The Early Beatles: The Beginning [1960-62]
[L2R]: John Lennon, George Harrison, Pete Best, Paul McCartney & Stuart Sutcliffe
I'm as old as The Beatles! Well, not as old as John, Paul, George & Ringo as they have up to 20 years on me, but I always love the thought that when "The Beatles" first used that moniker performing, it was not too long after I was born.
The Beatles first performed as such with that name on August 17, 1960 at what was called the Indra Club in Hamburg, West Germany. I was born on July 28, 1960 and almost as far as I can remember my life has been blessed with knowing of this phenomenon named as 'The Beatles' or Beatlemania, which by definition is agreed to have really started in Germany.
The Beatles became a favorite subject of mine [the favorite!] and so I take all the fun in knowing this is all done for my personal pleasure and a good thing to work with as I enter my latter years.
This began as a fun and personal WebBlog which soon expanded into what I call my 'Family Blog' and when I felt I'd pretty much established that I became interested in posting something about my favorite people of all time and was inspired by a book "A Hard Day's Night in America" [Gunther & Rahl].
This book I'd had since it was published in 1989 and always loved that story and all the photographs by the author Curt Gunther which, to me, almost completely documented The Beatles' First North American Tour. I wondered, "What if I could find material from that time period that would fall outside of his book that I could supplement it with in a blog post...and most importantly, have fun with it."
That's how it started and I eventually added more posts about The Beatles which took me almost to what I call, the end of the story, in 1970. With this post I wish to have fun in filling in any parts of The Beatles' story I'd like to post that has been missing and I've finally got inspired to do so.
The starting point has long been a non-issue for me, as explained above. For me, it begins almost 3 weeks after I was born. 🥰
The Beatles at the Indra Club, Hamburg, West Germany
They performed there from 17 August - 3 October 1960
The Three Lads: George, John & Paul with Stuart looking on....
...and Pete Best.
Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, Pete Best
The Beatles were a Quintet.
Outside the Indra, where The Beatles first performed as, "The Beatles".
This is all fine and good, but: Where's Ringo?
Here he is [far right] with his band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.
[L2R]: Johnny Byrne [Johnny Guitar - rhythm guitar], Charles O'Brien [Ty O'Brien - lead guitar], Alan Caldwell [Rory Storm - lead vocals], Wally Eymond [Lou Walters - bass guitar, vocals] and at the end, Richard Starkey [Ringo Starr].
Rory is shaking hands with probably a tailor from the store Duncan Tailors as the group holds bags full of presumably newly tailored attire. This photo was taken by Ness Studios in Liverpool in the summer of 1961.
The Hurricanes [shown without Rory Storm in this photo from L2R]: Charles O'Brien, Wally Eymond, Ringo Starr & Johnny Byrne.
Speaking of Ringo and since he became the eldest of The Beatles, as we know them, he's also a good point to begin with Beatle Biological Origins.
Ringo's Dad: Richard Starkey Sr. [1913-1981]
There's not much to say about Ringo's biological father except that he left Ringo's mother in 1943 after Ringo was born on 7 July 1940. A divorce came soon afterwards and Ringo very seldom ever saw his father again. Despite all of that, neither son or father was known to ever talk mean about the other.
Ringo's Parents: Elsie Gleave [1914-1987] & Harry Graves [1913-1994]
The story has a happy ending, however, as Ringo's mom re-married to Harry Graves in 1954 and Ringo's step-dad was a loving and supportive father.
When Ringo naturally gravitated towards playing drums, Harry was not only supportive of that but both parents loved music and encouraged it, in particular with their appreciation for 'old standards'.
Ringo with Mom & Dad!
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Alfred Lennon [1912-1976]
As with Ringo, John Lennon's father, Fred, was an absentee parent. Unlike Ringo's dad, however, John wound up being taunted more regarding this in that his father, being a merchant seaman, was largely away but not completely. Fred wasn't around when John was born on 9 October 1940. He eventually ended financial support for John and his mother in early 1944 but surfaced again sometime later and tried to take John with him to New Zealand in 1946.
After that he disappeared once more and did not resurface again until The Beatles were famous in 1966.
