Welcome to BROW. Once again, it is time for me to serve up another little musical sampling chosen with the idea that the majority of those tuning in, will be treated to something they haven’t heard before.

It’s no secret that The Beatles were all big fans of many of the early rock and rollers and r & b artists that preceded them. One need only look at the string of albums they put out during their first couple of years to see covers by Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, The Isley Brothers, The Marvelettes, The Miracles, Arthur Alexander and even a few more. One of the greats that The Beatles idolized was Richard Penniman (aka Little Richard) and my collection contains many Beatle covers (and solo-Beatle covers) of some of his greats, complete with vocals emulating the trademark screaming he’s famous for (Long, Tall Sally, Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey and Lucille, just to name a few).

In November 1962, when The Beatles were in Hamburg, Germany, still trying to make a name for themselves, they had the privilege of being an opening act for Little Richard at the Star Club. Can you imagine how thrilled The Beatles must have been to meet someone that had been a hero of theirs since childhood? Especially since this was before knowing that they would have any such fame themselves. They not only met Richard, but also met Billy Preston, who happened to be in his band. George Harrison actually invited Billy to come on stage and play with them for a few songs, but Billy politely declined, for fear of upsetting Richard (Of course, years later Billy did play with them on both sides of their Get Back/Don’t Let Me Down single). A detailed discussion of the amount of influence Little Richard’s music had on Beatles music is beyond the scope of this post, but let’s just say there is no doubt he played a more than significant part in many of the Lennon/McCartney compositions of the 1960s. One Beatle-favorite was a 1957 double-A sided single with Jenny, Jenny on one side and Miss Ann on the other. The Beatles covered both of these on more than one occasion during the Get Back sessions of January 1969.

Many years later on February 5, 1993, we find Paul McCartney showing up for his Cardington (London) gig soundcheck, and as an illustration that much of his taste remains the same after all these years, he breaks into this old Little Richard favorite once again, for old time sake.

The Beatles with Little Richard at The Star Club, Hamburg Germany, November, 1962

A couple things in closing:

I can’t end this post without mentioning the impressive keyboard work heard on this track by Wix Wickens!

And finally: This week’s BROW was to honor a request I received a couple of week’s ago. Thanks for the “soundcheck” idea, Chip! I hope you like it.

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? Then let me hear from you. Read about more Beatles rarities and suggest one for me to post. You can begin by searching for different versions of specific tracks right here.

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