“Cry for a Shadow” is an instrumental rock piece recorded by the Beatles on 22 June 1961. It was written by George Harrison with John Lennon, as a parody of the Shadows style. (The Shadows, who backed Cliff Richard, were the biggest British instrumental rock & roll group at the time of the recording.) It imitates the lead guitar with typical Hank Marvin licks, the melodic bass fills, and even has an imitation during the second middle eight of the famous Jet Harris yell. It is the only Beatles track to be credited to Lennon and Harrison alone. “Cry for a Shadow”’s original title was “Beatle Bop”. “Cry for a Shadow” is one of only two officially released Beatles singles to feature Pete Best on drums. The other is “Ain’t She Sweet”, although it’s alleged that studio drummer Bernard Purdie “sweetened” the drum parts on this recording for American release. (More from Wikipedia)
“My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean” is a traditional Scottish folk song that remains popular to this day. Several other songs by the Beatles were recorded at that time; Anthology 1 includes “My Bonnie” (but not “The Saints”) plus “Ain’t She Sweet” and “Cry for a Shadow” that were made at the same recording session but without Tony Sheridan. On “Ain’t She Sweet”, John Lennon sings lead; this song was a staple in their shows back in 1961. “Cry for a Shadow” is a rare instrumental by the Beatles and the only recording ever credited to George Harrison and John Lennon as songwriters.
The flip side of this first Beatles single, “When the Saints Go Marching In” could be described as the signature song of New Orleans. The origin of this gospel song is unknown, but it started being played by jazz bands beginning with Louis Armstrong in 1938.
(June 2015)
