re: MOSTLY BEATLES-RELATED NEWS:
Kent ...
What did you think of HBO George Harrison Special?
And now they're staging a special George Harrison Concert Series in Liverpool!
Frank B.
Frank B.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see it. (Can you send me a copy?!?!? Strictly for home viewing, personal use only of course!)
The "Concert For George" (staged at Royal Albert Hall on November 29, 2002) was an all-star gala event, featuring performances by close friend Eric Clapton (with whom George shared a love of music ... and a wife!), fellow Traveling Wilburys Tom Petty and Jeff Lind, former bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, one-time fifth Beatle Billy Preston, Monty Python (for whom George produced a film or two), long-time Harrison sidemen Tom Scott, Jim Horn, Jim Keltner and Klaus Voorman, son Dhani and many others. (This concert is also available on home DVD ... it's EXCELLENT!) Nice to see that they're putting together another tribute ... but at the ten year anniversary of his death, I guess I would have expected to see some bigger names attached to this project! (kk)
Wow! Have you seen this trailer for new film of George Harrison by Martin Scorsese?
It'll be on HBO in October. There are also plans for a 2012 dvd release.
Man, I have to find someone with HBO!!!! This looks INCREDIBLE!
Yeah, we've been talking this one up for a while ... I don't have HBO either (but almost did a 90 trial just so I could see this documentary.) Guess I'll wait for the official DVD release next year (hopefully with a TON of "extras") ... unless somebody wants to send me a copy!!! I guess the UK DVD Version is already available! There's also a deluxe book that George's widow Olivia put together that looks very interesting. All in all, a lot of press tied into this Martin Scorcese special. (kk)
And check this out ...
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were in London Sunday (October 2) for the premiere of director Martin Scorsese's biographical film, "George Harrison: Living In The Material World." The film will be shown in theatres on October 4 for one night only before airing on BBC-TV in November.
-- Ron Smith
And then, of course ... Macca got married again last weekend ... and on John Lennon's birthday no less!!! (kk)
Paul McCartney married third wife Nancy Shevell Sunday (October 9) at the Olde Marylebone Town Hall in central London. A reception for the thirty invited guests was held afterwards at Paul's nearby home. Paul's daughter, designer Stella McCartney, created Nancy's wedding dress. The wedding came on what would have been the 71st birthday of John Lennon, Paul's longtime songwriting partner in the Beatles.
-- Ron Smith
The big story this week was all the ruckus AFTER the wedding! Sounds like about 100 people went back to Macca's house for the after-wedding celebration and were so loud the neighbors called the police! (Shades of the Apple Records Rooftop Concert!!!) When I told this story to my wife and daughter, they both exclaimed in perfect unison: "They called the cops on PAUL McCARTNEY?!?!?" Yeah ... it must have been pretty loud!!! Sounds like they toned things down and then continued to party until 3 am.
And apparently Olde Marylebone Town Hall is the same place Paul married Linda back in 1969. Daughter Stella (with Linda) designed his new bride's dress and seven-year-old daughter Beatrice (with wife Heather Mills) acted as flower girl. A real McCartney family affair! Former bandmate Ringo Starr was also in attendance with his wife Barbara Bach ... as was Barbara Walters, a cousin of new wife Nancy Shevell. (kk)
Kent,
I read through your web page about who played the first Beatles song in America. I remember clearly that when I was 13 in the summer of 1963 and living in Los Angeles, I used to listen to an FM station on a decrepit hand-me-down radio each night. Sometime after midnight, the disk jockey would play "Please Please Me." I think I heard it three or four nights in a row, but I couldn't quite make out the name of the group clearly -- I told my friends it was the Beagles (like the dog). Of course, the following spring we all knew the correct name.
Thanks for the web site.
Patrick Jenning
I'm wondering if it was "From Me To You" that you heard ... "Please Please Me" had faded away by early April here in The States ... but the follow-up release, "From Me To You", charted high enough (and often enough) in California to actually "bubble under" on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for a couple of weeks in late August of '63. (I think we even have a couple of California charts posted on the website!) For the complete story of WHO PLAYED THE VERY FIRST BEATLES RECORD IN AMERICA, be sure to check out: Click here: Forgotten Hits - Who Played The Very First Beatles Record In America?
This was the series that first put Forgotten Hits on the map back in 2002! (kk)
Kent ...
Somebody posted this on Ron Smith's Oldies.
I'm going with Frankie Valli & 4 Seasons.
Frank B.
Frank B.
One of the most valuable Beatles albums around. I can actually remember holding this record in my hands back in 1964 and making the decision NOT to buy it because I already had all of The Beatles songs on my "Introducing The Beatles" album ... a very practical, young me (who had absolutely NO clue at the time that this stuff would ever become valuable!!!) kk
From The Beatles vs. The Four Seasons ... to Elvis and The Beatles!
re: ELVIS AND THE BEATLES:
Kent ...
I found this posted on Ron Smith's Oldies.
Frank B.
Frank B.
I feel like I'm raiding Ron Smith's website BIG TIME this week ... but this one was just too good to pass up! A brief history on the infamous meeting between Elvis Presley and The Beatles back in 1965 ... although I feel compelled to point out that John and Paul did NOT write Cilla Black's hit "You're My World"!!! (kk)
re: BEATLES SOUND-ALIKE RECORDS:
I read forgotten hits, never miss a posting ... I ought to contribute more but being what one hot-shot voice-over guy disdainfully called an ORG ... old radio guy ... sometimes I just can't bear to think about the stuff I love, you know? But I did get a big kick out of the "That's the Beatles, right?" and other examples of misidentifying the artist ... another one I recall was Hotlegs' "Neanderthal Man" but then those rascally guys did it on purpose ... not to mention "Have You Heard The Word" by the Fut ... ha ha!
-- stolf
Of course another famous one was Klaatu ... who scored a two-sided hit in 1977 with "Sub-Rosa Subway" and "Calling Occupants", later a hit for The Carpenters. And this was a very deliberate attempt to fool the public it seems ... Paul McCartney had released an album called "Red Rose Speedway" (sounds a bit like "Sub-Rosa Subway") ... and Ringo had posed with the robot from the film "The Day The Earth Stood Still" on one of his album covers ... this is the same film from which this band took its name. The whole ad campaign seemed to be "Is This The Beatles Reunited?" but serious Beatles fans were never fooled by any of this bogus hype ... we knew better right from the start. (kk)
I was reading Tuesday's edition of Forgotten Hits and saw that people were listing songs that they thought were done by somebody else. When Lies by the Knickerbockers came out, I thought this was a Beatles song. This could also be used for one of your forgotten hits.
Thanks
John
"Lies" is an EXCELLENT example ... they nailed the early Beatles sound PERFECTLY and The Knickerbockers soon had a Top 20 Hit of their own. (It went all the way to #4 here in Chicago!) While it went through a period of "forgotten hit status", I hear this one fairly often nowadays. Another favorite from this era that had a definite Beatles feel to it was "She's The One" by The Chartbusters, a Washington D.C. group that reached #33 with their only Top 40 Hit in The Summer of '64. (Now THAT one's a Forgotten Hit for sure ... and it still sounds GREAT ... if somebody will only play it!!!) kk
