Whats Elvis' Real Stand On The Fab Four?

Elvis Presley,photo:elvis.com

Elvis Presley is the ultimate icon of rock music.Without him,rock n' roll and its subsidiaries would not exist.Well,let it be known here and now,without Elvis,the Beatles themselves wouldn't have existed.John Lennon was famous for saying that before Elvis there was nothing-pointing out to the first time he ever heard "Heartbreak Hotel" in which the song  woke up his creative instincts and became the musician we still admire today.

How many bands have been influenced by Elvis,or at least touched by his music? Aside from the Beatles,Herman's Hermits and Led Zeppelin were both famous for meeting the KING.Jimmy Page was quoted on saying how much he loved Elvis' music and on how he was thrilled when he met him,even describing him as a "wonderful person".The Monkees and David Bowie were also noted for meeting the king of rock,with the Thin White Duke(Bowie) relating the story of how he was miffed by Elvis' presence.Other rock stars such as AC/DC guitarist Angus Young has always referred to the old rockabilly genre of the 1950s as the real rock music,citing both Elvis and Little Richard as his major influences.

Both the Beatles and Elvis Presley never co-existed like some other people might have thought.The Beatles were still high school kids by the time Elvis was selling records by millions and whooping it up onstage with the girls dropping dead on his feet in 1956.Though John Lennon himself,at age 16,had already formed a skiffle group at school which was then called The Quarry Men,their name was taken from their alma mater Quarry Bank High School.The group had various personnel and name changes that soon led to the formation of the Beatles though John Lennon met his future songwriting partner Paul McCartney also on this skiffle group about a year after it was formed.

By the time Beatlemania had reached the States,Elvis by then was already way past the music scene and was very busy making movies in Hollywood.Some music experts say that Elvis' career has waned by the time he joined the army and took a break from the music business from 1958 to 1960.So its up to Colonel Tom Parker to come up with the ideas on how he will bring Elvis' career back into the limelight.Though it sure wasn't healthy to transform him from a singer to an all around family entertainer.He was noted for making three movies in a year and that must be very exhausting and this was also the period when Elvis got hooked on drugs.

John Lennon(center) then age 16,fronting the Quarry Men 1956

Its is common knowledge that Elvis faded away from the charts when the Beatles took the US by storm.Though Elvis himself has a record breaking performance on the charts as being the solo artist whose had the most number one songs on Billboard.Come to think of it,its quite silly to compare these giants of rock music to each other,though the Beatles were citing Elvis as their major influence,they never really sounded like Elvis.One would point the fact that when the Beatles first came to America,somebody from the press called them "a bunch of British Elvis Presleys",well even the KING himself wasn't impressed by that name call.How can you compare a solo artist to a group after all?

It was during the Beatles' 1965 US tour when the fab four and the King finally met.They gathered at Elvis' mansion in Los Angeles while the King took a break from filming and the fabs themselves was on the last leg of their tour.The first thirty minutes of this famous meeting didn't actually went so well that Elvis had to break the ice with "If you guys are just gonna stare at me all night,I'm going to bed."

Perhaps John,Paul,George and Ringo were so overwhelmed on meeting their idol that they were actually speechless at first.It was John Lennon who actually had the guts of asking the King on why does he sing those gospel ballads[referring to the songs he was singing in his movies] and what happened to good  'ol rock n' roll.It was noted that Elvis has lost control of the material he was singing in the studio,a thing that he might've regretted,as Tom Parker took full control of his career and estate post-army,holding it in a tight grip.

A jamming session took place between the Beatles and Elvis that was rumored to have been recorded by one of  Presley's bodyguards--though no photos or videos were taken to the insistence of Parker.Presley was seen to be playing the bass and Paul McCartney was even delighted to show him a few riffs.In the end,Parker gave the lads a couple of gifts as they left the mansion,with the four of them just couldn't stop talking about Elvis even when they were already in the limo.

George Harrison,1960

(photo left:George Harrison during the Beatles' early days as a bar band,1960.Presley's influence is evident in the early days:leather boots,jackets and greasy hairstyle.The band changed their attire under the direction of Brian Epstein)


So the King and the fab four both went on their own separate ways.The Beatles changed forever the way rock music is presented and the way the audiences would listen.They opened the doors to other British groups and had set the standard for a modern day rock band.Local heroes such as the Beach Boys,the Doors and Jefferson Airplane answered back to the British Invasion of the 1960s.Unknown to everyone,modern rock has already started in the 60s with the advent of the Beatles and other rock groups that followed.Everyone was experimenting,trying new things and with modern rock,drug use has been common especially with the youth.

