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Happy Birthday Ringo!

 
Peace & Love

HOW THE BEATLES OFFICIALLY ENDED AT DISNEY'S POLYNESIAN VILLAGE

 
TECHNICALLY, IT IS  HARD TO PINPOINT THE EXACT MOMENT WHEN THE BEATLES ENDED AS A GROUP.

JOHN LENNON HAD OFFICIALLY "WALKED OUT" OF A MEETING AT APPLE RECORDS, WITH THE OTHER THREE BEATLES PRESENT, ON SEPTEMBER 2O, 1969. HIS IMMORTAL WORDS, JUST BEFORE HE HAUGHTILY EXITED, WERE:

I WANT A DIVORCE. JUST LIKE THE ONE I GOT FROM CYN (HIS FIRST WIFE).

THE BEATLES ON "THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW"

 
ON FEBRUARY 9, 1964, THE BEATLES MADE THEIR AMERICAN TELEVISION DEBUT ON THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW.

(FOR THOSE OF YOU UNFAMILIAR, THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW WAS A HUGELY POPULAR, LEGENDARY VARIETY SHOW WHICH RAN IN AMERICA FROM 1948 TO 1973. IF YOU CAN IMAGINE AMERICAN IDOL OR DANCING WITH THE STARS, AND MULTIPLY IT BY 20, THAT IS HOW POPULAR THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW WAS IN THE 1960'S. PRETTY MUCH "EVERYONE" WATCHED THE SHOW).

HOW DID THE BEATLES GET THEIR NAME?

 

I MUST HAVE READ, IN MY LIFE, AROUND 300 OR 400 BOOKS ON THE BEATLES. (THIS IS A FAIR ESTIMATE.)

I HAVE READ EACH AND EVERY ONE WORTH READING.

I WILL GIVE MOST ANY BEATLES BOOK A FAIR CHANCE, BUT IF I SPOT MORE THAN TWO OR THREE ERRORS OR OBVIOUS MISTAKES, I WILL JUST STOP READING IT AND GO ON TO ANOTHER BOOK.

(AS AN INTERESTING SIDE NOTE, OF THESE HUNDREDS OF ACTUAL BIOS, AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND MEMOIRS, I HAVE ONLY FOUND A HANDFUL THAT DID NOT HAVE SOME KIND OF A MISTAKE, ERROR, WRONG DATE, OR OMISSION - AT LEAST ONE.)

MANY QUESTIONS INVOLVING THEIR FASCINATING HISTORY ARE UNDISPUTED, BUT MANY ARE STILL DEBATED AND ARE A BIT FOGGY, EVEN TO THIS DAY.

ONE OF THESE IS: HOW DID THE BEATLES GET THEIR NAME?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RINGO - PEACE & LOVE

THE BEATLES AND YELLOW SUBMARINE

IN 1963, THE BEATLES, NEWLY BECOMING FAMOUS AND WITH THEIR STAR OBVIOUSLY ON THE RISE, SIGNED A THREE-PICTURE MOVIE DEAL WITH UNITED ARTISTS.

THEY MADE THE FIRST TWO FILMS, AS AGREED UPON, IN QUICK, NEAT ORDER. THE FIRST FILM A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, MADE IN 1964,  WAS LOVED BY ALL, FANS AND CRITICS ALIKE. IT MADE MADE A HUGE PROFIT AND BECAME AN INSTANT "CLASSIC" (IT IS ALSO MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME).

HELP!, THE SECOND BEATLES MOVIE, WAS MADE IN 1965 AND MADE A BUNDLE TOO. BUT THIS TIME THE REVIEWS WERE MUCH MORE MIXED, WITH MOST CRITICS FINDING MANY FLAWS AND NOTING THE LESSER QUALITY, HUMOR, AND ORIGINALITY OF THE SECOND FILM. HELP!, ALTHOUGH THE HIGHER-BUDGETED OF THE TWO FILMS, WAS SEEN AS A DISAPPOINTMENT TO MANY, THE BEATLES INCLUDED, AND MOST ESPECIALLY TO THE BEATLES' UNSPOKEN LEADER, JOHN LENNON - LENNON ALWAYS SAID HELP! WAS "CRAP" AND OTHER NOT-SO-GRACIOUS EPITHETS.

SEVERAL OTHER MOVIE PROJECTS WERE PUT FORTH, BUT A THIRD, CONTRACT-FULFILLING FILM, WAS NEVER QUITE AGREED-UPON, AND SO IT STOOD UNTIL 1967, WHEN A SOLUTION WAS PUT FORTH.

AL BRODAX, WAS AN AMERICAN PRODUCER WHO CREATED A SATURDAY MORNING BEATLES CARTOON SERIES IN 1965. THE CARTOONS WERE A SMASH HIT, GENERATING HUGE RATINGS. BRODAX WAS NOW IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING A FULL-LENGTH ANIMATED FEATURE FILM STARRING THE BEATLES THEMSELVES. IT WOULD FEATURE BEATLE SONGS WITH THE BEATLES DOING VOICE-OVERS AND PLAYING THEMSELVES.

THE FAB FOUR, UNABLE TO FACE ACTUALLY ACTING AND GOING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERAS AGAIN, AGREED TO THIS FAIR COMPROMISE, AND IT APPEARS THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY GOING TO FILL IN THE VOICES OF THEMSELVES, BUT IN THE EVER-BUSY WORLD OF BEATLEDOM, THINGS JUST KEPT COMING UP. FIRST AND FOREMOST WAS PROBABLY THE SUDDEN, UNEXPECTED DEATH OF BEATLES MANAGER, BRIAN EPSTEIN, FROM A DRUG OVERDOSE IN AUGUST OF 1967. AND SO,THE BEATLE FILM WOULD HAVE TO BE RECORDED WITHOUT THE BEATLES.

