My Bonnie
Encyclopedia
My Bonnie is the name of a 1961 single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, a 1962 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 and a 1963 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 by Tony Sheridan
Tony Sheridan
Tony Sheridan , is an English rock and roll singer-songwriter and guitarist...

 and The Beat Brothers, better known as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

.

History

On The Beatles' first visit to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 in 1960, they met rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

er Tony Sheridan, and became friends with him. On their second visit, in 1961 (now minus Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe was a Scottish artist and musician, best known as the original bass player of The Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue a career as an artist, having previously attended the Liverpool College of Art...

), The Beatles backed Sheridan in a series of stage performances. It is sometimes said that German Polydor agent Bert Kaempfert
Bert Kaempfert
Bert Kaempfert was a German orchestra leader and songwriter. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records, and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, such as "Strangers in the Night" and "Spanish Eyes".-Biography:He was born in Hamburg, Germany - where he received his lifelong...

 personally saw Sheridan with The Beatles, but others report that a friend of Kaempfert's suggested that he bring them in to put down some recordings. Either way, he produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 the material with Karl Hinze engineering. While they recorded a number of songs together (as well as alone), few of them actually made it on to the album, with Sheridan re-recording many of them. The Beatles are known to appear on "My Bonnie" and "The Saints" (this pair was also released as a single, see below). The version of "Swanee River" on the album has sometimes been said to feature The Beatles, however that version is in fact not included here, and it is not known whether the original recording still exists.

Legend says, in 1961, Raymond Jones, a young man from Liverpool, made a request for a copy of the "My Bonnie" single, which brought The Beatles to the attention of then-record store manager Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...

, and set in motion the events that would lead him to become their manager. After The Beatles became successful, the eight tracks The Beatles worked on and some other Beat Brothers material were issued on an album in 1964 titled The Beatles' First
The Beatles' First
The Beatles' First is the first British packaging of the 1962 German album by Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers called My Bonnie. It was recorded in Hamburg in 1961...

.

Track listing

Side one
  1. "My Bonnie
    My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean
    "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" is a traditional Scottish folk songwhich remains popular in Western culture.-History:The origin of the song is unknown, though it is often suggested that the subject of the song may be...

    " (traditional, arranged by Tony Sheridan
    Tony Sheridan
    Tony Sheridan , is an English rock and roll singer-songwriter and guitarist...

    )
  2. "Skinny Minnie
    Skinny Minnie
    Skinny Minnie is a 1958 song co-written and recorded by Bill Haley and The Comets. The song was released as a Decca single which became a Top 40 chart hit in the U.S....

    " (Bill Haley
    Bill Haley
    Bill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock".-Early life and career:...

    , Rusty Keefer, Milt Gabler
    Milt Gabler
    Milton Gabler was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century.-Early life:...

    , Catherine Cafra)
  3. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On
    Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On
    "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" is a song best known in the 1957 rock and roll/rockabilly hit version by Jerry Lee Lewis.-Origins of the song:...

    " (Dave Williams, Sonny David)
  4. "I Know Baby" (Sheridan)
  5. "You Are My Sunshine
    You Are My Sunshine
    "You Are My Sunshine" is a popular song first recorded in 1939. It has been declared one of the state songs of Louisiana as a result of its association with former state governor and country music singer Jimmie Davis. The song is copyright 1940 Peer International Corporation, words and music by...

    " (Jimmie Davis
    Jimmie Davis
    James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...

    , Charles Mitchell)
  6. "Ready Teddy
    Ready Teddy
    Ready Teddy is a song written by John Marascalco and Robert Blackwell, and first made popular by Little Richard in 1956. It has since been covered by Buddy Holly, The Tornados, Elvis Presley, Tony Sheridan and others, making it something of a pop standard. Musically it's an uptempo rock and roll...

