New Orleans session

Welcome the Beatles to New Orleans!

Photos of the Beatles performing in New Orleans in 1964 are extremely hard to find.    So what a treat this is to find one and it has all four Beatles in the photograph!   Playing outdoors at a stadium in 1964??  Seems like many people forget that this ever happened.

Alright tonight

Happy Mardi Gras!

Stars over New Orleans

The Tears of a clown

Paul sort of looks like a sad, lonely clown here----and creepy---he looks creepy

Venus and Mars and New Orleans

Wednesday Review: Wings over New Orleans

You most likely visit this blog because you enjoy seeing uncommon photos of the Beatles and reading the stories of people who met the Beatles.  Some of my favorite photos and stories of Paul McCartney have come from the time Paul, Linda, and Wings went to New Orleans, Louisiana, to record the "Venus and Mars" album.   Paul and crew just really seemed happy during that time, and they went out of their way to share kindness with their fans who waited outside of Sea-Saint Studios.

One of those fans was John Taylor, who wrote a book called Wings Over New Orleans. It was released just in time for the session's 40th anniversary. 

The book starts with the story of how John Taylor met Paul and Linda on the first day they were recording and each day thereafter.  He has some nice little antidotes in there that will just put a smile on your face as you are reminded of the true kindness Paul, Linda, Denny, Jimmy, and Joe had for their fans in 1975. But John doesn't just have his story in the book. There are other stories as well of fans who met the famous bass player.  I especially liked the story of the fan that got a ride into the studio with Paul and Linda and the press thought that she was someone important.  When really, Paul had recognized her from being outside the studio and saw her walking and asked if she wanted a ride!   Unbelievable!  There is another great little story about the McCartneys and the Mardi Gras celebration that you can't miss out on.

The stories only take up a small part of the book. I read the entire book in a half hour.  Most of Wings Over New Orleans is full of never-before-seen photographs of Paul and Linda.  These are some photos that will knock you out!   And I love that John published ALL the photos.  This is something Lizzie Bravo and I have talked about before.  Us fans want to see it all.  Even if the photo is blurry, or crooked or had a bunch of heads in the photo---we want to see it.   And John Taylor left in all of the photos, even the "bad" ones.  I love that because it shows a complete story.

Photo by John Taylor and posted with permission

Photo by John Taylor and posted with permission

Photo by John Taylor and posted with permission

This is a must-have book if you are a Wings fan, a Paul McCartney fan, or someone who likes stories and photos of the Beatles during their solo years. I have to say that I believe Wings Over New Orleans  is the best new Beatles book of 2015 so far!    Don't let this little gem pass you by.   

The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this book.  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/4c8jBXU

Paul in New Orleans

A new book is coming out next month by John Taylor that will tell about Paul McCartney and Wings in New Orleans in early 1975.   It will have unseen photos and it appears to be very interesting.   You can see it on amazon.  

So with this upcoming book I went back to the March/April 1975 issue of The White Thing to find this article that was written when the Paul news was brand new.   

'©ImageCollect.com/Globe-Photos

'©ImageCollect.com/Globe-Photos

'©ImageCollect.com\Globe-Photos

Please note that these photographs from from Imagecollect and have been purchased by me to be published on Meet the Beatles for Real.    They are NOT to be taken for you to put on tumblr, facebook, twitter, flickr or any social media or blog.   Thank you.

Paul in New Orleans

The Write Thing

March/April 1975

McCartney always manages to choose such dull places to record his albums, like Lagos, Nigeria during a cholera epidemic and a monsoon (he also managed to get mugged while there), and Dustin Hoffman will never be the same after watching Paul pass out while singing  “Drink to me” for the twentieth time.  But for the ultimate in ho-hum what could exceed New Orleans during the Mardi Gras?  What boring thing can he possibly do next year?

Paul and his entourage arrived in mid-January with a working visa good until March 1 and studio time reserved at Sea-Saint Recording Studio for the rest of January and all of February.    His visa was good for studio work only and not for live performing.   A local man, hired to work with the  band as a technician, said Paul had been considering at least eight other studios, including one in Brazil.  But McCartney chose Sea-Saint because Paul Simon had recommended it to him.  Allen Toussaint, the co-owner, arranged the horn parts on Simon’s last album.   Toussaint was an early rhythm and blues artist in New Orleans, and now works with such stars as Maria Muldaur, The Band, and Ringo Starr, for whom he may write songs, arrange or play during the sessions.   Besides the attraction of Sea-Saint, Paul is here to absorb the unique “New Orleans sounds”, which refers to the style of rhythm and blues that originated in this city.

Paul auditioned several local drummers and keyboard players to add one of each to the band temporarily in order to incorporate elements of a “funky New Orleans sound” in the songs for the new album.  Denny Laine and Jimmy McCullough are still with the band, but Geoff Britton, the drummer, left Wings when he was offered a chance to appear in a karate film and write the soundtrack.  “The breakup had been entirely amicable and Britton is back in England now.”  The new, but temporary drummer during their stay was Joe English, 24, an American from New York.

They recorded every week day, coming in about midafternoon to the studio on Clematis street which was always surrounded by about a hundred fans, photographers, and other assorted gawkers.   Every day he would sign autographs, pose for pictures, as the paper down there put it, “He has been extremely friendly to the throngs of people that have been waiting for him each afternoon at Sea-Saint.  Paul’s warmth and every-present smile have endeared him to the residents of Clematis Street and the crowds of onlookers that greet him.”

Knowing exactly where Paul McCartney was every day and what time, and that the was playing “Mr. Charming-Public-Relations Man” drove me slightly crazy with jealousy and a mad desire to take the next plane to N.O. and if it wouldn’t’ have been for the two hundred dollars in air fare I would have gone too.

The newspapers there also printed where the McCartney’s were staying according to the States Item they were secretly living at Le Richelieu motel on Chartres.  They also drove around town inconspicuously in a Volkswagen or a beat-up Valiant.  One weekend night they went out to hear Professor Longhair (who they said was “fantastic”), a guru of rock n roll piano playing, a Jed’s University Inn on Oak Street.   They went incognito according to the paper, but if they were so “secret” and “incognito” and “Inconspicuous” then how come everyone knows about it?

On February 13 Paul held his first and only press conference (if you could call it that).  The happening took place aboard the excursion boat “Voyageur” with some 100 photographers, reporters, and other “of questionable credentials” jamming the small boat so that whatever side Paul was on the boat tilted 15 degrees into the water!

“The black top-hatted Paul replaced his head cover with a Tuxedo Brass Band hat, then pout a multi-colored beret over that and back to his top hat as he clutched a black cane and danced to the Tuxedo’s “Saints Go Marching In,” upon his hour-and-a-half late arrival at the dock on Canal Street.  On board, Pau smiled the familiar grin, tried to drink his champagne and amiably answered inane questions as his American wife shouted in a British accent, “Throw me something mister!”

“Dressed in a rumpled blue coat, black pants and heavy brown shoes, Paul kept a distracted smile on his face through the whole thing.”

“The McCartneys and their band Wings, were in the studio until about 2 a.m. the night before, working on the album, and then jamming until 5 a.m. with Allen Toussaint and Atlanta recording star Mylon LeFevre.  Linda shows callouses on her hands from playing the organ from the band.”

“Scotching reports that the album had a strong New Orleans flavor to it, McCartney said it sounded more like his music – polished, energetic rock—except for a song called “My Carnival” written the morning of Ash Wednesday.

The reason they decided to spend six weeks in New Orleans was “because we thought it would be warm and because it’s a great musical city and it’s easier to record in a place that’s a little crazy.”  “I doubt that is’ possible the Beatles will ever sing again together.   Everyone’s happy with what he’s doing now.” Said Paul, who said he “occasionally” sees the others.  But he does plan on taking Wings on tour around the U.S.

Marshall Sehorn, the part-owner of Sea-Saint talks about disguising the McCartneys as clowns and their three daughters as fairies on Mardi Gras.   The other Wings were Napoleon (Jimmy), Gen. Beauregard and the wolfman (Denny).  “Can you imagine two limousines and an Oldsmobile convertible going through these crowds on LaSalle hunting for Indians?” Sehorn asks, adding that they found the Wild Tchoupitoulas and the Wild Magnolias (recording stars in their own right).  Then the group watched the parades from the third floor balcony which they rented from Kolb’s restaurant.

“It was lovely,” says McCartney.  They caught lots of “double cones,” he says, “as opposed to single oons,” A reporter writers this down.  “What’s the matter?” McCartney asks, “Is the humor a little too much for you?  Over your head?  Under your head?”

“We spend about 10 hours a day in the studio with no lunch breaks and stuff,” said Paul.  It’s my job.  It’s not as glamorous as it’s painted.  We’re not combing work with being tourists.  Watch your finger,” he advised a photographer whose camera was covered by another.  Paul also said he hadn’t been too bothered by crowds on the street in New Orleans.  “People don’t’ go crackers in a crowd.   Nice people have treated us nice,” he said.  Why doesn’t he have more press conferences?  “I don’t like them,” said Paul.  “It’s not the grooviest thing to do on a Tuesday morning, you know?”  No one told him it was Thursday. 

Denny Laine sat in the background and played a tape of the song Paul wrote with the New Orleans flavor, “My Carnival.”  There’s sort of a Fat Domino piano through McCartney’s characteristic polished, energetic music, lots of Mardi Gras noise and brass band sound and a chorus of “All you good people get ready to play…I want to hear you say, ‘Come on down. This is my carnival.’”

“I’ve always switched styles, “said Paul, “but I think I sounded country when I was in Nashville because we used Nashville players.  It’s not a whole new direction for me.  We are a little influenced by wherever we are, but we’re doing our own sound.”  The new yet untitled record which will be released in mid-April will consist of rock, ballads, rhythm, and “good old McCartney and Wings music,” added a helpful Linda McC.  Asked to explain what the music sounds like to him, Paul with his flip humor still showing, replies, “It’s just like my stuff, but it’s better.”

Buster Holmes drove up to the dock in a gold Chevrolet station wagon loaded with  $300 worth of his superb soul food for 100 people on a second cruise – red beans, sausage, ham hocks, potato bread, mustard greens.

After the press was unloaded, that second cruise must have been something The McCartneys would be free of the spotlight pressures, they could relax  and listen to two good New Orleans soul bands , the Meters and Chocolate Milk. 

But the real treat would be a small all-star show of New Orleans rock and roll of the early 1960’s – with the likes of Ernic K-doe (Mother-in-law), Lee Dorsey (Working in a Coal Mine), Earl King (Trick Bag) and Robert Parker (Barefootin’) aboard to sing, drink and mix with the newer celebrities.

The McCartneys stayed in New Orleans only one week after this, leaving a week earlier than had been expected.  During their last week they were dubbing vocals and brass over the nearly completed recordings.   They flew next to Los Angeles to mix the tapes out there and to complete the album.

I’m sure everyone has already heard something on Linda’s subsequent arrest on March 3, for suspicion of possessing marijuana.  Paul was driving their rented ’74 silver Lincoln Continental along Santa Monica Blvd. with Linda and the three kids all in the car, when he went through a red light shortly after midnight.  The officer smelled the marijuana as he was writing out a traffic citation and ordered them out of the car.  He found 16 grams in linda’s purse.  She was released on $500 bail and ordered to appear in municipal court on March 10. 

On March 9 one fan was driving down Sunset Blvd, and saw a sign on the side of one building that said, ‘Welcome to L.A. Paul and Linda McCartney and Family!”  I’m sure Paul and Linda saw the irony in that!

Paul has so far not scheduled any L.A. press conferences, so all that is coming out right now are unconfirmed rumors.

Fans remember it with fondness

photo by Ted Rozumalski

photo by Ted Rozumalski

Photograph taken by Ted Rozumalski provided by Robert Rozumalski."

photo by Ted Rozumalski

photo by Ted Rozumalski

photo by Ted Rozumalski

All of these concert memories were found on youtube comments or youtube videos

“I was there...14 at the time.  I had to get approval of our Junior High School principal to leave school early.  My Mom and another friend's mom chaperoned about 4 of us gals. We all got crushed against the gate before it opened up. Girls rushing across the field, girls fainting. You could barely HEAR The Beatles sing from all the screaming! But, there they were!” –Cathy 

 “I was there. THIS  ------- was one of the most important experiences of my life. I will never forget it it. 12 years old and knocking over the barricades to get to the Beatles ----- and I did.”—Lucy

“I was there but only nine years old.  My sister, Kathy took me.  I remember all the girls screaming and pulling on their hair.  There had also been a rush of fans, breaking through the barricade.  I saw a policeman try to stop a girl and her dress ripped.” – Claire M. 

“I was there. I was 10. My grandfather took my cousin Keith and me. We were directly in line with the PA speakers on the poles, so we could hear the music over the screaming.”—Tab

“I was there! I was 11years old, but, I was so mad, I couldn't hear them. No I did not run and scream. Yes, I was screaming ‘shut up, so i can hear them’. Oh, my neighbor on the right Mrs., Mickey got to serve them breakfast. She said that they looked pretty nervous. 30 years later, I Met Paul McCartney in a studio in new Orleans, he showed me how to play let it be!” –Suzanne 

“I was backstage at City Park Stadium on September 16, 1964, as my Dad set up the sound system for the Fab 4.  We arrived in my friend’s brand new 1964 ½ Mustang in lemon yellow and we thought we were the bees knees.  I touched the back of John Lennon’s jacket, and it was days before I washed my hand.  I was the talk of St. Mary of the Angels School.”  --Molly

“My very first concert, the Beatles at City Park Stadium.  I was there to see Paul because he was my favorite Beatle.  I screamed my voice raw that night.”  -- anonymous

For another story about this concert, check out this blog
http://www.joeyaguzin.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-beatles.html

Hallway walking

Found on Chuck Gunderson's "Some Fun Tonight" facebook page

Congress Inn press conference

photo by Red Rozumalski

New Orleans tidbits from Beatlefest

The Beatles 1964 New Orleans concert has always been one that has been covered in mystery to me.   I guess it is because up until this year, there had never been any actual photographs from the concert available and very few stories had came out.  Really all that was available was some grainy video footage.  So all I had known about the New Orleans concert was that the fans were hurt by police who were on horseback and that the Beatles called them "football players" during the show.     However, as the 50th anniversary approached more stories from this show started to come out and I heard many of them from Bruce Spizer and Ivor Davis at the Fest for Beatle fans in Chicago this past August.    I took notes during these talks so that I could pass these little nuggets of information back to you.


According to Spizer, the Beatles really wanted to meet Fat Domino.   As a matter of fact, he was the main celebrity out of all the people in the United States that they Beatles really wanted to meet.   Davis explains:  "Paul was really into Fats.  He was the one  that revered him, and Paul was the one that made it happen."   And so, thanks to opening act, Frogman Henry,  before the concert in New Orleans, the Beatles met Fats Domino backstage.   As Paul McCartney famously recalls in the Beatles Anthology:   "He had a very big diamond watch in the shape of a star, which was very impressive."   Davis recalls that the Beatles, particularly George wanted to listen to jazz music in New Orleans' nightclubs.   But of course, the tight schedule and Beatlemania did not allow for that enjoyment.

Speaking of New Orleans music, Deacon Jones (not the football player that was on the Brady Bunch), the musician was in the audience at this Beatles concert.   As a musician, he was interested in the Beatles music.

