John and Paul met at a church picnic (7/6/57) where John's "Quarry
Men" were playing
John formed the band after hearing "Rock Island Line," a smash
skiffle hit by Lonnie Donegan
"skiffle" style
simple, 3-chord style featuring easily accessible instruments (guitar/banjo,
washboard, "bass" made from a broom handle & wooden chest)
Contrast John & Paul:
John Lennon
creative talent was balanced by rebellious, delinquent side
his parents weren't around much
--mother left to live with another man within a year of John's birth
-- father worked at the shipyard
his care fell to his aunt & uncle to whom he became quite a burden
grades declined
heard Elvis & other rock music on Radio Luxembourg (BBC wouldn't
play)
basically, rebellious & iconoclastic
Paul McCartney
Paul's approach tended toward a more "pop" style of artistry
his father ran a rather successful society band (The Jim Mac Jazz
Band) in the 20s
plays guitar/bass left-handed & strung in
reverse order
at the same garden party where Paul met John, Paul amazed John & friends with his authentic
renditions of Little Richard tunes (hear him sing "Long Tall Sally")
essentially, practical and business-like to the point of being stingy
Forming the Band:
Paul's friend (George Harrison) began hanging
out with the Quarry Men (now called Johnny & the Moondogs)
younger than the others and John considered his presence an intrusion
eventually Paul convinced John to let George join
Stu Sutcliffe (talented student at Art College
where John continued studying) bought a bass, determined to join John's band
as the band planned for a low-budget, second-rate Scottish tour, the manager
recommended a name change
Stu suggested the "Beetles" (reference to Holly's "Crickets")
John came up with the idea of misspelling
finally, the "Silver Beatles"
May 1960 - the band was not very good
Stu could hardly play, no stage act, no stage costumes
currently drummerless ... Tommy Moore would play drums with them at
times
Prior to their 1st (of 4) 2-month booking in Hamburg (summer
1960), Paul approached a local drummer, Pete Best
(handsome w/glittering new drum set), about joining the band
found themselves in the Indra (a "dive" on the "wrong
end" of a "happenin'" city)
eventually moved to the "Kaiserkeller," sharing the stage
with other acts.
Sets were 4½ hours per night
repertoire consisted of lots of covers (Holly, Berry, Perkins, Little
Richard, etc.)
began developing stage show
Pete Best was distinct from the others
he was strikingly good looking ... girls looked past the others and
oogled Pete
did not join in on the increasingly outrageous stage show, nor the after-hours
partying
shortly after abandoning Herr Koschmider's Kaiserkeller for a new club (the
Top Ten club), George was deported by the German authorities
it was discovered that he was underage and had no work permit
after getting into further trouble with the law following Paul's "inadvertent"
setting curtains on fire, the other Beatles followed him home
Cavern Club (Liverpool) - underground cellar that had been a jazz club,
began showcasing local talent
popularity of the new "beat" sound
began to build a loyal Liverpool following
mid-1961 - returned to Hamburg's Top Ten club
alternated sets with Tony Sheridan
Stu's musical ineptitude became glaringly obvious and he had become
more interested in art & girlfriend
Stu left the band and Paul moved to bass
made their 1st commercial recording
on this trip
as backup band for Tony Sheridan ("My
Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" and "When the Saints Go Marching
In")
My Bonnie (later, hit #26 on US charts, 3/64)
When the
Saints Go Marching In
lead vocal: Tony Sheridan
Ain't She Sweet
Cry For a Shadow
Sweet Georgia Brown
Nobody's Child
Take
Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby
Why
as the Beat Brothers ("Ain't She Sweet"
and the instrumental "Cry For a Shadow"); Sheridan recording became
a minor hit in Germany
it was this recording that Beatles fans in Liverpool began requesting
at the local record store
store manager (Brian Epstein) became curious
and sought out the Beatles … eventually became their manager
1962 - Brian began searching for record contract
refused by almost every record label in Britain
they recorded 15 songs in the Decca studios, but under pressure these
recordings were not impressive
having decided to sign only one "beat" group, Decca
decided to go with Brian Poole & the Tremeloes instead!!
angered, Epstein warned the execs that one day his band would be bigger
than Elvis (execs smiled knowingly as he stomped out)
Brian eventually died from a combination of alcohol and sleeping pills
(8/27/67) ... he no longer felt needed
4/62 - landing in Germany, Beatles learned that Stu had died that day!
