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Their humble roots in Liverpool, England could have resulted in a series of dead end jobs, because that's all they saw in the docking town. As if it was a miracle, their teenage years coincided with the new form of music from the United States called rock'n'roll. It became a massive movement among all high school students, especially as the 1950's went on, since skiffle music wasn't exactly "hip".
Rock'n'roll, back then, was a wide range of music, everything from Elvis Presley to Little Richard to Chuck Berry to Larry Williams. It was a mixture of R&B/soul, gospel, blues, and rockabilly, all of which were rooted in the South. The way they were exposed to the music was mostly through records that were imported to England. Kids would actually wait at the docks, not even wanting to go to the record store for it to be properly filed. It was these hits and B-sides that fascinated John Lennon (1940-1980), James Paul McCartney (1942-), George Harrison (1943-2001), and Richard Starkey (1940-) to want to create music. However, it wouldn't be until the summer of 1962 when these four men would finally become the band that simply wanted to play songs, drink beer, and meet up with "birds" (women).
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The first to meet were John Lennon and Paul McCartney, both of whom were in high school. They both had aspirations to play music, and both shared a love for the music of America, especially Elvis Presley, but the music of England was still skiffle and folk, so the groups they were in showed this. A mutual friend brought them together on July 6, 1957, and it was then that they discovered their common love of music, and Elvis. A friendship was born, and at the time it was nothing more than that.
Half a year later, Paul introduces George Harrison to John, and they become The Quarrymen, the first stage of what would eventually lead to bigger and better. George was only 14 years old, but his guitar work impressed Paul and they brought him in. They would eventually do shows, including a residency at a club owned by the mother of their future drummer, Pete Best.
Two years later, Stu Sutcliffe joins the group, who had already changed their name a number of times. An art student, the guy didn't know how to play the bass, and would often "play" with his back facing the audience. There are many photos of the five-member group, back when they wanted to show their coolness by playing in leather jackets. In time, Stu would leave the band, and he became a small but important footnote in the history of The Beatles. During the time Stu was in the band, Paul would actually play the basslines on his guitar, which eventually would lead to him switching over to bass.
By 1960, the Liverpool music scene was proof that the music of America had made its impact on these kids. It was enough for "The Silver Beetles" to be asked to perform in Hamburg, Germany to play the nightclub scene, most notably the Star Club. It was there that the group started to gain attention, not only for their music, but with the ladies as well. Long shows (4-6 hours a night) would not only lead them to drink a lot, but also start popping pills. Their sets consisted of hits of the day, favorites from their record collection, as well as routines they would develop during their Star Club stay. George Harrison was 17 years old, opening his eyes to a world that only his older bandmates were aware of. By the end of the year, after a long stay at one club, they were booted because club owners found out Harrison was too young.
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In 1961, a singer named Tony Sheridan asks the group to back him up for a few songs to be released as a single. This would result in "My Bonnie (Lies Over The Ocean)", credited to "Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers" and released in Germany in June 1961, and in England on January 5, 1962, where it was credited to "Tony Sheridan & The Beatles". The record went nowhere, but it became the first Beatles record, and at this point they were formally called "The Beatles". Those who did know of the band now had something to take home to listen to. It was released in the U.S. on Decca on April 23, 1962, and it too went nowhere. Original copies of these 45's are some of the highest priced records for Beatles collectors:
http://www.friktech.com/btls/tony/tony.htm
The group recorded a total of eight songs during the Tony Sheridan sessions, including "Ain't She Sweet", with vocals from John.
A few days before "My Bonnie" was to be released in England, the group found themselves in the Decca Records offices in London to audition for a contract. At this stage, Lennon and McCartney started to compose their own songs, this coming from their love of Buddy Holly and how he composed a lot of his own songs. On the spot, the head of Decca told them he wasn't interested, and they walked out without a contract.
