The Beatles' First

The Beatles' First
Compilation album by The Beatles & Tony Sheridan
Publication (s)	April 1964 ( D ) August 4, 1967 ( UK ) May 4, 1970 ( US ) Recordings: Beatles & Tony Sheridan: 22./23. June 1961; May 24, 1962 Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers: October 18, 1962, August 28, 1962, and January 31, 1963
Label (s)	Polydor Records / Bear Family Records / Universal Music
Format (s)	LP , CD , MC , download
Genre (s)	Merseybeat , rock 'n' roll , rock , pop
Title (number)	12 of them: 2 The Beatles 6 Tony Sheridan & The Beatles 4 Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers
running time	32 min 24 s
occupation	Tony Sheridan : vocals , lead guitar , rhythm guitar John Lennon : rhythm guitar , vocals, backing vocals Paul McCartney : bass , backing vocals George Harrison : lead guitar , rhythm guitar , backing vocals Pete Best : drums Other musician: Roy Young: piano
production	Bert Kaempfert
Studio (s)	Auditorium of the Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium (June 1961), Studio Rahlstedt (May 1962)
chronology - The Beatles' First The Beatles' Decca Audition (Recorded 1962)

The Beatles' First is a compilation album by the British band The Beatles and Tony Sheridan , it contains the first professional studio recordings of the Beatles, the production management was carried out by Bert Kaempfert in June 1961 and May 1962 in Hamburg . The album was released in April 1964 in Germany and on August 4, 1967 in Great Britain. In the United States, the album was released on May 4, 1970 under the title In the Beginning (Circa 1960) .

Emergence

Former Top Ten Club, today: moondoo

Former entrance from the Top Ten Club, today: entrance from moondoo

Memorial plaque on Beatles-Platz commemorating the discovery of the Beatles and Tony Sheridan in the Top Ten Club by Bert Kaempfert and Alfred K. Schacht

The Beatles had an engagement in the Top Ten Club in Hamburg from April 1 to July 1, 1961 , where they made 92 appearances. At the beginning of May 1961, the German singer Tommy Kent visited the Top Ten Club and was so impressed by Tony Sheridan's and The Beatles' performances that he convinced Bert Kaempfert to come and see for himself. The following day Kaempfert came to the club with his wife and Tommy Kent and first made contact with Tony Sheridan and the Beatles. Further visits followed and in June 1961 Kaempfert and his sound engineer Karl Hinze discussed the conditions for future recordings with the Beatles in the Top Ten Club .

Friedrich-Ebert-Halle

The Beatles and Sheridan played on the stage of the Top Ten Club until after 3 a.m. on June 22, 1961. When Bert Kaempfert, as agreed, wanted to pick up the Beatles at 8 a.m. in front of the Große Freiheit , they were still asleep. The recordings were made on June 22nd and 23rd, 1961 with an improvised recording studio on the stage of the auditorium of the Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium in Hamburg-Harburg . The following songs were recorded with a portable two-track tape recorder, Bert Kaempfert was in charge of production and Karl Hinze was the sound engineer:

1. My Bonnie (announcement in German),
2. My Bonnie (My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean) ,
3. The Saints (When the Saints Go Marching In) ,
4. Why (Can't You Love Again) ,
5. Cry for a shadow ,
6. Nobody's Child .
7. Is not She Sweet ,
8. Take Out Some Insurance on Me .

In some sources it is mentioned that further recordings were made on June 24, 1961 in the Rahlstedt studio in Hamburg. However, since the studio was not completed until the end of February 1962, this date is excluded. However, the studio recordings from May 24, 1962 in the Rahlstedt studio in Hamburg are documented.

During the recording, the Beatles Bert Kaempfert played in addition to the instrumental title Cry for a Shadow , which had the working title Beatles Bop , other original compositions, of which he was not musically convinced.

John Lennon said: "In Hamburg, when we were doing test recordings for German record producers, they said we should stop the rock and the blues and concentrate more on the other things."

In Ain't She Sweet , John Lennon sang instead of Tony Sheridan, who, however, sang the remaining five songs. Each of the four Beatles received 175 marks each for the two studio days  . On July 2, 1961, the Beatles left Germany and did not return to Hamburg until the Star Club opened on April 13, 1962.