Meanwhile,Elvis continued to make films throughout the sixties and seem to have disappeared in the music biz.Record sales were reportedly down with the heavy competition of rock groups on both sides of the Atlantic.It was during this period that Elvis stood back and observed how rock music evolve right before his eyes.In 1968,he returned from retirement and made a successful comeback along with a tv special bearing his own name.The King was obviously overwhelmed on how fast rock music has changed.On one occasion he famously said on his show "Music has changed a lot,I would like to congratulate both the Beatles and the Byrds".

Elvis on Elvis Comeback Special,1968

Elvis covered a couple of Beatles songs himself.One particular track that was awesomely covered by him was "Something".This song,written by George Harrison was performed live in Hawaii in 1973 and was aired via satellite in 40 countries around the world.

With the heavy competition between rock n' roll bands in the late sixties,Elvis still managed to return to the top of the charts with "Suspicious Minds" in 1969.The song definitely put Elvis' career up and going but it was also his last number one song in the US.Several tracks posthumously hit number one overseas particularly in the UK.

Elvis with President Nixon,1970

All seemed went so pretty well until Elvis was presented with a Narcotics badge by President Nixon in 1970 wherein he had put the Beatles on top of his dopers list and accused the band of Anti-Americanism.Presley even went far by writing to the immigration and recommended to ban them from entering the US. The Beatles were reportedly shocked-to no one's surprise,with interviews handled by Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney saying that they felt kinda betrayed and that they really wanted to co-exist with him- sadly,a thing that never happened.No one ever knew what Presley was thinking at that moment,and a fit of jealousy is highly unlikely.

Well the King himself is no stranger to drugs.After trying several hard stuff in the sixties,he turned to pills and he uses them all the time.He use pills to stay awake,to eat,and to sleep.His stepbrother David Stanley is a witness to his drug taking and was even held at gunpoint by the King himself when he tried to advise him to stay away from pills.

It was said that he gave his doctors expensive gifts such as cadillacs just to get the prescription drugs he wanted.In fact,one of his doctors was even sent to prison for doing such malpractice. These drugs eventually led to his death on August 16,1977 of cardiac arrhythmia.About a year before he died,Elvis was obviously bloated and a medical assessment of his liver showed signs of abnormality.

 Rock music seemed to have died in 1977 with the former Beatles expressing their sadness when they heard that Elvis Presley had died.One such reaction came from former Beatle John Lennon who,himself took a break from the music biz and was raising his son Sean in New York."The King is dead.But rock n' roll will never die.Long live the King" said Lennon.His former songwriting partner Paul McCartney expressed his own eulogy as well,"I doubt very much if the Beatles would have happen if it weren't for Elvis".

In the recent years the former Beatles still expressed their admiration for Elvis,with the then three surviving members expressing their thoughts at their 2000 tell-all best seller book The Beatles Anthology.When George Harrison passed away in 2001,his former bandmate Paul McCartney continued to keep the band's flame alive along with former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.The remaining two went on with touring,releasing new solo albums and continued to mesmerize crowds and new generations of Beatles fans.






On one interview with Reader's Digest in 2005,while promoting his album Chaos And Creation In The Backyard,McCartney told the story of how Elvis' song "All Shook Up" has mended his headache.On May 2013,Paul paid a visit to Graceland and had put a guitar pick on Elvis' grave so that "he can play in heaven".This was during the Memphis leg of his 2013 Out There Tour,then the story of the Beatles meeting with the King suddenly was commemorated by such big event that one of the Beatles' entourage even bothered to make picks out of plastic spoons for Elvis.But Paul gave him a new one that he had put on his grave.

Paul McCartney at Elvis' grave,2013

Elvis covered a couple of Beatles songs during his comeback phase in the late sixties and the surviving Beatles could never be thankful enough for him for their own music career.It was,after all, a mutual admiration.


