First Live Recordings
Encyclopedia
1st Live Recordings is a two-volume album series released by Pickwick Records in 1979 containing a live performance by The Beatles
. Liverpool singer, King Size Taylor, recorded this on a Grundig home tape recorder at 3 3/4 ips during a performance at Hamburg's
Star Club on December 31, 1962. Though even The Beatles
thought the sound quality was too poor for anything to be made of the recording, Lingasong Records
spent about $100,000 rebuilding the sound into a 16-track master. The result of their effort is this recording. This recording includes Ringo Starr
on drums, making this the very first live recording of The Beatles
. This same recording was previously released as Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962
by Lingasong Records
. Pickwick's
version has been slightly altered to allow for more prominence in the vocals.
Two songs on the set, "Be-Bop-A-Lula" and "Halleluja, I Love Her So," feature the Beatles performing the instruments while Star-Club waiter, Horst Fascher provides the vocals. Another cut, the only track on the set to not appear on the original Lingasong release, "Hully Gully," does not include the Beatles at all. Rather, it is a recording by Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers who performed at the club the same night.
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. Liverpool singer, King Size Taylor, recorded this on a Grundig home tape recorder at 3 3/4 ips during a performance at Hamburg's
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
Star Club on December 31, 1962. Though even The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
thought the sound quality was too poor for anything to be made of the recording, Lingasong Records
Lingasong Records
Lingasong Records was a record label formed by Paul Murphy of Buk Records for the sole purpose of producing and marketing The Beatles' live album Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962. The album was released in 1977 after The Beatles lost a court case to block it...
spent about $100,000 rebuilding the sound into a 16-track master. The result of their effort is this recording. This recording includes Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
on drums, making this the very first live recording of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. This same recording was previously released as Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962
Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962
Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 is a double album featuring live performances by The Beatles, recorded in late December 1962 at the Star-Club during their final Hamburg residency...
by Lingasong Records
Lingasong Records
Lingasong Records was a record label formed by Paul Murphy of Buk Records for the sole purpose of producing and marketing The Beatles' live album Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962. The album was released in 1977 after The Beatles lost a court case to block it...
. Pickwick's
Pickwick Records
Pickwick Records was an American record label and distributor known for its budget album releases of sound-alike recordings, bargain bin reissues and repackagings under the brands Design, Bravo , Hurrah, Grand Prix, and children's records on the Cricket and Happy Time labels.The label is also...
version has been slightly altered to allow for more prominence in the vocals.
Two songs on the set, "Be-Bop-A-Lula" and "Halleluja, I Love Her So," feature the Beatles performing the instruments while Star-Club waiter, Horst Fascher provides the vocals. Another cut, the only track on the set to not appear on the original Lingasong release, "Hully Gully," does not include the Beatles at all. Rather, it is a recording by Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers who performed at the club the same night.
Volume One
- "Where Have You Been All My Life" (Cynthia WeilCynthia WeilCynthia Weil is a prominent American songwriter. She is famous for having written many songs together with her husband Barry Mann....
/Barry MannBarry MannBarry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...
) – 1:55 - "A Taste of HoneyA Taste of Honey (song)"A Taste of Honey" is a pop standard written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow. It was originally an instrumental track written for the 1960 Broadway version of the 1958 British play A Taste of Honey . Both the original and a cover by Herb Alpert in 1965 earned the song Grammy Awards...
" (Bobby Scott/Rick Marlow) – 1:40 - "Your Feets Too Big" (Ada Benson/Fred FisherFred FisherFred Fisher was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher. Fisher founded Fred Fisher Music Publishing Company in 1907. He was born as Albert von Breitenbach in Cologne...
) – 2:20 - "Mr. MoonlightMr. Moonlight (song)"Mr. Moonlight" is a song written by Roy Lee Johnson, best known for being covered by The Beatles on the 1964 albums Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom and Beatles '65 in the United States.-Different versions:...
