3 Beatles Songs That Predicted the Fab Four's Genius Early On
Recently, rare recordings of The Beatles auditioning for Decca Records in 1962 surfaced in a Vancouver record shop. The store’s owner, Rob Frith, posted a demo clip to Instagram. And that clip proved that even in their earliest days, there was something special about The Beatles. And this was before Ringo Starr joined the band, as Pete Best was The Beatles’ drummer until August 1962.
Even when the Fab Four rolled through pop and R&B standards of the time, the collective of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and eventually Ringo Starr was undeniable—even in its rawest form.
It’s amusing now to think about Decca rejecting The Beatles, but McCartney said in the Anthology autobiography, “We weren’t that good; though there were some quite interesting and original things.”
Here’s a look at three early Beatles songs that showcase what Decca missed.
“Money (That’s What I Want)” from ‘Anthology 1’ (1995)
“Your loving give me a thrill,
But your loving don’t pay my bills.”
Written by Motown founder Berry Gordy and songwriter Janie Bradford, The Beatles’ cover appeared as the final track on With The Beatles in 1963. The album version features piano overdubs by producer George Martin. However, the version included here was recorded live in Stockholm, Sweden, in October 1963. It’s a raucous and distorted garage rocker and foreshadows their proto-punk classic “Helter Skelter”.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Thom Donovan
