Who took this photo?

 

This photo was taken on July 9, 1969.  Cathy Sarver is the girl in the background.   Anyone know who actually took this photo?   

Goodnight John

Photo by Cathy Sarver 

George will bring the wine

photo by Cathy Sarver

Beatles Stories - DVD review

I first saw the film Beatles Stories at its premiere at the Fest for Beatle Fans in Chicago this past August. I wanted to watch it again before  I wrote this review.

This DVD takes what I do here at this blog to the next level. My original idea was to have a blog that focused on the photos and stories of fans, just regular people from around the world, who met one or more of the Beatles. It is a great idea and has been very well-received. Well, this DVD really takes that as a basis and kicks it up a notch. 

Beatle fan and songwriter Seth Swirsky made this film by deciding to take a camera and film individuals who had a story to share about knowing, working with, or meeting one or more of the Beatles.  And as simple as that, Seth interviews a variety of famous people, or people that were within the Beatle's larger circle of contemporaries, and as they share a story about the Beatles.  The results were amazing!

How this guy, Seth, was able to interview all of these people is beyond me.  These interviews only last about 4-5 minutes each.  There were stories from people such as George Martin, Victor Spinetti, Davy Jones, Nancy Andrews, May Pang, Henry Winkler, Jackie DeShannon, Jack Douglas, Art Garfunkel, Fred Seaman,  Klaus Voorman, and many other people.  And while a large majority of the people who talked I had heard speak at Beatles conventions, the stories that were told on this DVD were all new to me!   

Some of my favorites included Nany Lee Andrews telling the story of when Ringo proposed to her, May Pang telling who her favorite Beatle was (it wasn't John), Henry "the Fonz" Winkler meeting with Paul McCartney, and the funniest story is from Jack Douglas from the recording of Double Fantasy.

Art Garfunkel also confirms that John was very seriously considering going to New Orleans and working with Paul McCartney in 1975. While this has been known from May Pang and a post card John sent to someone around that time, it is very interesting that he talked to Artie about it.

By far my favorite interview was with Cathy Sarver.  As you all know, Cathy was one of the Apple Scruffs.  She shows many of her rare photographs and tells about George writing the Apple Scruffs song.  She then reads the letter George wrote to three of the girls (including her).   I was in tears when I first saw it!   So wonderful.

Screenshot of Ringo with Cathy in the background

Taken from the Beatle Stories web page.  Cathy shows off her Beatles photos.

This DVD was only $15 when I bought it from the Fest, so it is reasonably priced.   It is well worth the time to track down and watch.   If you like the stories I share on this blog, then you will enjoy this film for sure.

The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this on DVD.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/3V8hHR2

Bushy

photo:  Cathy Sarver

10 years without George

First I want to say that I purposely waited until late in the day on November 29 to post my tribute in memory of George. I did that because while I know that George passed away on November 29, 2001, it wasn't until the morning of November 30, 2001 that I heard the news. As I have said in the past, the day I learned of George's death was my last day working at a job that I was anxious to leave. I had quit on September 12, 2001 after realizing that life was too short to be stuck doing something you dislike. But this particular job had a 2 MONTH notice (instead of the traditional 2 week notice) and with my accumulated sick days and whatnot, November 30 was my last day. On December 1 I was going to venture out into a new phase of my life. Somehow George's death at that particular moment of my life made me think about how George also was going onto his next phase of the cycle of life.

Having a Beatles blog, I felt like I had to do something great in honor of George. "People expect it, Sara", I was telling myself all day. And I had a few different ideas. I looked for letters from fans written after his death and found very little. The photos I personally took of the George Harrison memorial wall at Beatlefest in 2002 didn't look as great as I remembered them.

Words cannot express how I feel about George. George isn't my favorite Beatle. I have jokingly referred to him as "my fourth favorite Beatle." Because I love and adore George Harrison, and he is one of my favorite musicians ever. I think George would have found that to be a funny statement. It actually angered me that after George's death people that I know were never fans started calling him their favorite Beatle. But now, 10 years later, I don't care.

Anyhow....I am leaving you with some excerpts from a Rolling Stone magazine article written in by Fred Goodman along with two fan photos, one of which was taken by Lizzie Bravo and the other I think was taken by Cathy Sarver (although I might be incorrect about that one.)