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

Sir Paul reconnects with the Philippines

Sir Paul McCartney, photo courtesy of his website

Forty seven years had passed since Paul McCartney set foot on Philippine soil as a member of the Beatles during their 1966 World Tour,and no he didn't have any good memories out of that tour and perhaps that is the main cause why the Beatles had stopped playing live.As nothing can be more dangerous with what they had experienced in Manila.

But last July 19, things seem to have change with Paul's bad sentiment about the Philippines that he wrote a letter to Filipino president Benigno Aquino III regarding the welfare of Mali,the lone elephant at the Manila Zoo.The elephant was known to have suffered stress in captivity and was having all sorts of skin diseases that needed medical attention.

Sir Paul McCartney has been supporting PETA and has been speaking for the organization since the early 90s with his late wife Linda.Both Paul and Linda has also been promoting vegetarianism and the banning of  the killing of animals for food consumption,a matter that has caused some problems with some of their road crew who didn't even want to become veggie.

Mali,the lone elephant at the Manila Zoo has been in captivity for the last 33 years.The elephant was a gift from the Sri Lankan government to the Marcoses in 1981 when the elephant was only three years old.Marcos was known to have ruled the Philippines for 20 years from 1965 to 1986.The elephant  recently was noted to have a sore foot and several skin problems that has urged PETA to plea with the Philippine government to transfer Mali to a sanctuary in Thailand to be able to give her the proper care she needs.

Mali at Manila Zoo,photo:PETA

The letter of Sir Paul's to President Aquino was addressed to the Malacanang Palace which is the official residence and office of the Philippine president.

His Excellency Benigno Aquino III
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Office of the President Malacañang Palace

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to add my voice to the many others who are supporting the transfer of Mali, the lonely elephant currently being held at the Manila Zoo, to a sanctuary in Thailand as soon as possible. I respectfully urge you to use your good offices to expedite the transfer as, with every single day that she remains in the zoo, Mali suffers.

I have great regard for governments that intervene on behalf of animals, just as yours did with the May 2012 directive ordering that Mali be evaluated and considered for transfer. That said, time is passing, and it has been more than a year since that directive was issued—yet Mali seems no closer to enjoying her well-deserved retirement at an approved sanctuary.

I have heard from my friends at PETA that various government authorities are continuing to deny that Mali’s welfare should be within their jurisdiction and that the veterinarian who was brought in to perform a health assessment failed to address Mali’s debilitating foot problems and the unimaginable loneliness of a herd animal kept alone. Action must be taken for this ailing elephant, and you hold the key. The video footage of Mali is heartbreaking. You only have to have a heart to see what so many experts have already pointed out: that the way she continuously favours one leg is a sign of constant pain. I was shocked to learn that Mali has never even received proper preventive foot care when foot and joint problems are the leading cause of death among captive elephants kept on hard surfaces and when this type of care is something that every reputable zoo in the world offers. Please know that everyone who cares for elephants is awaiting the day when Mali will leave the zoo for her new retirement home at the sanctuary and—surrounded by other elephants—take her first steps in freedom. With the stroke of a pen, you can bring an end to her suffering, and I urge you, with all my heart, to direct that Mali be given that joy now.

Let me end with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi that I hope you believe in, too: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Sincerely,

Paul McCartney

Filipino President Benigno Aquino III

 Paul's plea and concern however,was greeted with a not-so- kind reply by the mayor of Manila and former Philippine president Joseph Estrada.The latter was remembered to be the 13th president of the island nation whose government was overthrown on a non-violent revolution in 2001 when he was found guilty of plunder and was even convicted for years until then-President Arroyo granted him a pardon and forgave his misdeeds.Estrada got back into power as Manila mayor on a recent 2013 election.A former actor,mayor,senator and president, Estrada has been into much controversy and was known to have regarded himself as the Filipino counterpart of Ronald Reagan's. In a published article from the Philippine Star,Estrada rudely answered back to Sir Paul's plea telling him to stop interfering with issues in the Philippines.Estrada even challenged McCartney to change his citizenship from British to Filipino so he can freely interfere with what he regarded as purely Filipino affairs.[No reply has been yet posted by President Aquino].

Sir Paul probably was thinking that much has changed with the Philippines with Aquino having a good household name when it comes to Philippine politics that he decided to give it a shot.But an ill-mannered reply by Manila's mayor probably had taken him a-back.And yet made it again unclear for a possible comeback tour of the Philippines.The memories by then goes back forty seven years ago during the Beatles' disastrous tour of Manila in 1966.

