The Beatles First Studio Recording - 6/1961, Hamburg, Germany, Produced by Bert Kaempfert.

Ain't She Sweet
by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen

Cry For A Shadow (Instrumental)
by George Harrison/John Lennon


The Beatles

John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar

Paul McCartney – bass guitar

George Harrison – lead guitar

Pete Best – drums



Ain't She Sweet
The sessions took place on 22–23 June 1961 on a stage at Hamburg’s Friedrich-Ebert-Halle school, and on 24 June 1961 at Studio Rahlstedt.
The Beatles regularly performed the song live from 1957 to 1962. According to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, "John [Lennon] may have known the song through his mother; he certainly knew it from Gene Vincent's 1956 recording on the LP Bluejean Bop!" In The Beatles as Musicians, Walter Everett offers a similar assessment, writing simply that it was "based on Gene Vincent's record."Musicologist and writer Ian MacDonald also agrees with this view.Lewisohn further notes that, "John Lennon's vocal rendition was different from Vincent's, it would seem that he arranged his own unique version... He may have also been influenced by Duffy Power's 1959 version".In the Beatles' Anthology book, McCartney recalls that "Songs like 'Till There Was You' and 'Ain't She Sweet' would be the late-night cabaret material.

On June 22 or 24, 1961,during their first professional recording session, the Beatles recorded a cover of "Ain't She Sweet".Recorded at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg, Germany, produced by Bert Kaempfert and engineered by Karl Hinze, the session saw the Beatles backing Tony Sheridan.George Harrison later recalled that the group misunderstood the purpose of the recording session and only learned upon arrival that they would be backing Sheridan. Harrison further added, "It was a bit disappointing because we'd been hoping to get a record deal as ourselves." "Ain't She Sweet" was one of two songs recorded without Sheridan with Lennon instead on lead vocal.In 1968, Lennon reflected, "We thought it would be easy: the Germans had such shitty records, ours was bound to be better."MacDonald surmised that the Beatles decided to record a cover to save their stronger originals, such as McCartney's "Like Dreamers Do" and Lennon's "Hello Little Girl".
Ain't She Sweet" is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century and typified the Roaring Twenties. Like "Happy Days Are Here Again" (1929), it became a Tin Pan Alley standard. Both Ager and Yellen were elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Milton Ager wrote "Ain't She Sweet" for his daughter Shana Ager, who in her adult life was known as the political commentator Shana Alexander.

Cry for a Shadow" is an instrumental rock piece recorded by the Beatles on 22 June 1961. They recorded the song at Friedrich-Ebert-Halle within the gymnasium, Hamburg, West Germany while they were performing as Tony Sheridan's backing band for a few tracks, under the moniker the Beat Brothers. It was written by George Harrison with John Lennon, as a pastiche 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 is the only Beatles track to be credited to Lennon and Harrison alone.
Cry for a Shadow"'s original title was "Beatle Bop". It was intended to be released as the B-side of "Why", another Sheridan song with the Beatles, but the record company Polydor chose to release another song instead. This instrumental is the Beatles' first recording of an original song commercially released when, in January 1962, it was included on Tony Sheridan's French EP entitled "Mister Twist".In mid-1963, as the Beatles were gaining popularity, Polydor decided to rerelease this EP in Germany as "Tony Sheridan With The Beatles", and in early 1964, "Cry for a Shadow" was released in Britain, Germany and Australia

This song is one of only two officially released Beatles singles to feature Pete Best on drums.


The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the most influential band in Western popular music and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form.Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.
#thebeatles #rock #music #firstrecording #60s #60smusic #beat