    " (Robert Blackwell
    Robert Blackwell
    Robert "Bumps" Blackwell was an American songwriter, arranger, and record producer, best known for his work overseeing the early hits of Little Richard, as well as grooming Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Lloyd Price, Sam Cooke, Herb Alpert, Larry Williams, and Sly and the Family Stone at the start of...

    , John Marascalco
    John Marascalco
    John Marascalco is an American songwriter, who is most noted for his collaborations with Robert Blackwell...

    )


Side two
  1. "The Saints
    When the Saints Go Marching In
    "When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as "The Saints", is an American gospel hymn that has taken on certain aspects of folk music. The precise origins of the song are not known. Though it originated as a spiritual, today people are more likely to hear it played by a jazz band...

    " (James Milton Black
    James Milton Black
    James Milton Black was a composer of hymns, choir leader and Sunday school teacher.Black was born in South Hill, New York, but worked, lived and died in Williamsport, Pennsylvania...

    , Katharine Purvis
    Katharine Purvis
    Katharine E. Nash Purvis is best known as the lyricist for When the Saints Are Marching In.Purvis was the daughter of a Methodist minister in Pennsylvania. After graduating from a seminary in 1860, she became a music teacher at the seminary of a Methodist Episcopal Church in Williamsport,...

    )
  2. "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" (Ray Charles
    Ray Charles
    Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

    )
  3. "Let's Twist Again
    Let's Twist Again
    "Let's Twist Again" is a song written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell, and released as a single by Chubby Checker. One of the biggest hit singles of 1961, it reached number two in the UK and number eight on the U.S. Billboard pop chart. It refers to the Twist dance craze and his 1960 and 1961...

    " (Kal Mann
    Kal Mann
    Kal Mann was an American lyricist. He is best known for penning the words to Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear", plus "Butterfly", a hit for both Charlie Gracie and Andy Williams.-Biography:...

    , Dave Appell
    Dave Appell
    Dave Appell Dave (David) Appell Dave (David) Appell (born March 24, 1922, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, worked as an arranger, producer, and musician in Philadelphia, in the 1950s.-Career:...

    , Buchenkamp)
  4. "Sweet Georgia Brown
    Sweet Georgia Brown
    "Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard and pop tune written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey .The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925 by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week No. 1 for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra...

    " (Bernie, Pinkard
    Maceo Pinkard
    Maceo Pinkard was an American composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Among his compositions is "Sweet Georgia Brown", a popular standard for decades after its composition and famous as the theme of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.Pinkard was inducted in the National Academy of...

    , Casey)
  5. "Swanee River
    Old Folks at Home
    "Old Folks at Home" is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It was intended to be performed by the New York blackface troupe Christy's Minstrels. E. P. Christy, the troupe's leader, appears on early printings of the sheet music as the song's creator...

    " (Stephen Foster
    Stephen Foster
    Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...

    )
  6. "Top Ten Twist" (Homsen, Bones, Sheridan, Lüth)


In 2001, The MY Bonnie LP was issued on CD by Polydor, with 10 bonus tracks:
  1. "My Bonnie (German intro)" (Trad./Sheridan-Bertie)
  2. "Ich Lieb' Dich So" (Pomus-Spector-Lueth)
  3. "Der Kiss-Me Song" (Warren-Schwabach-Wallnau)
  4. "Madison Kid" (C. Thomas)
  5. "" (Sheridan-Lee)
  6. "Ruby Baby
    Ruby Baby
    "Ruby Baby" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by The Drifters and was a major R&B hit for them in 1956...

    " (Leiber-Stoller)
  7. "What'd I Say
    What'd I Say
    According to Charles' autobiography, "What'd I Say" was accidental when he improvised it to fill time at the end of a concert in December 1958. He asserts that he never tested songs on audiences before recording them, but "What'd I Say" is an exception...

    " (Ray Charles)
  8. "Veedeboom Slop Slop" (Johnny Sivo)
  9. "Let's Slop" (Sivo-Gleissner)
  10. "My Bonnie (no intro)

Singles

The recording sessions with Tony Sheridan spawned a number of singles, three of which were not released until The Beatles had gained fame, and interest in the previously unreleased material grew.

