Assorted Beatles links

- Paul: "… when she (Yoko) turned up at the studio and sat in the middle of us, doing nothing I still admit now that we were all cheesed off." Cheesed off! The quote comes from an interview Paul did with Q. The British mag's most recent issue celebrates The Beatles' 50th anniversary.

- Which bassist had the largest influence on Macca? Motown's James Jamerson.

- Ray Connolly on Paul and his mother, Mary.

- Paul will be featured on the score for Michel Gondry’s upcoming film, Mood Indigo. He contributed bass parts to several instrumental compositions.

- Paul has a new album of his own in the works, and three of the tracks were produced by Mark Ronson.

- Read about Paul’s original plan for “Yesterday.”

- Peter Brown, friend and assistant to Brian Epstein and a former Apple Corps executive, reflects on life with The Beatles.

- Via Slate, "photos from the early days of Beatlemania."

- Rolling Stone’s Jody Rosen on Please Please Me: “It captures the group at its scruffiest and most 'bar band' – it is a document, as Lennon once said, of the Beatles before they were "the 'clever' Beatles."

- And here are 10 facts about PPM.

- Lastly, a copy of Sgt. Pepper’s that was autographed by all four Beatles just sold for nearly $300,000. Madness!

BBC doc: "1962 - Love Me Do"

(If the video is removed, go here.)

"Love Me Do" turns 50

Last Friday marked the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles' debut single, "Love Me Do." Because no Beatles-related anniversary goes by unobserved - especially when a weighty number like 50 is involved - the Internet erupted with commentaries and commemorations. A handful of them are below. Enjoy.

- "The day the 60s began"

- "The Beatles: a trigger for a musical revolution" (Here you'll find an article from June of 1963 that was published in The Guardian. Hip and highbrow London, meet sweaty and seedy Liverpool. The journalist describes Ringo as "a kind of talking Harpo Marx figure." Spot-on.)

- "How the Beatles' Love Me Do began the transformation of British music"

- "The Beatles at 50: From Fab Four to fabulously wealthy"

- "The Beatles: All you need is luck"

- "The Beatles in charts and infographics"

"The world's only operatic rockabilly singer"

"I used to listen to a group called The Beatles; do you remember them? The very first record I ever had by them was called 'Please Please Me,' and that was written for Roy Orbison. If you slow that song right down, you can hear Roy Orbison in it. And that's the story."

So says Elvis Costello during the closing credits of A Black and White Night, the gorgeously shot 1988 concert special that spotlights the incomparable, groundbreaking talent that was Roy Orbison. It's among my favorite concert movies, and I watched it last night for probably the ninth or tenth time. As Costello suggests, The Beatles were huge admirers of Orbison and operated under his influence early in their career (go here for more). In the 1980s, George and Orbison even collaborated as members of the Traveling Wilburys.

Capturing a master singer-songwriter at work, A Black and White Night underscores just how influential Orbison was. He is joined by Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, James Burton, Jennifer Warnes, and other devotees to perform his indelible songs. The supporting cast is an astounding collection of stars - many legends in their own right - and yet they all happily play second-fiddle (or lower) to that melancholy man with the black sunglasses and heavenly three-octave voice.

The joy shown onstage by these folks says it all. There's the shit-eating grin on Tom Waits' face at the rousing conclusion of "Mean Woman Blues;" there's the eager, daughterly affection conveyed by Raitt, lang, and Warnes as they supply backup vocals; and most memorably, there's the recurring sight of Bruce Springsteen - brawny, brash Bruce Springsteen - reduced to a puddle of boyish glee. In the presence of one of his heroes, Springsteen wears a reverence and elation on his face that couldn't be more genuine. As he trades guitar solos with Burton and Orbison during "Ooby Dooby," he occasionally looks up at them with the expression of a young boy excitedly seeking approval from his father. You've never seen the Boss quite like this.

It's all for Roy, and if you don't understand why, watch A Black and White Night and let Orbison's mesmerizing, immortal voice work its magic; it will transport you. Though most of the songs - like "Only the Lonely, "Dream Baby," "Oh, Pretty Woman," and more - are deserving classics, I'll highlight "In Dreams," because it's a pop gem as unorthodox as it is beautiful. Like other songs by Orbison, it has no verse-bridge-chorus structure to speak of. It just flows, wondrously following the desires and whims of Orbison's sad, dreamy vocal. As Jennifer Warnes observes at the end of the concert, it's "timeless stuff."

*The quote in the title comes from J.D. Souther.

More "Please Please Me"

Only by sheer coincidence did I post my collection of Please Please Me haiku on the same day - today - of the 48th anniversary of the album's release in the UK.

"Please Please Me" ...

... in haiku form.

1) "I Saw Her Standing There"
2) "Misery"
3) "Anna (Go to Him)"
4) "Chains"
5) "Boys"
6) "Ask Me Why"
7) "Please Please Me"
8) "Love Me Do"
9) "P.S. I Love You"
10) "Baby It's You"
11) "Do You Want to Know a Secret"
12) "A Taste of Honey"
13) "There's a Place"
14) "Twist and Shout"

Friday haiku - "Twist and Shout"

Hoarse but vigorous,
John's voice powers this cover -
it's pure rock 'n' roll!

Thursday haiku - "There's a Place"

The "place" is John's mind,
where he is free from sadness
and can bask in love.

Wednesday haiku - "A Taste of Honey"

A quaint pop standard,
"Honey" shows one side of Paul:
the twee balladeer.

Tuesday haiku - "Do You Want to Know a Secret"

A dreamy ditty
that John composed and George sang,
"Do" has Disney roots.

Monday haiku - "Baby It's You"

"I cry over you",
moans John on this soulful cut
pinched from the Shirelles.

Sunday haiku - "P.S. I Love You"

It's a "letter song" -
"Keep all my love forever" -
that Paul wrote and sang.

Thursday haiku - "Love Me Do"

The Fabs' first single,
"Love" gave the band something prized:
a taste of success.

Wednesday haiku - "Please Please Me"

"Please" shot up the charts,
becoming the band's first song
to hit number one.

Tuesday haiku - "Ask Me Why"

Pleasant and perky,
and much in debt to Motown,
"Ask" tells of glad tears.

Monday haiku - "Boys"

A Ringo-led romp,
this cover raised some eyebrows:
why "Boys" and not "Girls"?

Sunday haiku - "Chains"

A girl-group cover
that finds George as the frontman,
"Chains" is cheeky fun.

Saturday haiku - "Anna (Go to Him)"

John's vocal is key,
as it bathes this soul classic
in pain and passion.

Friday haiku - "Misery"

Thick with self-pity,
"Misery" accents John's touch
more than it does Paul's.

Wednesday haiku - "I Saw Her Standing There"

With its brisk count-in,
"There" opens the Fabs' debut
in dynamic form.