On February 14-18, 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono did a one week co-host stint on US television’s Mike Douglas Show. This performance aired on the Feb. 14th show and was actually taped two weeks earlier on Jan. 31st. John and Yoko are joined onstage by the Elephants Memory Band to perform a song from John’s most recent Imagine album called “It’s So Hard”. Later in the year, Elephants Memory would record with the Lennons again on John and Yoko’s next album, the double LP Some Time In New York City. This first show with the Lennons also included musical guests The Chambers Brothers, attorney/political activist Ralph Nader and comedian Louie Nye. The show opens up with Mike himself singing his own interpretation of the Beatles’ Rubber Soul classic “Michelle”.

For “It’s So Hard”, John sings and plays rhythm guitar while Yoko hits a bongo drum. The Elephants Memory lineup included Stan Bronstein on sax, Richard Frank Jr. on drums, Wayne “Tex” Gabriel on lead guitar, Adam Ippolito on piano and Gary Von Scyoc on bass.

Click the image above to play the video.

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some music related to this post:

1) Some Time In New York City (remaster) – 2010 remaster of original 1972 double LP with Plastic Ono Band & Elephants Memory.

2) Imagine (remaster) – 2010 remaster of original 1971 LP with Plastic Ono Band & Flux Fiddlers. Includes classic version of title track.

3) Rubber Soul (remastered) – 2009 remaster of original 1965 stereo U.K. LP by The Beatles. Includes “Michelle”.

4) More Amazon links for any of your favorite Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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With introductions handled by George and Ringo, sing along with The Beatles to “Penny Lane” and “Eleanor Rigby”.

Click the image above to play the video.

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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Ringo Starr

Welcome to the Beatles Rarity of the Week. With Ringo Starr’s new album Ringo 2012 hot off the presses, I thought it would be a good week to scrounge up a Ringo rarity. Has it really been 50 years since he first went on a record?!

Additionally, you can consider this a follow-up to an earlier article I made, back in April 2011, concerning the BBE disc (Best Buy Exclusive) that accompanied the first few copies of Ringo’s 1998 Vertical Man CD when bought from Best Buy (you can find that post here, if you like, but I’ll give the necessary details here too).

The BBE disc contained three tracks from the ‘Vertical Man’ sessions that were not included on the CD: Mr. Doubleitup, Sometimes and Good News. The single release from this CD, a track called “La-De-Da,” contained an alternate edit (for radio) of the title track, along with another non-album tune from the ‘VM’ sessions called “Everyday.” While both “Everyday” and “Mr. Doubleitup” ended up as bonus tracks on the Japanese issuance of the Vertical Man CD, “Sometimes” and “Good News” were never issued on anything official other than the very limited BBE disc. If you’d like to hear “Sometimes,” visit the link I listed above. As this week’s BROW, I’m offering up “Good News.” Both of these tracks give us Ringo back in that country vein he’s been known to be partial to over the years. “Good News,” in fact, is about as country as Ringo gets – complete with lyrics about his truck breaking down and even a mention of Johnny Cash. As the name implies, it’s also an uptempo feel-good type of song written by Ringo with bandmates Mark Hudson and Steve Dudas, along with collaborator Bruce Grakal. Ringo not only sings and plays drums but also strums rhythm guitar with Mark and Steve. Mark also plays lead guitar and garnishes the track with his ever-recognizable backing vocals. Lee Rocker is also on board playing an upright bass. Although not credited in the BBE liner notes, the piano is likely played by Jeff “Skunk” Baxter.

For a good sampling of Ringo’s new album, Ringo 2012, click here.

Cover art for Vertical Man BBE Bonus Disc, 1998

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some music related to this post:

1) Vertical Man – Original 1998 Vertical Man CD, 1998

2) Vertical Man (Japanese Import) – Japanese version of Vertical Man with bonus tracks “Everyday” and Mr. “Doubleitup”, 1998

3) Ringo 2012 – Ringo Starr’s latest CD, 2012.

