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On the Charts in 1996, a Beatles Rarities Compilation Went No. 1 More Than 25 Years After the Fab Four Broke Up
The Beatles may have broken up in 1970, but that didn’t stop the Fab Four from continuing their chart-topping success.
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In May 1973, the legendary British band’s two-LP 1967-1970 compilation, also known as the “Blue Album,” spent a week atop the Billboard 200. Then, in December 1995, The Beatles had a three-week run at No. 1 on the albums chart with Anthology 1, the first of three archival rarities collections released in conjunction with the TV documentary series The Beatles Anthology.
Thirty years ago, on April 6, 1996, Anthology 2 also topped the Billboard 200. It knocked Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill from the top spot for a week before the Canadian singer’s album regained the No. 1 position.
Anthology 2 was released in the U.S. on March 19, 1996, as a two-CD set and three-LP package. The 45-track collection features a variety of rarities, outtakes, and live performances. It spanned from the sessions for the 1965 album Help! until recording the band made before traveling to India in February 1968 for a spiritual pilgrimage.
Anthology 2 was certified four-times Platinum by the RIAA for sales of 4 million units in the U.S.
More About the ‘Anthology 2’ Compilation
The Anthology 2 collection includes several previously unreleased Beatles compositions. Among them were “12-Bar Original,” an instrumental dating back to the Rubber Soul sessions; and “If You’ve Got Trouble” and “That Means A Lot,” which both were recorded while the band was making Help!
The compilation also features in-progress versions of tracks from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour. Also appearing are early versions of the tunes “Only A Northern Song,” “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number),” and “Across The Universe.”
In addition, Anthology 2 includes “Real Love,” a track created around a 1970s demo recorded by the late John Lennon to which surviving members Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr added new parts. The song was released as a single, and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Similarly, Anthology 1 features “Free As A Bird,” another song built around a 1970s Lennon demo that the other Beatles finished for the Anthology project. “Free As A Bird” reached No. 6 on the Hot 100.
More About The Beatles’ ‘Anthology’ Project
The Anthology 3 compilation was released in October 1996. It also topped the Billboard 200, for a week in November of that year.
In November 2025, remastered versions of the Anthology compilations were released as part of the Anthology Collection box set. The box set also included a newly compiled Anthology 4 two-CD set, which was made available as a standalone release as well.
The Anthology Collection was released in conjunction with an updated and expanded version of The Beatles Anthology docuseries. The nine-part series premiered in late November on Disney+.
The Beatles’ Other Post-Breakup Chart-Topping Album
After the three Anthology compilations, The Beatles scored one more chart-topping album on the Billboard 200. The 1 compilation was released in November 2000, and marked the 30th anniversary of the band’s breakup. The 27-track collection featured almost every Beatles song that topped either the U.S. or the U.K. singles charts.
1 spent eight non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 between late December 200 and early February 2001.
(Photo by John Downing/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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