FOUR ACTORS WERE SUMMARILY SIGNED UP TO SUPPLY THE BOY'S VOICES, BUT THE BEATLES DID, AT LEAST, AGREE TO SUPPLY FOUR BRAND-NEW SONGS FOR THE FILM'S SOUNDTRACK.

THAT'LL DO FOR THE FILM

LENNON WOULD SAY SARCASTICALLY, WHENEVER THE BEATLES HAD RECORDED A MEDIOCRE, LESSER SONG (THE BEATLES HAD ALREADY SEEN THE BEATLES CARTOONS AND DID NOT REGARD THEM VERY HIGHLY). THE BEATLES, AFTER CONTRIBUTING THE FOUR "SO-SO SONGS", THEREBY WASHED THEIR HANDS OF THE PROJECT AND THOUGHT THAT ANNOYING 1963 CONTRACT HAD BEEN FULFILLED. BUT LIKE SO MUCH OF BEATLE LORE AND LEGEND, THIS TOO, MAY NOT BE SO TRUE. AFTER ITS COMPLETION, THE BEATLES WERE GIVEN A PRIVATE SCREENING OF YELLOW SUBMARINE AND WERE SURPRISED AND DELIGHTED WITH THE RESULTS.

THEY LOVED THE MOVIE AND EVEN AGREED TO PERSONALLY FILM A ONE-MINUTE CAMEO TO BE SHOWN AT THE TAIL END OF THE FILM. JOHN AND PAUL WERE BOTH TO LATER REGRET NOT HAVING MORE TO DO WITH YELLOW SUBMARINE. JOHN WAS TO CLAIM, HOWEVER, THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE, THAT THE YELLOW SUBMARINE PEOPLE STOLE MANY OF HIS IDEAS, WITHOUT GIVING HIM ANY FORMAL SCREEN CREDIT.

ACCORDING TO JOHN:

THEY USED TO COME TO THE STUDIO AND AND CHAT: 'HI JOHN, OLD BEAN, GOT ANY IDEAS FOR THE FILM?' AND I'D JUST SPOUT OUT ALL THIS STUFF, AND THEY WENT OFF AND DID IT.

LENNON COULD EXAGGERATE AND "PLAYED THE VICTIM" IN COUNTLESS BEATLE-RELATED ANECDOTES OVER THE YEARS, BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE AT LEAST SOME MERIT TO THIS CLAIM BASED ON THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE. THE ONLY PUBLICLY AGREED-UPON STORY IS THAT ONE NIGHT AT 3:00 IN THE MORNING, JOHN CALLED UP THE PRODUCER AND SAID:

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT IF RINGO WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET BEING FOLLOWED BY A YELLOW SUBMARINE?

THIS EXACT SCENE IS SHOWN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM.

BUT JOHN CLAIMED OVER THE YEARS THAT HE HAD GIVEN THE PRODUCERS AND WRITERS SEVERAL OTHER IDEAS USED IN THE FINISHED FILM, OR AS LENNON PUT IT:

BRODAX GOT HALF OF YELLOW SUBMARINE OUT OF MY MOUTH,

(THE TRUTH SEEMS TO BE THAT - YES, THEY DID "BORROW" SOME IDEAS FROM JOHN, BUT JOHN'S CLAIM OF "HALF" APPEARS TO BE LENNON HYPERBOLE. THIS IS JUST MY OWN OPINION).

LENNON, A TRULY EXCEPTIONAL AND BRILLIANT MUSICAL GENIUS WAS, HOWEVER, DEFINITELY A MAN GIVEN TO ANGRY RAGES, NAME-CALLING, AND THE HOLDING OF GRUDGES. UNTIL HIS TRAGIC DEATH IN 1980, JOHN REFERRED TO THE YELLOW SUBMARINE CREATORS AS "BLOODY ANIMALS" AND OTHER SEVERE NAMES, BELIEVING HIS IDEAS TO HAVE BEEN "STOLEN".

HOWEVER ANGRY JOHN WAS, HE DID LIKE THE FILM. IN FACT, HIS SON, SEAN, SAW YELLOW SUBMARINE ON TV IN THE LATE 1970'S, AND ASKED HIS DAD IF HE HAD BEEN A BEATLE. JOHN PATIENTLY EXPLAINED TO HIS SON THAT IT WAS, INDEED, A LIFE HE USED TO LEAD BUT HE GAVE IT UP TO LIVE WITH SEAN'S MOMMY, YOKO ONO.

GEORGE SEEMS TO HAVE DISAGREED WITH JOHN'S CLAIMS REGARDING INVOLVEMENT, STATING UNEQUIVOCALLY:

THE BEST THING ABOUT YELLOW SUBMARINE WAS THAT WE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

AS A FASCINATING SIDEBAR, PETER BATTEN, THE MAN WHO DID THE VOICE FOR "GEORGE" IN THE FILM, WAS ACTUALLY A DESERTER FROM THE BRITISH ARMY AT THE TIME OF THE FILM'S SHOOT. HE WAS ACTUALLY ARRESTED FOR DESERTION DURING THE SHOOT, AND ANOTHER VOICE-OVER ACTOR, PAUL ANGELIS, HAD TO DO THE REMAINDER OF THE FILM PLAYING "GEORGE". ANGELIS ALSO DID THE VOICES OF "RINGO" AND THE CHIEF "BLUE MEANIE." BATTEN REMAINS UNIQUE IN MOVIE HISTORY AS BEING THE ONLY ACTOR EVER ARRESTED FOR DESERTION FROM THE MILITARY WHILE FILMING.

ALL THE BEATLES LOVED YELLOW SUBMARINE AND ATTENDED ITS OFFICIAL PREMIERE IN JULY OF 1968 (LENNON ESCORTING HIS NEW LIVE-IN GIRLFRIEND, YOKO, ALTHOUGH HE WAS STILL MARRIED TO HIS WIFE, CYNTHIA, AT THE TIME).

