Jul
06
This week BROW looks back 42 years ago to a very special occasion. On June 25, 1967, the very first live international satellite television production was broadcast. The two and a half hour program called Our World featured performers from nineteen nations, and according to Wikipedia, an estimated 400 million people around the globe watched the broadcast. Performers were given segments on the show to represent their respective countries and among them were opera singer Maria Callas and artist Pablo Picasso. The master control of the program was set up at BBC London. The most famous segment came from the UK which featured The Beatles. Initially, Paul McCartney had written a song called Hello Goodbye for this event, but John Lennon topped him on this one. At the height of the Vietnam War, The Beatles decided to spread a message of peace and love to the world with another new song written by John Lennon called simply All You Need Is Love. To make the event as festive as possible, The Beatles invited many of their friends to join in on the song’s chorus including The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithful, Keith Moon and Graham Nash. Only one rehearsal was needed and then they went live with it before the world. What we are hearing here is the original live performance and lead vocal preceded by a taping of The Beatles performing some of the backing vocal track. It turns out that the very same instrumental track was used on the forthcoming single release of the song, although Lennon re-did his lead vocal for it. Needless to say, this record topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Beatles - All You Need Is Love
The Beatles on June 25, 1967 at the Our World broadcast.
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.
7 people think this is FAB!
Jun
29
This week BROW takes a look at the first Beatles 45 of 1968. John Lennon wanted it to be his new tune called Across The Universe but was eventually outvoted. Lady Madonna was recorded on February 3, 1968 just before The Beatles went to India to study transcendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The brass overdubs were then added on February 6th. There is an entire brass section of four saxophones on the recording with jazzman Ronnie Scott leading. The song was penned by Paul McCartney who mentioned that it was based largely on an old song called Bad Penny Blues; a minor hit for Humphrey Littleton in 1956 that was also produced by George Martin. The master heard on the official version was take 3 of 5 takes. This one is a rough mix from take 4 and has some voice-over added to the original recording in spots, including some laughter at the beginning by Paul. It was the last single by The Beatles in America to appear on the Capitol label. Their next single, Hey Jude, would later in the year appear on their new Apple label. The B-side of the Lady Madonna 45 was George Harrison’s Indian influenced track The Inner Light and this was the first time one of George’s appeared on a Beatles single. While the single topped the charts in the UK, it only reached number 2 on the Record World and Cash Box charts in America and number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. But, I ask, who cares about these charts anyway? Not me.
The Beatles - Lady Madonna
The American Lady Madonna 45 picture sleeve, 1968
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.
6 people think this is FAB!
Jun
24
Welcome to The Beatles Rarity Of the Week. This live recording of I Want To Hold Your Hand is from The Beatle’s first live outdoor concert in America. On February 11, 1964, just a few days after their historic initial appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Beatles hit the nation’s capital. The group was to fly down to Washington from New York, but there was a snowstorm. They refused to fly down in blizzard conditions, remembering what happened to Buddy Holly a few years before. Arrangements were then made for them to travel by private coach from Pennsylvania Station in New York to Union Station in Washington DC. When they arrived there were 3,000 fans at the station, but they were prevented from approaching the band by the surrounding platform gates. They booked the entire seventh floor at the Shoreham Hotel to accommodate their entourage, but one family on the floor refused to move out of their room. The assistant manager cut off their light, heat and water and told them there had been a power failure on that floor to make them agree to take another room on the ninth floor. The Beatles took the stage at 8:31pm following Tommy Roe and The Chiffons. The crowd noise was so deafening the band could hardly hear themselves perform. Fans had heard earlier that George liked Jelly Babies, a British version of jelly beans but softer. Since jelly beans were the common equivalent in the US, the band was pelted by them onstage and later commented they felt like bullets. The show continued on though and was a tremendous success. After the performance Ringo commented, “They could have ripped me apart and I couldn’t have cared less. What an audience! I could have played for them all night.”
The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand
The Beatles in Washington, DC on February 11, 1964
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.
2 people think this is FAB!
Jun
15
It’s been a long week and I think we all deserve a new Beatles (-related) Rarity of the Week. This week’s feature is a catchy little instrumental experiment by Paul McCartney recorded in the summer of 1979. Some of you McCartney fans out there may already be aware that the McCartney II album released in 1980 was originally intended to be a 2-record set. The single record version that was commercially released was Paul’s first totally solo album in a decade and like it’s 1970 predecessor McCartney, was very experimental, with Paul handling all the instruments with little or no technical help from anyone else. The two-record set was never officially released save for a few test pressings that surfaced, circa 1979. It contained a number of unreleased songs (some of which made their way to b-sides) and some different mixes of songs that did see their way to the final single LP version. This track, titled Front Parlour, is a sampling of the original version of the album. It was featured on the commercial McCartney II with a different mix and edited down to 3 and a half minutes. This original mix is over 5 minutes long and was the opener for the original double album, whereas the more well-known Coming Up opened up the final version.
Paul McCartney - Front Parlour
Paul McCartney, circa 1980
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.
2 people think this is FAB!
Jun
08
This week’s BROW needs no introduction so I will be brief. The Beatles had broken up, and George Harrison had his first serious album to put together on his own. Here, a song immediately recognizable from the first few melodic strums of George’s six-string, is a diamond in it’s earliest recorded demo form. From the summer of 1970 All Things Must Pass sessions and without the prominent backing vocals and slide guitar this anthem is famous for, the track sounds as clean as a whistle. While I like the way the finished product turned out, it’s also great to also here how it started out. It gives me a better sense of how the song evolved and makes me appreciate the continuity of its completion. Thanks for stopping by this week.
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
George Harrison (looking sort of Jesus-y), circa 1970
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.
5 people think this is FAB!
Jun
01
Welcome to the Beatles Rarity Of The Week. The rockabilly expertise of Gene Vincent inspired this week’s feature. In the summer of 1960, Gene was touring in the UK and apparently captured the respect of the struggling Beatles (then called The Beatals). Later that same year, while on their first visit to Hamburg, Germany to play at the Indra Club in the St. Pauli district, they made a recording during a practice session, where Paul is singing Wild Cat! , recently popularized by Gene. Another track The Beatles covered that was previously covered by Gene was Ain’t She Sweet (originally a hit from the roaring twenties). The line-up of The Beatals at this time was John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best. Later when it was discovered that George Harrison was only 17 and therefore too young, under German law, to play in night clubs, the band was sent home.
The Beatals - Wild Cat!
The Beatles, Hamburg Germany, 1960
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.
8 people think this is FAB!
I'm Happy Nat and I'm glad you dropped in! Feel free to listen to the latest BROW (Beatles Rarity Of The Week), watch the latest VOW (Beatles Video of the Week), and join the discussion by leaving comments or 