Promotional poster of the Beatles 1966 Manila concert

(c)Keith Vernon Adagio

RELATED ARTICLES: Rock Music's Worst Nightmare:The Beatles in Manila

The Heartbreaking Story Behind the Success Of Wings' 1976 World Tour

Paul McCartney with his dad Jim

 Lets face it,rock stars are just like any other guy at the showbusiness,you wont really know how they feel inside,they just do what they do and entertain us on their magical concerts everytime there's a new album out and going on tour to promote it along with their greatest hits.

As a matter of fact,the guys at the rock music biz were more notorious than the guys in the cinemas but I think we should not move into that.

We all know that Paul McCartney's exceptional musical talent is in the genes.His dad Jim played in a band before the second world war,he played the trombone but had quit when his teeth fell off.Jim switched to piano but their gig was cancelled  when the war broke out.After Paul's birth,he switched jobs and became a cotton salesman.Paul's mom Mary on the other hand,was a nurse and she died when Paul and his brother Michael were still very young.

Jim McCartney who was born in 1902 had a huge influence on Paul's music though Paul didn't really described him as the dad who taught him everything.One interesting fact however was the humor in the film A Hard Day's Night had included during a scene in the press room wherein the Beatles had managed to deal with tons of reporters asking different questions in which one of them had dared to ask Paul "Do you often see your father?" Paul chuffingly answered back "No,we're just good friends" though the story of the film were regarded as fictionized-it shows the day in the life of being in a rock n' roll band and being in the road during that moment when rock music was rapidly evolving at a fast and dizzy rate.Paul had described his parents as a little bit strict and has set the rules though he admitted that he didn't listen to all of them.

Little Paul McCartney with his dad Jim undated photo

Though not directly involved,Jim had a strong influence on the Beatles particularly in the band's early days.During a  gig in Liverpool,former drummer Pete Best had difficulty getting on the bus the band had been using,Best couldn't get free from the grips of the adoring crowd and Neil Aspinall had to shoo them away so he could get into the tour bus as Paul,George and John waited for him.It was then said that it was Jim who accused Best of trying to get even with the band's popularity at the time.Though there are no substantial evidences that the said incident somehow had led to Best's firing.

Jim McCartney eventually remarried and a woman named Angie became Paul's stepmother.Her daughter from a previous marriage Ruth was adopted by Jim and became a stepsister to both Paul and Mike.Jim married widow Angela Williams in 1964 at the height of Beatlemania,Angie is 28 years younger than Jim who was 62 at the time.Presently,both mother and daughter now lives in Playa Del Ray,California where they are successfully running a Multimedia business.

Paul with dad Jim,stepmom Angie and stepsister Ruth

Showbusiness is showbusiness as they say and no matter how things gets rough the show must go on.Well there are few artists I've known who had lived with that saying.During Cream's reunion tour in 2005,Eric Clapton had to get on with the band despite of having a flu,and on the band's final show in London,Clapton looked awful but decided to get on with it for its too late to cancel the show and the audience was anticipating this once in a lifetime event.Cream sounded good despite of Clapton's health- imagine his head must be going berzerk with all that loud noise they were making.Another artist in that field is James Brown who admitted that he do his shows even if he's sick.

The Beatles made it to the top of the charts and the world over but as it was said on one of George Harrison's songs all things must  pass away.After seven years of worldwide chart domination,the band was over and John,Paul,George and Ringo each went their separate ways.It was widely known that it was Paul McCartney himself who was badly hit with the split amid all the legal problems the band was facing.Eventually he turned to his parents for support and inspiration and Let It Be was conceived with McCartney saying that his mom Mary came to him in a dream giving him a good advice to chill and keep his head up during this very difficult situation.

Paul formed his own band Wings in 1971 and took the time to start over again having the tour of the British Universities as his band's "Hamburg" where they would play unannounced to the delight of the students.During this time his dad Jim's health was slowly deteriorating due to severe arthritis.

As I mentioned before,rock stars are like any other guys in the showbusiness,no matter how bad they feel the show must indeed go on.Wings got past into a major European tour in 1973 where Linda admitted that she cried before they left for France coz she was too nervous to go.This major concert tour unlike their previous,was booked in advance as the music press were sharpening their knives on the arrival of Paul McCartney's new band.Obviously,everyone will compare what they saw and hear to the Beatles.McCartney has stated several times that with Wings,the Beatles were indeed a tough act to follow and even admitted that he is under pressure of changing his own sound.

