When manager Brian Epstein got Little Richard to top a bill of twelve acts at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton in October of 1962, only a week after the release of Love Me Do, the Beatles were awed to be in the presence of one of their idols. And Paul took the opportunity to get a one-on-one tutorial from the master himself.
Long Tall Sally holds the distinction of being part of the group's repertoire longer than any other song - ten years, in fact. Paul reportedly began singing it during the earliest days of the Quarry Men in 1957. And the boys chose it to close their final show at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966.
The earliest performance of the number that I have is on the Star Club tapes from Hamburg in December of 1962. The band plays the song at a breakneck pace, almost daring Paul to keep up vocally. By contrast, the performance on Live at the BBC from a Pop Go the Beatles broadcast in July of 1963 seems relatively tame.
The group chose to record the number on March 1st, 1964 at the sessions for the soundtrack of their first film. One source suggests that they were considering it to close out the concert sequence in the movie, but their Beatlemania-inducing hit She Loves You wound up in that position. The song was used instead as the title track of an EP of all-new recordings.
The track itself is breathtaking - a one-take wonder. With producer George Martin on piano, the band demonstrates its long familiarity with the song, playing it with consummate ease. This is a live-in-the-studio recording every bit as great as Twist and Shout, and possibly even better. Not only does Paul get to show off his screaming vocal technique, but George is in top form for his two guitar solos, and Ringo goes into overdrive on his drum kit, particularly on the tom toms, during the last chorus.
A month and a half later, they pre-taped a recording that they could mime to for their television special Around the Beatles. It lacks the spark of the official version and even omits the second guitar solo. This can be heard on Anthology 1. A somewhat better radio recording from July of '64 for the program Top Gear is available on On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2.
Long Tall Sally served as the closing number at the boy's shows for much of their career after they became world famous, even when the screaming from the fans became so loud that nobody could hear them. An example of this is preserved on the album The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, recorded on August 23rd, 1964.
One of the best that I have in my possession is from a bootleg of the group's appearance in Paris in June of 1965. They use the song as an encore, which was not standard procedure at a Beatles' concert. On this occasion, Paul actually encourages the audience members to clap their hands and stamp their feet before the band launches into a high-octane performance that still leaves the crowd cheering for more.
Only days before that concert, the group had recorded a new number by McCartney called I'm Down, a screaming rocker in the same vein as Long Tall Sally. It would replace the classic cut in the band's late 1965 and most of their 1966 concerts. But as the North American tour progressed and the band's touring days were inevitably coming to an end, their fondness for the Little Richard original resulted in them playing it on a few occasions, right up to the aforementioned last date of their touring career.
If you are looking for their brilliant official recording of Long Tall Sally, it can be found on The Beatles' EP Collection, Rock and Roll Music and Past Masters, Volume One.
Long Tall Sally holds the distinction of being part of the group's repertoire longer than any other song - ten years, in fact. Paul reportedly began singing it during the earliest days of the Quarry Men in 1957. And the boys chose it to close their final show at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966.
The earliest performance of the number that I have is on the Star Club tapes from Hamburg in December of 1962. The band plays the song at a breakneck pace, almost daring Paul to keep up vocally. By contrast, the performance on Live at the BBC from a Pop Go the Beatles broadcast in July of 1963 seems relatively tame.
The group chose to record the number on March 1st, 1964 at the sessions for the soundtrack of their first film. One source suggests that they were considering it to close out the concert sequence in the movie, but their Beatlemania-inducing hit She Loves You wound up in that position. The song was used instead as the title track of an EP of all-new recordings.
The track itself is breathtaking - a one-take wonder. With producer George Martin on piano, the band demonstrates its long familiarity with the song, playing it with consummate ease. This is a live-in-the-studio recording every bit as great as Twist and Shout, and possibly even better. Not only does Paul get to show off his screaming vocal technique, but George is in top form for his two guitar solos, and Ringo goes into overdrive on his drum kit, particularly on the tom toms, during the last chorus.
A month and a half later, they pre-taped a recording that they could mime to for their television special Around the Beatles. It lacks the spark of the official version and even omits the second guitar solo. This can be heard on Anthology 1. A somewhat better radio recording from July of '64 for the program Top Gear is available on On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2.
Long Tall Sally served as the closing number at the boy's shows for much of their career after they became world famous, even when the screaming from the fans became so loud that nobody could hear them. An example of this is preserved on the album The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, recorded on August 23rd, 1964.
One of the best that I have in my possession is from a bootleg of the group's appearance in Paris in June of 1965. They use the song as an encore, which was not standard procedure at a Beatles' concert. On this occasion, Paul actually encourages the audience members to clap their hands and stamp their feet before the band launches into a high-octane performance that still leaves the crowd cheering for more.
Only days before that concert, the group had recorded a new number by McCartney called I'm Down, a screaming rocker in the same vein as Long Tall Sally. It would replace the classic cut in the band's late 1965 and most of their 1966 concerts. But as the North American tour progressed and the band's touring days were inevitably coming to an end, their fondness for the Little Richard original resulted in them playing it on a few occasions, right up to the aforementioned last date of their touring career.
If you are looking for their brilliant official recording of Long Tall Sally, it can be found on The Beatles' EP Collection, Rock and Roll Music and Past Masters, Volume One.
No comments:
Post a Comment