" (R. Johnson) – 2:05 - "Besame MuchoBésame Mucho"Bésame Mucho" is a Spanish language song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez.-Inspiration:According to Velázquez herself, she wrote this song even though she had never been kissed yet at the time, and kissing as she heard was considered a sin.She was inspired by the piano...
" (T. VelasquezConsuelo VelázquezConsuelo Velázquez was a Mexican concert pianist, songwriter and recording artist.According to her obituary, she was 88 years old when she died...
) – 2:35 - "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry " is a popular song written in 1953 by Joe Thomas and Howard Biggs. Since then, it became something of a minor pop standard, largely due to several well-received versions of the song. It is best known for appearing on Elvis Presley's first album, and for a...
" (J. Thomas/H. Biggs) – 2:40 - "Be-Bop-A-LulaBe-Bop-A-Lula"Be-Bop-A-Lula" is a rockabilly song first recorded in 1956 by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps.-Origins of the song:The writing of the song is credited to Gene Vincent and his manager, Bill "Sheriff Tex" Davis. There is evidence that the song was started in 1955, when Vincent was recuperating from...
" (G. Vincent/T. Davis) – 2:28 - "Halleluja I Love Her So" (Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
) – 2:08 - "'Till There Was YouTill There Was You"Till There Was You" is a song written by Meredith Willson for his 1957 musical play The Music Man, and which also appeared in the 1962 movie version...
" (Meredith WillsonMeredith WillsonRobert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
) – 1:59 - "Sweet Little SixteenSweet Little Sixteen"Sweet Little Sixteen" is a rock and roll song written and originally performed by Chuck Berry, who released it as a single in January 1958. It reached number two on the American charts, Berry's highest position ever on the charts, with the exception of the suggestive number one hit "My...
" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) – 2:44 - "Little Queenie" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) – 3:53 - "Kansas CityKansas City (R&B song)"Kansas City" is a rhythm and blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952. First recorded by Little Willie Littlefield the same year, the song later became a #1 hit when it was recorded by Wilbert Harrison in 1959...
/Hey Hey Hey HeyHey, Hey, Hey, Hey"Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" is a song written by Little Richard which he usually performed as part of a medley with the Leiber and Stoller song "Kansas City". It was first released in 1958 as the B-side to his recording of "Good Golly Miss Molly"....
" (J. LeiberJerry Leiber and Mike StollerJerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
/M. StollerJerry Leiber and Mike StollerJerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
/R. PennimanLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
) – 2:09 - "Hully GullyHully Gully (song)" Hully Gully" is a song written by Fred Sledge Smith and Clifford Goldsmith and recorded by The Olympics. Released in 1959, the song peaked at number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1960, and sparked the Hully Gully dance craze....
" (F. Smith/C. Goldsmith) – 1:39
Volume Two
- "Ain't Nothing Shakin'Nothin' Shakin' (But the Leaves on the Trees)"Nothin' Shakin' " is a song written by Eddie Fontaine, Cirino Colacrai, Diane Lampert and John Gluck, Jr., and first released by Eddie Fontaine in 1958.It has been covered by The Beatles, Billy "Crash" Craddock, Dr...
" (FontaineEddie FontaineEddie Fontaine was an American actor and singer, best known for television roles in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
, Colacrai, Lampert, Gluck) – 1:14 - "Everybody's Trying to Be My BabyEverybody's Trying to Be My Baby"Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" is a 1957 song written by Carl Perkins and originally released on the Sun Dance Album of ... Carl Perkins. A song with the same title was written in the mid-1930s by Alabama-born country songwriter Rex Griffin. Griffin recorded the song for Decca Records in 1936...
" (Carl PerkinsCarl PerkinsCarl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
) – 2:23 - "MatchboxMatchbox (song)"Matchbox" is a rock and roll and rockabilly song written by Carl Perkins and first recorded by him at Sun Records in December 1956 and released on February 11, 1957 as a 45 single on Sun Records. It has become one of Perkins' best-known recordings...
