By the time the Beatles came to the US they had already been a hit in Great Britain. Several of their songs made it to labels over here earlier before they struck a deal with Capitol Records to issue their tunes.
I remember working at Petersen’s department store in Davenport and going through the “cut out” bins in our record department looking for those obscure early releases. Little labels like SWAN, VJ, MGM, ATCO and others had the older songs like “Thank You Girl”, “She Loves You”, “Love Me Do” and even the Beatles with Tony Sheridan which was recorded in Germany which had been released in England a year or so earlier! To keep them from being returned for full value, they had little holes punched in them.
Anyway, I had collected every single one I could find and think I had almost all of them… with the “picture” glossy covers. But the first real push of the Fab Four in the US came with the release of “I Want To Hold Your Hand”. However, “She Loves You” is still one of my favorites, and it was a kick to perform… especially to this wild Calgary crowd!
The lead in to this shortened version of the song is “Something” and fades out on “I Want To Hold Your Hand”.
Mick Orton
Hi, I was a member of Silver Laughter for a while, lead guitar. As far as Beatle covers, we did a great “I’ve got a feeling”. Steve Elliot was bass player and did some vocals, mostly Led Zep covers. We had a super Yardbirds set. I can’t remember the year but I remember the barn parties. …Mushroom
Is this John Carstensen? Yes, I remember going to see you guys live and in rehearsal doing those great songs. Steve Elliott had a fantastic voice with a great vocal range. I also recall hearing “I’ve Got A Feelin'”. You guys always were very good with the Led Zeppelin covers as well. Nice hearing from you!