Paul McCartney on Wings' 1976 World Tour

Wings had a major concert tour in 1976 which highlighted the band as stadium rock juggernauts.It was also during this tour that Paul received one heartbreaking news,his dad Jim has passed away due to complications from arthritis.They were on the European leg of their world tour when Paul had a phone call from his stepmom Angie telling him the sad news.Angie McCartney then described Paul being shocked upon hearing the news,but who wouldn't feel such a thing hearing that your loved one has just passed away?

A 2005 interview with Reader's Digest saw Paul answering a question about if he ever cried when his mom passed away.His mother Mary,succumbed to breast cancer in 1956 when Paul was only 14 years old,coincidentially,Paul's wife Linda also died from the same illness.Paul said that he did cried when his mom died but he therefore stress the fact that he indeed cried in private.One such reason he was pointing out is  that because he was  a guy,and in Liverpool at least during that time,they were too tough to shed tears in public-that was the reason anyway.But then he said that with John Lennon's death he learned not to hold back the tears any longer in reference to his song "Here Today" in which he wrote upon hearing of Lennon's assassination.

When his dad Jim McCartney died on March 18,1976,Wings was on the European leg of their world tour and in a troubled frame of mind,Paul was adviced not to come for his dad's funeral by his stepmom saying that if he'll throw everything away and come up to Liverpool for the funeral it'll all be just a circus and definitely wont bring his dad back. Paul then realized all the media and people that'll ruin his dad's solemn moment that he decided that what his stepmom had said makes sense after all.So he went on with the tour where they held their first performance for that year in Copenhagen,Denmark.Paul never saw his dad again,even for the very last time.That is,the price of fame,and the show must go on.

Paul McCartney did went on and did what he was born to do.Carrying in his heart and mind the memories of his dad who has always been proud of him and his music.


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

THE FORGOTTEN BEATLE...

Stuart Sutcliffe

When the Beatles disbanded in 1970 many of the fans were devastated and most of the girls and boys who have grown up with them seem to have a memory of how the band have shaped their lives.Many people including rock critics seem to have pinpoint on the so-called 'friendship' of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney going sour as they both ridicule each other on their solo albums,at least in the early parts of it.

As rock fans at the time continue to be saddened on both Lennon and McCartney falling out each other,many people didn't know that John Lennon was sad over the loss of his best friend,something that he kindles even in the band's latter days,and that wasn't even Paul McCartney.

Stuart Sutcliffe had quitted the band even before the Beatles rose to fame,his life was documented in the 1994 film Backbeat where Sutcliffe was portrayed by actor Stephen Dorff.The film was accepted by the public with mixed reviews,Paul McCartney even stated that he wasn't very much impressed with the film,pointing to several inaccuracies.

Sutcliffe was the Beatles' original bass player,and one would wonder what the future of the Beatles might have been if he didn't quit the group and went back to art college in early 1962.The same year saw his death of an apparent brain hemorrhage.Sutcliffe was John Lennon's best friend in the band,his drinking buddy and partner in crime.They always watch for each other's backs everytime there was trouble in one way or another.

Stu,as most of the other Beatles call him,was also centered on the doubts of his musical abilities.It was often mentioned on various Beatles books that Sutcliffe could hardly play good bass with Paul McCartney saying to have stirred things up with the band that he was in fact unhappy with Stu's playing.This was also documented in the controversial film mentioned here before,but as far as movie makers and biography writers is concerned,nobody really knew about Stu's musical abilities except those people who really knew him and heard him play on the Cavern.Reading several articles both online and from people who knew him back in the Beatles' days as a bar band,I saw the strong opposing details that made me think again on who really was Stu and his role in the band as a bass player.

Who really is Stuart Sutcliffe? Is he really the worst musician Backbeat has portrayed him that he was? 

Stuart Sutcliffe 1961

I've talked to some people and to a friend who turned out to be a former neighbor of the band and hearing from him these  first hand infos and his sharp mind on how he recall of hearing Sutcliffe play at the Cavern and even describing how brilliant a musician he was!! Well the rest as they say,is legend.Numerous speculations and perhaps one music writer's  imagination on how the life of Stu might have been considering that his candle was far too short and he lived in only a few short years in this world.

