Welcome to the Beatles Rarity of the Week. John Lennon got a head start on writing new material for the yet untitled first Beatles movie, in early January 1964, when he wrote and recorded the initial home demos for If I Fell in his London flat. Legend has it that the recordings were taped over an audio message sent to John by a fan who had seen The Beatles November 17, 1963 show in Coventry. Her message had been recorded on New Year’s Eve, 1963. If I Fell would go on to be one of the 7 new songs completed specifically for A Hard Day’s Night (film and album) as well as the B-side of a July 1964 single paired with And I Love Her as the A-side. The other new songs for the film would be written during the upcoming tour of France and America.

This historical recording is divided into five separate demo/fragments:

1) The tape starts with a take already in progress, but this is cut off for a complete attempt (0:00-0:13).
2) John plays through the complete song with the structure and lyrics nearly finalized. The melody line he sings would eventually be given to Paul McCartney, with John taking a lower harmony. Here John is obviously straining to reach the notes. Note that the ending riff would be removed from use on this song and used instead on I Should Have Known Better (another song for the film yet to be written) (0:14-2:40).
3) John sings the final verse an octave lower which is much more suited for his vocal range (2:41-3:08).
4) John tries singing falsetto again, but only the first verse (3:09-3:45).
5) John tries just a couple lines of the first verse, singing falsetto again and snaps off the tape (3:46-4:00).

John Lennon, 1964

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? If so, I will do my best to deliver, so let me hear from you. To browse for ideas, check out this search-able listing of thousands of Beatle-related recordings to choose from. Then let me hear from you here.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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This week’s VOW feature comes from a local television interview in Dallas, Texas while The Beatles visited on their 1964 American Tour. This was recorded on the evening of September 18 and as you can see Paul decided to wear a cowboy hat for the occasion.

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I had a recent request from my friend Cara, to share some of The Beatles on the UK BBC Television program Juke Box Jury. So here is an audio recording preceded by some background info about the show:

On December 7th 1963, the Beatles gave an afternoon concert at the Empire Theatre in their hometown of Liverpool which was filmed for BBC-TV. Following the concert, the Beatles rushed to the Odeon Cinema in Liverpool for a special taping of Juke Box Jury.

Juke Box Jury was a weekly program featuring a panel of four celebrities who were given the task of rating newly released records as ‘HIT’ or ‘MISS,’ based on their personal opinions of the recording’s potential to become a popular chart hit.

When the Beatles appeared as the four panelists for this edition of the show, they rated the latest releases by artists like Elvis Presley, Steve and Eydie, Bobby Vinton, Billy Fury, and the Swinging Blue Jeans. Most of the predictions the Beatles made on this episode of Juke Box Jury proved later to be correct, and only three of their predictions turned out to be incorrect.

The video of the Beatles’ appearance on Juke Box Jury seemingly no longer exists. Luckily, the audio from this television appearance has survived.

Their December 7th Juke Box Jury appearance and a 30 minute film of their concert earlier that afternoon at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre would both be telecast by BBC-TV later that same evening.

Juke Box Jury began as a program in America during the earliest days of television. The BBC version of the show debuted in 1959 and ran until 1967. The host of Juke Box Jury in Britain was David Jacobs.

This is the audio from the final 9 minutes of this Dec. 7th 1963 appearance when the Beatles rated:

1) Do You Really Love Me Too – Billy Fury: the record was compared unfavorably to a Cliff Richard record though John & Paul liked the song and said it would be a hit..they were right as it ended up going to number 15 in the UK. Note: The audio here begins after the song has played.

2) There I’ve Said It Again – Bobby Vinton: All 4 correctly voted this a miss for the UK. But in the U.S. it was a #1 a month later and ironically I Want To Hold Your Hand was the song that dethroned it on the Billboard singles chart. Note: All but a few seconds of the track has been clipped from the recording.

3) Love Hit Me – The Orchids: The Orchids are a trio of schoolgirls from Coventry and John criticizes the group as a clone of The Ronettes or The Crystals. Paul & George are a little more enthusiastic but they ultimately vote it as a miss. Then they get suddenly and humorously apologetic when they are told afterward that the Orchids are in the audience and are told by announcer David Jacobs to stand up. John then says he’ll change it to a hit and buy two!

4) I Think Of You – The Merseybeats: As they are running out of time, they cut the discussion and go straight for the vote. All vote this one a hit for these fellow Liverpudlians.