Both Bruce and Ivor talk about how out of control the fans and the police were.   Bruce said that some girls were pushed in wheelchairs, and they didn't need the wheelchairs, just so they could get out on the field and be closer to the Beatles.

I am not sure if this is one of the fans in question, but you can see empty wheelchairs behind her.
 Photograph taken by Ted Rozumalski provided by Robert Rozumalski."

Those who didn't have wheelchairs tried to run onto the field.   The fans in this stadium were quite far from the Fab 4 and so between 100-200 ran to get closer.   Many police officers were on horseback and they injured many of the fans.  New Orleans had more injured fans than an other stop on this tour.   Ivor Davis said that he felt fear because a lot of the kids were bleeding. 

Photograph taken by Ted Rozumalski provided by Robert Rozumalski."

Beatles collector, Jeff Augsburger had many artifacts from the 1964 North American tour including part of one of the microphones one of the guys used during this concert. 

Jeff Augsburger collection  Photo by Sara Schmidt

 

It is Beatles Day!

If you are like me, then every day is Beatles Day in your mind.  However, in 1964, the mayor of New Orleans at that time declared September 16, 1964 officially as Beatles Day in his city.   As Bruce Spizer can confirm, if you went down to city hall, you could get a copy of the official declaration that was signed by the Beatles.   

Beatles' Appearance in New Orleans

Teenage Bedlam Reigns at Beatles’ Appearance

By Clarence Doucet

The Times-Picayune

September 17, 1964

Some 700 teenagers broke out in disorder at City Park Stadium Wednesday night midway through a spirited stage appearance by England’s madcap Beatles.

It took 225 New Orleans policemen and special patrol guards more than 20 minutes to restore order while an estimated 12,000 persons watched the wild scene from the stands.

Policemen had ot physically tackle some of the youths—mostly girls--- who broke away from the stand attempting to crash through barricades separating them from the longhaired singers.

The crowd was finally brought under control after police “roped off” most of the spectators on the sidelines of the football field.

Police Supt. Joseph I. Giarrusso who estimated the number of youths who broke through the barricades, callt he episode one “that was both amusing and tragic at the same time.”  He said he could not recall a similar incident in the city involving teenagers.

Police Sgt. Ray Aldich said he and Ptn. Roger Leon Cabella administered spirits of ammonia to more than 200 youngsters who collapsed from the excitement.

He also reported that one teenage girl suffered a broken arm, but refused to be taken to the hospital.  He said that after the girl’s arm was bandaged, she returned to the stands.

The Beatles had been on the stage only 15 minutes when the spectators began rushing to the field.  During the final half of their performance they had to share the spotlight with what Beatle Paul McCartney called “the football game.”

Mounted policemen patrolled the area around the stage.

When the Beatles mounted the stage about 9:25pm, the audience began screaming and the wild cheering continued, reaching its climax when groups began jumping from the stands to the field.

The Beatles, meanwhile, appeared unconcerned about the disorder and continued with such songs as “She Loves You,”  “Shake it up Baby,” and “Can’t buy me love.”  They capped their act with “A Hard Day’s Night.”  

The wild scene at the stadium climaxed the Beatles’ visit to New Orleans which started 19 hours earlier –at 3am.

The hairy Britons left the city Wednesday night after their performance, flying to Kansas City where they will perform Thursday night. 

Unfortunately they were not as delighted with New Orleans, as New Orleans teenagers were with them.

At a press conference earlier they termed the New Orleans visited the “roughest” of their current tour of the U.S. It was a press session in which they proved they were as quick with the quip as they are appealing to audiences.

America’s favorite Beatle, Ringo Starr, was the star of the session.  Starr was asked what the Beatles enjoyed most about their wealth.  His quick reply was “money.”

Paul McCartney also came up with a one-liner that got a big laugh.  Asked what he thought about topless bathing suits, he said, “We’ve been wearing them for years.”

The Beatles said New Orleans was the “roughest” stop in their current tour because of a series of mix-ups in their schedule.  Asked if they intended to visit New Orleans again, one of them replied, “Yes, when we’re older.”

At the beginning of the press conference, held at the Congress Inn on chef Menteur hwy., Mayor Victor H. Schiro presented each of the Beatles with a key to the city and a certificate of honorary citizenship.

When he handed a key to Beatle John Lennon, Lennon replied “I want to put my arm around you.  You look like a nice fellow, Lord Mayor.”

Schiro then asked each of the Beatles for his autograph.  When Lennon returned the pen, he said, “Your pen, your lordship.”  

About 13 hours earlier at the Congress Inn, at 3 a.m., the scene was somewhat different.  

The Beatles, England’s repayment in four for Elvis Presley, had arrived at the motel minutes before in a smashing climax to a series of unscheduled events.

Lennon, the one who writes, was wearing a pair of dark glasses, apparently seeking to avoid recognition.  McCartney, the most outwardly friendly member of the Liverpool bunch, was smiling and talking to someone. 

The group stood in a small hallway leading to a laundry room of the motel.  To their right was a deep sink for cleaning mops.   

Their arrival was planned to be quite simple.  They would arrive at New Orleans Lakefront Airport and be taken by helicopter to the Congress Inn.

Any similarity between that simple plan and what actually happened had to be purely coincidental.

Councilman Daniel L. Kelly, representing the mayor, and Orleans Levee Board president Milton Duputy, representing Gov. John J. McKeithen, were officially to welcome the quartet at the lakefront airport, but they never got a chance.

In the first place, the helicopter at the lakefront airport blew a tire.  So limousines were ordered but by mistake were sent to New Orleans International Airport (Moisant Field).

But it did not make too much difference because the Beatles’ plane, a chartered Lockheed Electra, was directed to land at Moisant.  Meanwhile, a large crowd of teenagers had formed at the lakefront airport by the time it was announced the Beatles would not arrive there. 

Dupuy then gave up and secured his detail of 30 levee board policemen who had been pressed into duty at the airport.  Kelly, meanwhile, rushed by automobile from the lakefront airport to Moisant, arriving there just as the Beatles were boarding limousines, and in time to make the trip back across the city to Congress Inn.

The arrival time and place was to be secret, but the police escort that accompanied the motorcade from Moisant to the motel was accented by screaming sirens and flashing blue lights. 

Some 100 people, mostly teenagers, were awaiting the Beatles’ arrival at the motel; and they lined up along what was to be the singers’ route.

But there was another mix-up.  Every car in the motorcade – except the Beatles’ limousine followed this route.  Their vehicle was on another roadway.   The teenagers began screaming hysterically when they spotted their idols and within seconds surrounded the Beatles’ automobile.  Police forced the youths away, and as the car was backing up it hit a Kenner police patrol car.  Damage was slight.

The time the Beatles ran into the lobby of the motel.  They were led down a hallway to the laundry room and then outside and to their three room suite, room 100.

Councilman Kelly stood outside their door waiting to present them Mayor Victor H. Schiro’s proclamation making Wednesday “Beatles Day.”  He never was invited to make the presentation.

One teenager, Karen DeHority, 16, burst into tears when she saw the Beatles.  Two young married women, past their teens, said they would not stand so long to see the President as they did the Beatles.  

One young girl kept screaming, “If I can just touch one of Ringo’s rings!”

Another carried a sign that read, “Ringo for President.”

Three teenage girls traveled from Memphis, Tennessee, with the mother of one fo the girls, just to attend the show Wednesday night at City Park Stadium.  Congress Inn manager Paul Bomberger was so much impressed with their loyalty he invited them to be guests of the motel for the night.

By 4a.m., most of the crowd had disappeared Councilman Kelly was leaving and police were still guarding the Beatles’ suite (windows in it were boarded up).  

And two Beatles were sleeping; the other two were hungry.