One interesting article I suppose will make his role in the band somewhat mythical is featured here where it was straightened out on how the life of Stu really meant and his role to the Beatles was.Everyone would wonder what the Beatles might have looked like if Stuart Sutcliffe didn't trade his bass to a canvass and a few brushes as he chose to go back to art college even before the Beatles made it to the top of the world.

Love triangle:Klaus,Astrid and Stu

Stu's social life on the other hand,was even more famous even before the Harrison-Boyd-Clapton affair
became the talk of the town.

It was widely known that Astrid Kircheer was Klaus Voormann's girlfriend until Sutcliffe came along.With some rumors of the Voormann-Kircheer relationship as platonic,one would argue on how things went on the two of them that Astrid decided to leave Voormann for Stu[Voormann was portrayed weeping at the film Backbeat though the accuracy of the film is somewhat questioned].

Sutcliffe and Kircheer got engaged with him leaving the Beatles to go back to art college.Stu started to complain of severe headaches later on and he eventually collapsed in the middle of an art class while in Hamburg,he was rushed to the hospital but died on the way.The cause of his death was eventually ruled out as brain hemorrhage.Having involved with lots of fist fights at the often riotous early Beatles gigs and even sustaining a fractured skull at one point he was thrown off a brick wall with both Lennon and Pete Best aiding for his rescue seems to be the eventual cause of this.

Sutcliffe died at a young and tender age of 21.His remains were brought back to his hometown of Liverpool and there it was laid to rest.

Stuart Sutcliffe(left) with George Harrison

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

PLEASE PLEASE ME AT 50

March 22,2013 will mark the 50th anniversary of  the Beatles' debut album Please Please Me.

Released in 1963,the album was noted to have been recorded on a 12 hour period lasting from 10 in the morning and finishing off at 10 in the evening.The Beatles were well rehearsed and of the 14 tracks from the album,eight of them were original compositions written by the band's songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney which was then noted on the album credits as McCartney-Lennon.

Recorded a month earlier on February 11,several artists marked the 50th anniversary of its recording by emulating the 12-hour recording period made by the band during that chilly month of  February 1963 .Artists include Joss Stone and Mick Hucknall who praised the Beatles' debut as a beautiful album.

John with the famous harmonica,Please Please Me sessions

The album was preceded with a single Love Me Do,released a year earlier in 1962,it was known to be the first Beatles song to gain international success.With its famous harmonica riff made by none other than John Lennon himself,Lennon usually call this wind instrument as a "mouth organ" back in the early sixties.

The 1962 single somewhat differ from the one included in the album-anyone can point it out on Paul's vocal and the drumming pattern made by Ringo Starr.The album version,however,is the most famous version that is usually heard up to this day on both classic rock and AM radios across the United States.

George Martin was reputedly unhappy with Ringo's drumming  on the 1962 single that he decided to re-record the song and hire session musician Andy White to play drums on the track.Ringo,looking a little sheepish,played tambourine as he let expert ears prevail.The result was an instant success.The single version,was included later on in the Past Masters singles compilation album together with other singles that were neither on the original 13 albums conceived by EMI in 1988.

McCartney and Lennon,Please Please Me sessions

The album's famous cover photo was taken by Welsh photographer Angus McBean at the stairwell of EMI's  London headquarters.In 1969,the Beatles' had asked McBean to recreate the photoshoot at the same venue for a supposed to be cover of the Beatles' Get Back album.Having the album retitled as Let It Be and with all the commotions going  in the band,the supposed to be cover photo was shelved and was used instead on the compilation album The Beatles 1967-1970 released in 1973.

Please Please Me went to number one in the UK charts and highlighted the rise of Beatlemania not only in the British Isles but in other parts of the world.It was unfortunate,however,that the album wasn't released in the United States where the American distributor Capitol Records failed to recognize the brilliance of the album.As to how or why Capitol altered the first seven Beatles LPs remains unclear up to this day.With several stories citing the record company maximizing its profits, hence,creating more Beatles albums will mean more sales.Sensible enough,Capitol was lambasted by the fab four themselves with the controversial cover photo of the compilation album Yesterday And Today with the band in butcher suits with decapitated dolls and chunks of meat as a protest,hereby having the nickname "Butcher cover".