The theme song Hit And Miss closes the show.

The Beatles on Juke Box Jury on Dec. 7, 1963

An abbreviated transcription of this show is online here which is where much of the info on the program in this post came from.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

No related posts.

Sing along with The Beatles to I’ll Follow The Sun and When I Get Home.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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Welcome to the Beatles Rarity of the Week. This week’s post is a follow up to an earlier BROW I posted way back in October of 2008, that you can check out here if you like.

The previously referenced post points out that there have been five mixes in the standard Beatles catalog of I’m Only Sleeping. Actually, I should have said there are four, since the mix on the stereo US Yesterday…And Today LP is a fake stereo mix identical to the one on the mono Y&T album.

1. Yesterday…And Today (mono) + Yesterday…And Today (stereo) which had a fake stereo mix – this mix was featured on the Oct. 2008 BROW and never released officially to CD.

2. UK Revolver mono mix – available again recently on the mono remasters box set issued last September.

3. UK Revolver stereo mix – this has been the standard mix since the CD was issued in 1987.

4. Yesterday…And Today (stereo reissue) – around 1973 the stereo Y&T album was upgraded with a newly created stereo mix of I’m Only Sleeping since early issues had ‘fake’ stereo mixes. This version has not been officially released to CD.

All four of these mixes have subtle differences to do with where the backwards guitar overdubs are faded up and down in the mix. Also, the lead guitar is mixed differently throughout the guitar solo and at the end. My earlier post included the mono US Y&T mix (#1 above). Since #2 above was recently issued and #3 above is the standard mix, I have chosen the US stereo 1973 reissued mix (#4) as this week’s BROW. In case you’re interested in comparing, I have charted specifically how these mixes differ below the photo, but, of course, you don’t have to sweat the details just to enjoy the song.

The Beatles, 1966

Note: #4 below is the characteristics for the mix featured in this post. To compare with mono Y&T version (#1), check out the earlier post. To compare with UK stereo Revolver mix (#3), play your Revolver CD. With the mono box set you can compare with your mono Revolver CD (#2).

Verse 1: no backwards guitar on any mix

Verse 2:
#1-no backwards guitar
#3-backwards guitar on “everywhere at such a speed” and “find there’s no need”
#4-backwards guitar on “running everywhere at such a speed” and “till they find there’s no need”
#2-backwards guitar on “where at such a speed” and “there’s no need”

Verse 3:
#1-backwards guitar on “time” and “ceiling”
#3, #4-no backwards guitar
#2-backwards guitar on “staring at the ceiling”

Solo:
#1-guitar continues into words “please don’t” at end of solo
#3, #2-guitar ends at end of solo
#4-guitar fades in 2 bars later, continues into “please”

Verse 4:
no backwards guitar on any mix

End:
#1-guitar starts 4 beats after the last word “sleeping”
all others- guitar starts immediately after last word “sleeping”

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Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? If so, I will do my best to deliver, so let me hear from you. To browse for ideas, check out this search-able listing of thousands of Beatle-related recordings to choose from. Then let me hear from you here.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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This week’s VOW is related to the BROW from earlier this week. As a promotion for his newest album Press To Play, Paul filmed a promo video in November, 1986 at Pinewood Studios in Buckingham, UK where he performed Only Love Remains before a small audience. Singing backing vocals with Linda McCartney here is Judith Light from the television show Who’s the Boss. A few days later Paul performed this song at London’s Theatre Royale for the Royal Variety Show.

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Another highlight of mine from the 2010 Fest For Beatles Fans was getting a few photos and autographs from some of the stars and just hanging out.

KLAUS VOORMANN, an original member of the Plastic Ono Band, was reunited with most of the band for Yoko’s Birthday Concert in NYC in February (with Eric Clapton, Jim Keltner and Sean). His latest effort A Sideman’s Journey CD/DVD/Book, features Paul, Ringo, his old band Manfred Mann, Joe Walsh, Cat Stevens and many other friends. This is Klaus’ first ever solo CD and it was worth the wait. Klaus’ friendship with The Beatles goes back 50 years to the Hamburg days. Klaus is one of those few musicians who has performed and recorded with all four Beatles. He is a two time Grammy Winner including his album cover artwork for Revolver.

Happy Nat & Klaus Voorman, Aug. 2010, Fest For Beatles Fans

DENNY SEIWELL is one of the busiest session drummers in Los Angeles. In 1971, Denny was hired by Paul to join him on the Ram album session in NYC in 1971. Paul must have liked what he heard, as later that year, he was asked to join Wings. In the two years with Wings, he played on two of Paul’s biggest hits, My Love & Live & Let Die.

