The Day the Beatles became THE BEATLES

 

As far as I am concerned, August 18, 1962, is the day that The Beatles became the band that I love and adore.  It was on this very day 60 years ago that Ringo Starr first officially played with John, Paul and George.   Sadly there are not any photographs of this historic occasion.  However, you can visit Port Sunlight and see the sign on the wall on the outside of the building like I did with my mom in 2017.  

The 45th anniversary celebration of Junior's Farm - A Review

On Sunday, June 2, 2019, I went to Cookeville, Tennessee, to celebrate in the 45th anniversary of Junior's Farm.     A wonderful fan named, Dan Ealey organized the entire event.  When Dan was 16, he was able to convince a magazine to send him press credentials to interview Paul while he was in Nashville.   Dan discovered that Paul and the rest of Wings were staying at Putman's Farm in nearby Lebanon and was able to spend three amazing weeks with the members of Wings

Linda, Paul, and Dan on Junior's Farm   Photo belong to Dan Ealey.

To celebrate the 45th anniversary, Dan organized a celebration.   The special guest of honor at the festival was Geoff Britton, the Wings drummer during 1974. 


The event took place at the community center.  It started with some live music by a few local musicians that just play songs on their guitars.   Some Beatles, Wings, and songs from the 1960s.   They were very good and talented. 

The next part was my favorite, there was a Q &A with Geoff Britton and Dan Ealey. 

Geoff Britton talks about being down on Junior's Farm 

Dan told some of his stories of hanging out with Jimmy, Denny, and Geoff and meeting Paul and Linda (and how little Heather was doing security and asked him questions).      Geoff told some great stories including one about how the mailbox on the farm exploded.   He explained how he auditioned for Wings and what it was like in the studio with Paul.    Great NEW stories about Paul are always a welcome change.   A surprise guest came out -- it was one of Junior's sons who had some memories to share as well.  It was really a great conversation.

Dan had brought along his bass guitar that he gave to Paul McCartney.   Paul played the guitar while he was rehearsing at the farm, but gave it back to Dan when he left to go back to London. 

Geoff then played with Dan's band.  They played a variety of songs from the 1960s, including a few Beatles numbers.   Of course, the concert ended with a great version of "Junior's Farm."

After the concert, there was a meet and greet with Geoff where I was able to get him to sign my Wingspan book and a couple of photos and pose for a photograph.

Geoff was a very friendly, humble, kind man.   He is a great drummer and has a great memory for his time with Wings.   He has not publically spoken about being in Wings for a very long time and I am not sure if he will be doing any more guest appearances.    However, if you are a Paul McCartney and Wings fan, then you need to hear him talk.    It was a great time!

By the way:  I tried to find Junior's Farm itself to get a photo of the gates and the house, but I was unable to locate it.   It isn't an advertised location. 

The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Museum - A Review (2018)

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland 2018 (photo by Sara Schmidt)

I was the proud recipient of a grant to travel to Cleveland, Ohio to do research for my upcoming book about the Beatles' fan clubs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Archives.     I spent Tuesday-Friday during the day digging through old scrapbooks, files, books, and databases for Beatles information for the book.      However, my evenings were free and the library wasn't open on Saturday, so I took the opportunity to meet up with the girls from WALHFMF and go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum to see the Beatles stuff.


The museum changed around the Beatles section recently and it has some great Beatles items to see in person.

Flower jacket that John wore frequently in 1967 (photo by Sara Schmidt)

Jacket John wore during the 1966 tour!!  (Photo by Sara Schmidt)

The piano that was in the Asher house (photo by Sara Schmidt)

Some John items (guitar was used in Double Fantasy) 

It was very John-heavy this time in the museum.    Ringo's drumsticks were on display and a classic Beatles 1963 suit of George's but it seemed to have more John items.   Now, I personally wouldn't be complaining about this because John is my favorite, but if I was a George, Paul or Ringo fan, I would be a little disappointed by the lack of recognition. 

Right next to the exhibit, is a wall of small screens.   This is a great documentary about each of the Beatles albums.   All of the key players are shown talking about the songs and albums.   There isn't any new information, but I did spot a couple "new" photographs and it is well worth the time to sit on the benches nearby and watch from Please Please Me to Let It Be.

