The Beatles (with Pete Best still on drums) first appeared on the BBC this day in 1962 on the radio show "Teenagers Turn" playing songs like Roy Orbison's "Dream Baby", Chuck Berry's "Memphis" and The Marvelettes "Please Mister Postman". Hear these BBC recordings here-
The Beatles' John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best perform an audition for Decca Records on January 1, 1962. In a famously bad move, Decca turned the band down a couple of weeks later saying guitar groups are on the way out. They did record the 15 song session and 5 of those tracks were officially released on The Beatles Anthology 1 project. They did mostly covers with 3 Lennon/McCartney originals. Here's the song list from the session:
"Like Dreamers Do"
"Money (That's What I Want)"
"Till There Was You"
"The Sheik Of Araby"
"To Know Her Is To Love Her"
"Take Good Care Of My Baby"
"Memphis, Tennessee"
"Sure To Fall (In Love With You)"
"Hello Little Girl"
"Three Cool Cats"
"Crying, Waiting, Hoping"
"Love Of The Loved"
"September In The Rain"
"Besame Mucho"
"Searchin'"
Chuck Berry was born this day in 1926 in St. Louis, MO. His songwriting, guitar playing and showmanship is one of the biggest influences on rock. Most artists coming out after Berry have acknowledged him as an influence. Here are some of his biggest hits along with select covers from others...
"Johnny B. Goode"
Dion- "Johnny B. Goode"
Jimi Hendrix- "Johnny B. Goode"
"Maybelline"
Elvis Presley- "Maybelline" (live 1955)
"Rock & Roll Music" (w/ Tina Turner)
The Beatles- "Rock & Roll Music"
The Beach Boys (w/ Roger McGuinn)- "Rock & Roll Music"
Happy Birthday Paul McCartney! He was born in Liverpool, England in 1942 to James and Mary McCartney. His impact on music is nearly impossible to measure from his work with The Beatles, Wings and his solo recordings. Guinness World Records describes Paul as "The Most Successful Composer And Recording Artist Of All Time" with 60 Gold Discs and 100 million albums, 100 million singles and a writers credit on 43 songs that have sold over one million copies each!
Just a little under 3 weeks shy of his 15th birthday, George Harrison joined The Quarrymen. He was first friends with Paul McCartney who then introduced him to John Lennon. It was Harrison's guitar playing (particularly his skill at playing the song "Raunchy" note for note) that won over Lennon. Here's one of the songs they recorded as The Quarrymen- "In Spite Of All The Danger", written by George and Paul.
John Lennon was born this day in 1940. His music legacy is impressive to say the least. I wanted to focus on his love for early Rock & Roll....specifically his love for Chuck Berry. The Beatles would cover several of Chuck's tunes in their early days and often John would take the lead on those. He covered "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "You Can't Catch Me" on his Rock 'N' Roll album (pictured above). Hear The Beatles cover "Johnny B. Goode" live on the BBC and also see John with Chuck Berry covering the same song live on the Mike Douglas show in 1972. See Chuck at the beginning point to John and say "Johnny....let's be good."
The Beatles played their last of 292 appearances at The Cavern Club on August 3rd, 1963. Ringo had replaced Pete Best in August of 1962. This final appearance was only a month after "She Loves You" was released and about 6 months before their first United States visit. Their setlist included several Rockabilly and Soul cover tunes from the likes of Chuck Berry, Arthur Alexander, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, Larry Williams, The Coasters, Dr. Feelgood, Ray Charles, Billy Lee Riley, Chan Romero and others. Here is the complete setlist from their Cavern shows:
Ain’t She Sweet (John) Johnny B.Goode (John) Sheik Of Araby (George) Anna (John) Kansas City (Paul) Sheila (George) Baby It’s You (John) Keep Your Hands Off My Baby (John) Shimmy Shimmy (John) Beatle Bop (Instrumental) Lend Me Your Comb (John) Shine (George) Beautiful Dreamer (Paul) Like Dreamers Do (Paul) Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (John/Paul) Besame Mucho(Paul) Locomotion (John) Slow Down (John) Boys (Ringo) Long Tall Sally (Paul) Soldier Of Love (John) Chains (George) Love Me Tender Some Other Guy (John/Paul) Clarabella (Paul) Love Of The Loved (Paul) Stand By Me (John) Claudette (Paul) Loving You (Paul) Sure To Fall (Paul) Darktown Strutters Ball (George) Lucille (Paul) Sweet Little Sixteen (John) Don’t Ever Change (George/Paul) Matchbox (Ringo) Talkin’ ‘Bout You (John) Dream (George) Maybellene (John) A Taste Of Honey (Paul) Dream Baby (Paul) Memphis (John) Three Cool Cats (George) Falling In Love (George) Money (John) Till There Was You (Paul) Glad All Over (George) Mr. Moonlight (John) Time (George) Hello Little Girl (John) My Bonnie Tip Of My Tongue (Paul) Hey Baby (Paul) Nothin’ Shakin’(George) To Know Her Is To Love Her (John) Hey Good Lookin’ (George) Oh! My Soul(Paul) Too Much Monkey Business (John) Hey Hey Hey Hey (Paul) Open (George) Tutti Frutti (Paul) Hippy Hippy Shake (Paul) Over The Rainbow (Paul) Twist And Shout (John) Honeymoon Song (Paul) Picture Of You (George) What A Crazy World (George) Hully Gully (John) Pinwheel Twist (Instrumental) What’d I Say (Paul) I Call Your Name (John) Please Mr. Postman (John) What’s Your Name (John) I Forgot To Remember To Forget (George) Quarter To Three (Paul/John) Where Have You Been (John) If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody (John/Paul) Rip It Up (Paul) Wooden Heart (Paul) I’m A Hog For You Baby (Paul/John) Red Hot (George) Yakety Yak (George/John) I’m Gonna Sit Right Down & Cry (John) Red Sails In The Sunset (Paul) You Better Move On (John) I’m Henry The Eighth (George) Roll Over Beethoven (George) Young Blood (George) I Remember You (Paul) The Saints Your Feet’s Too Big (John/Paul) It’s Now Or Never (Paul) Save The Last Dance For Me
Del Shannon was born this day in 1934 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was born Charles Weedon Westover and changed to his stage name at the time of his record deal with Bigtop Records in 1960. His biggest hit came the following year in 1961 with "Runaway" which hit the top of the charts. He followed with hits like "Hats Off To Larry" and "Little Town Flirt". He's also the first American artist to cover a Beatles song. His version of "From Me To You" hit the US charts before The Beatles original version did. Here's a look back at some of his great tunes...
This day in 1999, Paul McCartney returns to The Cavern after 36 years for a special live performance. McCartney focused on tunes from his recently released Run Devil Run but also threw in some gems like "Twenty Flight Rock" and "I Saw Her Standing There". Those 2 took him back to his days with The Beatles playing there over 3 decades before. His band also featured Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Deep Purple's Ian Paice. There were roughly 300 packed in the Cavern but it was also broadcast on the internet as well as released on DVD later. Enjoy some video footage from that historic night here...
The Beatles On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 was just recently released and now we are presented with this wonderful new music video to their cover of Buddy Holly's "Words Of Love".
1994's The Beatles Live At The BBC was a huge success and showcased many of the band's live performances live on the air. This new 63 song compilation showcases 37 previously unreleased performances and 23 unreleased in-studio banter. Among the tracks include covers of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Chan Romero, Ray Charles and Carl Perkins. Here's is the full track listing:
Carl Perkins died this day in 1998 in Jackson, TN at age 65. He was a rockabilly icon with his songwriting and guitar style on songs like "Blue Suede Shoes", "Boppin' The Blues", "Dixie Fried", "All Mama's Children", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and so many more. Among those that have covered his songs are The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Kentucky Headhunters, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Dion DiMucci, Wanda Jackson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brian Setzer, Ricky Nelson, Chris Isaak, etc.
"Blue Suede Shoes"
"Matchbox" (with Eric Clapton and Johnny Cash)
"Glad All Over"
Scotty Moore & Carl Perkins talk about the early days
"Boppin' The Blues" (with Dave Edmunds and Lee Rocker)
George Harrison passed away this day in 2001. The "quiet Beatle" will long be remembered for his great contributions both solo and with The Beatles. In addition to the great songs he wrote, his guitar playing has long been studied. Harrison joined The Quarrymen after Paul McCartney told John Lennon about a friend of his named George that could play the hit instrumental "Raunchy" note for note. Here's a look back at his stellar career:
"Roll Over Beethoven"
"Don't Bother Me" (first song he wrote to be recorded by The Beatles)
Beatles and vinyl enthusiasts are celebrating the 2012 Stereo vinyl remastered box set available on Tuesday, November 13th. Individual album remasters will also be available. One fun they are doing to promote this in New York and Los Angeles is a special Double Decker Bus Pop-Up Shop. Available for sale on the shop will be vinyl, blu-ray, merch and more! More info HERE.
Clarence Henry got the nickname "Frogman" from his gravelly vocal performance on "Ain't Got No Home" which was released this day in 1956. Clarence has toured with some of the best including a tour in 1964 with The Beatles and later with James Brown. He continues to perform to this day and prefers agents to call him directly to do business. "Ain't Got No Home" has been featured in several movies including Diner, Lost Boys and Casino. Check out the smash hit here...
