The Beatle Experience in 1961
So many years ago.....
The music blaring from outside the German club was like nothing you had heard before, and if you had, it was done much differently. You and your friend's curiosity is peeked and like other patrons, you enter the club. The club itself is nothing special, just a lot of adults smoking, drinking, and dancing. It is the music that is so different. On the small stage you see four guys playing songs that really rock the house. These are not the typical pop songs you have heard before like those of Elvis in Germany.
You ask a stranger, " Who is this band?". The fellow responds, " Just a band from England called Beatles". You chuckle, "Strange name" to yourself. On stage the band plays song after song like a juke box, such a variety of them. There is a song for everyone to like. In between songs, their charisma and wit is on display as they joke around with themselves and the audience. Not only is the band very good, but they interact with the patrons well by taking song requests. The Beatles performance is full of energy and harmony. At times, quite funny. They are very likeable.
The song material that you like and had never heard before were covers of mostly American pop songs. These included many Chuck Berry songs (Almost Grown, Johnny B. Goode, Rock ad Roll Music, Sweet Little Sixteen, Around and Around, School Day). Other songs were Hippy Hippy Shake, Short Fat Fanny, Sure to Fall, Shot of Rhythm and Blues, Gone, Gone, Gone, Lucille, Good Rockin' Tonight, Honey Hush, Jenny Jenny, Shake Rattle and Roll, Soldier of Love, I Got A Woman, Hi Heel Sneakers, My Baby Left Me, Hitch Hike. Nearly all of these songs were several years old in 1961 but refreshed to ears that had not heard them. Most were rock songs or those songs by Black artists. The band had a quite a repertoire, even the old standards Besame Mucho, Mr. Moonlight, and Taste of Honey!
It was no wonder why club patrons preferred this band over the other English bands that were modeled after the Elvis look with one vocalist. The Beatles had four! Each clearly identifiable in their singing. The band was a messy lot at times as they had no real band uniform. The closest thing were their black leather pants. Sometimes, they all wore different clothing. That actually made them stand out and was matched by their music that was so loud. And, every once in awhile, they would announce an original Lennon\McCartney tune, like One After 909, I Lost My Little Girl, or Like Dreamers Do.
After spending hours at the club, you leave. Your ears ring from the loud music. You think to yourself, "What a great band, so much diversity".
Get Back
These sessions back in January,1969, some eight years had passed. The unknown Beatles fame and fortune had come but it was not gone. The band tried to replicate these old days, the pre-fame stage during the filming of the movie. Time had changed them. The energy of the 1961 days was no longer there. They had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. The soundtrack shows what songs the band played most of the time from a playlist. These were songs that got them noticed way back and ones they recalled in 1969.