GEORGE HARRISON, ALWAYS A MAN VERY HARD TO PLEASE, SAID:

I LIKED THE FILM. I THINK IT'S A CLASSIC. THE FILM WORKS FOR EVERY GENERATION.

RINGO:

I LOVED YELLOW SUBMARINE. I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY INNOVATIVE, WITH GREAT ANIMATION.

DURING THE MAKING OF YELLOW SUBMARINE, THE BEATLES MET THE FILM'S ANIMATOR, HEINZ EDELMAN, FOR ONE OR TWO MEETINGS. ACCORDING TO EDELMAN, RINGO WAS THE ONLY BEATLE TO MAKE ANY REQUESTS OF THE ANIMATOR. RINGO ACTUALLY COMPLAINED THAT "HIS NOSE SHOULD BE BIGGER", SAID EDELMAN.

THE FILM'S SOUNDTRACK, LIKE ALL BEATLE ALBUMS, WAS GREAT, ALBEIT CONTAINING A MAJORITY OF PREVIOUSLY-RELEASED MATERIAL. FOR SOME STRANGE, INEXPLICABLE REASON, JOHN'S SUPERB SONG HEY BULLDOG WAS EDITED OUT OF THE AMERICAN VERSION OF THE FILM. FORTUNATELY, THE SONG AND ITS ANIMATED SEQUENCE WERE RESTORED FOR THE FILM'S RECENT VIDEO RELEASE.

YELLOW SUBMARINE, A QUINTESSENTIAL "PERIOD PIECE" FOR THE 1960'S, HAS AGED WELL AND PROBABLY REMAINS THE MOST POPULAR AND WELL-KNOWN BEATLES FILM..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RINGO - PEACE & LOVE

 

SHE LOVES YOU 

BEATLEMANIA STARTS HERE
AND SO DO THE SIXTIES.

ALONG WITH THE THEN "SHOCKING" HAIRCUTS, THIS INCREDIBLE SONG IS THE SIGNATURE TUNE OF THE EARLY BEATLES - THE FOUR HAPPY, CHEERFUL, CHIPPER, AND HARMLESS MOPTOPS.

THIS IS THE BEATLES BEFORE DRUGS, BEFORE YOKO ONO, BEFORE THE FACIAL HAIR, BEFORE THE FIGHTING AND BICKERING, BEFORE JOHN SAID THEY WERE "BIGGER THAN JESUS."

SHE LOVES YOU WAS WRITTEN BY JOHN AND PAUL IN VERY UNSPECTACULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. THE TWO BRILLIANT CO-WRITERS SAT DOWN IN A HOTEL ROOM ON JUNE 26, 1963, AND DUTIFULLY KNOCKED IT OUT. THEY FINISHED IT UP AT MCCARTNEY'S CHILDHOOD HOME A FEW DAYS LATER. (THIS, BY THE WAY, WAS THE FIRST BEATLES RECORD OF ANY KIND WITH THE PUBLISHING CREDIT RENDERED AS "LENNON-MCCARTNEY" RATHER THAN THE OTHER WAY AROUND - ALL SONGS WRITTEN BY JOHN AND PAUL, EVEN IF ONE HAD WRITTEN 90% OR EVEN THE ENTIRE SONG THEMSELVES, WERE CREDITED TO JOHN & PAUL JOINTLY).

SHE LOVES YOU SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A GENUINE 50/50, HALF & HALF, COLLABORATIVE EFFORT. AT THE TIME THEY COMPOSED IT, THE BOYS WERE ON A BUS TOUR, AS A BACKUP ACT TO A TEENAGE GIRL NAMED HELEN SHAPIRO. THE SONG ITSELF IS UNUSUAL FOR A LOVE SONG IN THAT IT IS ABOUT A GUY TALKING TO ANOTHER GUY ABOUT A GIRL WHO LOVES THE SECOND GUY.

INTERESTINGLY, SHE LOVES YOU WAS RELEASED A FEW TIMES IN AMERICA ON MINOR LABELS AND IT FLOPPED. THE 1963 V-JAY RECORD ACTUALLY MIS-SPELLED THEIR NAME "BEATTLES".   THERE IS AN OBSCURE REFERENCE TO THE SONG ON PAGE 32 OF BILLBOARD MAGAZINE IN THE SEPTEMBER 21, 1963 ISSUE. SHE LOVES YOU, ISSUED ON SWAN RECORDS, IS GIVEN A MENTION IN THE "FOUR-STAR SINGLES" SECTION. MURRAY THE K, THE FAMOUS U.S. DISC JOCKEY, PLAYED THE RECORD IN 1963 ON HIS NEW YORK RADIO SHOW AND IT PLACED THIRD OF FIVE NEW SINGLES ISSUED THAT WEEK. FOR WHATEVER REASON, ALTHOUGH THE BEATLES WERE ALREADY A SMASH ACT IN ENGLAND, THE RECORD-BUYERS OF AMERICA ANSWERED THE EARLY BEATLE RECORDS WITH A YAWN OF DISINTEREST.

JOHN AND PAUL'S ORIGINAL IDEA WAS AN ANSWER, BACK AND FORTH, TYPE OF SONG. ACCORDING TO PAUL:

THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS A COUPLE OF US WOULD SING "SHE LOVES YOU"(CHORUSES) AND THE OTHERS WOULD DO THE "YEAH YEAH YEAH" ONES. THEN JOHN AND I AGREED IT WAS PRETTY CRUMMY IDEA.....BUT AT LEAST WE HAD THE BASIC IDEA OF WRITING THE SONG.

THE ANSWER Q & A IDEA WAS DITCHED, AND INSTEAD, THE "YEAH YEAH YEAH" WAS TACKED ON TO THE OPENING LINE, A CHORUS IN THE MIDDLE AND THE FINISH. THE GIMMICK WORKED AND THE "YEAH YEAH YEAH" BECAME AN EARLY BEATLES CATCHPHRASE.