John Lennon and his mother, Julia Stanley [1914-1958]
John's mother, Julia, was [to say the least] free spirited. During one of Julia's separations with his father Fred, Julia became pregnant with a daughter but the baby was initially put up for adoption and John never knew of her during his lifetime.
After Fred Lennon was gone for good in 1946, Julia had two more daughters, Julia [in 1947] and Jacqueline [in 1949] and John did know of his half-sisters growing up.
During these early hectic years of Julia's, however, John was largely brought up by Julia's more 'orderly' elder sister Mimi yet Julia is credited with teaching John banjo, some ukulele and supported him learning the guitar.
More parental trauma occurred with John when on July 15, 1958, just as he was beginning to really develop a closer relationship with his mother, Julia was killed by an off duty policeman after being struck by his car as she was heading towards a bus stop. Losing Julia twice, as it were in John's mind, was something he probably never really recovered from during his lifetime.
John never developed a relationship with his father Fred, who wound up having two more children of his own years later when John was a grown adult but John was aware of his failing health and tried to have some reconciliation with him before he passed away.
Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Stanley Smith [1906-1991]
In my opinion, John's Aunt Mimi seems to come off with a rather negative way of upbringing when it came to John, however, I do not believe in any way did it become detrimental to his growth. Rather, the more negative she may be towards John, in like telling him 'a guitar's all right as a hobby, John, but you'll never make a living at it," would only strengthen John's resolve to rebel at such thoughts.
Most importantly, John and his Aunt Mimi would always remain close.
George Toogood Smith [1903-1955]
John's Aunt Mimi's husband, Uncle George, was the opposite of her in how he treated John. It is said Uncle George taught John how to read, draw and paint and he is the one who bought John his first mouth organ. Mimi had said it was George who would put John to bed at night and that the two of them had many wonderful times together.
Unlike the rest of The Beatles, John grew up in the suburbs and was the most solidly middle-class kid where the others were from more of a working class upbringing.
Alas, this second chance at having a father figure in his life was cut short when Uncle George died of a liver hemorrhage at the young age of 52 in 1955.
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A nice photo of a happy family starting with [L2R]: Paul's younger brother, Peter Michael McCartney, a.k.a. Mike McGear [born 7 January 1944], Mary Patricia Mohin McCartney [1909-1956], James McCartney [1902-1976] & James Paul McCartney [born 18 June 1942].
Paul, as with Ringo & John, was not only encouraged to enjoy music but he was surrounded by it in his family starting with his father, who was a 1920s jazz band leader with his own band, Jim Mac's Jazz Band. He played trumpet and piano and while supporting Paul in being able to play both, Paul did not gravitate towards trumpet playing because he wanted to sing as well as play an instrument.
Paul's mother Mary was a professional nurse and midwife and unfortunately she passed away on October 31, 1956 from complications caused by her treatment for breast cancer when Paul was only 14 years old.
Paul was lucky in that he seemed to have a supportive family including uncles and aunts, but this left him not without a tragedy.
His father would eventually remarry years later in 1964 to Angela Williams legally adopting her daughter, Ruth.
Paul has said he also loved John's mother Julia and after she died his bond with John had an unspoken strength because of their losses.
When Paul's father passed away in 1976, Paul was just beginning a new leg of his band's European tour and he did not attend the funeral. Paul's brother, Michael, is known to have said that Paul, "would never face that sort of thing," suggesting Paul's difficulty in being a part of final farewells of this type.
Harold Hargreves Harrison [1909-1978] & Louise French Harrison [1911-1970] gave George, who was born 23 February 1943 a wonderful home with 2 other older brothers and an older sister.
While George's mother, Louise, was the parent most into music, encouraging George to follow his passion with it, George's father too offered a supportive environment for George, buying him his first guitar and driving him to early gigs.
George was the first of The Beatles to visit the United States because his sister, Louise [1931-2023] lived there pre-Beatlemania. She is shown here in the middle with George on the left holding her daughter, niece Leslie. Louise would be enthusiastic regarding her brother's success in music throughout her life.
Traveling with George to America was his brother Peter [1940-2007]. Being closer in age with George, the two youngest brothers briefly shared their enjoyment of music together before Peter's interests shifted.