Das and Goswami, the Krishnas who prayed and kept him company till the moment of his death, say Harrison's humor was intact until he died. 'There was some great jokes,' says Das. 'He's always been a super comedian.' 'He faced the end with great humor and courage,' said Dr. Lederman, who treated Harrison. 'He believed that death is part of life and had no fear of death. sometimes it made those around him uncomfortable. But he was totally fearless about it.


In early November Harrison received treatment on Staten Island. Throughout, he remained in good spirits, even working on "Brainwashed". And it was there on November 12th that he shared a final reunion with his former band mates, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. According to the British tabloid, Sunday People, Harrison was in high humor throughout lunch, recalling early adventures from their days together, including how he had thought he fellow Beatles were asleep when he lost his virginity in their shared Hamburg hotel room, only to have them cheer and clap when he had finished. Starr, who had flown in from Boston, where his thirty-one year old daughter is being treated for a brain tumor, left after lunch when Harrison went for treatment (and we all know what was shared between Ringo and George at that moment, especially after seeing the Harrison documentary this past October) but McCartney insisted on remaining, spending the rest of the afternoon with the Harrisons. "It was a spirited affair," said Lederman, "not a somber one. There were lots of laughs and lots of fun. There were tears, but George remained very much a man of dignity. At the end, after both Paul and Ringo had left, he was fine and calm. He was a very happy man. This meeting meant so much to him."

In the bag

So I got a "new" John photo and I noticed something that I have seen a few times before in photos of John and Yoko from 1968. It is a green velvet bag. If I only saw it on Yoko, I would have assumed that it was her purse, but I also see John carrying it on his shoulder in this photo. Being the Beatles geek that I tend to be, I can't help but wonder: why did they carry this bag and what did they keep in it?

Singing on the step

Here is the 2nd fan photo I have seen of a Beatle singing to a fan that is waiting on the steps at the studio for the Beatles. I have seen a much smaller version of this photo, and it looked like John was yelling at this fan! But after seeing this bigger one and also reading a little about it, I have learned that John was singing to her! If you recall, I have posted a photo that showed a tanned George singing with a guitar to Carol Bedford. Makes you wonder how often the guys came out and sang to people. :) It is a nice thought, isn't it?

Cathy and Abbey Road

There are only two known complete autographs of the Abbey Road album. Complete meaning that all four Beatles signed the album cover. The first one was given to our very own lovely Lizzie Bravo. The UK version of the album had a slick cover and it made it hard to sign, so from what I have seen of the autographs, it looks like the guys sort of carved there name into the cover. I am sure Lizzie can tell us a little more about that.

The second one was given to Cathy Sarver, who is a friend of Lizzies and has commented on this blog. Here I have a photo of Cathy's autographed album. The stain near George's autograph was caused by Cathy's cat peeing on the album. haha! I guess that cat wasn't an Abbey Road fan! And also here are the 4 photos of Cathy and the Beatles. Cathy is the only fan from the 1960's that I know of that took the time to ask each Beatle for an individual photo with each Beatle. What a treasure for her! And look at how happy Ringo looks posing with Cathy! I think that is one of my favorite Ringo fan photos! But then again.....Cathy is a Ringo fan!

A Paul 1968 upgrade

I previously had this photo super small. I am not sure if I even ever posted it on this blog because it was so tiny! But I just now found it in a normal size. This photo was taken on August 29, 1968 by (I think ) Cathy Sarver.

Cathy Sarver?

So this name of "Cathy Sarver" keeps popping up when I am hunting down Beatles fan photos. I decided to do a little detective work and see what I could find out. First of all I found this wonderful photo of Ms. Sarver with Ringo! And you can see that Ringo is wearing his 1966 U.S. tour jacket! I love it.

From what I can tell, Cathy Sarver was an Apple Scuff in the late 1960's. She is from the United States and spent time hanging around the studios and such waiting around for the Beatles to show up. These days she is living back in the States and is still a Beatles fan. She goes to various conventions and shows off her extensive Beatles photo collection! (DROOL!!!) and autographs and speaks. Once she even spoke along side with Leslie (remember her of the lost girl tapes?).

So Cathy Sarver, if you are reading this blog I want to say that I would love to hear any and all of your stories and see any of your photos. I am insanely jealous of you but it is in a good way!