The next day, the group makes Brian Epstein their manager. He loved the music, but felt that the group needed a new look. Gone were the leather jackets and in were the suits, as Epstein wanted something more "sophisticated". Some believe that Epstein wanted the group to look like the kind of men he would be interested in hanging out with, and thus created a group that in many ways "suited him". The suited look would eventually lead to the group getting formally signed to Parlophone Records. A classical producer named George Martin was asked to work with the group. Martin was not sure about this, wondering if the group could pull it off. Rock'n'roll was not his "forte", but Epstein was convinced. Martin liked everyone, except for one person: Pete Best. Martin told Epstein that Best should be replaced. Best was given the boot, and that was that. The group brought in a friend they had known from another Liverpool group, Rory Storme & The Hurricanes. He was "Richie" Starkey, but his stage presence had him with a nice 'do, a full beard, and a lot of shiny rings, so he was known as "Ringo Starr". Both groups played and partied many times, so there was already a friendship there. Depending on what version you read, the group either asked him to join at one point, but Ringo wanted to wait until his stint at a club was over.
In the summer of 1962, John, Paul, George, and Ringo would become the group we know as The Beatles. Before Ringo was a formal member, the group went into the studio to record a number of songs, including "Love Me Do". The drummer for these sessions were Andy White. When Ringo joined the band, Martin didn't like his drumming but kept the tapes rolling anyway. The "Ringo" version of "Love Me Do" was released in England as their first single in October 1962, but afterwards, it was the more polished "Andy White" version that was heard. "Love Me Do" went as high as #21 on the Melody Maker charts, not a major hit by any means, but it showed people were buying the record, most likely those in Liverpool.
At the end of 1963, The Beatles went into the studio to record two new songs for another single. This was in the era when singles were king, and albums were meant for "older" ("adult") buyers, so the idea was that "if two songs is what we need to have a hit, we have to do it the best way we know how". "Please Please Me" was a collaborative effort between John and Paul, and what they wanted to do was deliver a "rocker", something a bit more exciting than the folk-ish back vibe of "Love Me Do" and its B-side, "P.S. I Love You". They wanted something that represented their love of rock'n'roll. "Please Please Me" is a simple song about love for a girl, and the feelings one gets when love is in the air. It's nothing more than the traditional "boy meets girl", but what made the record work was the vocal harmonies in the line "Please please me/whoa yeah, like I please you" that was influenced by Roy Orbison and "Only The Lonely". In other words, John and Paul (with an emphasis on John) sing in their regular voices before going a register higher to match the falsetto that Orbison was known for. The Beatles were not only good listeners, but observes as well, for when they would watch Elvis, Orbison, and Little Richard, when the high notes were sung, the girls went crazy. Please please me, indeed.
The formula worked, for it would eventually top the British charts on March 2, 1963. People in London started to notice, and many scratched their heads about a group from Liverpool, because "no one there makes it". This wasn't skiffle beat, this was rock'n'roll, and the group found themselves now playing throughout England, and eventually London. T
On February 11, 1963, The Beatles and George Martin went into the studio to record an album that would become PLEASE PLEASE ME. As bootlegs indicate, the group were sharp and ready to record, with countless takes being made. By the time the night was over, the group still had one more song to do. John decided to do a song by one of his favorite groups, The Isley Brothers. He said since it was the last song for the sessions, he would do everything to make it the best performance. "Twist & Shout" was done in one take, and John pretty much ripped his vocals, and you can hear it. They wanted the song to have as much sexual energy as the original, and John did it the best way he knew how. The band were as tight as ever, and by the time the song reaches the end, with Ringo's final two hits of the snare, and Paul yelling out a "YAY!", one can imagine them smiling from each to ear.
PLEASE PLEASE ME was released on March 22, 1963, and early reviews were mixed, but most agreed that "something was in the works", something "magical" was about to happen. On May 1, 1963, the album makes it to #1, and stays there for 30 straight weeks.
Before these sessions, a small buzz begins in the U.S., initially among the record industry. Here was a group from England, a place that for most Americans was a part of ancient history, too far and too distant to mean anything, and they're playing not only rock'n'roll, but are doing covers of R&B songs, that were far from sounding like Pat Boone. It was cover versions that weren't watered down, and so Brian Epstein seeked to find U.S. representation. Capitol Records, who were still very much a pop label, immediately passed. So did many other labels, but the only label that wanted to touch them was a blues and R&B label from Chicago named Vee Jay. A black-owned label became the first company to present The Beatles to Americans, although considering the state of the industry back then, anything "black-owned" received little distribution compared to the big labels. While Vee Jay was well known for its artists, this was something new, and it was a white group from... Liverpool? Radio stations who were serviced records from Vee Jay didn't know what to do with it, it wasn't jazz, gospel, blues, or R&B. "Please Please Me" came out, and featured an error on initial pressings that would make the record one of the most valuable. It was credited to "The Beattles" with two T's. Expect to pay $2000+ for one in mint condition.
"From Me To You"/"Thank You Girl" was released in April (May in the US), and went as high as #112 on Billboard, and dropped off the charts after a presence of only three weeks. However, Vee Jay did temporarily own the rights to the music that was on PLEASE PLEASE ME, and released INTRODUCING THE BEATLES in July 1963.
Throughout England, the craze for The Beatles was growing, with shows happening frequently, and they were making more appearances on BBC radio (which was very important, as fans of John Peel's radio show will know). It was enough for the group to start an official fan club, and membership was fast.
In the middle of all of this happening, the group went into the studio to record another new song, this time showing their love of Little Richard. "She Loves You"/"I'll Get You" is released in England on August 23, 1963. Vee Jay, already seeing flops, passed on "She Loves You", and instead it is released by a small label in New York City, Swan Records. While the record didn't chart in the U.S., it did get a small amount of airplay. Over in England, the song stays at #1 for five weeks. In England, The Beatles find friendships in another group, The Rolling Stones. While The Beatles were about sharing their love of soul and R&B, the Rolling Stones had a love for the blues, which coincided with the blues movement happening in England at the time. This would lead to a rivalry in the press that never existed, but in time it would help them get a lot of media attention and of course record sales.
While Beatles music was heard everywhere, the group had also been clued in to the wonders of publishing, and began writing songs for other artists. In fact, "Misery" by Kenny Lynch would become the first Beatles cover version, when Lynch released it as a single on March 22, 1963 (Lynch would resurface in Beatles history when he became one of the people on the run on the cover of Paul's BAND ON THE RUN cover.) Soon, one could hear covers of "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Do You Want To Know A Secret", but also hear new Lennon/McCartney songs such as "I'll Be On My Way", "Tip Of My Tongue", and "I'll Keep You Satisfied". At the same time, The Beatles spent another day in July to record another album, WITH THE BEATLES. This buzz was too hard to ignore, and yet U.S. labels were still iffy. The album was not released in the U.S., but Capitol Of Canada did release it as BEATLEMANIA WITH THE BEATLES, and that is the name that was part of the pandemonium and the phenomenon: BEATLEMANIA. In England, WITH THE BEATLES would replace PLEASE PLEASE ME as the #1 album, where it would stay for 22 weeks.
By the fall of 1963, everyone was going Beatle-crazy, but it also sparked a sense of excitement and creativity in British artists that was far more than just scraping your hands on a washboard.
On October 19, 1963, the group went into the studio to record "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "This Boy". The next day, they would gather to record their first Christmas record, made exclusively for fan club members in England.
With the group hitting the #1 spot on a consistent basis, Capitol Records in the U.S. finally woke up and decided to represent them. Parlophone in England were distributed by EMI, and Capitol was EMI-owned as well, so why the union in the U.S. didn't happen, no one knows. The Beatles had always wanted to take their music to the U.S., to be able to experience their favorite music first-hand, and in a few months they would be able to. In 2005, an album leaks on the internet. In late 1963, someone flew the 45 of "I Want To Hold Your Hnad" from London and started playing it on the radio in New York City. President John F. Kennedy was shot a month before, and civil rights were a hot topic, along with pending conflict in Vietnam. Musically, Elvis Presley had served time in the miltary, Buddy Holly had been dead for a few years, surf music from a group called the Beach Boys were getting people excited, doo-wop had died and was being taken over by labels such as Motown and Stax.
Secrectly, Capitol Records rushed released "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in the last weeks of 1963, b/w an older song, "I Saw Her Standing There". At this point, Capitol Records started the promotional machine rolling, and let everyone know that THE BEATLES ARE COMING! THE BEATLES ARE COMING!
If there was any sense of an invasion, no one in the United States knew what was coming. Pop music in December 1963 was a very different place, and so was culture. Segregation in the United States was not only present on a cultural basis, but in music as well, but that didn't stop fans from listening and buying the records. Eventually, Americans would discover four long haired girly men who not only played instruments, but wrote their own songs, and had an equal love for Elvis Presley and Little Richard. "The American Way" would be changed forever.
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"I love how some hip-hop dudes think it's perfectly normal to rock huge diamonds and oversized pink clothing but "soft" if you eat a girl out." - discjockingmost
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