There is a special exhibit going on right now called "Stay Tuned: Rock on TV."  I really enjoyed it.   It is all about rock music and television from variety shows to MTV -- everything is covered (including cartoons).    Beatle fans will want to check out the Ed Sullivan section on the 4th floor right behind this huge television set.    The guitar John Lennon used on the Sullivan show is displayed (and was hard to photograph) as well as a few other items.

Go up to the 5th floor and you will find the clothing Ringo wore on Saturday Night Live in 1984

If you find yourself in Cleveland this summer, it is well worth going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.    There is a lot of things to see and interesting films to watch as well as plenty of Beatles content to keep you happy.   

We went into a dream

I am sure many of you are like me and have been to Liverpool and went on a Beatles tour.   If you haven't had the good fortune of doing that, it is something that is on your bucket list.    And if you have gone or will be going, you MUST book a tour with the best tour guide in Liverpool, Jackie Spencer.    I have told you all about Jackie before.    She is the greatest because she is a real, true Beatles fan.   George is her favorite.   There is nothing better than going a Beatles tour with someone that loves the band as much as you do.

Part of the tour includes going down to the dock and seeing the extra large Beatles statue.    No one ever thinks they will meet a Beatle on a Beatles tour in Liverpool.    But it never hurts to daydream about it    That dream came true to the wonderful fans that were on Jackie's tour the day Paul and James Corden came into town.    They just happened to have been at the Beatles statues at the right time.     I asked them to share a little bit about what they saw and thought while it all went down.

Hi Sara, it was an incredible moment of good luck for us all! Jackie was just finishing a tour with myself, my husband John (we are from Washington state), my sister in law and her husband (Susie and Nacho Ramirez from California). Since we were all there, here are all of our thoughts, if you don’t mind:

Myself:
I was thing about the statues and how they must’ve felt leaving their home town. We were leaving Liverpool the next day so Jackie really had us thinking about it. Paul came walking up, I saw all of the cameras and ran across the front of him to get some pictures! I just kept thinking I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it! And I’m pretty sure I squealed a little

John:
My initial thought when he hopped out of the car was that I couldn’t believe it and it took my breath away. This can’t be happening I said to myself several times.

Susie:
Our hearts and minds were completely immersed in Beatlemania having just done Jackie’s tour. Then to be standing at the statue of them leaving, and we were leaving, up walks Sir Paul larger than life! I thought wow! What a fulfilling moment.

Nacho:
It was unbelievable that he was there in his home town and so cool to be seeing him there in his home town!

We also felt like “somebody spoke and” we “went into a dream”!!

Paul's visit to Cuba in 2000

On January 14, 2000 Paul McCartney and some members of his family traveled from a winter holiday in the Caribbean to visit Cuba.   While there he did a variety of sight seeing, but a guy gets hungry and so he stopped at the El Morro resturnant which is located near Santigo. 

He did the usual -- ate his meal outdoors at a table that had a nice very of the water.   Finished his meal and posed for a photo for the staff at the resturnant, signed a few autographs and went on his way for more fun on holiday.    I would guess that Paul McCartney didn't think anything else about this meal ever again.

However --  the El Morro resturnant will never forget their famous visitor.   The scooped up  his place setting and saved it, saved the chair he sat in and along with an autograph  put these things on display for all to see.   Now they  have taken it a step farther!    The place where Paul once sat now has a Paul McCartney statue in the seat.   There is also a chair with a replica of Paul's autograph on it. 

All of this is obviously to help with tourism.   Who wouldn't want to get their photo snapped with a Paul McCartney statue?    And to see these things, you have to go inside the El Morro and if you are going inside, then you might as well have something to eat.    I wonder if whatever Paul orderd is now called "The Macca" dish. 

Sara's Beatles travels in the Netherlands

Like many people, I enjoy to travel.   I just love seeing new places and experiencing the culture as well as meeting the people.    Part of my traveling experience is to track town Beatles things wherever I go.    

Last month I went to Liverpool, London and the Netherlands.    I have reported about Liverpool and London in the past, and so I am not sure if anyone wants the whole "what I did on my summer vacation" to those places again.    I can tell you that I had an amazing time.   We celebrated Paul's 75th birthday with a bus load of likeminded fans in Liverpool,  went to the Whirral,  spent time in the Cavern Club and the typical Beatles sites.    In London we crossed Abbey Road, went into the Abbey Road shop, had lunch with a Beatles friend, went on a great Beatles tour and got to go inside of 3 Savile row.   

