The release of this album was the result of EMI not having any new material by the Beatles for the 1966 Christmas season (as work was still underway for the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP), in the same manner as the previous three years. The sole new track, a cover of Larry Williams' "Bad Boy," had not yet appeared on a Beatles LP in the UK, but had already been released in the United States on the Capitol album Beatles VI. The cover of this album contributed to the "Paul is dead" hoax as the road shown on the cover seems to lead into the head of the man sitting on the cover.