The Beatles’ released their first single record, “My Bonnie”, today in 1961.
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It featured English singer Tony Sheridan. “The Saints” was on the b-side, credited to Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers, it made number five in the German singles chart.
‘Beatles’ resembled a vulgar slang word in German, so The Beatles‘ name was modified for this single.
They released it in Britain on 5 January 1962, credited to Tony Sheridan and The Beatles.
Performing with Sheridan at the Top Ten club in Hamburg, they came to the attention of German bandleader Bert Kaempfert. He proposed that they record some songs together.
They chose “My Bonnie” because of its demand with Hamburg’s sailors. It was part of The Beatles’ live set for the same reason.
The recording took place on a converted stage at Hamburg’s Friedrich-Ebert-Halle school, during a two-day session on June 22, 1962. Together they recorded the track, and “The Saints”, a rocked-up rendition of “When The Saints Go Marching In”.
Sheridan sang the “Love me Tender” style introduction in the song’s traditional waltz arrangement, before a tempo- and key-change took the song into the world of rock ‘n’ roll.
George Harrison performed lead guitar on “My Bonnie” with Sheridan playing the solo later spliced in from a different take. They taped English and German edit pieces for the introduction. The translation was by Bernd Bertie.
Besides The Beatles’ first commercially released disc, the single played a pivotal role in their history.
The release of “My Bonnie” brought them to the attention of Liverpool record shop owner Brian Epstein. They say a local fan requested the song in his NEMS store, setting events in motion which led to Epstein becoming The Beatles’ manager.
A kid had gone into Brian’s record store and asked for “My Bonnie” by The Beatles. Brian had said, ‘No it’s not, it’s by Tony Sheridan,’ and he ordered it. Then Brian heard that we were playing 200 yards away. So he came to the Cavern and the news got to us: ‘Brian Epstein is in the audience – he might be a manager or a promoter. He is a grown-up, anyway.’ It was Us and Grown-ups then.
Paul McCartney
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