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Beatles, Music et al

November 29 Beatles Singles

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November 29 Beatles singles

The way most fans first heard the Beatles was by way of their singles, those little records with the big holes. By late 1963, the Beatles were exploding in the UK and the Ed Sullivan fuse was lighted for early 1964.

They recorded “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on October 17, 1963 and Parlophone released it in the UK on November 29, 1963, more than two months before that famous Sullivan Show appearance. There were more than one million advance orders. With such numbers, it must have hit #1 immediately, yes?

November 29 Beatles Singles

No

Their hit “She Loves You” blocked “I Want to Hold Your Hand” for two weeks before it finally reached #1 on the British charts. Once there, it stayed for five weeks and remained in the UK top fifty for twenty-one weeks in total.

Capital records released “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in the US on December 26. With great backing by Capital (unlike their previous US releases). It became the Billboard #1 single on February 1, where it stayed for seven weeks to be replaced by, you guessed it, “She Loves You.”

November 29 Beatles Singles

Exactly six years later…

A lot of troubled water had passed under the Beatle bridge between the UK release of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and the double-A sided “Come Together/Something” hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 exactly six years later on November 29, 1969.

John Lennon wrote “Come Together” though writing credits showed the traditional Lennon/McCartney authorship.

November 29 Beatles Singles
Come Together/Something

According to Lennon, “The thing was created in the studio. It’s gobbledygook; Come Together was an expression that Leary had come up with for his attempt at being president or whatever he wanted to be, and he asked me to write a campaign song. I tried and tried, but I couldn’t come up with one. But I came up with this, Come Together, which would’ve been no good to him – you couldn’t have a campaign song like that, right?”

For a more contemporary view of the song and Lennon, see >>> Imagining John Lennon, In a Time Of Anguish

November 29 Beatles Singles

George Harrison

And on November 29, 2001,  musician, singer, songwriter, and music and film producer George Harrison died.

November 29 Beatles Singles
Beatles, Music et al

Beatles November 22 Music et al

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Beatles November 22 Music et al

November 22, 1963 is a day that all Baby Boomers remember where they were when they heard of Kennedy’s assassination.

Oddly, November 22 is also a day that is a big part of Beatle history:

November 22, 1963

with the beatles
Beatles November 22 Music et al
The Beatles on November 22: with the beatles

November 22, 1963: UK release of 2nd Beatle album with the beatles. The 14 songs were a mixture of Lennon/McCartney compositions, the first George Harrison Beatle release, and covers. For we US collectors, we likely didn’t realize that what the British kids were buying was more than what we were to get later: 14 songs per album compared to the usual 12 in the USA. Thus the occasional release “singles” albums in the USA to catch up.

Beatles November 22 Music et al
The Beatles on November 22: back cover of “with the Beatles”
Beatles November 22 Music et al

Beatles November 22

Beatles November 22 Music et al
Beatles Ibsen-like cover

November 22, 1968: released The Beatles, usually referred to as the White Album. the “White Album’s” original working title was A Doll’s House, which is the name of Henrik Ibsen’s play first performed in 1879.

In addition, according to Geoffrey Giuliano, author of The Beatles Album, an illustration was prepared for the cover of A Doll’s House by the famed artist Patrick. However the title was changed when the British band Family released the similarly titled Music in a Doll’s House earlier that year. The plain white cover was opted for instead after McCartney then requested the albums sleeve design “be as stark a contrast to Peter Blake’s vivid cover art for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as possible, the complete opposite of it…” he said.

L’Osservatore Romano

November 22, 2008: the official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano suggested that the infamous statement by John Lennon of the Beatles– who outraged many people in 1966 by saying that the band was “more popular than Jesus”– should be recognized as “the boasting of an English working-class lad struggling to cope with unexpected success.” In an editorial marking the 40th anniversary for the “White Album,” L’Osservatore Romano said that the influence of the Beatles has shown “an extraordinary resistance to the effects of time, providing inspiration for several generations of pop musicians.” (Guardian article)

Beatles November 22 Music et al
Music et al, Music of the 60s

Bo Diddley vs Ed Sullivan

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Bo Diddley vs Ed Sullivan

November 20, 1955
Bo Diddley vs Ed Sullivan
Bo Diddley vs Ed Sullivan

Diddley vs Sullivan

On November 20, 1955 in New York City there wasn’t a boxing match, but there was a Bo Diddley vs Ed Sullivan. On this date Diddley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. He was supposed to sing, “Sixteen Tons,” the song written and first recorded by Merle Travis in 1946. Travis himself had had a gold record with it. Most of us are familiar with Tennessee Ernie Ford’s version, also a big hit. In fact on March 25, 2015 the Library of Congress announced that it would induct Ford’s version of the song into it’s National Recording Registry.

Diddley’s version, not surprisingly, doesn’t sound much like Mr Ford’s.

Bo Diddley vs Ed Sullivan

No 16 Tons

But instead of “Sixteen Tons” he sang his own eponymous “Bo Diddley.” Ed Sullivan was infuriated and banned Bo Diddley from his show. He also said that Bo Diddley wouldn’t last six months.

The ban lasted. So did Diddley.

Of course, this incident wasn’t the only time Mr Sullivan had to choose between ratings and his sense of morality. See Elvis. See the Doors. See The Rolling Stones.

The story behind the dispute is vague. Apparently the request for “Sixteen Tons” came about because the show’s staff heard Diddley casually singing “Sixteen Tons” in the dressing room.

Bo Diddley apparently said that when he saw “Bo Diddley” on the cue-card, he thought he was to perform two songs: “Bo Diddley” and “Sixteen Tons.” Here’s his 1:55 seconds of 1955 infamy.

Bo Diddley vs Ed Sullivan

Basilio v DeMarco

I don’t remember the event, though it’s likely I watched the show with my family as we did each Sunday. Nor do I remember that 10  days later on November 30 in an actual boxing match that Carmen Basilio retained his world Welterweight title by knocking out former world champion Tony DeMarco in the twelfth round, at Boston.

Carmen Basilio
Carmen Basilio
Bo Diddley vs Ed Sullivan