The British music magazine Mersey Beat reported in its July 20, 1961 issue that the Beatles had signed a record deal with Polydor Records in Hamburg. According to Mark Lewisohn , the contract began on July 1, 1961, although the first studio session for Polydor took place on June 22, 1961. In fact, the contract was signed on July 1, 1961 between the Beatles and Bert Kaempfert Produktion and was valid until June 30, 1962. Before July 1, 1961, the four Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Pete Best were only paid as studio musicians by the record company Deutsche Grammophon .

Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers - My Bonnie

On October 23, 1961, the single My Bonnie / The Saints was published by Polydor (catalog number NH 24673), under the artist name (label print) "Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers". My Bonnie has an intro in German and only Tony Sheridan was mentioned on the record sleeve. Another version appeared in Germany in January 1962, also by Polydor (with the same catalog number), it contains an English intro. This version was released in the UK on January 1, 1962 (Polydor NH 66833) and in the US on April 23, 1962 (DECCA 31382). The single reached number 48 in the UK, 26th in the US and 32nd in Germany. The British version lists "Tony Sheridan & The Beatles" as the artist on the label, so the Beatles were first mentioned as an artist on a record here.

In retrospect, the memories of the Beatles were rather negative:

Paul McCartney: "They didn't like our name and demanded that we rename ourselves to 'The Beat Brothers', that would be easier for the German audience to understand."

John Lennon: “When we got the offer we thought it was all very simple [...] but people didn't like our records [songs], they preferred My Bonnie . Tony Sheridan was singing and we were scrambling in the background. Awful! Anyone could play that. "

George Harrison: "That was a big disappointment, because we were hoping for our own record deal ..."

At the end of October / beginning of November Brian Epstein became aware of the Beatles due to the single My Bonnie and visited them for the first time on November 9, 1961 in the Cavern Club . Further meetings followed until he finally became officially the manager of the Beatles in late January 1962.

On December 21, 1961 Tony Sheridan recorded ten more songs for his album My Bonnie (Polydor 237 112) under the production direction of Bert Kaempfert, but without the Beatles on. The musicians were Roy Young ( piano ), Colin Melander (bass), Rikki Barnes ( saxophone ), Jimmy Doyle and Johnny Watson ( drums ), who carried the group name The Beat Brothers as accompanying musicians. The master tape for the album My Bonnie , recorded on December 21, 1961, was completed on March 26, 1962. Since the LP was released in April 1962, the song Swanee River contained on it cannot be the version recorded with the Beatles on May 24, 1962. There are only two songs with the Beatles on the album: My Bonnie and The Saints .

In April 1962, the EP Mister Twist (catalog number 21914) was released in France , which for the first time contains the following four songs with the Beatles: When the Saints / Cry for a Shadow / My Bonnie / Why .

Recorded in May 1962

On May 24, 1962, the music tracks were created in the Rahlstedt studio in Hamburg with producer Bert Kaempfert and sound engineer Hans Falkenberg

09. Sweet Georgia Brown and

10. Swanee River

with the Beatles and Roy Young at the piano, which Tony Sheridan sang about on June 7, 1962. While Sweet Georgia Brown is included on the Sheridan EP Ya Ya (catalog number EPH 21 485), which appeared in Germany in October 1962, Swanee River is no longer archived and has not yet been found. Both songs were first recorded by Tony Sheridan without the Beatles on December 21, 1961 for his album My Bonnie .

US version from 1964 - My Bonnie

US version - My Bonnie

The Beatles - Ain't She Sweet

A recording schedule was found in the Polydor archive that documents that the Beatles intended to record twelve songs in the Rahlstedt studio on May 28 and 29, 1962, with Bert Kaempfert as producer. Brian Epstein and the Beatles would have had to pay the production costs of 1,500 marks. The recordings were not made because Brian Epstein was able to arrange an audition with the Parlophone label . At Epstein's request, the Beatles were prematurely released from their contract with Bert Kaempfert Produktion on May 25, 1962 . On May 31, 1962, the Beatles had their last appearance in the Star Club for the time being and returned to Great Britain. On June 6, 1962, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best had the audition at London's Abbey Road Studios , where the group performed in front of parlophone producers George Martin and Ron Richards. The record deal between the Beatles and Parlophone was backdated to June 4, 1962. The Beatles' career began and from 1964 they were also internationally successful. Polydor Records remembered the group's recordings with Tony Sheridan, and as part of the Beatles' commercial success, various singles of the Polydor songs were released worldwide. The following compilations were published in Germany:

• Cry for a Shadow / Why , March 1964
• Ain't She Sweet / Take Out Some Insurance On Me, Baby , April 1964
• Sweet Georgia Brown / Nobody's Child , January 1965

On January 3, 1964, Tony Sheridan sang the song Sweet Georgia Brown again in the Rahlstedt studio under the direction of Paul Murphy. This version was used most often for the various record releases in the years to come. In the USA , four songs were reworked in the Atlantic Recording Studios in mid-January 1964, for example Bernard Purdie recorded another drum accompaniment for Ain't She Sweet , Sweet Georgia Brown and Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby , for the second and third song played Cornell Dupree a yet another guitar accompaniment. In addition, Nobody's Child was shortened by 58 seconds.

The first publication of the eight songs by the Beatles and Tony Sheridan on a record was probably in February 1964 (other sources: April 1964) in France on the 10 ″ vinyl album Les Beatles (catalog number Polydor 45900). In Germany, the album The Beatles' First was released in April 1964 (other sources: June 1964) , which contains the eight available songs of the Sheridan / Beatles sessions . The album was filled with another four Tony Sheridan songs without Beatles involvement.

The album was released in a mono (catalog number: Polydor Polydor 46432) and in a stereo version (catalog number: Polydor 237 632).

In Great Britain copies were imported from Germany, only on August 4, 1967 the album (catalog number: Polydor 236 201 (stereo)) was also released in Great Britain. Almost six years later than in Germany, on May 4, 1970, the album was also released in the USA under the title In the Beginning (Circa 1960) . In the following years the album was re-released internationally under different title names.

Track list from the album The Beatles' First

page 1

No.	song	author	Lead vocals	Interpreter	length
01	Ain't she sweet	Ager / Yellen	John Lennon	The Beatles	2:10
02	Cry for a shadow	George Harrison / John Lennon	Instrumental song	The Beatles	2:22
03	Let's dance	lee	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers, recorded on October 18th, 1962	2:32
04th	My Bonnie	Traditional	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beatles	2:06
05	Take Out Some Insurance On Me, baby	Hall / Singleton	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beatles	2:52
06th	What'd I say	Ray Charles	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers, recorded on January 31st, 1963	2:37

Page 2

No.	song	author	Lead vocals	Interpreter	length
07th	Sweet Georgia Brown	Ben Bernie	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beatles	2:03
08th	The Saints	Traditional	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beatles	3:19
09	Ruby baby	Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers, recorded on January 31st, 1963	2:48
10	Why	Compton / Sheridan	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beatles	2:55
11	Nobody's Child	Traditional	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beatles	3:52
12	Ya ya	Lee Dorsey / Robinson	Tony Sheridan	Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers, recorded on August 28th, 1962	2:48

Track list of the Beatles Bop album

In November 2011 , the most extensive compilation album of the Tony Sheridan and Beatles recordings to date was released, compiled by the German company Bear Family Records . It contains all previously known and published versions of the recordings. The double CD also includes a 100-page booklet with detailed background information.

CD 1 — mono

No.	song	annotation	length
01	My Bonnie	German intro	2:45
02	My Bonnie	English intro	2:43
03	My Bonnie	Without an intro	2:09
04th	The Saints		3:21
05	Cry for a shadow		2:25
06th	Why (Can't You Love Me Again)		3:01
07th	Nobody's Child		3:55
08th	Ain't she sweet		2:13
09	Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby / If You Love Me, Baby		2:55
10	Sweet Georgia Brown		2:06
11	Sweet Georgia Brown	New text, sung on January 3, 1964	2:06
12	Sweet Georgia Brown	US version, revised in mid-January 1964	2:06
13	Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby / If You Love Me, Baby	US version, revised in mid-January 1964	2:54
14th	Ain't she sweet	US version, revised in mid-January 1964	2:15
15th	Nobody's Child	US version, revised in mid-January 1964	2:58
16	My Bonnie	Medley version; abridged version for a compilation album	2:30
17th	The Saints	Medley version; abridged version for a compilation album	2:04
18th	Cry for a shadow	Medley version 1; abridged version for a compilation album	1:29
19th	Cry for a shadow	Medley version 2; abridged version for a compilation album	1:18
20th	Swanee River	With intro; without the participation of the Beatles	2:57
21st	Swanee River	Without intro; without the participation of the Beatles	2:57

