My Bonnie

My Bonnie
Studio album / live album by Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers
Released	June 1962[1]
Recorded	22 June & 21 December 1961
Venue	Friedrich-Ebert-Halle & Musikhalle, Hamburg, West Germany
Genre	Rock and roll
Label	Polydor
Producer	Bert Kaempfert
Tony Sheridan chronology
My Bonnie (1962) Just a Little Bit (1964)
The Beat Brothers a.k.a. The Beatles chronology
My Bonnie (1962) Please Please Me (1963)
Singles from My Bonnie
"My Bonnie" Released: 23 October 1961

My Bonnie is a 1962 album by English rock and roll singer-songwriter and musician Tony Sheridan. Sheridan, then playing in clubs in Hamburg with the Beatles, was discovered by producer Bert Kaempfert and subsequently signed with him to record for Polydor. Sheridan recorded several songs with the Beatles, of which, only a single was released in 1961 and credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. While these two songs are included here, the remaining tracks contained in this album were credited again to the Beat Brothers but recorded without the Beatles.

Because of the later fame of the Beatles, the eight songs recorded in Hamburg with the then fledgling group have been issued in 1964 and repackaged several times through the years.

Background and recording[]

In June 1961, Sheridan and the Beatles (then consisting of guitarists John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney, bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, and drummer Pete Best) were both playing in Hamburg's Top Ten Club, the two frequently performing together.^[2] German producer Bert Kaempfert visited the Top Ten on the recommendation of music publisher Alfred Schacht and singer Tommy Kent, and subsequently signed Sheridan and the Beatles to his company Bert Kaempfert Productions.^[3]

Kaempfert set a recording date for 22 June at Hamburg's Friedrich-Ebert-Halle. Engineered by Karl Hinze, the session featured Sheridan and the Beatles playing "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean", "The Saints", "Why", "Nobody's Child", and "Take Out Some Insurance". The Beatles performed "Ain't She Sweet" and an original song, "Beatle Bop" (later titled "Cry for a Shadow"). Sutcliffe attended the session, but did not play, leaving McCartney to play bass.^[4] From these sessions, "My Bonnie" was released as a single (with "The Saints" as the B-side) through Polydor Records (who had an exclusive deal with Kaempfert's company) credited to "Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers", as the Beatles' contract enabled the record company to use a pseudonym.^[5]

A single with "My Bonnie" backed by "The Saints" was released in Germany in October 1961^[6] and was a moderate success, peaking at number 32 in the national chart published in Der Musikmarkt, number 11 in the national jukebox charts, and number four in a local Hamburg chart.^[7] Kaempfert and Sheridan conducted another session on 21 December 1961 at Musikhalle Hamburg, without the Beatles.^{[8][failed verification]} Ten songs were recorded at this session, which along with "My Bonnie" and "The Saints" formed the My Bonnie LP, released 5 January 1962.

Track listing[]

Side one

1. "My Bonnie" (Traditional, arr. by Tony Sheridan)
2. "Skinny Minnie" (Bill Haley, Rusty Keefer, Milt Gabler, Catherine Cafra)
3. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" (Dave Williams, Sonny David)
4. "I Know Baby" (Sheridan)
5. "You Are My Sunshine" (Jimmie Davis, Charles Mitchell)
6. "Ready Teddy" (Robert Blackwell, John Marascalco)

Side two

7. "The Saints" (Traditional, arr. by Tony Sheridan)
8. "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" (Ray Charles)
9. "Let's Twist Again" (Kal Mann, Dave Appell, Buchenkamp)
10. "Sweet Georgia Brown" (Bernie, Pinkard, Casey)
11. "Swanee River" (Stephen Foster)
12. "Top Ten Twist" (Homsen, Bones, Sheridan, Lüth)

In 2001, The My Bonnie LP was issued on CD by Polydor, with 10 bonus tracks:

13. "My Bonnie (German intro)" (Traditional, arr. by Sheridan)
14. "Ich Lieb' Dich So" (Pomus, Spector, Lueth)
15. "Der Kiss-Me Song" (Warren, Schwabach, Wallnau)
16. "Madison Kid" (C. Thomas)
17. "Let's Dance" (Sheridan, Lee)
18. "Ruby Baby" (Leiber, Stoller)
19. "What'd I Say" (Charles)
20. "Veedeboom Slop Slop" (Johnny Sivo)
21. "Let's Slop" (Sivo, Gleissner)
22. "My Bonnie (No intro)" (Traditional, arr. by Sheridan)

Single[]

"My Bonnie"
US picture sleeve
Single by Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers
from the album My Bonnie
B-side	"The Saints (When the Saints Go Marching In)"
Released	23 October 1961 (Germany) 5 January 1962 (UK)
Recorded	22 June 1961,
Venue	Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg, Germany
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	2:42
Label	Polydor (Germany)
Songwriter(s)	Traditional, arranged by Tony Sheridan
Producer(s)	Bert Kaempfert
Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers singles chronology
"My Bonnie" (1961) "Sweet Georgia Brown" (1964)
Audio sample
Menu 0:00 file help
Alternative cover
British single cover listing "Tony Sheridan & the Beatles"

"My Bonnie", with "The Saints" as the single's B-side, was first released in October 1961 in West Germany, credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers.^[9] The German import became popular in Liverpool and Epstein secured a British release on 5 January 1962, this time credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beatles.^[10] It was also released elsewhere in 1962 but was not successful. It was re-released in the United States during Beatlemania and reached the number 26 spot on the Billboard charts.^[11] The song, along with "Ain't She Sweet" and "Cry for a Shadow", was placed on "Anthology 1" in 1995.^[12]

Other releases[]

After the Beatles gained fame, all the songs from their Hamburg sessions were released. "Sweet Georgia Brown", previously heard in Germany with its original lyrics on an E.P. in 1962,^[13] was released with its new lyrics as a single in 1964 in the U.S., backed with "Take Out Some Insurance". Although the latter was from the June 1961 sessions, the A-side was not. Backing tracks to "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Swanee River" were recorded by the Beatles 24 May 1962. This session was arranged by Brian Epstein and Bert Kaempfert to free the Beatles from their contract with Polydor.^[14] Sheridan's vocals to "Sweet Georgia Brown", referencing the Beatles' fame, were added in 1964. The version of "Swanee River" featuring the Beatles is considered lost. "Ain't She Sweet" / "Nobody's Child" and "Why" / "Cry for a Shadow" were also released as singles.^[15] These six recordings are not featured on My Bonnie but all eight were compiled on the German compilation album The Beatles' First! in 1964.

Polydor issued two EPs from these sessions. The first, Ya Ya (October 1962, Polydor 21 485), contained "Ya Ya" / "Sweet Georgia Brown" / "Skinnie Minnie", with the Beatles featured only on the second song. The other, My Bonnie (July 1963, Polydor 21 610) contained the title track, "Cry for a Shadow", "The Saints" and "Why".^[16] This EP was previously released in France in January 1962 as " [fr]" although "The Saints" was the leading track.^[17] In February 1964, the other four songs were first issued in France as an E.P.^[18] and all eight were issued in May as a 10-inch 33rpm vinyl record simply entitled " [fr]", both featuring "Ain't She Sweet" as the leading track.^[19]

To capitalise on the Beatles' fame, their recordings with Sheridan have been re-released multiple times as compilation albums by different record companies:^[20]

• The Beatles with Tony Sheridan and Their Guests (US 1964 - MGM Records)
• Ain't She Sweet (US 1964 - Atco Records)
• The Beatles' First! (Germany 1964, UK 1967) / Very Together (Canada 1969) / In the Beginning (Circa 1960) (US 1970) (Polydor)
• The Early Tapes of the Beatles (1984 - Polydor)
• Beatles Bop – Hamburg Days (2001 - Bear Family Records)
• First Beat (2004 - Spectrum)
• F1rst Recordings (2011 - Time Life)

Bibliography[]

• Lewisohn, Mark (2013). The Beatles: All These Years, Vol. 1: Tune In. Crown Archetype. ISBN 978-1-4000-8305-3.

References[]