The Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan
In The Beginning

In the beginning, there were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison… with drummer Pete Best. Early '60s: the group is in Hamburg, Germany. Back then, their name was The Beat Brothers, because Beatles sounded too much like the German curse word “peedles.” In 1960, and more thoroughly in 1961, our heroes began to collaborate with the guitarist and singer Tony Sheridan, who had also emigrated to the German city and was already a small authority on the music scene.

Often, Sheridan used the future Beatles as a backing group, although more often they hosted him as a guest musician in their performances. They were noticed by producer Bert Kaempfert, who, seeing the musical chemistry, proposed that they record some tracks as the band supporting the small “star” Sheridan, signing a small contract no less with Polydor Records. The future Fab Four were also allowed, by contract, to record two of their own tracks: Ain’t She Sweet and Cry For a Shadow. But these two were soon shelved by the record label, which decided to focus more on Tony Sheridan, believing he would break through more than the Beat Brothers (!!!) and thus insisted on the other two compositions from these sessions: My Bonnie and The Saints, which soon became a single, released in 1962 by Polydor in Germany and Decca in America. Why, the other recording, was included in other compilations later on, such as The Beatles with Tony Sheridan & Guest.

The CD I hold in my hand now is a charming 2000 compilation from that period. As often happened at the time, not all the songs were written by the artists themselves: this is the case for Take Out Some Insurance On Me, Baby…, Sweet Georgia Brown, Ruby Baby, Nobody’s Child, and Ya Ya, all present in the compilation and performed by the Beatles + Sheridan. Nothing transcendental, with a few too many yawns. Sheridan sings almost all the songs, with his voice more suited to doo-wop (in fact, he gives his best in the slower numbers) rather than in other pieces. He also proposed the arrangement of some “traditional” tracks, like My Bonnie, the most beautiful and famous track on the album, and When The Saints Go Marching In. Not bad the two tracks signed by Sheridan, Why and Let’s Dance, although the true talent that emerges is that of the future legends: the only song signed Harrison/Lennon (a duo never seen again!!!) is Cry For A Shadow, an excellent instrumental.

In short, Beatles almost mere performers: excellent historical document, unmissable for the most ardent fans, but essentially beat music that makes you smile without giving any kind of thrill. Undoubtedly a great show of talent from Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, who right there in Hamburg would soon fire Pete Best to include Ringo. The rest is history.