A Mark In Time
General Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Spiritinthesky on October 05, 2012, 08:48:55 AM
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5th Oct 1962, The Beatles debut single 'Love Me Do' was released in the UK. It spent 26 week's on the chart peaking at No.17. Beatles producer George Martin has said when 'Love Me Do' was released, it was the day the world changed.
Read the full story: http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/pages/love_me_do
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Two chords was it? Utter rubbish. :disbelief
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You have to hear it in the context of what else was going on at that time and what had been going on in the preceding years. And, with the benefit of hindsight, what it started.
While "Love Me Do" was a hit, it was not, as "spirit ..." showed, a big hit. It may have been released in October 1962 but it wasn't until December that it reached #17 in the RECORD RETAILER chart, by which time The Beatles had almost a month out of the national public eye, with a 13-night residency in Hamburg and a short tour of northern Scotland. It was really only after those that The Beatles released "Please Please Me" and began to build their national reputation - more prestigious and larger venues and more radio and TV shows, for example. By the spring of 1963, the very notion of popular music in Britain had begun to change (beat clubs opening all over the place and the charts no longer being filled with American hits) and, by the middle of 1963, the national press began to feature The Beatles, and beat groups generally, in a more consistent and more synpathetic way, while, by then, the weekly music press and the teenage weeklies (mainly for girls, it has to be said) were providing blanket coverage.
"Love Me Do" may have been a simple, almost pre-teen, song but it really did presage huge changes in Britain.
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May I add that apart from the simplistic "everything started from there" , the consciousness of the world about music changed with the Beatles, something that even Elvis, who was first, hasn't managed. Following the development of their music, from pre-teen bubble gum, to mini symphonies, the world grew up with them . If you had listened to their early songs when you are 8-10 you would have loved them, with no other logic beyond it. . (I intend to introduce them to my kids like this, and every 8-12 months give them the next album, just like it happened, really. )
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"Love Me Do" may have been a simple, almost pre-teen, song but it really did presage huge changes in Britain.
For the better?
I won't elaborate any further but I get quite angry when I see everyone in the media being pro Beatles and "oh weren't they great" etc when phrases like drug abuse, domestic violence and terrorist organisation are never very far away from them. I make no apologies for my total dislike of this band.
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dmg, I try to understand why you mix ethics and personal life with their music. I do believe that we should take into account the life and actual doings of the artists, but the Beatles weren't Gadafi (oh, sorry he was the good one, done in for the oil) Sadam (no, no he was framed for oil, as well) G.W.Bush (that's the one).
If they were criminals and by buying their music you helped them, I would say NO as well. But come on, these things you mention are everyday life for many people, without the gift of music. They were-are just human. So focus on the music. And not their early work, I, too, am bored with it. But from 1966 onward it is a whole new world. Even new bands would be proud to produce one song like these. As I mentioned before, I don't like to delve into anybody's personal life, and when I read biographies, I tend to read them as literature and not so much about the facts. And I don't try to change your mind, only trying to understand.
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Nor should you apologise for your dislike of The Beatles, dmg. You have every right to hold your view and to express it.
In my posting, I gave no indication of whether I liked The Beatles or not, nor whether I liked everything they did or not.
What I tried to do was to explain the impact they had (and I doubt even you would deny that) and to try to make clear that, while the 50th anniversary of the release of "Love Me Do" is being marked now in 2012, the impact wasn't really felt until the following year (and, factually, you would have difficulty disputing this).
And the change was not necessarily caused by The Beatles. They grasped it, embodied it even, and made the new opportunities it offered apparent to others. But others were there, too.
As to whether the changes were for the better, there were upsides and downsides, winners and losers - as with virtually all change. I would judge the changes that took place, on balance, to have been for the better.
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If they were criminals and by buying their music you helped them, I would say NO as well. But come on, these things you mention are everyday life for many people, without the gift of music. They were-are just human. So focus on the music.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/649397.stm
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dmg, I see what you mean but the article is rather in Lennon's favour. It states that everything FBI has been accusing him, is probably a huge lie. And from all people Lennon, a known pacifist, funding the IRA? I have heard this one before, but I didn't believe it then and no evidence to believe it now. People lie, and "officers" lie as well. But even if everything is true, in retrospect, how can we judge the actions of a man at a different time? And how can we accept murderous decisions made by politicians on the same subjects, only as political errors and not the different opinions-mistakes of a man as crimes? That said I want to underline that I am against the loss of human life. But as Noam Chomsky used to say, it is very hard to tell apart the terrorist from the liberation army fighter, nowadays.