(PAUL'S FATHER, A VERY PROPER ENGLISHMAN, ACTUALLY CHIDED PAUL FOR NOT USING THE MORE PROPER "YES YES YES" AS THE CHORUS).

ANOTHER GIMMICK OF JOHN AND PAUL'S WAS THE CONSTANT USE OF PRONOUNS IN THEIR EARLY SONG TITLES. "SHE LOVES YOU" FOLLOWED "LOVE ME DO", "PLEASE PLEASE ME" AND "FROM ME TO YOU" IN THE BEATLES CANON.

ANOTHER PRONOUN TITLE, I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND, HAD ACTUALLY PRECEDED SHE LOVES YOU TO THE TOP OF THE CHARTS IN AMERICA AND THESE TWO WOULD BECOME BACK-TO-BACK NUMBER ONE HITS FOR THE FAB FOUR IN EARLY 1964. THIS RARE EVENT HAD ONLY PREVIOUSLY BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BY ELVIS PRESLEY IN 1956.

AMERICANS AT LARGE GOT THEIR FIRST EARFUL OF SHE LOVES YOU (AND EYEFUL OF THE BEATLES THEMSELVES) ON A FILM CLIP OF THE FAB FOUR ON THE JACK PAAR SHOW ON JANUARY 3, 1964, ONE MONTH BEFORE THE BEATLES ARRIVED IN THE U.S. FOR THE FIRST TIME. PAAR SHOWED THE BRIEF CLIP AND MADE A FEW WITHERING, SARCASTIC REMARKS AS THE STUDIO AUDIENCE GIGGLED AT THESE STRANGE-LOOKING LONG-HAIRED YOUTHS IN THEIR MATCHING COLLARLESS JACKETS.

TODAY, WE ALL LIVE IN SUCH AN "I'VE SEEN EVERYTHING" SOCIETY, WE SEEM "BEYOND SHOCK" (AND I THINK WE PRACTICALLY ARE). ONE HAS TO PUT HIS OR HER MIND INTO A 1964 MIND-SET TO IMAGINE HOW STAGGERINGLY SHOCKING THE BEATLE AND THEIR HAIRCUTS WERE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF 1964. THE IMAGE THE BEATLES PRESENTED TO MIDDLE AMERICA IN THOSE GENTLER, MILDER (SANER?) DAYS WOULD PERHAPS COMPARE WITH US WITNESSING A FLYING SAUCER FROM ANOTHER PLANET LANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF NEW YORK CITY OR MAYBE TURNING ON THE TV AND SEEING A GROUP OF FEMALE SINGERS WHO PERFORMED TOPLESS.

IN AMERICA, "SHE LOVES YOU" ENTERED THE CHARTS AT NUMBER 69 ON JANUARY 25, 1964 AND FINALLY HIT THE #1 SPOT ON MARCH 21ST.

IN BRITAIN, "SHE LOVES YOU" WAS A STAGGERING SALES PHENOMENON. AFTER SPENDING SEVERAL WEEKS AT THE TOP OF THE CHARTS IN THE SUMMER OF 1963, IT SIMPLY WOULDN'T GO AWAY. IT HOVERED AROUND THE TOP SPOT AND INCREDIBLY, ROSE TO NUMBER ONE AGAIN IN NOVEMBER OF '63, THREE MONTHS AFTER IT'S RELEASE - IT REMAINS THE TOP-SELLING BRITISH BEATLES SINGLE TO THIS DAY.

BRITISH SINGER KENNY LYNCH, WAS A PERFORMER WITH THE BEATLES ON THEIR BUS TOUR OF 1963 AND HAS CLEAR MEMORIES OF JOHN AND PAUL. ACCORDING TO LYNCH:

I REMEMBER JOHN AND PAUL SAYING THEY WERE THINKING OF RUNNING UP TO THE MICROPHONE TOGETHER AND SHAKING THEIR HEADS AND SAYING "WHOOOOO".

LYNCH WARNED THEM AGAINST THIS RADICAL IDEA:

YOU CAN'T DO THAT. THEY'LL THINK YOU'RE A BUNCH OF POOFS.

BUT THE BOYS DID INCORPORATE THE HAIR-SHAKING SHTICK IN THEIR LIVE PERFORMANCE OF SHE LOVES YOU, ALBEIT WITH GEORGE AND PAUL, NOT JOHN AND PAUL. AS IF BEATLEMANIACS WEREN'T EXCITED ENOUGH, THIS BIT BY GEORGE AND PAUL ALWAYS DROVE THE GIRLS INTO A COMPLETE FRENZY.

SHE LOVES YOU IS AN EXHILARATING, BREEZY, ELECTRIC SONG THAT, TO USE THE STALE CLICHE, SOUNDS AS FRESH TODAY AS THE DAY IT WAS WRITTEN. ONE CAN EASILY VIEW IT ON YOUTUBE OR ON VARIOUS BEATLES WEBSITES.

THE NUMBER IS ALSO PERFORMED BY THE BEATLES IN THEIR FIRST FILM A HARD DAY'S NIGHT - WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND VIEWING, WHETHER YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT OR HAVE WATCHED IT ABOUT 100 TIMES - LIKE ME! A HARD DAY'S NIGHT IS, FAR AND AWAY, MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE MOVIE!!

DEAN MARTIN KNOCKS THE BEATLES OUT OF #1 SPOT - AUGUST 15, 1964

I'M GONNA KNOCK YOUR PALLIES OFF THE CHARTS

                                            - DEAN MARTIN

RICCI MARTIN, WAS JUST LIKE MOST ANY OTHER TEENAGER IN THE EARLY MONTHS OF 1964. RICCI WAS TOTALLY CRAZY ABOUT AND OBSESSED WITH THE BEATLES. EVER SINCE THEIR ARRIVAL IN AMERICA, THEY HAD CAPTIVATED TEENAGERS FAR AND WIDE AND TAKEN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY BY STORM. THEY WERE MAKING APPEARANCES ON TV, THEIR NEW FILM A HARD DAY'S NIGHT WAS A SMASH HIT, AND THEIR SONGS WERE BLASTING OUT OF EVERY RADIO ON THE CONTINENT.