4) Ringo Starr VH1 Storytellers – Live performances by Ringo Starr and the Roundheads, 1998

5) More Amazon links for any of your favorite Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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On February 19, 1965, The Beatles did an afternoon recording session to record John Lennon’s new song, “You’re Going To Lose That Girl.” The 4-track mix consisted of John’s Gretsch rhythm guitar, Paul McCartney’s bass and Ringo Starr’s drums on track 1, George Harrison’s guitar solo and electric piano on track 2, backing vocals from John, Paul & George on track 3, and John’s lead vocal on track 4. After doing more filming for their upcoming film Help!, they returned to the song on March 30 to add overdubs that included a new track 2 with a better guitar solo by George, bongos and an acoustic piano.

“You’re Going To Lose That Girl” was the last of the songs recorded for the Help! film, from which this clip originates. At the end of the scene, one of the great swami Clang’s thugs uses a chainsaw to saw a hole in the floor around the drum kit. The producer reports that they will have to re-record the song due to a buzzing noise, and The Beatles begin asking one another who was buzzing. As they look to Ringo, he and the drums fall through the floor.

Click the image above to play the video.

Extra info: “You’re Going To Lose That Girl” was re-titled “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” in the U.S.

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some music related to this post:

1) Help! (Remastered) 2009 remastered stereo CD of original 1965 UK LP, including “You’re Going To Lose That Girl”.

2) Help! 2007 remastered 5.1 surround DVD of original 1965 film Help! starring The Beatles and with bonus features. Includes the clip of “You’re Going To Lose That Girl” seen here.

3) Ringo 2012 – Ringo Starr’s new album.

4) More Amazon links for any of your favorite Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

No related posts.

The Beatles work with a bird catcher and her lovesick colleague to catch a rare singing bird.

Click the image above to play the video.

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

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

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I’m hoping most of those reading this have had the opportunity to check out Martin Scorsese’s recent biographical documentary George Harrison: Living In The Material World by now. Back in October it made it’s debut in cinemas across the U.K. and was also released on home video. In the U.S., it made it’s first appearance on HBO, with the promise posted on GeorgeHarrison.com of a home video release in the Spring. The 3 1/2 hour feature is divided into two parts with the first part focusing on George’s “Beatle-years” and the second part mainly focusing on the time after The Beatles, up to George’s death in 2001. However, part two actually begins with a 1968 acoustic demo of George’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. Since this demo is only presented as a 45 second edit containing one verse, and not available on any official releases anywhere else, I thought some of you out there might like to hear it in it’s entirety.

This demo of George’s White Album classic is the earliest known recorded account of the song. It was recorded in late May 1968, when The Beatles had recently returned from their time learning about Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in Rishikesh, India. Since the band had written some 35 new songs while on the trip, they were eager to record some demos and make plans for the next album. They had decided to convene at George’s bungalow (named Kinfauns) in Esher Surrey, U.K. to do just that.

A tape of 23 demos from the recordings The Beatles did then has survived (known as the Kinfauns demos) and circulates among Beatles-collectors. The sound quality on the tape is far from superb, but yet good enough to get an idea of how developed many of the songs that ended up on the White Album were at this point. The tape concludes with five George Harrison demos, and only two of the five ended up making the final cut for the forthcoming 2-LP set. Specifically George’s 5 songs were: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, “Circles”, “Sour Milk Sea”, “Not Guilty” & “Piggies”.

“While My Guitar Gently Weeps” has George adding to his guitar and vocal track with an organ on the bridges and ending. The lyrics are yet to modified to the version we are accustomed to now. This earliest known demo of the song pre-dates the demo heard on the Beatles Anthology 3 CD set by two months. The electric version we hear on the White Album was recorded during the first week of September 1968 and features Eric Clapton on lead guitar and Paul McCartney on fuzz bass.

George Harrison at his Kinfauns home in Esher, circa 1968

Extra info: Of George’s 5 offerings on the Kinfauns demos, only “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Piggies” ended up on the “White Album”. “Not Guilty” and “Circles” were both recorded later by George on solo albums (George Harrison and Gone Troppo, respectively). “Sour Milk Sea” was covered by Apple artist Jackie Lomax and released as a single in 1968 (with George, Paul, Ringo and Eric Clapton backing Jackie up on the recording – see this post for more info on that). In addition to the 23 demos recorded at Kinfauns, four additional demos from this period were recorded at John Lennon’s home (Kenwood) and appear on the Beatles Anthology 3 CD set. They are “Happiness Is A Warm Gun”, “Mean Mr. Mustard”, “Polythene Pam” and “Glass Onion”.