The Beatles,Please Please Me sessions 1963

It wasn't until 1987 when EMI unified the catalogue and Please Please Me was finally released domestically in the US with the band's American LPs deleted and got only available in bootlegs and box sets.

[To see the story of the Beatles' original albums and how they were altered by Capitol click here ]

Please Please Me  spawned hit single after hit single including its title track.The album featured these early Beatles signature songs that defined the era of how the fab four changed the course of rock music forever: "I Saw Her Standing There","Twist And Shout" and "Boys" were not only catchy,danceable tunes but they define of how rock music was taken to another level that succeeding bands up to this day would follow in the Beatles' footsteps.

TRACK LISTING:

1.I Saw Her Standing There (McCartney-Lennon)
2.Misery (McCartney-Lennon)
3.Anna(Go To Him) (Alexander)
4.Chains (Goffin-King)
5.Boys  (Dixon-Farrell)
6.Ask Me Why (McCartney-Lennon)
7.Please Please Me (McCartney-Lennon)
8.Love Me Do (McCartney-Lennon)
9.P.S. I Love You (McCartney-Lennon)
10.Baby It's You (David-Williams-Bacharach)
11.Do You Want To Know A Secret (McCartney-Lennon)
12. A Taste Of Honey (Scott-Marlow)
13.There's A Place (McCartney-Lennon)
14.Twist And Shout (Medley-Russell)

Fifty years have passed and the album still sounds fresh as if it was recorded yesterday.The band's enduring appeal and the trend they have set for rock music has never gone obsolete. With the fab four setting up the standard for a modern day rock band,the legacy of the Beatles will continue to inspire kids and generations ahead of us.

KLAUS VOORMANN:ONE BEATLE FRIEND

Klaus Voormann,photo from his own website

It was August 1971,a bearded man was playing bass for George Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh benefit show.As some people might ask "who's that guy playing bass?",as if he was a new kid on the block picked by George and invited him on the show.Truth is,he's been in the music scene for years and has known the Beatles even before the band rose to fame.

Klaus Voormann is a German artist,bass player and album producer.His heavy involvement with the Beatles had started way back in 1960 when the band was  playing clubs in Hamburg,Germany.As John Lennon had noted "I was born in Liverpool but I grew up in Hamburg",his early meeting with the fab four(whose drummer back then was Pete Best) would mean a long-term association that would last even after the band had already broke up:playing on  solo albums by George Harrison,Ringo Starr and doing a stint as a bass player on John Lennon's post-Beatle outfit-Plastic Ono Band.

Klaus is also responsible for being the guy who had influenced the fabs by having that now famous mop-top hairdo.As German boys usually have that "bowl cut" outfit during that time,his girlfriend at the time,Astrid Kirchheer first did the now famous mop top to Stuart Sutcliffe who was then the Beatles' bass player after he saw Voormann wearing that hairstyle.Eventually,Voormann's relationship with Kirchheer would not last as she left him later on for Sutcliffe.The 1994 film Backbeat which hightlights the Beatles' life as a bar band in Hamburg portrays a young Klaus Voormann weeping after he was spurned and left by his lover Astrid.Though the film itself was marred with controversies over some "inaccuracies" with Paul McCartney even stating that he was not very much impressed with the outcome of the movie.Though no one can ever know what really happened out there on Voormann's part after Kirchheer shitted on him and left him cold for Stu,it was later claimed that the two of them remained close friends.Sutcliffe,on the other hand,died of  a brain hemorrhage in 1962 shortly after he left the band.Kirchheer went on to be a photographer and took photos of the Beatles during the early days of Beatlemania.Voormann on the other hand,had moved to England with the fab four where he shared a flat with George Harrison.