DURING THIS WAVE OF BEATLEMANIA, RICCI WAS RAVING ON AND ON ABOUT THE BOYS FROM LIVERPOOL. HIS FATHER, DEAN MARTIN, STAR OF STAGE, SCREEN, TELEVISION, LAS VEGAS, AND THE RECORD WORLD, GOT FED UP ONE DAY AND TOOK RICCI TO THE SIDE AND TOLD HIM:

I'M GONNA KNOCK YOUR PALLIES OFF THE CHARTS.

RICCI SMIRKED AND BARELY HELD BACK FROM ROLLING HIS EYES RIGHT TO HIS FATHER'S FACE. SURE, HIS DAD WAS THE GREAT DEAN MARTIN, BUT DINO HADN'T HAD A HIT RECORD IN SIX YEARS - AND COME ON - THESE GUYS WERE THE BEATLES!

IN 1962, DEAN MARTIN HAD SIGNED A RECORDING CONTRACT WITH REPRISE RECORDS, A COMPANY OWNED BY HIS CLOSE FRIEND AND COMRADE-IN-ARMS FRANK SINATRA. IN 1963, REPRISE SIGNED A MAN NAMED JIMMY BOWDEN TO THEIR A & R DEPARTMENT. JIMMY VERY MUCH WANTED TO RECORD AN ALBUM WITH DEAN MARTIN. DEAN, ALWAYS AN EASY-GOING GUY, AGREED TO WORK WITH BOWDEN, BUT DEAN, A MAN WHO DID NOT LIKE CHANGE, WANTED TO RECORD AN ALBUM OF SOFT, MOODY, "LAS VEGAS-TYPE" SONGS.

IT WAS TO BE A TYPICAL "DEAN MARTIN ALBUM" - SLOW BALLADS AND LOVE SONGS SUNG BY THE DROOPY-EYED CROONER AND WAS CALLED DREAM WITH DEAN.

BOWDEN WANTED TO RECORD DEAN AND TRIED TO SET AN ATMOSPHERE THAT WAS PLEASING TO HIS ARTIST. THE RECORDING STUDIO WAS SET UP WITH MOODY LIGHTING TO CREATE THE PROPER ATMOSPHERE. HE GOT TOGETHER A SMALL BAND AND DINO QUICKLY AND SMOOTHLY RECORDED THE FIRST 11 SONGS FOR THE ALBUM.
 
THE 12TH HE JUST HATED - IT WAS A SONG CALLED EVERYBODY LOVES SOMEBODY SOMETIME. THE SONG HAD BEEN WRITTEN AROUND 15 YEARS PREVIOUSLY BY DEAN'S CLOSE FRIEND AND PIANO PLAYER, KEN LANE (THIS FACTOR, I'M SURE, HAD A LOT TO DO WITH DEAN RECORDING A SONG HE COULDN'T STAND. DEAN WAS A VERY NICE, EASY-GOING GUY AND HE PROBABLY JUST WANTED TO HELP A PAL GET SOME ROYALTIES). DEAN HAD TO BE COAXED INTO RECORDING THE NUMBER, BUT AFTER SOME PUSHING, HE FINALLY AGREED TO RECORD THE TUNE THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN RECORDED BY SEVERAL OTHER ARTISTS INCLUDING SINATRA, PEGGY LEE AND DINAH WASHINGTON, AND HAD NEVER GONE ANYWHERE.

WHEN DEAN'S ALBUM CAME OUT, THE SONG WAS GIVEN LITTLE NOTICE AND RAISED NO STIR, BUT IN, EARLY IN 1964, DEAN RECORDED THE SONG AGAIN AS A SINGLE. IT WAS GIVEN A NEW ARRANGEMENT, DEAN SPED UP THE TEMPO A BIT, AND ADDED A MORE CONTEMPORARY SOUND TO IT. AT FIRST, THE SONG WENT NOWHERE AND REPRISE DECIDED TO STOP PROMOTING IT. BUT RADIO STATIONS IN NEW ORLEANS AND WORCHESTER, MASS. STARTED PLAYING IT.

IT SOON SPREAD TO OTHER STATIONS AND GAINED POPULARITY, AND ON AUGUST 15, 1964, JUST AS HE HAD BOASTED TO HIS SKEPTICAL SON,
EVERYBODY LOVES SOMEBODY SOMETIME 
ACTUALLY KNOCKED THE BEATLES OUT OF THE #1 SPOT ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100 RECORD CHART.

SEE, I TOLD YOU
I WAS GONNA KNOCK YOUR PALLIES OFF

SAID DEAN CASUALLY TO HIS AWESTRUCK SON. RICCI MARTIN SAID HE LOOKED ON AT HIS FATHER WITH PRIDE, WONDER AND AMAZEMENT. AND THUS, DEAN MARTIN, IN ALL PROBABILITY, BECAME THE ONE AND ONLY PERSON TO CORRECTLY PREDICT THAT HE WAS GOING TO KNOCK THE BEATLES OUT OF THE NUMBER ONE SPOT ON THE CHARTS AND ACTUALLY DO IT!

--------------------------------------------------

BILLBOARD'S TOP FIVE SONGS - AUGUST 15, 1964

1. EVERYBODY LOVES SOMEBODY SOMETIME
DEAN MARTIN

2. WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO?
THE SUPREMES

3. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
THE BEATLES

4. RAG DOLL
THE FOUR SEASONS

5. UNDER THE BOARDWALK
THE DRIFTERS

THE BEATLES CRAZY CONCERT AT SHEA STADIUM

INTERVIEWER: DOES IT BOTHER YOU THAT YOU CAN'T HEAR WHAT YOU SING DURING A CONCERT?

