Friday, August 24, 2012

Goodbye, Pete Best. Hello, Ringo Starr.

NOTE TO READERS:  Parkland College is sponsoring a Beatles Tour in March 2013.  We'll visit London, Liverpool, and a few spots in-between.  For a complete tour itinerary, go here.

I came across this rare film footage of the Beatles playing "live" in the famous Cavern Club.  Beatles fans will recognize the Cavern Club as the sweaty, grimy, noisy music venue where the Beatles and so many other Liverpool bands honed their skills.

This clip of the Beatles features Ringo on the drums.  Just a week earlier, Pete Best, the Beatles original drummer (and favorite of countless female fans) was ousted from the group.  The lads preferred Ringo, as did the band's new record producer, George Martin.  Mr. Martin was not keen on Pete's drumming.  Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager, was given the task of telling Pete Best he no longer was a Beatle.


The video clip is from 1962.  By the next year, the Beatles would be the toast of the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe.

On December 10, 1963, CBS News showed the US audiences a newsclip of the Beatles.   A few months later, in February 1964, seventy-three million Americans watched the Beatles perform on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

As for Pete Best, some very interesting info here.

Can't help wondering, would the Beatles have been as successful with Pete Best instead of Ringo Starr?


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