The last part of our trip took us to Amsterdam and since it was a new experience, I thought I would share a little bit about Beatles traveling in Holland. 

The Netherlands is a very small country, especially if you are from the United States.     We stayed in Amsterdam, but I am pretty sure we saw the entire country.         It was fairly easy to get around in Amsterdam because they had a tram that you rode around the city.   As long as you knew where you were going once you got off the tram, you were all set.  

Everyone in Amsterdam rides a bike.    I have not been a bike since I was a kid.   Here in the United States, bikes are sort of thought of as a child's toy and is not a major mode of transportation for most adults.    There were bikes everywhere and they seem to have more rights than people walking.   Just something to remember if you are ever in Amsterdam.

There are a lot of museums in Amsterdam, but the only one that we went to was the Anne Franke House.    If you are ever in Holland, you must see the Anne Frank House.  It is an unforgettable experience.

 One of the first places we went was to the Amsterdam Hard Rock Cafe.    I make a point of going to the Hard Rock at any city where I am staying.      They did not have a lot of Beatles things on display, but they did have this box that John and Yoko gave out to friends for Christmas in 1980.  

If you are a Beatles fan in Amsterdam you have to go to the Amsterdam Hilton, right?     The outside of the hotel looks very much like it does in the photographs of the hotel from the 1969 Bedin.    I am told that room 702 is decorated in John and Yoko decor.    I tried to get into the room myself.   It costs over $1000 a night to stay there, so that was out of the question.    I went to the front desk and asked the woman there and she told me that they were too busy at the time to take guests up to the suite, but I could come back at 11pm.    It just wasn't possible for me to return so late.   I asked her if I could just go up to the door.   To use the life, you have to have a keycard.    She again told me no and so I left the Amsterdam Hilton with some disappointment.

Speaking of hotels, there was a record shop near ours that had a big Sgt. Pepper display in the front window.    Look what was #2 that week!   Who would have ever thought that the Beatles would be back on the charts after 50 years!

Something else we did that had a Beatles connection was go on a canal boat ride.   As I am sure you recall, the Beatles (without Ringo) did this in 1964 when they were on their world tour.    It was fun to imagine the streets and bridges filled with fans as we took our one hour boat trip around the canals. 

We also made a visit to Alkmaar.    Alkmaar is a quick train trip from Amsterdam--about 30 minutes.   Here is my advise if you want to go to Alkmaar from Amsterdam.   Don't use the ticket machines at the Central Station.   Go to a live person and purchase your ticket.    The machines are for people with the "Dutch card," which if you are from the Netherlands, you don't have. 

Why did we go to Alkmaar?   It wasn't for the cheese---it was for the Beatles museum!   There is a large Beatles museum in Alkmaar.   Once you leave the train station, look for blue signs that say "Beatles museum"  and follow them across a bridge and you are there. 

The Beatles Museum is the personal collection of the fan that runs that place.   I was impressed by how organized it was.    Everything is laid out by album.  So anything that has to do with " With the Beatles" is grouped together, etc.    There is just so much original Beatles memorabilia to look at.  If you go, plan on spending well over an hour to look at everything.    "Let it Be" was showing on a big screen in the back and there was a lot of stuff for sale, including a great selection of "Dutch imports" (which aren't imports since they are in Holland!  I got a good laugh out of that).      My only issue with the museum is that a few of the items on display there (Ringo's Abbey road jacket, Paul's Shea Stadium jacket and George's first guitar to name a few) were labeled as being the original, when I am certain that they are reproductions.    

The last day we were in the Netherlands, we spent on a tour with Guus and Gabreilla of Beatles International.     They couldn't have been nicer or more helpful.    They drove us all around Holland and we saw Beatles things along the way as well as plenty of wooden clogs and windmills.      We went to Blokker and saw where the Beatles (again without Ringo) performed in 1964.   They have a monument build to honor this occasion of the Beatles' performance. 

Another one of the really amazing sites we saw was the WWII memorial where Alan Williams took the Beatles right before they went to Hamburg as well as the store where John stole the harmonica.

The trip ended to a visit to a Beatle friend, Ed's house.   Ed is one of the co-writer of the A is for Apple series, which I contributed to.   It is great to meet Beatles people in person after knowing of them online for so long.   Ed has a great Beatles collection and it was  a real treat to see it in person.