JOHN LENNON: NO, WE DON'T MIND. WE'VE GOT THE RECORDS AT HOME.

THE BEATLES ACTUALLY PLAYED SHEA STADIUM TWICE. WHEN HE WAS LATER ASKED ABOUT THE "SECOND SHEA STADIUM CONCERT", GEORGE HARRISON ASKED - DID WE PLAY SHEA TWICE?

RINGO STARR WAS ASKED THE SAME QUESTION AND GAVE THE EXACT SAME REPLY - DID WE PLAY SHEA TWICE?

THIS IS RATHER UNDERSTANDABLE, WITH THE BEATLES' EXTRAORDINARILY EVENTFUL CAREER, THE EXCESSIVE DRUGS TAKEN, AND THE BOY'S NATURAL "HUMAN" (i.e. FLAWED) MEMORIES.

ANOTHER WORD WOULD PROBABLY APPLY HERE TOO: ANTI-CLIMACTIC.

THE FIRST BEATLES CONCERT IS OFTEN CONSIDERED AN APOGEE, AN ACME, SOME KIND OF A VERY TANGABLE PEAK IN THE UNFORGETTABLE PHENOMENA WE KNOW AS "BEATLEMANIA".

THE FIRST BEATLES SHEA STADIUM CONCERT WAS ON AUGUST 15, 1965. ANY BEATLES FAN WORTH HIS SALT KNOWS THIS ONE AS "THE SHEA STADIUM CONCERT". HARD AS IT IS FOR US TO BELEIVE IN THIS ERA, WHERE EVEN THE MOST HALF-BAKED, SECOND-RATE ACTS CAN SELL-OUT STADIUMS, THE SHEA STADIUM CONCERT WAS A FIRST.

ALTHOUGH THE BEATLES HAD SOLD OUT COUNTLESS THEATERS, LOCAL AUDITORIUMS AND DANCE HALLS, NO ROCK GROUP HAD EVER PLAYED A CONCERT AT AN ACTUAL SPORTS STADIUM BEFORE. THE CROWD WAS CAPACITY, AN EYE-POPPING 55,600 FANS (MOSTLY SCREAMING, CRYING, AND EVEN FAINTING, WOMEN AND TEENAGE GIRLS).

INTERESTINGLY, AMONG THE SCREAMING, FAINTING, WORSHIPPING FANS WERE TWO FUTURE BEATLE WIVES. BOTH LINDA EASTMAN AND BARBARA BACH (THE FUTURE WIVES AND GREATEST LOVES IN THE LIVES OF PAUL AND RINGO) WERE SITTING GOOGLE-EYED AMONGST THE OTHER ADORING FANS. (ONE HAS TO WONDER WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH THESE GIRL'S MINDS AT THE TIME).

THE BOYS WERE DRAMATICALLY ESCORTED TO THE ROOF OF THE WORLD'S FAIR IN A WHIRLING HELICOPTER. ACCORDING TO GEORGE, ON THE ROUTE TO THE ROOFTOP, THE PILOT WAS ZIPPING AND WHIZZING THEM WILDLY OVER THE BIG APPLE, POINTING OUT THE VARIOUS SIGHTS, AS THE BEATLES SAT IN SLIGHT TERROR AT HIS AERIAL ACROBATICS.

THE BOYS WERE THEN DRIVEN TO THE CONCERT IN A WELLS-FARGO BANK VAN. AFTER THEY WERE DEPOSITED AT THE THE STADIUM, EACH WAS GIVEN HIS OWN LITTLE WELLS-FARGO BADGE (ONE CAN SEE THE FILM OF THE CONCERT AND NOTICE EACH BEATLE PROUDLY WEARING HIS WELLS-FARGO BADGE PINNED TO HIS JACKET).

THE PREVIOUS ACTS FINISHED THEIR OBLIGATORY, THANKLESS PERFORMANCES AND LIKE FOUR DIETIES, THE BEATLES WALKED OUT ONTO THE FIELD. THE NOISE WAS DEAFENING (ONE CAN CLEARLY SEE THE SOME OF THE SECURITY PEOPLE PUTTING THEIR HANDS OVER THEIR EARS OR STICKING IN THEIR FINGERS TO BLOCK OUT THE WHIRLWIND OF NOISE).

A SEA OF THOUSANDS OF BRIGHT CAMERA FLASHBULBS GREETED THE BEATLES AS THEY ENTERED AND MADE THE FIELD LOOK LIKE A WILD ELECTRONICS LABORATORY OR A GIANT BATTLEFIELD WITH SPACEMEN SHOOTING OFF RAY GUNS.

THE BOYS NERVOUSLY PICKED UP THEIR GUITARS AND RINGO CLIMBED ABOARD HIS DRUM KIT. THEY STOOD (AND SAT) IN THE MIDDLE OF SHEA STADIUM, SMALL AND DISTANT FIGURES, BUT THIS PROBABLY ADDED TO THE ADORATION AND SURREALISM OF THE MOMENT.

IT WAS A TYPICALLY BRIEF BEATLES CONCERT, JUST 12 SONGS- PLAYED IN AROUND 30 MINUTES. THE BEATLES USED THEIR "NEW" 100-VOLT AMPS, (RATHER LIKE USING A PORTABLE HAND MIKE TO GET AN INTERVIEW WITH KING KONG), AND THROUGHOUT THE DEAFENING ROAR, THEY COULDN'T HEAR A NOTE ANY OF THEM PLAYED (OR SANG). JOHN OPENED WITH HIS VERSION OF "TWIST AND SHOUT", A USUAL ROUTINE, BUT PAUL, GEORGE AND RINGO ALL NOTICED SOMETHING SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ABOUT JOHN THAT NIGHT.

