Cover of SUMMERTIME in 1960 - in Hamburg with Lu Walters and Ringo Starr from The Hurricanes as singer and drummer, replacing Pete Best; first recording of the real fab four; only nine copies pressed and only one survived, probably in Paul's private collection; in '68, during sessions for the white double album, another attempt was made
Cover of THUMBIN' A RIDE in 1961 - at the Star Club in Hamburg
Cover of AIN'T SHE SWEET in 1961 - in Hamburg for producer Bert Kaempfert, still as backing band of Tony Sheridan (who doesn't participate here), released in '64, hit UK
Cover of TWIST AND SHOUT in 1962 - in Hamburg and one year later on debut LP Please Please Me; n°2 US; their iconic 'Woooo' yell was inspired by the Isley Brothers' version and was first used in She Loves You
Cover of SHEILA in 1962 - live at the Starclub, Hamburg
Cover of I REMEMBER YOU in 1962 - Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
Cover of TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM in 1962 - as To Know Her Is To Love Her; also their very last encore of their very last set at The Cavern and according to the fan who requested the song, no one in the room, not even John Lennon, kept it dry
Cover of K.C. LOVING in 1962 - in Hamburg and in the Cavern Club and in '64 in medley with Hey Hey Hey Hey on Beatles For Sale
Cover of SHEIK, THE in 1962 - during rejected Decca audition; vocal: George
Cover of BOYS in 1963 - in one take; vocal: Ringo, originally: Pete Best; Baby It's You from their same debut album, was also a Shirelles original (see there)
Cover of POP GOES THE WEASEL in 1963 - as Pop Goes The Beatles at the beginning and end of their very own BBC radio program; five tracks from these shows appeared on the Live At The BBC cd set
Cover of MISERY in 1963 - on their Please Please Me album
Cover of GOTTA FIND MY BABY in 1963 - Live at the BBC; crediting Chuck Berry
Cover of SURE TO FALL (IN LOVE WITH YOU) in 1963 - Live at the BBC; also a track on their rejected Decca audition tape in '62
Cover of MOONLIGHT BAY in 1963 - in the Morecambe & Wise Show, with Eric Morecambe and on Anthology 1
Cover of GOOD MORNING TO ALL in 1963 - as Happy Birthday Saturday Club (BBC)
Cover of BABY IT'S YOU in 1963 - one out of two Shirelles songs on their debut album
Cover of JINGLE BELLS in 1964 - on a fanclub X-Mas flexi, performed through a comb wrapped with toilet paper, just as in Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds three years later
Cover of DIZZY MISS LIZZY in 1965 - they also cut Larry's Slow Down and Bad Boy
Cover of AULD LANG SYNE in 1965 - on their anual X-Mas flexi for the fanclub
Cover of ACT NATURALLY in 1965 - Ringo's song on Help!
Cover of BABY, LET'S PLAY HOUSE in 1965 - opening lines from Run For Your Life (Rubber Soul) are borrowed verbatim: "I'd rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man"
Cover of BELLS OF RHYMNEY, THE in 1965 - guitar riff in If I Needed Someone; admitted by George Harrison
Cover of THREE BLIND MICE in 1967 - in All You Need Is Love; production: George Martin; one year older Lady Madonna holds a lyricline from Three Blind Mice: See how they run
Cover of UMPA UMPA (Stick It Up Your Jumper) in 1967 - chorus at the end of I Am The Walrus, which of course is all theirs; the instrumental cover by Brad Mehldau ('23) underlines their genius
Cover of WHAT A SHAME in 1969 - elements in For You Blue
Cover of TRUMPET VOLUNTARY IN D MAJOR in 1969 - trumpet solo four minutes in It's All Too Much from the Yellow Submarine soundtrack
Cover of SORROW in 1969 - one stanza at the end of It's All Too Much on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack: With your long blonde hair and your eyes of blue; vocal: George
Cover of WALK, THE in 1969 - outtake Let It Be sessions
Cover of SOMETHING in 1969 - n°1 US; George's first Beatles A-side
Cover of FREE AS A BIRD in 1995 - Paul, George & Ringo plus John's voice and piano from his demo tape; n°2 UK; with a George Formby sample in the outro? (see: Leaning On A Lamppost)
Cover of REAL LIFE in 1996 - Paul, George & Ringo + John's voice as Real Love; slightly different melody and lyrics
Contact
If you noticed blunt omissions, mis-interpretations or even out-and-out errors, please let me know: