During the three day visit to
Liverpool which Momma Cuan and I enjoyed last September, we learned a
few tidbits about the Beatles' history which contradicted some of the
"facts" I had in my noggin beforehand from various, and sometimes
forgotten, sources. The four main new sources of information
were the two guides who narrated the National Trust Tour of Mendips and
20 Forthlin Road, the guide for the Magical Mystery Tour (affiliated
with the Cavern Club) of "Beatle sights" around the city, and the many
narrative plaques and captions inside The Beatles Story museum on Albert
Dock. Here are five nuggets which contradict what I'd thought to be
true. In the spirit of keeping with the news of today, you might call
them "alternative facts."
Song Writing.
What mostly set the Beatles apart from their contemporaries was not
their singing ability nor their musicianship. Rather, their charisma and
song writing talent thrust them to the top and enabled them to sustain
their reign as music's number one act for seven years. Lennon and
McCartney's childhood homes were a short bicycle ride away from each
other, and I always pictured them collaborating at both places on a more
or less 50/50 basis once they hooked up as bandmates. The Alternative Fact:
Many more songs were written at Paul's residence, 20 Forthlin Road,
than at John's residence, Mendips. John's Aunt Mimi presented a
double-edged barrier. First, even though she was impressed with Paul's
charm, she was not crazy about John having his friends over. The
thought of teenagers invading her prim and proper home did not sit
well. The Quarrymen and the Beatles rarely practiced at her house, even
though John was the bands' leader. Secondly, Mimi looked upon John's
guitar as a pointless distraction. The more time he spent with it, the
less regard he gave his studies. By comparison, Paul's father Jim was a
musician who encouraged Paul and his brother, Michael, to pursue their
musical interests. He even had a piano in the living room which all
three McCartneys played. Unlike Mendips there was no female presence,
as Paul's mom died when he was fourteen. The furnishings at Forthlin
were a little worn, maybe not much to look at, but a perfect place for
teenage musicians to gather. For every time Paul and John hung out and
collaborated at Mendips, they were at 20 Forthlin probably nine or ten
times. Dozens of songs recorded by the Beatles were written in Paul's
bedroom and in the living room at 20 Forthlin. A grand total of only
four or five were composed at Mendips.
St. Peter's Church Garden Fete.
The date July 6, 1957 is even more famous than February 9, 1964. That
former date is when Lennon's friend and former bandmate, Ivan Vaughn,
introduced his school chum Paul to John in between the Quarrymen's sets
at the St. Peter's Fete in Woolten. Paul, who at age fifteen was a year
younger than John, impressed Lennon by playing and singing Twenty Flight Rock,
a popular rockabilly staple by Eddie Cochran. He also showed John how
to tune a guitar. Following this first-time-ever meeting between John
and Paul, John could not make up his mind whether to invite Paul to join
the band. This indecision was brought about by John's insecurity in
the face of an obviously superior musician, and how that might affect
John's undisputed role as band leader. My original understanding was
that when John finally decided to offer the invitation, Paul gladly
accepted and the rest became history. The Alternative Fact:
Just as John was torn about extending the offer, Paul was torn whether
to accept. He did not jump at the chance, as I had previously
believed. The Quarrymen were a skiffle band comprised of six guys who
were attempting to play a combination of homemade instruments and cheap
second hand instruments. None of them, including Lennon, was any better
than a very average player. Paul, under the tutelage of his father who
on occasion played the piano and trumpet professionally, was an
accomplished guitarist, and thought he would be taking a step backward
musically by joining the Quarrymen. Within days after John (through
Ivan and Quarryman Pete Shotton) popped the question, Paul's family went
on a summer holiday. He had lots of time to mull it over, and kept
John waiting until the McCartney family returned to Liverpool. Finally
after more than a month had gone by, McCartney acquiesced. Within the
context of the offer and acceptance, John and Paul were each taking a
gamble, John with respect to his leadership status, and Paul with
respect to his musical advancement.
Brian Epstein.
Just how much in the dark was Brian Epstein before he saw the Beatles
perform at the Cavern for the first time on November 9, 1961? Epstein
was part of a huge furniture merchandising family. As a sidelight, he
ran one of the largest record stores in Liverpool called the North End
Music Shop (NEMS). As every Beatles fan knows, Brian became the manager
of the Beatles and was intrinsically key to their international fame.
But, how did he ever make the initial connection with the band? The
story I heard countless times from many different sources was that there
was a two or three day span during which groups of teenagers would come
into NEMS and ask Brian if he had any recordings by the Beatles. Those
kids had heard My Bonnie by Tony Sheridan, a record in which the
Beatles functioned as a backup band. After getting so many in-store
inquiries, Brian decided to walk over to the Cavern to see what all the
fuss was about, and it was then that he made the decision to offer his
managerial services to the band. The Alternative Fact: Although
the story about the teenagers asking about the Beatles makes for lovely
lore, what is much more likely is that Epstein was quite familiar with
the Beatles long before the kids walked into NEMS. Consider that the
Beatles distinguished themselves from the hundreds of other local bands
by playing the clubs in Hamburg. Each time they returned home to
Liverpool they made sure people knew they had international experience.
Some Liverpudlians actually thought the mop tops were Germans. The
Beatles were also featured in Mersey Beat, the number one music
publication in Merseyside and which was sold in NEMS. It is
unreasonable to believe that Brian, the manager of one of the biggest
record stores in Liverpool, would not be very much in tune with the Beatles'
popularity in Germany. The inquiries by the teenage customers were a
reminder for Brian to check out the lads, but not the revelation it has
frequently been labeled.
Pete Best.
Has their ever been a more sympathetic music artist than Pete Best, the
drummer who was fired by the Beatles less than a year before they hit
the big time? The various accounts of his termination are generally in
agreement. His skills behind the kit were passable, and by all accounts
about on the same level as Ringo's. His mother, Mona, was one of the
Quarrymen and Beatles' supporters in the early days, employing them for
dozens of gigs at the club she owned, The Casbah. Pete was fired mostly
because he was more laid back than the raucous trio of John, Paul and
George, and they didn't feel he fit in. Pete was a loner. Ringo, by
comparison, was a fun loving chap whose effervescence blended seamlessly
with the band's persona. (The Beatles' main competition in the UK and
the States was the Rolling Stones, whose aura was one of sullenness
compared to the Beatles' joyousness. Pete might have fared better as a
Stone, although as a drummer he lacked the chops of Charlie Watts.) The
accounts of Best's firing also agree on the most terrible aspect of
all. The Beatles lacked the courage and respect to fire him
face-to-face, so they left that dirty work to their manager, Brian
Epstein.
All four Beatles became
millionaires, and their principal song writers, John and Paul,
accumulated massive wealth. Best, left behind in Liverpool, tried to
stick in the music business but soon decided he needed a more steady
paycheck. For most of his adulthood he made a modest living as a
government office worker. It's obvious Pete was the victim of
unprofessional if not unethical behavior on the part of the Beatles, but
because he was an "at will" employee he had no legal recourse. It was
my belief that not only did Pete get hosed, but that he was relegated
to living out his life a mere notch or two above the poverty line. The Alternative Fact: In 1995 the three surviving members of the Beatles, Paul, George and Ringo, released a new album called Beatles Anthology.
That double disc LP is a compilation of previously unreleased material,
outtakes, demos, auditions, radio interviews, in-studio performances,
and promotions. Because some of the material included songs recorded
while Pete was the drummer, he received approximately four million
pounds (the equivalent of about five and a-half million US dollars) in
royalties. At age fifty-four, Pete was thereupon financially set for
the rest of his life life. Judging by the interviews he has given over
the years, he bears no ill will toward the Beatles. He will turn
seventy-six years old later this year.
Eleanor Rigby. One of the Beatles' most haunting songs is Eleanor Rigby. It is a tale of lonely people -- where do they all belong? The song appears on the 1966 Revolver album, and was the B-side to the single Yellow Submarine. In their early years, most of the Beatles' compositions were true
collaborations, and the writing credit was accurately designated
"Lennon-McCartney." But once the lads moved from Liverpool to London
circa 1963, more and more tunes were either "John songs" or "Paul
songs." (Note: When the Beatles first arrived in America, the reporters
asked them how they decided which of the four got to sing lead on any
particular song. Their wisecracking reply was, "Whoever knows most of
the words!") Despite this change of regimen, the writing credits
continued to list "Lennon-McCartney."
Eleanor Rigby
is a Paul song. In a radio interview with Pop Chronicles he explained
that the song's working title was Daisy Hawkins, but in the process of
redrafting and demo-ing the song for his mates, the title changed to Eleanor Rigby.
Paul also claimed that he never knew, or knew of, anybody with that
name or with the surname of the priest, Father McKenzie, referred to in
the song. The Alternative Fact. Behind St. Peter's Church where
Lennon and McCartney first met, there is a quaint graveyard, the home
of many tombstones decades of years old. One of those grave markers is
for Eleanor Rigby. The "real" Ms. Rigby passed away in 1939 at the
age of forty-four. When confronted with this intriguing news of the
grave, Paul reluctantly admitted that maybe, just maybe, he was
subconsciously aware of the decedent when he was searching for a song
title. What makes dubious Paul's insistence that he did not
intentionally borrow the name from the tombstone is that just a few feet
away from the dearly departed Eleanor is the grave of a man named
McKenzie.
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