Recorded the day after the Beatles’ Ed Sullivan debut and rushed out on Capitol Records within a month, “A Letter to the Beatles” captures a very specific moment of mid-’60s panic. The Four Preps — the West Coast group behind “26 Miles (Santa Catalina)” — watched the British Invasion threaten their own fanbase, and Stu Phillips produced their musical response in real time.

Oriole Records famously turned down the Beatles in 1962 — then rushed out this fan-song answer to “She Loves You” in 1964. Studio group The Carefrees (built by producer Reg Warburton, based on “We Love You Conrad” from Bye Bye Birdie) got a “MISS!” from UK’s Juke Box Jury, but the U.S. release hit #39 on Billboard — making it the most successful Beatles novelty record ever, and the only one to crack the Top 40.