As you can see, the Netherlands has a lot to offer Beatle fans.    I know it isn't on the top of the list like Liverpool or London, but I think it is well worth the time to go and check out these sites as well. 

60 years of John and Paul!

Today marks a wonderful day in Beatles history.    It was 60 years ago TODAY that John Lennon and his band, The Quarry Men performed at the the church fete and Paul McCartney was in the audience.  Paul met the guys inside the church, played a little "20 Flight Rock" and well--history was made!


I was lucky enough to be at St. Peter's church two weeks ago.   Here are the photos I took of the area.  The stage from the hall is no longer there---instead it is in the Liverpool Museum down on the dock area.  It is really difficult to photograph the stage, but I did see it.

Photographs on display from July 6, 1957

Since a photograph wasn't taken of John and Paul meeting artist, Eric Cash painted this amazing depiction of what it was like.  Look at the details!

Here I am standing where the stage was back in 1957

Jackie Spencer shows the Rose Queen cape that was worn by the Rose Queen of 1957.

The secrets of Karuizawa and John Lennon

In my forever search for new content for this blog, I came across an article about where John Lennon and his family visited in Japan in 1979 that I thought you all would find interesting.   

John, Sean and Yoko with the owner of the Rizabno

The Secrets of Karuizawa and John Lennon

By Jonathan Hewitt

Karuizawa is a small town in the mountains of central Japan. It was discovered early last century by missionaries looking for somewhere to relax out of the sweltering summer heat of Tokyo. Before that it had been a small stop-over on the Nakasendo, the old postal road between Kyoto and the capital. Over the years it's become a popular mountain resort as a getaway, and in the forests that surround it there are many small and enjoyable tea shops and trinket stores.

One family, the Ono family, had a summer house here too. And they used to pass the days cycling around the woods and hills, visiting lakes and waterfalls to simply enjoy the peace and tranquility. And then one of them, Yoko, married an English man. She used to bring him to her favourite tea shop here, Rizanbo, and he became friends with the owners. A year after the photograph posted along with this article was taken he was shot five times by a complete stranger on the streets of New York. Over a cup of coffee there today I sat and thought "what a waste".

The Rizanbo today, which remains unchanged

John Lennon enjoyed staying in Karuizawa. He became almost anonymous there, being more than five hours drive from Tokyo in the days before the highways shrank the country. I often think of Yoko Ono as curiously English and find it easy to forget that although they met in London she is Japanese and her family lived in Japan. Walking around the town there are a number of small bars and cafes with pictures of him on the walls simply having a normal day. In Karuizawa, he became a regular guy again.

Sean and Yoko went back to visit with the owner

The staff at the Rizanbo are very friendly and the lady who befriended them still works there today from time to time. To find Rizanbo you can take two separate routes. Hiring a bicycle in Karuizawa you can trace the route John, Yoko and Sean would take. Cycling west along Route 18, the old Nakasendo, turn left into the forest when you see the Karuizawa Junior High School. Follow the road and after nearly a kilometer you'll find it on your right. Alternatively if you're driving, after coming off the highway and scaling the mountain pass, turn left onto the new Route 18, the Karuizawa By-pass. Follow it for a few kilometers until you see a Shell gas-station. Turn right here and follow the road for a short distance and you'll see it on your left. And if you have a guitar, sit on the porch, enjoy your tea and sing Norwegian Wood.

Beatles Traveling: Report of my trip to Cleveland, Ohio

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame photo taken by Sara Schmidt

Last week my mom and I went to Cleveland, Ohio for a short trip.    The main purpose of the trip was to go into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame library and archives so I could do some research for my book.    However, I wanted to make sure that you all knew what Beatles stuff is currently in Cleveland if you want to take a trip of your own, or if you live too far away and would just like to know what is there.