In the back on the left is George's oldest brother, Harold 'Harry' Harrison, Jr., [1934-1999]. Like his brother Peter [back right], he spent his life largely out of the public eye especially after George became so famous.
George enjoys a photo with his brothers up front and in-between his Dad & Mom.
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To come around full circle and back to where we started, here's a photo taken the day before 17 August 1960 showing the van of the then group's manager, Alan Williams, being loaded onto a ferry at Harwich bound for Hamburg. John Lennon's head is shown cut off at the far left.
"THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE"
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The next question would be; "How did The Beatles come together?" While there were physical occurrences that played a part, the spiritual aspect of it all was always centered around: Music!
Gene Autry [1907-1998]
The Beatles were always multi-media. They loved the cinema, for example. Cinema and music always went hand in hand. When Ringo saw Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, up there on the screen, Ringo was still a child, this being sometime in the late 1940s. This experience was, however, Ringo's introduction into American country music.
Hank Williams [1923-1953]
This led Ringo to get into other Country & Western performers including Hank Williams.
Buck Owens [1929-2006] was another of Ringo's favorites.
Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow [1914-1999] was also a country singing star Ringo enjoyed.
William Randolph "Cozy" Cole [1909-1981]
It's been said that Ringo's adopted father was also into Big Band music and jazz and from his collection of jazz records, Ringo became caught up in the music, in particular that of jazz drummer Cozy Cole.
Before Rock & Roll took over and around the same time it was beginning to get popular in the United States, it was skiffle, a form of folk, blues, country & jazz music combined into an upbeat sound that overtook England. It was comprised of simple chords allowing just about anyone to follow it and played with regular and homemade instruments like washboards or tea-chest basses.
During that time as it was peaking in popularity Ringo co-founded his first band, the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group in 1957.
I can only identify Ringo [2nd from the left] but the other players comprised of Eddie 'Clayton' Miles [guitar & vocals], Roy Trafford [tea-chest bass], John Dougherty [washboard] & Frank Walsh [guitar]. As you can see there are six players in this photograph so someone goes unidentified.
Antoine Caliste "Fats" Domino, Jr [1928-2017]
When Rock & Roll did take over in England, Ringo mentions Fats Domino as one of his favorite artists.
Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan [1931-2002]
When skiffle began to become popular in England it was Lonnie Donegan's record release of "Rock Island Line" which entered the U.K. charts at the beginning of 1956 which really propelled this new youth obsession. John, Paul & George were all especially influenced by Donegan and John put together his first band that year which he called The Quarrymen that consisted of John and his friends from his school, the Quarry Bank High School.
An early photo from most likely 1956 of John's close friend, Pete Shotton [left] & John Lennon [3rd from the left] and, I'm not 100% certain but I believe here we also have Bill Smith [2nd from left] and Eric Griffiths [extreme right]. They would make up the original 'Quarrymen' with John [vocals & guitar], Eric [guitar], Pete [washboard] & Bill [tea-chest bass].
Elias Otha Bates "Bo Diddley" [1928-2008] was of special importance to John Lennon when Rock & Roll took hold of England's youth.
Isaac Donald Everly [1937-2021] & Phillip Everly [1939-2014] "The Everly Brothers" are an interesting contrast to Bo Diddley as being favorite artists to enjoy by John Lennon. It is my guess that their close harmony style of singing was of great interest to John.
Charles 'Chuck' Edward Anderson Berry [1926-2017] is a strong favorite of John & Paul's who both were attracted to his writing skills as well as his guitar playing, singing and showmanship.
Charles Hardin Holley "Buddy Holly" [1936-1959] was another favorite singer and songwriter of John & Paul's who offered another type of release, especially for John. Image was 'everything' as well when it came to Rock & Roll showmanship and here was a guy who wasn't afraid to perform with his glasses on. Well, it could be argued he simply could not perform without his glasses on as he suffered from severe nearsightedness, just as John did. Seeing Buddy Holly perform was liberating to John although he continued to do his best to hide his 'blindness' in the early years of The Beatles.
Gene Vincent [1935-1971]
"Be-Bop-A-Lula" by Gene Vincent would become the first record Paul McCartney ever bought. Likewise, John Lennon said whenever he heard the song many years later he would be 'transformed to Rock & Roll' heaven, finding himself right back to the beginning of those exciting early days.
