My Bonnie

My Bonnie is the name of a 1961 single, a 1962 album and a 1963 EP by Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers, better known as the Beatles.

History

On the Beatles' first visit to Hamburg, Germany, in 1960, they met rock and roller Tony Sheridan, and became friends with him. On their second visit, in 1961, the Beatles backed Sheridan in a series of stage performances. It is sometimes said that German Polydor agent Bert Kaempfert saw Sheridan with the Beatles, but others report that a friend of Kaempfert's suggested that he bring them in to put down some recordings. Either way, he produced the material with Karl Hinze engineering. While they recorded a number of songs together (as well as alone), few of them actually made it on to the album, with Sheridan re-recording many of them. The Beatles are known to appear on "My Bonnie" and "The Saints". The version of "Swanee River" on the album has sometimes been said to feature the Beatles, but that version is in fact not included here, and it is not known whether the original recording still exists.

Legend says, in 1961, Raymond Jones, a young man from Liverpool, made a request for a copy of the "My Bonnie" single, which brought the Beatles to the attention of then-record store manager Brian Epstein, and set in motion the events that would lead him to become their manager. After the Beatles became successful, the eight tracks the Beatles worked on and some other Beat Brothers material were issued on an album in 1964 titled The Beatles' First.

Track listing

Side one

1. "My Bonnie" (traditional, arranged 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

1. "The Saints" (James Milton Black, Katharine Purvis)
2. "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" (Ray Charles)
3. "Let's Twist Again" (Kal Mann, Dave Appell, Buchenkamp)
4. "Sweet Georgia Brown" (Bernie, Pinkard, Casey)
5. "Swanee River" (Stephen Foster)
6. "Top Ten Twist" (Homsen, Bones, Sheridan, Lüth)

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

1. "My Bonnie (German intro)" (Trad./Sheridan-Bertie)
2. "Ich Lieb' Dich So" (Pomus-Spector-Lueth)
3. "Der Kiss-Me Song" (Warren-Schwabach-Wallnau)
4. "Madison Kid" (C. Thomas)
5. "Let's Dance" (Sheridan-Lee)
6. "Ruby Baby" (Leiber-Stoller)
7. "What'd I Say" (Ray Charles)
8. "Veedeboom Slop Slop" (Johnny Sivo)
9. "Let's Slop" (Sivo-Gleissner)
10. "My Bonnie (no intro)" (Trad./Sheridan-Bertie)

Singles

"My Bonnie"
Original West German release
Single by Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers
from the album My Bonnie
A-side	My Bonnie
B-side	"The Saints"
Released	23 October 1961 (Germany)[2]
Format	7", 45rpm
Recorded	22 June 1961, Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium, Harburg, Germany
Genre	Rock and roll
Label	Polydor NH24673 (Germany)
Writer(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)
Music sample "My Bonnie" Play audio file

The recording sessions with Tony Sheridan spawned a number of singles, three of which were not released until the Beatles had gained fame, and interest in the previously unreleased material grew.

"My Bonnie" b/w "The Saints" (credited to Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers) was first released in October 1961,[3] and reached #5 in the German Hitparade. In the United Kingdom the single was released on 5 January 1962 (credited to Tony Sheridan and The Beatles). In the United States, the release of 4 April 1962 (Decca 31382) was cancelled, but when the material was released on 27 January 1964 on MGM K-13213 as The Beatles with Tony Sheridan, it charted at #26 on Billboard.

After the Beatles gained fame, "Ain't She Sweet"/"Nobody's Child" was also released, the former of which includes only the Beatles, while the latter features Sheridan on lead vocal. Next came "Sweet Georgia Brown"/"Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby", on which the credit is sometimes disputed, as it has not been proven whether the Beatles play on this version of "Sweet Georgia Brown". However, "Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby" is known to feature the Beatles, and was recorded in the same session as "Ain't She Sweet".

Finally, "Why"/"Cry for a Shadow" was released, on which "Why" was performed by Sheridan, with the Beatles on backup, and "Cry for a Shadow" was aHarrison/Lennon instrumental, the only one credited in this way. Numerous compilations of these early recordings have been released to the public, both officially and unofficially, most conclusively in the Bear Family box set Beatles Bop – Hamburg Days.

EP

The My Bonnie EP was released on 12 July 1963 in the UK by Polydor Records, the same day that Parlophone issued the new Beatles EP Twist and Shout.

Track listing

Side one

1. "My Bonnie"
2. "Cry for a Shadow"

Side two

1. "The Saints"
2. "Why"