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I read an article yesterday from someone very close to Brian Epstein, who said he had personally bought 10,000 copies of "Love Me Do" and encouraged band members etc to buy as many copies wherever they went, to ensure that the record got into the charts! He said he had seen them all piled up in Epstein's cellar!
I saw The Beatles many times at lunchtime gigs at the cavern in 1961 and whilst they were a great little band, I don't think most of us there would have predicted they would have become so big as they did. People say now that they knew it would happen, but we never did. My friends and I were a bit incredulous but very pleased when it did happen, though, because we had known them before they were famous. :)
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Val, thanks for the info! Of course you only describe a story that I have heard for at least two dozens of bands and artists. And I guess it has happened to many more that we don't know of or haven't heard since. It is a sort of kick-start that is being used, and some people actually deserved it, since it was the only chance to prove their talent.
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It is a sort of kick-start that is being used, and some people actually deserved it, since it was the only chance to prove their talent.
Nowadays we have The X Factor! ::) :disbelief
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I love the term "lunchtime gigs". Have never heard it before.
LE
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I doubt The Beatles themselves, in 1961, would have predicted that they'd become as big as they did.
Incidentally, I think "Love Me Do" was written several years before it was recorded and released but I would have to dig out some of my books to confirm this.
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Were you ever at the Cavern when The Beatles performed, twm? To this day, I will never forget the smell of the place - a mixture of mould, sweat, perfume and carbolic soap/Jeyes fluid! :)
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No, never.
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I doubt The Beatles themselves, in 1961, would have predicted that they'd become as big as they did.
Incidentally, I think "Love Me Do" was written several years before it was recorded and released but I would have to dig out some of my books to confirm this.
JF do you know? It is my understanding that there are two versions, one with Ringo (not the one issued) and the one we know with a session drummer. And I also thought that most songs were written during that period.
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Could that have been Pete Best perhaps?
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yes right, the love me do single release feature Pete Best on drums.
Ringo joined few weeks later, and indeed they re-recorded the song, but I don't remember if this new version is on a album or not
in fact, I love the beatles from rubber soul onwards, but the first period is a little bit to weak for me.
my fav album is the white album, then abbey road, and then sgt pepper.
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"Love Me Do" may have been a simple, almost pre-teen, song but it really did presage huge changes in Britain.
For the better?
I won't elaborate any further but I get quite angry when I see everyone in the media being pro Beatles and "oh weren't they great" etc when phrases like drug abuse, domestic violence and terrorist organisation are never very far away from them. I make no apologies for my total dislike of this band.
Lol
Val, I am in awe of you for being present at those Cavern gigs. :)
It wasn't Pete Best on the Love Me Do single, it was a session drummer whose name escapes me at the moment.
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I was very fortunate, dusty, because I worked just around the corner from Mathew Street and my friends and I would take our sandwiches there and listen to whatever the band of the day was and very often it was The Beatles. It's just a pity I didn't appreciate them more at the time! ;) My brother used to go home from the gig with Paul, because he lived on the same bus route! ;D
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Pete Best was out before the recordings. Even though it is said that George Martin asked for it, because he thought his playing was bad, it must at least have been a joined decision with the rest of the band and Brian Epstein. Something else was going on, still unclear to this day. As a proof to this, George Martin had brought a session drummer for the first recording session of the group, Andy White, just in case. He never thought of Ringo as a good drummer, and he has stated so even after the success. During the first 17 takes of Love me do, Ringo was nervous both with the recording (it was his first one) and with the fact that there was an other drummer waiting behind the scenes. He obviously thought of the Pete Best situation and was troubled. When they went out for a break and returned to record the B-side, P.S. I love you, he found Andy White behind the drums, and he was given a set of Maracas!!! Then when they got it right, Martin asked them to play again Love me do, and Ringo was given a tambourine (or something). But it turns out that the single version has the Ringo drums on Love me do, while the Please Please me album version of the song has Andy White's drumming!
By the way, the song was written sometime between May and July 1962, after they got the phone call from Martin that they will record them.
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Ah sorry for false info
It seems you know much more than me on this topic :)
As I said, I am more in their 2nd part of their career than the 1st one
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I don't know them by heart, knew that something was going on, but couldn't put my finger on it. Had to go back to the book I have read some years ago to get the facts straight. (The Beatles by Hunter Davies) ;) I, too, love their work from Revolver onwards. And yes their greatest achievement was the white album, minus number 9. I also like Abbey road and Let it be, (no Sgt Pepper for me-even if one of their greatest songs is in it-A day in the life. Have they included the double A side Strawberries/Penny Lane, it would be in the list) That is why I love Magical mystery tour and Hey Jude, even though they are considered compilations.
