Beatle Country is the fourth and final studio album by the American bluegrass band Charles River Valley Boys, released in November 1966 by Elektra Records.

The album's ineffective marketing campaign allowed it to fall into obscurity, subsequently attaining cult status and becoming a valued collector's item.

The album's cover artwork, created by Eros Keith under the supervision of William S. Harvey and without the band's involvement, features a group of cowboys gazing at the theater district of Swinging London.

[8] Attending Club 47, a performance by the Charles River Valley Boys enthralled Rothchild, who offered to produce an album for the group.

[11] In the lead up to the 6 December 1965 release of the Beatles' album Rubber Soul,[12] the Charles River Valley Boys' guitarist, Jim Field, recalled hearing "I've Just Seen a Face" on the radio and thinking "it instantly felt like bluegrass".

[13][note 1] In particular, the I–vi–IV–V chord progression of the verses and the chorus beginning on the dominant had "a drive perfectly suited for a straight-ahead bluegrass trio".

[16][note 2] Performing the covers in February 1966 at the War Memorial Auditorium during Boston's Winterfest, the band received a positive reception from the 5,600-person audience.

[26] Having undergone several personnel changes in the years prior, the Charles River Valley Boys' 1966 line up consisted of Siggins on banjo, Field on guitar, Joe Val on mandolin and Everett A. Lilly on upright bass,[27] with the first three also providing vocals.

[28] Siegel described this group as "the strongest, most uniform bluegrass band sound that the Charles River Valley Boys had ever achieved".

[30] Complementing the Charles River Valley Boys were several session musicians, including Nashville fiddler Buddy Spicher, West Virginia dobro player Craig Wingfield and California guitarist Eric Thompson.

Rothchild and Siegel mixed the album in Elektra's New York studio, correcting small mistakes not noticed in Nashville and selecting twelve songs for inclusion.

Hearing that voice come through the monitors, I felt like Joe [Val] was achieving an essential melding of the Beatles songs and the bluegrass style, and it's something I'll never forget.

[29] The Beatles' songs the Charles River Valley Boys selected for the album varied chronologically from the December 1963 B-side "I Saw Her Standing There" to the August 1966 A-side "Yellow Submarine".

[36] The band's cover of "Yellow Submarine" incorporates several sound effects added during the mixing process in New York, including ricochet gunfire and a mechanical wind-up toy.

'"[39] When Rounder re-released the album on CD on 23 March 1995,[46] the cover art was changed to be closer to the bands original expectations, depicting a sepia-toned group of bluegrass musicians in suits.

[50] Cash Box described the album as "[a] delightful Bluegrass romp" and predicted it would be a success among Beatles fans, while also having good chances in the country and western market.

[51] Billboard magazine called the album "[a] novel idea" and suggested the covers of "Baby's in Black" and "Norwegian Wood" had the potential to gain airplay on both pop and country radio stations.

[52] In a review for Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, Neil V. Rosenberg described Val's mandolin playing as the album's "outstanding feature".

He calls the singing on "I Saw Her Standing There" "forced", while describing "Norwegian Wood" as the high point of the album in terms of both its vocal and instrumental performance.

[53][54] Reviewing the album's 1995 CD release for CMJ New Music Monthly magazine, Andrea Moed writes that in hindsight the LP was "visionary ... foreshadowing both the 'newgrass' movement of the '70s and the pop stylings of people like Mike Nesmith".

[46] Reviewing the same release for the Chicago Tribune, Tom Popson suggests the covers point to either the "universality in Beatles material or the Charles River Valley Boys' skill at adaptation – or both".

[43] Critic Kurt Wolff writes that while the album began as an attempt to capitalize on Beatlemania, the music "turns out to be surprisingly strong and well-arranged".

He opines that the album – in particular, the covers of "Baby's in Black", "Ticket to Ride" and "Paperback Writer" – helps provide the "all-too-familiar numbers a hopped-up bluegrass spin that makes them sound fresher than they have in years".

He concludes that the LP remains both interesting as a novelty record and as "an excellent bluegrass album by any measure, regardless of the unusual source of its material".

[59] Beatle Country subsequently achieved cult status,[37] becoming a valued collector's item;[49] Craig Harris of AllMusic writes it sometimes sold for as much as $75,[32] while Siggins recalled people paying hundreds of dollars for copies.

[49] When the group Bluegrass Association covered "I've Just Seen a Face" for their 1974 album Strings Today ... And Yesterday, they based their arrangement on the Charles River Valley Boys' version.