Links to Amazon.com items in The Beatles catalog related to this post are listed below. Click for further info or, if you like, to purchase the music:

1) The Beatles (White Album) (Remastered) – 2009 2-CD remaster of original 1968 stereo double LP. Contains the stereo master of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (electric version).

2) Beatles Anthology 3 1996 2-CD collection of out-takes and alternate versions of Beatles tracks in their final two years 1968-1969. Includes an acoustic demo from July 1968 of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (not the same demo featured here). Also includes Beatles studio version of “Not Guilty” – a White Album out-take mentioned above.

3) Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison – 2009 remastered collection of George Harrison’s best, including a live version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” from the Concert For Bangla Desh (1971).

4) George Harrison – 2004 remaster of original 1979 LP featuring George Harrison’s solo version of “Not Guilty”.

5) Gone Troppo – 2004 remaster of original 1982 LP. Contains George Harrison’s solo version of “Circles”.

6) Ringo 2012 – Ringo Starr’s new album, pre-order only until Jan. 24, 2012.

7) Find more Beatles-related music on Amazon: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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Back on November 25th, I made a post alerting everyone of Ringo’s upcoming new album Ringo 2012 and giving some details about it (check that out here). Since we are coming up on the release date in 10 more days, I thought it a good time to give everyone a sneak preview.

The lead single for the album, “Wings” is actually a remake of an earlier single made in 1977, that was taken from his Atlantic album Ringo the 4th. Since this was released digitally back on January 10th (2012), I’ve decided to share another of the nine tracks on the disc.

“Anthem” is the album opener and a good representation of the upbeat nature of the entire collection. Co-written with Glen Ballard, Ringo delivers a good driving beat behind lots of punchy guitar, effectively giving it an overall “feel good” kind of sound.

One may want to think of Ringo 2012 as a continuation of his highly successful 1973 album Ringo. Although, unlike that offering, there are no “guest Beatles”, the new album does feature a remake performance of one of the 1973 Ringo tracks – a song written by Ringo himself called “Step Lightly.” In keeping with the feel of the new album, the re-make version has been injected with a lot more beat and liveliness. And, like the Ringo album, Ringo 2012 has our famous drummer joined in the studio with an impressive list of fine musicians that you’ve likely heard of before, to include (in alphabetical order): Michael Bradford, Ann Marie Calhoun, Matt Cartsonis, Steve Dudas, Charlie Haden, Amy Keys, Kelly Moneymaker, Richard Page, Van Dyke Parks, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dave Stewart, Bruce Sugar, Benmont Tench, Joe Walsh , Don Was, and Edgar Winter.

For more details about Ringo 2012, check out my earlier post. See below, to pick up your copy.

Ringo 2012, released on January 31, 2012

Here is a list of all available formats of Ringo 2012 with Amazon links to read more on, or purchase:

1) Ringo 2012 – Ringo 2012 9-track standard CD.

2) Ringo 2012 – Ringo 2012 9-track MP3 digital download.

3) Ringo 2012 [Amazon.com Exclusive CD+DVD Version] – Ringo 2012 Deluxe version: 9-track CD + DVD with over 15 minutes of commentary and live performance footage.

4) The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

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

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Back on November 11th, 2011, I featured the promo video for one side of the double A-sided Strawberry Fields Forever c/w Penny Lane single. I decided to follow that up this week with the other side.

The promo clip for Paul McCartney’s “Penny Lane” was shot at a few locations on the 5th and 7th of February, 1967, in preparation for the upcoming mid-February single release (specifically the 13th in the U.S. and 17th in the U.K.).

Although there were a few sequences shot in Liverpool’s Penny Lane (the subject of the song), The Beatles never traveled there to make the video. The footage, where The Beatles are in the city, was shot at a district of London called Angel Lane. This includes the scene where they are riding horseback through the streets (I’ve always wondered if it was a coincidence that George Harrison rode the “dark horse”). These scenes are interspersed with footage of the “real” Penny Lane in Liverpool, which show the #46 bus, the “shelter in the middle of the roundabout,” the barber’s pole, the fireman on the white horse, etc.