" (Carl PerkinsCarl PerkinsCarl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
) – 2:33 - "Talking 'Bout You" (Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
) – 1:47 - "Long Tall SallyLong Tall Sally"Long Tall Sally" is a rock and roll 12-bar blues song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and Richard Penniman , recorded by Little Richard and released March 1956 on the Specialty Records label....
" (E. Johnson/R. PennimanLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
) – 1:45 - "Roll Over BeethovenRoll Over Beethoven"Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit single by Chuck Berry originally released on Chess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classical music...
" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) – 2:12 - "Hippy Hippy ShakeHippy Hippy ShakeHippy Hippy Shake is a song written and recorded by Chan Romero in 1959. That same year, the song reached number three in Australia.A cover version by Italian rocker Little Tony appeared in the same year and found moderate success in the United Kingdom and Italy.A version by UK-based band The...
" (Chan Romeo) – 1:40 - "Falling in Love AgainFalling in Love Again (Can't Help It)"Falling in Love Again " is the English language name for a 1930 German song composed by Friedrich Hollaender as Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt...
" (S. Lerner/F. Hollander) – 1:59 - "Lend Me Your CombLend Me Your Comb"Lend Me Your Comb" was a song written by Kay Twomey, Fred Wise and Ben Weisman and published by Alamo Music, ASCAP. It was originally the B-Side of Carl Perkins' "Glad All Over" single, released December 1957 on Sun Records as Sun 287 by "The Rockin' Guitar Man". This was Carl Perkins' last single...
" (Twomey/WyseFred Wise (lyricist)Fred Wise was the co-writer of the lyrics to the 1948 song "'A' — You're Adorable" with Buddy Kaye. He subsequently wrote many of the songs sung by Elvis Presley in his movies....
/WeismanBen WeismanBen Weisman was an eccentric American composer significant for having written more songs recorded by Elvis Presley than any other songwriter in history. The "Mad Professor" as Weisman was nicknamed by Elvis, worked with the King from 1956 to 1971...
) – 1:44 - "SheilaSheilaSheila is a common given name for a female, derived from the Gaelic name Síle/Sìle, which is believed to be a Gaelic form of Julia or Cecilia. Like "Cecil" or "Cecilia", the name means "blind", from the Latin word caecus...
" (Tommy RoeTommy RoeTommy Roe is an American pop music singer-songwriter.Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" and "Dizzy" , critic Bill Dahl wrote that Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late 1960s, but Roe cut some pretty decent rockers along the way, especially early in his...
) – 1:55 - "Red Sails in the SunsetRed Sails in the Sunset (song)"Red Sails in the Sunset" is a popular song.Published in 1935, its music was written by Hugh Williams with lyrics by prolific songwriter Jimmy Kennedy...
" (Jimmy KennedyJimmy KennedyJimmy Kennedy OBE was an Irish songwriter, predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer", or co-writing with the composers Michael Carr, Wilhelm Grosz and Nat Simon amongst others.-Biography:Kennedy was born near Omagh...
and Hal WilliamsHal WilliamsHarold "Hal" Williams is an American actor, best known for his recurring role as the black cop Officer Smith on Sanford and Son, and as the patriarch Lester Jenkins, the husband of Marla Gibbs's character, on 227....
) – 2:00 - "To Know Her Is to Love Her" (Phil SpectorPhil SpectorPhillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
) – 3:01 - "Shimmy Shake" (Joe SouthJoe SouthJoe South is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Career:...
and Billy Land) – 2:16 - "I Remember YouI Remember You (1941 song)"I Remember You" is a popular song. The music was written by Victor Schertzinger, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1941.The song was one of several introduced in the movie The Fleet's In...
" (Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
and Victor SchertzingerVictor SchertzingerVictor L. Schertzinger was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include Paramount on Parade , Something to Sing About with James Cagney, and the first two "Road" pictures Road to Singapore and Road to Zanzibar...
) – 1:55