Elvis Aaron Presley [1935-1977]. Of course there's no denying the influence 'The King' had on mainly John, Paul & George. While the other three could idolize Elvis in these early days, Ringo was a little more laid back regarding that aspect but he did record a cover of "Don't Be Cruel" in 1992 which sounded a lot like Elvis's version.
Edward 'Eddie' Ray Cochran [1938-1960]
While both John & Paul are known to like Eddie Cochran it was the fact that Paul knew all the words to "Twenty Flight Rock" which initially impressed John. John was known to forget lyrics even to his own songs later, but had the ability to ad lib in such a way that impressed Paul. If John didn't know the words to a song he could just make them all up as he went along performing!
Although Paul McCartney [center] did not play in a band before meeting John Lennon he did play his music privately teaching himself piano and learning guitar at home. By 1956 he was beginning to write his own songs as well starting off with "I Lost My Little Girl".
Paul had met George Harrison [right] around 1954 on a bus as a student along the way to school. This is an early photo of the two of them and unfortunately I've not been able to identify the fellow on the left.
Richard Wayne Penniman "Little Richard" [1932-2020] was a favorite of all The Beatles, in particular, John, Paul & Ringo.
William 'Smokey' Robinson, Jr [3rd from the left] b. 1940 and The Miracles with [L2R] Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White.
We know John loved Smokey Robinson and George wrote not one but two tribute songs to him on two of his LPs in the 1970s. Paul mentioned on "The Beatles Anthology" that Smokey was 'like God in our eyes' when referring to his early influence on The Beatles.
Although The Beatles probably did not hear of Smokey Robinson until after they had become a group themselves, The Miracles is an important 'gateway' group to the Motown sound which The Beatles immediately took after when it became popular.
George Harrison [right] shown with friend Arthur Kelly from 1957 during a time where George was a part of a band named The Rebels. George played rhythm guitar and Arthur also played guitar. George's brother Pete played lead guitar and friend Alan Williams played tea-chest bass.
Ottis Dewey "Slim" Whitman, Jr. [1923-2013]
George Harrison has said that Slim Whitman was the first person he'd ever seen playing a guitar. Paul McCartney, being self conscious that he was left handed, learned by watching Slim Whitman that one could play a right handed guitar upside down and re-strung for left handed playing.
George Formby [1904-1961]
George Harrison remembered English actor, singer songwriter & comedian George Formby as a child and so enjoyed his banjo ukulele playing that later in his adult life he would revisit these early memories and become somewhat happily obsessed with playing the instrument himself.
Hoagland 'Hoagy' Howard Carmichael [1899-1981]
In his pre-Rock days, George Harrison was influenced by the compositions of Hoagy Carmichael which helped shape his own songwriting. In his later solo recording years, George would record his covers of a couple of Carmichael's songs.
Cabell 'Cab' Calloway III [1907-1994]
Another childhood musical influence for George was Cab Calloway introducing him to 1930s jazz and Tin Pan Alley pop music through his high energy theatrical style. At the end of his life, George would record "The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", the Harold Arlen tune made popular by Calloway.
Jean 'Django' Reinhardt [1910-1953]
George grew up listening to Reinhardt and even took some jazz guitar lessons when he was 13 from a sailor who was familiar with the style of Reinhardt's playing. That style pushed George to become more of a melodic guitar player. Together, George and Paul bonded over their shared interest in Reinhardt.
Carl Lee Perkins [1932-1998]
All The Beatles loved Carl Perkins from the beginnings of Rock & Roll. Before Ringo took on "Matchbox" it was John who covered that tune and "Honey Don't" and John can be heard breaking into a Carl Perkins medley during the making of his "Plastic Ono Band" with Ringo in 1970. Of course, Ringo covered other Perkins' tunes. Paul played with Perkins in later years as did George Harrison.
The song "My Old Friend" was written for Paul McCartney [with him on it] who broke down in tears when he heard it because it mirrored the sentiment he had for John Lennon and their last words and interactions together.
George Harrison played "Your True Love" at Carl Perkins' funeral.
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