Happy Nat with Denny Seiwell, Aug. 2010, Fest For Beatles Fans

Denny Seiwell plays selections from the 'Ram' sessions at the Fest For Beatles Fans, 2010

LAURENCE JUBER is one of the finest guitarists on the planet. It is no wonder Paul asked him to join Wings in 1978! His guitar work on Back To The Egg was amazing. His new CD, LJ Plays The Beatles 2 was premiered in Chicago at the Fest.

Happy Nat with Laurence Juber, Aug. 2010, Fest For Beatles Fans

DENNY LAINE was a founding member of Wings (with Paul & Linda) in 1971 and remained a core part of the band until it broke up in 1980. Denny co-wrote Paul’s biggest solo hit in the UK – Mull of Kintyre. Denny, also a founding member of the Moody Blues, burst onto the scene in 1965 with his bluesy rock vocals on Go Now. Denny’s has a new CD called Storyteller.

Happy Nat with Denny Laine, Aug. 2010, Fest For Beatles Fans

MARK HUDSON Mark’s knowledge of the entire spectrum of music is truly remarkable. Plus, he is an admitted Beatlemaniac. During his 10 years as Ringo’s producer, Mark had the chance to work with Paul, George and dozens of other music legends. Mark also produced Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and Ozzy Osbourne. Mark has a new CD out called, The Artist.

Unfortunately, this pic (below) came out a little fuzzy.

Happy Nat with Mark Hudson, Aug. 2010, Fest For Beatles Fans

Pictured (below) from left to right: Klaus Voormann, Mark Lapidos, Gary Wright and Walter Podrazik (author of All Together Now)

From a late-night party on 8/14/2010

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If you’re a Beatles collector of the American vinyl releases, then you’re undoubtedly aware of the incredible series of reference books on the subject by Bruce Spizer. Over the years, Bruce has redefined how the American Beatles and early post (solo) Beatles records are categorized by serious collectors and his knowledge on the subject allowed him to be the writer of the liner notes that accompanied EMI’s box set The Capitol Albums Vol. 2 (including remastered CDs of the US albums The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help! and Rubber Soul). More info on Bruce’s books can be found on his website at http://www.beatle.net. I had a few minutes to speak with Bruce in Chicago at the 2010 Fest For Beatles Fans this weekend (on behalf of Fab 4 Radio), and Bruce let me in on his plans for a NEW BOOK to come out next year covering UK releases. Have a listen to what Bruce has to say…

Bruce Spizer

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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If you’re a Beatles fan and you’re going to be in the New York City area anytime soon, you might want to get in touch with Susan Ryan about getting set up to go on one of her Fab 4 NYC Walking Tours. Follow in the footsteps of the Beatles in New York City with an expert! Learn about the group’s connection to New York, as well as fascinating facts about the history of the city! My friend Judith Kristen (author of A Date With A Beatle) recently interviewed Susan at the 2010 Fest For Beatles Fans in Chicago, to ask about these tours she gives. Let’s hear what Susan had to say.

Susan Ryan, Fab 4 NYC Walking Tours

For more info on Fab 4 NYC Walking Tours visit the website.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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Praise for Judith Kristen’s A Date With A Beatle:

A Date With A Beatle is a rollicking roller coaster of a ride as a fiesty female sets her sights on the Beatles – George in particular – during the Fab Four’s first American trip. Films such as: I Want To Hold Your Hand and Secrets tried to capture the moment with fiction fans, but this is the real thing. I found it fascinating.

Billy Harry, founder of Mersey Beat

I had the honor of interviewing Judith for Fab 4 Radio, while at the 2010 Fest for Beatles Fans, and it was great fun because I had only just finished her book a few weeks ago.

Out for breakfast, Judith Kristen with her husband Andrew

To buy A Date With A Beatle on Amazon.com, just click on the book.

If you are into the Beatles you won’t be disappointed. Especially if you are a second (or later) generation fan and weren’t there to catch the madness, the first time around.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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2. The Fest For Beatles Fans 2010 – A few minutes with Jude Southerland Kessler My friend Judith Kristen (author of A Date With A...
3. David Bedford – author of ‘Liddypool’ – Birthplace of The Beatles David Bedford’s 2010 book Liddypool: Birthplace Of The Beatles has...