Klaus Voormann with the famous Beatle "haircut"

Voormann was said to be speaking in halting English when he first met the fabs but he learned quick and even became the bass player for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969.Perhaps Voormann is best known by Beatles fans as the man who is responsible for the artwork of  Revolver-the Beatles' 7th studio album known for its psychedelic rock and was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest albums of all time.The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die along with other Beatles albums.Voormann had worked on a collage with part line drawing of John,Paul,George and Ringo.The photographs attached to the drawings were taken by Bob Whitaker with Voormann's own photo and signature attached on Harrison's hair on the cover.The album was the last to be altered by Capitol Records in the United States in the 1960s where it was released with only 11 songs--with three of its tracks removed and was included on the US compilation album Yesterday And Today hence known for its famous butcher cover with the Beatles' expressing their protest towards their American distributor.The album with its original 14 track lineup was finally released domestically in 1987 thanks to EMI's unification effort and the band's American albums by then were deleted and was available only in bootlegs and box sets.The album went to number one on both sides of the Atlantic.With its timeless appeal,the album was even parodied several times including that of the Simpsons with Homer and some of his 'friends' gracing the cover.

Revolver album cover designed by Klaus Voormann

Voormann had also worked with other bands like the Bee Gees who were then known in the 1960s as a psychedelic rock group and far from the disco trio as many young folks know them today.The album was called Bee Gees 1st and was the band's first international album after the Gibb brothers had moved back to England from Australia where they were already established celebrities.

Bee Gees 1st album cover design by Klaus Voormann

The Bee Gees by then was a quintet with the Gibb brothers Barry,Robin and Maurice plus two friends Vince Melouney on lead guitar and Colin Petersen on drums.The band then was managed by Robert Stigwood  in partnership with Brian Epstein-the Beatles' manager as to how Voormann and the Bee Gees' paths have come across.Released in 1967,Bee Gees 1st was a success with mixed reviews pointing on several US deejays and other countries mistaking it as a Beatles record.

Talking about the Bee Gees,while we were on the subject,Voormann is also repsonsible for the artwork of the band's 1968 album Idea-on its American release,the album was featured with a composite head outline of Barry Gibb's with some sites claiming it was Voormann's face on it but it was more clear that it was Barry Gibb's face outlined on the American cover.

Idea,US edition,album design by Klaus Voormann

The album was also a success for the band with the British edition featuring Vince Melouney on vocals on one track called "Such A Shame".The track,however was removed on the US album release and was replaced instead with a more catchier song written and sung by Robin and Barry Gibb called "I've Gotta Get A Message To You".

Voormann busied himself as a bass player,record producer,and session musician.When Paul McCartney first announced the Beatles' breakup in 1970.It was rumored that he will be replacing Paul as bass player for the Beatles with John,George and Ringo.Wikipedia even mentioned a group with the three remaining Beatles as the Ladders as to who or what was their source on that claim is uncertain,as it was not to be,for Lennon had said in a 1971 interview for Rolling Stone that he had already told the rest of the band that he was leaving on the fall of 1969 even before Paul announced the band's dissolution the following year.Though John Lennon was reportedly present during the early days of January 1970 during the mixing and overdubs on Let It Be,some Beatles scholars admitted of being confused on the exact date of Lennon's departure or if he really left at all.John and Yoko were said to have the McCartneys on their shit list during this time period for they are mad at Paul for saying that the band was no more when they claimed they should be the one to say it first.Linda McCartney responded on an interview for Playboy in the early eighties saying that it was madness on who's going to tell it first,even remembering that difficult time wherein she had to deal with all their problems with the Beatles.So the supposed to be supergroup of Klaus Voormann with the other three Beatles didn't materialize but instead he played as a session musician on their solo albums.He also played bass for other artists like Lou Reed,Eric Clapton,Carly Simon and James Taylor.Voormann had an international hit with "The Mighty Quinn" a 1969 song by Manfred Mann where he played flute,bass and did the backing vocals.

Klaus Voormann(left) with George Harrison,Concert For Bangladesh

He produced other records in the late seventies and early eighties including the international disco hit "Da Da Da" by the German group Trio released in 1982.In 1989,he retired from the music business and settled in Munich with his second wife and two children.

In 2003,he designed the album sleeve for the Norwegian punk band Turbonegro and has worked with artists like Wet Wet Wet and former singer of the Animals Eric Burdon on one of his recent solo albums.

In 2009,he released his first and only solo album A Sideman's Journey featuring remakes and re-recordings of his past accomplishments with other artists in the 60s and 70s.The album also features contributions by former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr along with Cat Stevens,Joe Walsh and many others.

(Right:Voormann's first and only solo album A Sideman's Journey,credited to Voormann & Friends)

Today Klaus Voormann lives in his native Germany where he spends some time painting and recording.



(c) Keith Vernon Adagio