The banquet scene at the end, where Beatles assistant Mal Evans serves the band guitars instead of food, was shot at Knole Park, in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, U.K., where the “Strawberry Fields Forever” promo had been shot less than a week earlier.

As was the case with the “Strawberry Fields Forever” promo clip, the video was directed by Peter Goldman, who was given the position as a result of a recommendation by long-time Beatles friend Klaus Voormann, whom The Beatles had met back in their pre-fame days in Hamburg, Germany.

Click the image above to play the video.

Extra info: “Penny Lane,” along with “Strawberry Fields Forever,” was originally intended to be part of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP, but since it was already early 1967 and the band had not put a single out since the previous August’s “Yellow Submarine” c/w “Eleanor Rigby,” it was decided to release it as a single ahead of time. Since singles tracks did not typically end up on albums in the U.K., neither song was included on Pepper. Both songs were later included on the U.S. Magical Mystery Tour LP; however the British double EP package of the same name included only the songs that were in the Magical Mystery Tour film.

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some music related to this post:

1) Magical Mystery Tour (Remastered) – 2009 stereo remaster of original 1967 album, including “Penny Lane”.

2) 1967-1970 (Blue) Remastered – 2-CD 2010 stereo remaster of original 1973 Beatles hits compilation, including “Penny Lane”.

3) 1 – 2011 remaster of Beatles No. 1′s, including “Penny Lane”.

4) More Amazon links for any of your favorite Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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The Beatles cheer up a dreary orphanage and it’s children.

Most Beatles fans recognize the boundary between the “Early Beatles” period and the “Late Beatles” period as the end of 1966. In 1967, when The Beatles released their first single of the year, the double A-sided “Penny Lane” c/w “Strawberry Fields Forever”, the “later Beatles” were born. The only later Beatles songs featured in The Beatles cartoon series were both songs from this single.

Click the image above to play the video.

Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

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

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Welcome back for yet another Beatles Rarity Of The Week. “Something” was a song written by George Harrison in January 1969 and later featured, not only on the Abbey Road album later in the year, but also on the A-side of a single coupled with John Lennon’s “Come Together” on the B-side. This was George’s first composition (and last) to be issued on the top side of a Beatles single. It was a good pick too because it topped the U.S. charts (Billboard) and reached number 4 on the U.K (Melody Maker) charts. It is second only to Yesterday as being the most covered Beatles song of all time. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney praised “Something” as among the best songs written by George, or that the group had to offer.

For this week’s BROW, I’m sharing a recording of the song while still a work in progress. This is a mono mix of “Something” that’s basic track was laid down on May 2, 1969. Billy Preston, who had recently worked with The Beatles during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions, played organ, while Paul played bass. George Harrison played rhythm guitar through a Leslie speaker and John played a second rhythm guitar. Ringo Starr, of course, manned the drum kit. At this point the song was 7:48 due to a extended jam at the conclusion (some of which I’ve included here) and labeled as take 36.

On May 5th, The Beatles upgraded take 36 with the following changes: Paul redid his bass track and George added the lead guitar parts, including his fantastic solo. Billy Preston added more organ overdubs sometime before July 11th, which was the date George recorded his first lead vocal for the track. The extended jam at the end was also shortened. The end result, take 37, would receive further improvements later in the week, when George would return to the studio to redo the vocal track, with some assistance from Paul. With the new vocal track, a stereo mix was created for the master we hear on Abbey Road.

Here now, with the original vocal track, is take 37, complete with sound engineer Phil McDonald’s take announcement.

The Beatles have a break on the set of the Abbey Road photo shoot, 1969

Links to Amazon.com items in The Beatles catalog related to this post are listed below. Click for further info or, if you like, to purchase the music:

1) Abbey Road (Remastered) 2009 remaster of original 1969 smash album tat was to be the last recorded by The Beatles. Includes the finalized master of “Something”.

2) Anthology 3 1996 2-CD set containing out-takes and special versions of Beatles recordings from the final 2 years before the broke up. Includes a demo version of “Something” recorded on George Harrison’s 26th birthday (Feb. 25, 1969).

3) Find more Beatles-related music on Amazon: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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