Here I am at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame library.  Photo taken by Coral Schmidt

My first stop was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame library and archives.   This is not located where the museum is and you will need to drive there or take a cab.  (Side note do NOT use Yellow cabs of Cleveland---I know Paul used them in 1976, but they are terrible!!!).    Anyone can go inside and read the books.   There are so many Beatles books!   Shelves upon shelves.   It was really, really neat to see the books that friends such as Chuck Gunderson, Robert Rodriguez, Bruce Spizer, Candy Leonard and many others have written and are on the shelves there.     To see the archives, you have to make an appointment ahead of time.  They will issue you a library card and you have to watch a short  powerpoint about handling the materials.     The archives are awesome.   You wouldn't believe all of the Beatles' news clippings, never before seen photos (I saw some from Detroit 1966 that I just LOVED!), Bob Bonis' paper archives, Rolling Stone's archives...all about the Beatles.    What is sad to me, is that many of the newspaper clipping are deteriorating and are in bad shape.   They aren't organized or anything.  Just a bunch of clippings in a manilla folder.    I wish I could have a job organizing these documents.   Wouldn't that be awesome?

Yellow Sub things at the Cleveland Hard Rock Cafe  Photo taken by Sara Schmidt

After spending the afternoon as the library, we had diner at my favorite vacation restaurant, the Hard Rock Cafe.    There isn't a whole lot of Beatles stuff in this Hard Rock.  Just some Yellow Submarine things on one wall.   But the food was good, as always.


The next day was a full day for us.   The first thing we did was go see the "Christmas Story" house and museum.   Since that isn't Beatles related in any way, I won't go into details about it.  But if you like the movie "The Christmas Story," then you really need to go to the house and museum.  It was fun!

The it was straight to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame museum.   I had been there in 2001, but things have changed since then.  #1 being Ringo has been inducted into the Hall of Fame just this year!  That made it pretty exciting!    After getting our tickets, we went down to find Ringo Starr's suit from "Goodnight Vienna."   Now that was amazing!!!

My mom, (Ringo's #1 fan) next to the Ringo display.   Photo taken by Sara Schmidt

We quickly realized that we just wanted to see the Beatles things and we weren't going to focus on any of the other displays until we saw the Beatles stuff.  So we went off and found it.   I was really amazed by all of the items on display.    And it really hit me---I spend a lot of my time doing Beatles things, and I would guess that the readers of this blog do as well.   The Beatles are just part of my life.  But here was their stuff preserved under glass and being stared at by all of these people.   The Beatles aren't just MY thing---they are everyone's thing!   To me seeing John Lennon's Sgt. Pepper suit in person is incredibly cool because I have seen all of the photos, but there it was under glass because it has historical importance.   I don't know, it just struck me.   Here are some of the amazing Beatles things on display currently at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

John's guitar from 1965 with setlist still taped on it.  Photo by Sara Schmidt

John's All you need is love jacket.  Photo by Sara Schmidt

John's Sgt. Pepper suit.  Photo by Sara Schmidt

John's "You are Here" t-shirt from 1972.   Photo by Sara Schmidt

The mellotron used on Strawberry Fields Forever.  Photo by Sara Schmidt

My mom with Ringo's drums.  Photo by Sara Schmidt

Ringo's jacket worn in the Strawberry Fields promo.  Photo by Sara Schmidt

John's "Rock n Roll" jacket.  Photo by Coral Schmidt

John's "rooftop" guitar.  Photo by Coral Schmidt

The orange suit George wore to the Yellow Submarine premiere.  Photo by Coral Schmidt

As you see---lots of Beatles stuff on display.   But which Beatle was missing?   Yes....where's the Paul clothing?   The only Paul item on display was a Grammy award given to Wings.  I understand that Paul still uses his guitars, but really---can't he find one of those knitted sweater vests to give to the museum?   It just stood out to me that Paul doesn't have really anything there.


Of course there is much more to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum than the Beatles.  There are several films that you can watch about the induction and who is in the rock hall.   However, these are older films.  You do see clips of Paul, George and Ringo.   The one that goes year by year does not have 2015 in it yet.    But in the room as the video, there is a wall of "signatures" of everyone who is inducted.  This is the only place where I found anything about Brian Epstein.

photo taken by Sara Schmidt

I enjoyed the display about radio and was happy to listen to the MC of Beatlefest, Terri Hemmert on the headphones.   I also got a kick out of the Murrary the K shirt.  The Rolling Stone magazine exhibit was really neat as well.

photo taken  by Sara Schmidt

If you have a chance to see the things in the Rock n Roll hall of fame, it is well worth it for Beatle fans.   They have some great Beatles items available at the gift shop as well.   Speaking of the gift shop, be on the looking out soon for a contest where you can win some souvenirs I picked up at the gift shop just for this blog!