In the Beginning (Circa 1960) is the first consolidated American packaging of the 1962 German album by Tony Sheridan and The Beatles (credited as The Beat Brothers), called My Bonnie. In the Beginning (Circa 1960) was released by Polydor Records in 1970 (catalogue number 24-4504). It was recorded in Hamburg in 1961. This album was originally released as The Beatles’ First in Germany in 1964 and in the United Kingdom in 1967. Other American releases of this material in LP form were under the names The Early Years and The Beatles Featuring Tony Sheridan. Most of the tracks feature vocals by Sheridan. The album was released only four days before Let It Be, The Beatles’ final studio album. This is, therefore, the last Beatles compilation album released whilst the band were still releasing studio albums. (More from Wikipedia)
The first single that is generally credited to the Beatles is “My Bonnie” b/w “The Saints”; the artist is Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers on the album and the EP, but the single on Polydor Records shows Tony Sheridan and the Beatles. The Beatles met and befriended Tony Sheridan, a rock and roll singer on their first trip to Hamburg, Germany in 1960; when they returned to Hamburg in 1961, they backed Sheridan as lead singer in a series of recordings. Since Tony Sheridan later re-recorded several of the songs, the songs that actually feature the Beatles are uncertain in many cases; but it is known that they played on both of these songs. The single was released in 1961 and reached #26 in the US and #48 in the UK.
I have an album collecting this music that still hasn’t shown up from the Katrina remains called The Early Years. It doesn’t sound much like the Beatles after they hit the big time, but I still love that music.
(June 2015)
