS LIGHT RUBBING EVIDENT ON THE WORDS "STANDING THERE", AND SOME SOFT RUBBING BY RINGO'S FACE NEAR THE CENTER AND A TINY AGE STAIN ON RINGO'S SHOULDER. OVERALL, THERE IS HANDLING WEAR EVIDENT THROUGHOUT THE SLEEVE, DUE TO THE WAXY MATERIAL USED FOR THESE SLEEVES.

ACCOMPANYING THIS ULTRA-RARE PROMOTIONAL SLEEVE IS ITS ORIGINAL AND MATCHING EAST COAST VERY FIRST ISSUE PRESSING "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND" 45 SINGLE INDICATED BY THE 'WALTER HOFER" PUBLISHING CREDIT ON THE B-SIDE. THE SINGLE IS IN BRIGHT AND SHIMMERING VG+++ CONDITION WITH VERY MINIMAL PLAY TIME EXHIBITED.

A "WMCA GOOD GUYS" CUSTOM PROMOTIONAL PICTURE SLEEVE SOLD IN SEPTEMBER 2022 ON EBAY FOR $10,151 IN VG CONDITION. IN APRIL 2017, WE AT FAB 4 COLLECTIBLES HAD SOLD A NEAR MINT MINUS EXAMPLE FOR $25,000.

THERE ARE LP ALBUMS IN BEATLES RECORD COLLECTING THAT ARE REFERRED TO AS "CORNERSTONES". THE CAPITOL RECORDS "WMCA GOOD GUYS" SLEEVE IS DEFINITELY A MAJOR "CORNERSTONE" IN THE 45 RPM RECORD SLEEVE CATEGORY INDEED.