6/62 - due to the foresightedness of producer George
Martin of Parlophone (bottom of the totem pole of the EMI subsidiaries),
the Beatles were awarded a 1-year, 4-song contract
Martin wanted to bring the "beat" sound and his record label
to higher status & respectability
replaced by local drummer for Rory Storme & the Hurricanes (Richard
Starkey, a.k.a., Ringo Starr)
9/62 - recorded "Love Me Do," and "P.S. I Love You"
released 10/4 and "Love Me Do" managed to reach #17 with very
little airplay
Ringo replaced by session drummer (Andy White) on these tunes – he played
tambourine
Love
Me Do
(US #1, 5/64)
late November - recorded "Please, Please Me"
Martin assured the Beatles upon hearing the final version that they
had a #1 hit
his prediction came true in Britain on 3/2/63
Please
Please Me
(UK #1, 3/63; US #3, 2/64)
followed with an album of newly recorded tunes
originals included "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Do
You Want To Know a Secret"
covers included "Twist and Shout" by the Isley Brothers
4/63 - 3rd Parlophone release ("From Me to You") hit
#1
with Gerry & the Pacemakers (another of Brian's acts) also on the
charts, people began speaking of the "Liverpool
sound" or "Mersey beat"
(Mersey River in Liverpool)
From Me to You
(UK #1, 4/63)
the Beatles were given top billing over Roy Orbison on a British tour
British Beatlemania had begun
4th hit ("She Loves You") went
to #1 in the UK, based on advance sales!!!
became the biggest selling single in British history
so began the series of TV performances, Swedish tour, and Royal Command
Performance (11/63)
She
Loves You
(UK #1, 1963; US #1, 2/64)
late 1963 - British version of Beatlemania is in full swing
due to Epstein's ineptitude, the Beatles saw very little of this revenue
opened the American musical market to other British
bands
attempts to get Capitol records (EMI's American label) interested in the
Beatles had failed
Martin licensed early singles to independents Vee-Jay & Swan
persuaded them, however, to release the 4th single ("I
Want to Hold Your Hand") and a follow-up album (Meet the Beatles)
with the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (#1), Parlophone
had held the #1 slot for 37 of the past 52 weeks
The Sound of the Beatles LIVE, pre-American Beatlemania
A very interesting pespective about the Beatles' live sound is provided by Coling Fleming in this article in the Atlantic entitled "50 years later: The greatest Beatles performance of all time, (Oct. 24, 2013)," in which he claims that this performance debunks the myth that the Beatles sounded terrible in performance. There are numerous recordings included of a performance before an audience of about 100 people at Stockholm's Karlaplansstudion on October 24, 1963; thankfully, this performance was broadcast over the radio and is now available on YouTube. This performance was during a period when, less than a year ago, the band had completed their last residency at Hamburg's Reeperbahn distric and preceding their surreal arrival in Amercan in February 1964 and the infamous Ed Sullivan Show appearances. Noticeably absent from this recording is the hysterical screaming that became a part of Beatles live performances shortly after ... so you can actually hear the band very well; and they sound good! Enjoy this "blast from the past" ...
February 1964 - Beatlemania Arrives in America
2/2/64 - greeted by screaming mob (~5,000)
upon arrival at NY's Kennedy airport
more than 70 million watched their appearances on The
Ed Sullivan Show (2/9 & 2/16)
The Rutles: All You Need is Cash is a pretty hilarious film about The Rutles (an obvious Beatles parody),
directed by Eric Idle (Monty Python) with cameos by George Harrison, Michael Palin, Bianca Jagger,
Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ronnie Wood, Gilda Radner, Al Franken, and others!
You can watch the entire film on YouTube, which is embedded below:
- underground cellar that had been a jazz club,
began showcasing local talent
