GEORGE HARRISON’S GUITAR – THE FRETLESS “MAD” GUITAR
Very rarely have I taken the time to read a book about a specific guitar, so this is a first. Written by author Paul Brett, it tells a fascinating story which you will find quite interesting. Here are a few quotes from the Amazon description of the book.
From the Amazon description of the book: Copies of the book can be found at Amazon, Ebay, and most book search services such as Abe Books.
“The prototype fretless model was gifted to the Beatles legend by Hollywood session player and music shop owner Al Casey, whose wife Maxine took it to Blue Jay Way in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles while Harrison was staying there in 1967.
Returning to the UK with his new acquisition, it was used by Harrison and John Lennon on sessions for ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’ and ‘Helter Skelter’ as the legendary Liverpool outfit recorded classic 1968 double-album The Beatles, aka The White Album.
Guitar experts and aficionados were previously unaware of the prototype’s important part in Beatles mythology, its history a mystery until 2019, after UK session guitarist Ray Russell asked, ‘Who knows anything about this guitar George Harrison gave me in 1985?’
Finding Fretless also brings in the guitar’s associations with Charles Manson’s infamous murderous cult, a million-dollar lawsuit, fire, frying pans, drunken fistfights, corporate shenanigans, Elvis, The Wrecking Crew, and much more.”
I received my signed copy of the book from the author of this fascinating book back in 2021. Paul was a member of my old FB group before I left the social medium. Paul was one of more than 100 Beatle-related book authors that were members of the group. “
Finding Fretless George’s Guitar
This Day in Music Books-PublisherPublication date – November 4, 2021
QUESTION: Do you enjoy books about The Beatles instruments? Let me know below.
As I rummage through my Beatles-related collection and cataloging the pieces for future reference, I often come across items that I think that may be of interest to other Beatles fans or solo Beatles fans. Many of these books or magazines and assorted print media are from different countries or may simply have not reached a large mass audience when they were issued or released. This is the 2nd Buzz’s JPGR Hodgepodge post featuring some of these items. The Hodgepodge posts will become an occasional feature on this blog. The regular posts will continue to cover books or magazines that have some feature or some specific subject matter in common with each other or have a common theme tying them together!
Hope you will enjoy today’s Hodgepodge: The items pictured here are from my personal collection and were acquired from such various venues as Ebay and Abe Booksand other private collectors.
Tribute to George Martin:A special Billboard publication from April 11, 1998
In My Life-The Billboard Tribute to George Martin
Love these types of publications that are not widely circulated but are precious as collector’s keepsakes!
George Martin
The inside photo of George featured on the reverse side of the cover:
George Martin
The name of the individual who wrote the feature article about George Martin: Paul Sexton
George Martin
I love to collect Beatles-related auction programs for a various number of reasons. This one is from the great organizations in the UK called TRACKS, which I have purchased many Beatles items from. This one was from a 2014 auction. The reason I like these catalogs so much is that many items that I have never seen before and cannot afford to buy, I can at least have a nice photograph of the item and the history behind it in the archive. In another catalog I purchased a long time ago, (I don’t believe it was a TRACKS catalog) I had a picture of the reel-to-reel tape recorder that Bob Molyneux used to record the Quarrymen at the Woolton Village Fete. To top things off, Molyneux signed that same auction catalog.
Tracks
The back cover of the 2014 Tracks auction catalog:
Tracks
Interviews with John and Yoko from this era fascinate me in trying to understand their political views at that moment of their history:
John and Yoko
Love the cover stories on music magazines, this one was about the One-to-One Concert. My only disappointment with these sorts of magazines as a collector is their fragile nature and the eventual yellowing of the magazine over time. We will see more about the One-to-One event somewhere down the road, of that, I am sure. Possibly a photo book and a remixed and remastered audio of the complete concert as well.
John Lennon
Never had seen this magazine entitled New Departures before I saw it on Ebay. