The first recording contract signed by The Beatles, which set the career course for the legendary band, was sold at a New York auction Saturday for a hammer price of $75,000.

The future Fab Four signed the six-page contract in 1961 in Germany, where the band's small club shows in Hamburg resulted in their first recorded single, My Bonnie, a modern version of a children's song.

The name of the band was given as Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers, because a producer doubted the name The Beatles would work in the German market. The song never became a hit but drew enough requests in the band's hometown, Liverpool, that it caught the attention of local record store owner Brian Epstein.