ACCORDING TO GEORGE, JOHN LENNON LITERALLY "CRACKED UP" THAT NIGHT. THE SURREALISM OF THE EVENT CAUGHT LENNON'S FANCY, AND, ALWAYS THE CRAZIEST OF THE FAB FOUR, JOHN JUST "LOST IT".

ONE CAN SEE JOHN CACKLING AND BREAKING UP WITH MAD GLEE SEVERAL TIMES, AS THE BOYS LOOK OVER THE CROWD, AND EACH OTHER, WITH SLIGHT DISBELIEF. AT ONE POINT, JOHN HOLDS HIS ARMS OUT-STRETCHED, AND STARTS CHANTING IN A PETER SELLERS-LIKE VOICE, UP AT SOME IMAGINARY HEAVENLY PRESENCE ABOVE HIM. AT ANOTHER POINT, AS PAUL TALKS TO THE CROWD, JOHN DOES HIS USUAL SPASTIC-CLAWED HANDS IMPRESSION AND STOMPS HIS FEET.

DURING THE CLOSING NUMBER, AS PAUL SINGS "I'M DOWN", JOHN GOES OVER TO PLAY THE ELECTRIC ORGAN. LENNON STARTS PLAYING THE ORGAN WITH HIS ELBOW AND LAUGHING DEVILISHLY. THE NORMALLY STAID, CONVENTIONAL, PAUL IS SEEN DOING A FULL 360-DEGREE SPIN OF HIS BODY, IN PURE EXHILARATION, IT WOULD SEEM.

EVEN THE USUALLY STONE-FACED GEORGE IS SEEN LAUGHING OUT LOUD AT JOHN'S ANTICS. IN BETWEEN THE "TWIST AND SHOUT" AND "I'M DOWN" BOOKENDS, GEORGE AND RINGO EACH PERFORMED THEIR OBLIGATORY SOLO TURNS.

JOHN AND PAUL ROTATED AND SANG LEAD IN THE OTHER TEN SONGS. BECAUSE OF THE EXCESSIVE NOISE, AND HAVING TO SOMEHOW KEEP SOME KIND OF A BEAT, RINGO LATER WOULD CONFESS TO WATCHING THE SWINGING REAR ENDS OF HIS THREE BANDMATES TO GIVE HIM SOME SLIGHT SEMBLANCE OF RHYTHM.

THUS, THE BAND PLAYED ON.

AND THEN, THIS MOST AMAZING 30-MINUTES OF CONDENSED "MUSIC" ENDED IN A FLASH AND THE FAB FOUR TROMPED OFF THE FIELD, EXHAUSTED, RATHER LIKE SATIATED EMPERORS LEAVING A ROMAN ORGY. THE CONCERT PULLED IN A THEN-RECORD GROSS OF $304,000.00, OF WHICH THE BEATLES WOULD RECEIVE HALF.

IT WAS NOTED, AT THE TIME, AS THE BIGGEST GROSSING EVENT "IN THE HISTORY OF SHOW BUSINESS". (TICKETS SOLD FOR THE RIDICULOUS PRICES OF $4.50, $5.00 AND $5.75)

MANY YEARS LATER, JOHN LENNON RAN INTO SID BERNSTEIN, THE PRODUCER OF THE SHEA STADIUM CONCERT. AS THEY HAPPILY REMINISCED ABOUT THE SHEA CONCERT, JOHN LOOKED AT SID WITH A TWINKLE IN HIS EYE AND SAID,

WE REACHED THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN, SID.

THE BEATLES STRANGEST SHOWS

IT WAS THE CHRISTMAS SEASON OF 1963 IN ENGLAND, AND THE BEATLES WERE ALREADY THE BIGGEST MUSICAL STARS IN THE HISTORY OF BRITISH ENTERTAINMENT. AND SO IT WAS, THE BOYS AGREED TO STAR IN THE BEATLES CHRISTMAS SHOWS OF 1963 AT THE ASTORIA CINEMA IN FINSBURY PARK, LONDON.

THE CHRISTMAS SHOWS HAD BEEN ARRANGED BY THEIR MANAGER, BRIAN EPSTEIN, AND INCLUDED SEVERAL OF HIS OTHER ACTS INCLUDING BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS, TOMMY QUICKLY AND CILLA BLACK.

THESE SHOWS WERE, QUITE POSSIBLY, THE ODDEST PERFORMANCES OF THE BEATLES' CHECKERED AND STORIED CAREER.THE CHRISTMAS SHOWS WERE ALREADY A COMPLETE SELL-OUT, 100,000 TICKETS HAD SOLD LIKE HOTCAKES. FINANCIALLY, THE SHOWS WERE A GUARANTEED SMASH HIT, BUT ON AN ARTISTIC LEVEL, WELL, THAT IS ANOTHER STORY.

THE TRADITIONAL BRITISH CHRISTMAS SHOWS ALWAYS INCLUDED A PANTOMIME. WE DIDN'T LIKE DOING PANTOMIME, SAID GEORGE, SO WE DID OUR OWN SHOW, MORE OR LESS LIKE A POP SHOW, BUT WE KEPT APPEARING EVERY FEW MINUTES DRESSED UP...FOR A LAUGH.

THE BASIC OUTLINE WAS: THE BEATLES PERFORM A FEW SONGS, GO OFFSTAGE AND DRESS UP IN RIDICULOUS COSTUMES WHILE THE OTHER GROUPS ON THE BILL PERFORM, AND THEN THE BOYS PERFORM A CORNY SKIT, A FLUFF "MELODRAMA".

AFTER THE SKIT ENDED, THE BEATLES WOULD AGAIN RUN BACKSTAGE, TAKE OFF THE HOKEY OUTFITS AS OTHER ACTS FILLED IN, AND COME BACK ONSTAGE TO PERFORM THE SHOW'S FINALE.

