4-By the Beatles was the third of three EPs released in United States, but second of two Beatles' EPs released by Capitol Records (catalogue number R-5365) in the US with original sleeve.
Though the first Beatles' EP released by Capitol did not succeed as much as the label would have hoped, it did well on the singles chart, which enabled Capitol to create a new series called the "4-By" series, which acted like a "super single." The idea was to market a set of four songs to "complement the artist's singles and albums and not compete with the performer's current hit single."[1] Accordingly, the series name is a reference to the limited success of that first EP by the Beatles that Capitol had released: Four by the Beatles.
Although initially intended to appear as a single by releasing the "4-By" in a soft sleeve and thus "distinguish the '4-By' product from EP's," the Beatles "4-By" was released in a hard cardboard sleeve, similar to regular EP releases.[1] Billboard did not chart this "4-By" as a single either, instead as an EP, with it charting as high as 68 on the Hot 100, the highest it reached in the Cash Box chart as well.[1]
Capitol deleted this release from its catalog on 31 December 1965, less than a year after it was released