"My Bonnie" b/w "The Saints" (credited to Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers) was first released in October 1961, and reached #5 in the German Hit Parade. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 the single was released on 5 January 1962 (credited to Tony Sheridan and The Beatles). In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the release of 4 April 1962 (Decca 31382) was cancelled, but when the material was released on 27 January 1964 on MGM K-13213 as The Beatles with Tony Sheridan, it charted at #26 on Billboard.

After The Beatles gained fame, also "Ain't She Sweet
Ain't She Sweet
Ain't She Sweet was an American album featuring four tracks recorded in Hamburg in 1961 by The Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan and cover versions of Beatles and British Invasion-era songs recorded by the Swallows...

"/"Nobody's Child
Nobody's Child (song)
"Nobody's Child" is a song written by Cy Coben and Mel Foree. It was first recorded by Hank Snow in 1949 and it became one of his standards, although it did not chart for him...

" received a release, the former of which includes only The Beatles, while the latter features Sheridan on lead vocal. Next came "Sweet Georgia Brown
Sweet Georgia Brown
"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard and pop tune written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey .The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925 by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week No. 1 for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra...

"/"Take Out Some Insurance On Me, Baby
If You Love Me, Baby
"If You Love Me, Baby" also known as "Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby " is a song written by C. Singleton and W. Hall...

", on which the credit is sometimes disputed, as it has not been proven whether The Beatles play on this version of "Sweet Georgia Brown". However, "Take Out Some Insurance On Me, Baby" is known to feature The Beatles, and was recorded in the same session as "Ain't She Sweet".

Finally, "Why
Why (Tony Sheridan song)
"Why" is one of the early songs performed by The Beatles when they were backing Tony Sheridan as the Beat Brothers. In the UK, it is the B-side of the instrumental rock tune "Cry for a Shadow". Originally intended to be the A-side, the record label Polydor chose not to release it...

"/"Cry for a Shadow
Cry for a Shadow
"Cry for a Shadow" is an early Beatles instrumental. It was recorded on 22 June 1961 at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg-Harburg, Germany while they were performing as Tony Sheridan's backup band for a few tracks, under the moniker The Beat Brothers. It was written by George Harrison with John...

" was released, on which "Why" was performed by Sheridan, with The Beatles on backup, and "Cry for a Shadow" was a Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

/Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

 instrumental, the only one credited in this way. Numerous compilations of these early recordings have been released to the public, both officially and unofficially, most conclusively in the Bear Family box set Beatles Bop – Hamburg Days.

EP

My Bonnie was released as an EP on 12 July 1963 in the UK by Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

. Also released in the UK that same day by Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...

 was their EP Twist and Shout
Twist and Shout (EP)
The Twist and Shout EP by The Beatles is the band's first British EP, released by Parlophone on 12 July 1963...

.

Track listing

Side one
  1. "My Bonnie"
  2. "Cry for a Shadow
    Cry for a Shadow
    "Cry for a Shadow" is an early Beatles instrumental. It was recorded on 22 June 1961 at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg-Harburg, Germany while they were performing as Tony Sheridan's backup band for a few tracks, under the moniker The Beat Brothers. It was written by George Harrison with John...

    "


Side two
  1. "The Saints
    When the Saints Go Marching In
    "When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as "The Saints", is an American gospel hymn that has taken on certain aspects of folk music. The precise origins of the song are not known. Though it originated as a spiritual, today people are more likely to hear it played by a jazz band...

    "
  2. "Why
    Why (Tony Sheridan song)
    "Why" is one of the early songs performed by The Beatles when they were backing Tony Sheridan as the Beat Brothers. In the UK, it is the B-side of the instrumental rock tune "Cry for a Shadow". Originally intended to be the A-side, the record label Polydor chose not to release it...

    "

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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