"I'M CHANGING THE CONCEPT OF PANTOMIME", THE SHOW'S DIRECTOR, PETER YARROW, HAD SAID. THE CASTING, AT LEAST, WAS INSPIRED. JOHN LENNON WAS SIR JASPER, THE VILLAIN, COMPLETE WITH BLACK CAPE AND HOKEY BLACK MUSTACHE. PAUL MCCARTNEY WAS THE GOOD GUY - FEARLESS PAUL, THE SIGNALMAN. GEORGE HARRISON PLAYED THE GIRL-IN-DISTRESS, INCLUDING A FEMININE SCARF WORN OVER HIS HEAD. AND RINGO STARR WAS THE ONLY REAL PANTOMOME IN THE SKIT, HE PLAYED THE "SPECIAL EFFECTS". RINGO WOULD BE "RAIN" OR "SNOW" OR WHATEVER EFFECT WAS NEEDED IN THE SKETCH. FOR INSTANCE, AS "SNOW", RINGO WOULD REACH IN A CONTAINER AND THROW SNOWFLAKES ALL OVER THE STAGE AND ACTORS - YOU GET THE IDEA.

THE BASIC PLOT OF THE SKIT WAS SIR JASPER (JOHN) KIDNAPPING THE HELPLESS GIRL (GEORGE) AND TYING HER (HIM?) TO THE RAILROAD TRACKS, BEFORE FEARLESS PAUL (PAUL) COMES IN AND SAVES HER (HIM).

ALL THE WHILE, RINGO AS "SPECIAL EFFECTS" IS ADDING "RAIN", "SNOW" AND VARIOUS HUMOROUS EFFECTS.

THE MUSICAL PART OF THE CHRISTMAS SHOW WAS, AS EXPECTED, A SMASH, AND THE BEATLES GAMELY DID PERFORM THEIR REQUIRED SKETCH WITH AS MUCH APLOMB AS THEY COULD MUSTER UP, BUT THE SKIT WAS MARRED BY THE SCREAMING GIRL FANS IN THE CROWD. NONE OF THE BOY'S DIALOUGE COULD EVEN BE HEARD. THE SKETCH WAS SO HOKEY, SOMETIMES MALES IN THE AUDIENCE WOULD ACTUALLY HECKLE THE BEATLES.

(THERE IS ACTUALLY FOOTAGE OF THE BEATLES BEING HECKLED AT ONE SHOW DURING THE SKIT AND JOHN LENNON SHOUTING SHUT UP! TO THE HECKLERS).

THE BEATLES WERE NEVER MUCH FOR REHEARSALS, SAID TONY BARROW, THEIR P.R. MAN. THAT NEVER REALLY MATTERED AS FAR AS THE SONGS WERE CONCERNED, BUT THE FACT THAT THEY WERE SO BAD AT DOING THE SKETCHES WAS AN ADDED EXTRA FOR THE SHOW - IT WAS ORGANIZED CHAOS, BUT IT WAS VERY FUNNY CHAOS.

THE CHRISTMAS SHOW, STRANGELY, BEGAN ON CHRISTMAS EVE 1963. THEN, THE BEATLES WERE ALL FLOWN HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS THE NEXT DAY. AFTER THAT, THE SHOWS CONTINUED THROUGH JANUARY 11 OF 1964.

LET'S FACE IT, SAID PAUL, THEY WOULD HAVE LAUGHED IF WE HAD JUST SAT THERE AND READ THE LIVERPOOL TELEPHONE DIRECTORY.

BECAUSE IT WAS NEW TO THEM, SAYS PETE LANGFORD, WHO, AS A MEMBER OF THE BARRON KNIGHTS, WAS ON IN THE SHOWS WITH THEM, THEY DIDN'T MAKE A FUSS. BUT AS THE RUN WENT ON, I THINK THEY REALIZED IT WASN'T REALLY WORKING. THEY WANTED TO BE SONGWRITERS AND POP STARS, THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE ACTORS.

AMAZINGLY, EVEN AFTER THESE VERY STRANGE SHOWS, THE BEATLES AGAIN AGREED TO DO ANOTHER BEATLES CHRISTMAS SHOW IN 1964. THESE INCLUDED, OF COURSE, ANOTHER SERIES OF JUVENILE SKITS. AT THIS TIME, THE BEATLES WERE WORLD FAMOUS SUPERSTARS. ONE HAS TO WONDER WHY THEY CONSENTED TO REPRISING THESE HOKEY SHOWS AT A TIME WHEN THEY WERE SO POWERFUL.

THE MONEY WAS VERY GOOD, BUT BY THIS TIME THEY CERTAINLY DIDN'T "NEED THE MONEY". AT THE 1964 CHRISTMAS SHOWS, JOHN WORE A BLONDE GIRL'S WIG WITH PIGTAILS. PAUL AND GEORGE EACH WORE VICTORIAN OUTFITS. AND RINGO WORE A LION'S COSTUME, A LION'S MANE DRAPED AROUND HIS HEAD.

AGAIN, THE SHOWS WERE A HUGE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS, BUT THIS SERIES OF CHRISTMAS SHOWS WAS, TO NO ONE'S GREAT SURPRISE, THE END OF THE BEATLES' CAREER AS "ALL-AROUND FAMILY ENTERTAINERS".

IN AUGUST OF 1965, THE UPCOMING LONDON "CHRISTMAS SHOWS" WERE ANNOUNCED. THE SHOWS AGAIN INCLUDED MANY OF THE ACTS IN BRIAN EPSTEIN'S STABLE OF MUSICAL TALENT. THE 1965 SHOW WAS TO FEATURE THE SKITS CINDERELLA, MOTHER GOOSE AND LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. ONE CAN EASILY IMAGINE WHAT THE BOYS SAID WHEN THEY HEARD THIS. LET'S JUST SAY THAT WHEN JOHN TURNED DOWN THE OFFER, HIS LANGUAGE PROBABLY WAS NOT VERY POLITE.