Anatomy of an Album: "Beatles For Sale" Quiz

Answer: Fats Domino

The Beatles performed many songs by '50s singer/songwriters on their early albums but they never included a Fats Domino song. The alternative '50s singer/songwriters contributions to "Beatles For Sale" were:

Track 4. "Rock And Roll Music" - (Chuck Berry)
Track 7. "Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! - (Leiber/Stoller)/(Penniman). (Little Richard)
Track 9. "Words Of Love" - (Buddy Holly)

On the original first pressings of the album in 1964 only "Kansas City" was listed as Track 7. After complaints from publisher Venice Music the title was changed to "Medley: (a) Kansas City (Leiber - Stoller) (b) Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, (Penniman)" The title of the song on the 2009 remastered CD is "Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! (Leiber/Stoller)/(Penniman).

Answer: Eight Days A Week

"Eight Days A Week" was number one for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. The B-side was another song from the album, "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party", it reached number 39. According to what John Lennon said in a 1972 interview "Eight Days A Week" was written as the possible theme song for the second Beatles movie "Eight Arms To Hold You". That was before John & Paul wrote the song "HELP!" and the title of their second movie and fifth UK album became "HELP!".

Answer: Samba

Track 4 on the "Beatles For Sale" album "Rock And Roll Music", is sung by John Lennon and mentions Tango, Mambo and Congo but not the Samba. "Rock And Roll Music" was written and recorded by Chuck Berry. His version reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957.

It did not chart in the UK. The Beatles version was released as a single in various countries and topped the music charts in some Scandinavian countries and Australia. The Beach Boys version reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976.

It reached number 36 on the UK chart the same year.

Answer: Honey Don't

All of the alternative song titles are songs written and performed by Carl Perkins. Only one of them "Honey Don't", was on the "Beatles For Sale" album. Ringo Starr gets one song on the "Beatles For Sale" album, "Honey Don't". The original written by Carl Perkins was the B-side of his only UK & US Top Ten hit "Blue Suede Shoes". "Matchbox" was the B-side of the Carl Perkins US number 67 hit "Your True Love" in 1957.

It was recorded by The Beatles and sung by Ringo Starr on their 1964 UK "Long Tall Sally " E. P. (Extended Play single). "Matchbox/Slow Down" was released as a single in the US, "Matchbox" reaching number 17 and "Slow Down" reaching number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964.

Answer: Benny Hill

In the photo Tommy Steele and Benny Hill, playing brothers, are caught in a spotlight dressed as British soldiers doing a song and dance act in the long forgotten 1960 UK movie "Light Up The Sky". Tommy Steele was the UK's first home grown Rock'n'Roll star and embarrassingly called by some newspapers, "England's answer to Elvis Presley".

He soon realized that a Rock'n'Roll career may not last and after the awful record "Little White Bull" became an all round entertainer with successful stage shows and movies. Benny Hill had a long career on radio and in movies and had a number one hit for four weeks on the UK chart with "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)" in 1971.

He is best known of course for "The Benny Hill Show" on TV, which ran in one form or another from 1951 but was cancelled in 1989 by John Howard Davies (he played Oliver Twist in the 1948 movie "Oliver Twist") who was then the head of light entertainment at Thames TV. "The Benny Hill Show" was shown in over 140 countries.

Answer: False

Sadly "Beatles For Sale" lasts less than 35 minutes. Even so, what a great approx. 34 minutes it is. These are the times that register on my Sony CDP-XB930 CD player for The Beatles first four albums, (times may vary on different CD players). "Please Please Me" 32.31, "with the beatles" 33.06, "A Hard Day's Night" 30.11 and "Beatles For Sale" 33.47.

Answer: Black

"Baby's In Black" was the first song recorded for the "Beatles For Sale" album in August 1964. It was one of the eight Lennon/McCartney songs on the album. "Baby's In Black" is about Astrid Kirchherr the girlfriend of deceased ex member of The Beatles Stuart Sutcliffe. Astrid Kirchherr is a German photographer who first met The Beatles in 1960 when she went to see them with her then boyfriend Klaus Voormann at the Kaiserkeller club in Hamburg.

She has been credited with creating the Fab Four's moptop haircuts, but many German youths had that hairstyle at the time.

She did however cut the hair of both Stuart Sutcliffe and George Harrison in that style at the time. Kirchherr, whose work has be exhibited in Liverpool, London, New York, Washington D. C., Tokyo and at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. now lives alone in Hamburg after two marriages.

Answer: Words Of Love

"Words Of Love" written by Buddy Holly and released as a single in 1957, was never a chart hit for him in the UK or US. American group The Diamonds recorded a cover version of "Words Of Love" which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957. It did not chart in the UK.

The song only has eight lines of lyrics and The Beatles stuck to the Buddy Holly vocalization and instrumental sound of his original. They did change one word in line five of the lyrics, Buddy Holly sang "Let me hear you say the words I want to hear" and The Beatles sang "Let me hear you say the words I long to hear". If you know why please let me know.

Answer: Hyde Park

The photograph for the "Beatles For Sale" album cover was taken once again by photographer Robert Freeman in Hyde Park in London UK, in the autumn/fall of 1964.
The "Beatles For Sale" album had advance orders in the UK of over 750,000, a record for an album at the time. It entered the UK album chart on 12 Dec 1964 at number one replacing The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" album which was at number one. It was number one for 11 non-consecutive weeks in 1964/1965.

Answer: Trying

Track 14 on the "Beatles For Sale album is "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" sung by George Harrison with his voice processed with the STEED effect (single tape echo and echo delay). It is the only song on the album on which George takes the lead vocal. "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" is the second song written by Carl Perkins to be included on the "Beatles For Sale" album, the first one being "Honey Don't" which is sung by Ringo Starr.

Although The Beatles version is credited to Carl Perkins a song with the same title was written by country singer/songwriter Tex Griffin who recorded it in 1936.

In 1938 Roy Newman and His Boys recorded a song with the same title. Carl Perkins used an updated arrangement for his version of "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" which was a track on his "Dance Album of Carl Perkins" in 1957.