CD 2 — stereo

No.	song	annotation	length
01	My Bonnie	German intro	2:45
02	My Bonnie	English intro	2:43
03	My Bonnie	Without an intro	3:21
04th	The Saints		3:21
05	Cry for a shadow		2:25
06th	Why (Can't You Love Me Again)		3:01
07th	Nobody's Child		3:55
08th	Ain't she sweet		2:13
09	Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby / If You Love Me, Baby		2:55
10	Sweet Georgia Brown		2:06
11	Sweet Georgia Brown	New text, sung on January 3, 1964	2:06
12	My Bonnie	Medley version; abridged version for a compilation album	2:30
13	The Saints	Medley version; abridged version for a compilation album	2:04
14th	Cry for a shadow	Medley version 1; abridged version for a compilation album	1:29
15th	Cry for a shadow	Medley version 2; abridged version for a compilation album	1:18
16	Swanee River	With intro; without the participation of the Beatles	2:57
17th	Swanee River	Without intro; without the participation of the Beatles	2:57

Recording dates

The songs No. 1 to 7 were recorded in the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg under production management by Bert Kaempfert. The sound engineer was Karl Hinze, his assistant was Günther Sörensen. The song No. 8 Sweet Georgia Brown was recorded on May 24, 1962 in the Rahlstedt studio with producer Bert Kaempfert and sound engineer Hans Falkenberg.

• The recorded song Swanee River is considered not to be found and is therefore not performed.
• The sound engineer Richard Moore assumes based on the sound structure and the mixes that the songs Nobody's Child , Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby-If You Love Me, Baby and Ain't She Sweet on June 23rd and the remaining songs on June 22nd were recorded.
• In an interview with Tony Sheridan published on September 6, 1975 in the British New Musical Express (NME), Sheridan mentions that he was still with the Beatles Kansas City and the Beatles Some Other Guy and Rock and Roll Music with John Lennon as Singers recorded. Neither the recording tapes nor documentation about the recordings can be found.

No.	song	Recording dates	occupation
01	My Bonnie	June 22-23, 1961	Tony Sheridan : rhythm guitar , lead guitar , vocals John Lennon : Backing vocals Paul McCartney : bass , backing vocals George Harrison : lead guitar, rhythm guitar Pete Best : drums
02	The Saints	June 22-23, 1961	Tony Sheridan: rhythm guitar, lead guitar, vocals John Lennon: Backing vocals Paul McCartney: bass, backing vocals George Harrison: lead guitar, rhythm guitar Pete Best: drums
03	Cry for a shadow	June 22-23, 1961	John Lennon: rhythm guitar Paul McCartney: Bass, calls in the background George Harrison: lead guitar Pete Best: drums
04th	Why (Can't You Love Me Again)	June 22-23, 1961	Tony Sheridan: rhythm guitar, vocals John Lennon: rhythm guitar, backing vocals Paul McCartney: bass, backing vocals George Harrison: lead guitar, backing vocals Pete Best: drums
05	Nobody's Child	June 22-23, 1961	Tony Sheridan: rhythm guitar, vocals Paul McCartney: Bass Pete Best: drums
06th	Ain't she sweet	June 22-23, 1961	John Lennon: rhythm guitar, vocals Paul McCartney: Bass George Harrison: lead guitar Pete Best: drums
07th	Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby / If You Love Me, Baby	June 22-23, 1961	Tony Sheridan: lead guitar, vocals Paul McCartney: Bass George Harrison: rhythm guitar Pete Best: drums
08th	Sweet Georgia Brown	May 24, 1962, 0June 7, 1962	Tony Sheridan: Vocals (recorded June 7, 1962, re-recorded January 3, 1964) John Lennon: rhythm guitar, backing vocals Paul McCartney: bass, backing vocals George Harrison: lead guitar, backing vocals Pete Best: drums Roy Young: piano

Chart placements

Chart positions of the Beatles & Tony Sheridan albums

album		Release Date			Best placement in the charts			Label catalog no.
Type	title	GB	US	DE	GB	US	DE	GB	US	DE
compilation	The Beatles' First	0Aug 4, 1967	-	Apr. 1964	-	nv	-	Polydor 236-201	-	Polydor 46 432 (mono) 237 632 (stereo)
compilation	In the Beginning (Circa 1960)	-	0May 4th 1970	-	nv	117	nv	-	Polydor 24-4504	-
compilation	Beatles Bop - Hamburg Days	-	-	0Nov 6, 2001	nv	nv	-	-	-	Bear Family Records BCD 16583 BH

Chart positions of the Beatles & Tony Sheridan singles

single	Release Date			Best placement in the charts			Label catalog no.
A side / B side	GB	US	DE	GB	US	DE	GB	US	DE
My Bonnie / The Saints	-	-	March 1964	nv	nv	50 / -	-	-	Polydor NH 52273
Cry for a Shadow / Why	Feb. 1964	-	March 1964	-	nv	- / -	Polydor NH 52275	-	Polydor NH 52275
Why / Cry for a Shadow	-	27 Mar 1964	-	nv	88 / -	nv	-	MGM K 13227	-
Ain't She Sweet / If You Love Me, Baby	May 29, 1964	-	Apr. 1964	24	nv	- / -	Polydor NH 52317	-	Polydor NH 52317
Sweet Georgia Brown / Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby	-	0June 1, 1964	-	nv	- / -	nv	-	ATCO 45-6302	-
Ain't She Sweet / Nobody's Child	-	0July 6, 1964	-	nv	19 / -	nv	-	ATCO 45-6308	-
Sweet Georgia Brown / Nobody's Child	-	-	Jan. 1965	nv	nv	-	-	-	Polydor NH 52906

Chart positions of the Beatles & Tony Sheridan EPs

EP		Release Date			Best placement in the charts			Label catalog no.
title	Songs A-Side / B-Side	GB	US	DE	GB	US	DE	GB	US	DE
Tony Sheridan with The Beatles	My Bonnie; Cry for a Shadow / The Saints; Why	-	-	July 1963	nv	nv	-	-	-	Polydor 41646

literature

• Hans Olof Gottfridsson: Beatles Bob-Hamburg Days. Companion book. Bear Family Records, 2001, ISBN 3-89795-805-8 .
• Richie Unterberger: The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film. Backbeat Books, San Francisco 2006, ISBN 0-87930-892-3 .
• Mark Lewisohn: The Complete Beatles Chronicle. Hamlyn, 2006, ISBN 0-600-61001-2 .
• Neville Stannard: The Long & Winding Road. Virgin, London 1983, ISBN 0-907080-96-0 .
• Christoph Maus: The Beatles Worldwide. Maus of Music Book, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-9809137-1-6 .
• Christoph Maus: The Beatles Worldwide II. Maus of Music Book, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-9809137-2-4 .

Web links

• Information on the dates / contractual rights of the Polydor recordings
• General information about the recordings / releases of Tony Sheridan & The Beatles

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bert Kaempfert in the recording studio in 1962
2. ^ Book accompanying the Beatles Bob-Hamburg Days ISBN 3-89795-805-8 , p. 19.
3. ^ The Beatles: The Beatles Anthology. ISBN 3-550-07132-9 , p. 67.
4. ^ Mark Lewisohn, The Beatles Chronicle , 1992, p. 33.
5. ↑ Artist contract with the Beatles / Bert Kaempfert Production
6. ↑ Admission receipt
7. ^ Single My Bonnie / The Saints
8. ^ Book accompanying the Beatles Bob-Hamburg Days ISBN 3-89795-805-8 , p. 88.
9. ^ The Beatles: The Beatles Anthology. ISBN 3-550-07132-9 , p. 59.
10. ^ Book accompanying the Beatles Bob-Hamburg Days ISBN 3-89795-805-8 , p. 55.
11. ↑ My Bonnie album
12. ↑ EP Mister Twist
13. ↑ Complementary book to Beatles Bob-Hamburg Days ISBN 3-89795-805-8 , p. 80.
14. ↑ EP Ya Ya
15. ^ Complementary book to Beatles Bob-Hamburg Days ISBN 3-89795-805-8 , pp. 42–43.
16. ↑ Termination Agreement
17. ^ Book accompanying the Beatles Bob-Hamburg Days ISBN 3-89795-805-8 , p. 54.
18. ↑ 10 ″ vinyl album Les Beatles
19. ↑ Complementary book to Beatles Bob-Hamburg Days ISBN 3-89795-805-8 , p. 21.
20. ^ Richie Unterberger: The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film. ISBN 0-87930-892-3 , p. 13.