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Mentioning Penny Lane brings back a lot of memories for me, because I was married in 1967 and I had my dress made by a seamstress who had a shop there. One day when I went for a fitting, the song, Penny Lane, was playing on the radio in the shop! Now when I hear the song it always reminds me of that particular day and the wonderful summer of 1967! ;)
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I don't know them by heart, knew that something was going on, but couldn't put my finger on it. Had to go back to the book I have read some years ago to get the facts straight. (The Beatles by Hunter Davies) ;) I, too, love their work from Revolver onwards. And yes their greatest achievement was the white album, minus number 9. I also like Abbey road and Let it be, (no Sgt Pepper for me-even if one of their greatest songs is in it-A day in the life. Have they included the double A side Strawberries/Penny Lane, it would be in the list) That is why I love Magical mystery tour and Hey Jude, even though they are considered compilations.
Don't know hey Jude compilation
MMT is not a comp, it's a mini album (double EP) but
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I was very fortunate, dusty, because I worked just around the corner from Mathew Street and my friends and I would take our sandwiches there and listen to whatever the band of the day was and very often it was The Beatles. It's just a pity I didn't appreciate them more at the time! ;) My brother used to go home from the gig with Paul, because he lived on the same bus route! ;D
Hi Val,
I`m reading and am mightely impressed by your story...you`ve seen the Beatles there, WOW !!! And what a nice memory of the Penny Lane ! :)
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Thanks Mona - it was a nice time! Penny Lane (the song) still has a kind of aura about it that brings everything back to me!
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Penny Lane is sort of a glimpse to a more innocent time, childhood memories, that time can only fog a bit. Such an important moment in your life, sealed together with such a song. Thank you for sharing it Val!
JF, we had this talk about MMT before. ;) But I wasn't around at the time of release and only know the LP versio, which is the only version available today.
Hey Jude is certainly a compilation then!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Jude_%28album%29
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Penny Lane is sort of a glimpse to a more innocent time, childhood memories, that time can only fog a bit. Such an important moment in your life, sealed together with such a song. Thank you for sharing it Val!
JF, we had this talk about MMT before. ;) But I wasn't around at the time of release and only know the LP versio, which is the only version available today.
Hey Jude is certainly a compilation then!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Jude_%28album%29
ah yes, didn't know it, I only knew pas masters 1 & 2 which have all non albums singles I believe
BTW I forgot to add past masters 2 in my fav Beatles albums (revolution !), but in fact it is not an "album" ;)
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Right on the money! I like them too. One of the 2 CDs I bought from the remasters series. (The other being MMT) I also like anthology series, with no.3 being the best. So, songs from there are great and were vetoed by the Beatles for official release back then!!!
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I got sent this. I love it. Others may not:
http://www.intelligentmedia.com/viewmedia/b1be814d-0261-4c72-b071-75cae115904b_629_14t.html
MMT (the song) as the audio with a slightly different video - from the end of a BBC football programme.
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According to Ian MacDonald's book "Revolution In The Head", LOVE ME DO was written by the 16-year old McCartney in 1958, whilst playing truant from the Liverpool Institute one day. He showed it to his friend John Lennon who "may have contributed the middle eight". McCartney later suggested it was a 50:50 Lennon/McCartney composition.
McDoanld describes the lyrics as "perfunctory" and adds that it was unusual for the time being mostly based on two chords (G and C), whereas pop songs of the era were usually based on three. He goes on that is was "extraordinarily raw by the standards of the time, standing out from the tame fare offered on the (BBC) Light Programme and Radio Luxembourg". He also refers to it as "cunning", in the way it introduced The Beatles to the general public and he mentions Lennon's "passionate overblowing" on "wailing harmonica". He describes LOVE ME DO as "heralding a change in the tone of post-war British life matched by" DR. NO (the James Bond film) and the airing of THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS on BBC Television. I would add the appearance on newsstands of PRIVATE EYE. I bought my first copy in December 1962, when it was a couple of months old.
As for the April-May 1962 date for LOVE ME DO, Pete Best recalls it first appearing during The Beatles third visit to Hamburg (which was in that period) and Ian MacDonald suggests that Pete Best may have thought it a new song, not realising that it was actually written earlier.
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the french TV channel "ARTE" has scheduled almost a whole day about the fab' four :
sunday 21/10/2012 : 8 documentaries or films from 15h20 to 0h50 !
http://www.arte.tv/fr/programmes/72,week=43,year=2012.html (http://www.arte.tv/fr/programmes/72,week=43,year=2012.html)
will try to record all, but not sure if I have enough space on my freebox....
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twm, thank you for the info. I was reading this other book by Steve Turner"A hard day's write" that suggests that the famous and distinctive harmonica sound of Love me do (Please, please me and From me to you) was actually triggered by Dilbert McLindon who was playing a harmonica solo in "Hey baby" by Bruce Channel (excuse any mistakes in the names, I have to translate back to English). He met McLindon in June 1962 and they hung around a bit and Lennon was so interested in the harmonica that he got and carried around one in his pocket during that time. So probably Love me do was not complet with the harmonica solo and all and that is why I got the impression that it was a brand new song.
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Bruce Chanel had had a UK hit with "Hey! Baby!" in the spring of 1962 that had a "similar harmonica", which was played by Delbert McClinton:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delbert_McClinton
The Beatles shared a bill with Bruce Chanel and McClinton at the Tower Ballroom, in Wallasey, on 21st JUne 1962. Apart from Lennon liking the harmonica sound, McClinton was born in Lubbock, Texas, which, as the home of Buddy Holly, would surely have intrigued McCartney - assuming he knew about it.
All of this information comes from the book by Ian MacDonald, who detects the influence of Buddy Holly in one part of McCartney's vocal in LOVE ME DO.
MacDonald says LOVE ME DO was recorded three times by The Beatles:
6 June 1962 audition - with Pete Best on drums (on ANTHOLOGY 1) Note: Lennon sings against his overdubbed harmonica
4 September 1962 - with Ringo on drums
11 September 1962 - with Andy White on drums
Mark Lewisohn (THE COMPLETE BEATLES CHRONICLES) says that the initial pressings of the single used the 4 September recording but later pressings of the single and the PLEASE PLEASE ME album used the 11 September recording (and is thus the standard version).
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Bruce Chanel had had a UK hit with "Hey! Baby!" in the spring of 1962 that had a "similar harmonica", which was played by Delbert McClinton:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delbert_McClinton
The Beatles shared a bill with Bruce Chanel and McClinton at the Tower Ballroom, in Wallasey, on 21st JUne 1962. Apart from Lennon liking the harmonica sound, McClinton was born in Lubbock, Texas, which, as the home of Buddy Holly, would surely have intrigued McCartney - assuming he knew about it.
All of this information comes from the book by Ian MacDonald, who detects the influence of Buddy Holly in one part of McCartney's vocal in LOVE ME DO.
MacDonald says LOVE ME DO was recorded three times by The Beatles:
6 June 1962 audition - with Pete Best on drums (on ANTHOLOGY 1) Note: Lennon sings against his overdubbed harmonica
4 September 1962 - with Ringo on drums
11 September 1962 - with Andy White on drums
Mark Lewisohn (THE COMPLETE BEATLES CHRONICLES) says that the initial pressings of the single used the 4 September recording but later pressings of the single and the PLEASE PLEASE ME album used the 11 September recording (and is thus the standard version).
so I wasn't completely wrong, there is at least one version with Pete Best on drums ;)
did you know that there are 2 other songs with no Ringo on drums : Back in the USSR and Dear prudence, which feature Paul on drums
and of course many tracks without drums : because, julia, etc..... and I will (on which Paul sings and play all parts)
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Although I like much of what The Beatles did and heard them on disc and on the radio a lot, I never followed their careers in ultimate detail, so I didn't know about those two tracks without Ringo on drums.
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Although I like much of what The Beatles did and heard them on disc and on the radio a lot, I never followed their careers in ultimate detail, so I didn't know about those two tracks without Ringo on drums.
I'am a bit maniac, so I love reading all these kind of details ;D
during the recording of the white album, Ringo left the band for 2 weeks approximately. It was the first Beatles split, less known that the real one 2 years later.
during these 2 weeks, they recorded the 2 songs with Paul on drums.
and you can hear that Paul is also good on drums, as he is on singing, guitar, piano, saxophone....he played all these instruments on the band on the run album BTW
And there's a John's quote that I love :
a journalist once asked him : "is Ringo the best rock'nroll drummer in the world ?"
and John ansewered : "he isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles..." :lol :lol :lol :lol
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Ballad of John And Yoko features only John and Paul.
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Ballad of John And Yoko features only John and Paul.
ah yes I forgot this one, its indeed explained in the Past Masters 2 booklet :
John : vocals, 2 lead guitars, acoustic guitar
Paul : drums, bass, piano, maracas
Maybe are there others ? but can't remember now
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don't know if you know this site
http://wgo.signal11.org.uk/wgo.htm (http://wgo.signal11.org.uk/wgo.htm)
many years ago, I came across this list on "steve's page", and listen to all tracks, by reading this list, but could never found it again
seems that a new site was rebuilt
very insightfull
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Great site indeed, even though it is for the most fanatic ones! Great details though! Thanks for bringing it to my attention!