Beatles for Sale is the fourth studio album by English rock band The Beatles , released on 4 December 1964 and produced by George Martin for Parlophone . The album marked a minor turning point in the evolution of the Lennon- Mccartney partnership, John Lennon particularly now showing interest in composing songs of a more autobiographical nature. "I'm A Loser " shows Lennon for the first time coming under the influence of Bob Dylan whom he met in New York while on tour, on 28 August 1964. The album hit the UK number one spot and retained that position for 11 of the 46 weeks that it spent in the top 20 . Beatles for Sale did not surface as a regular album in the US until 1987.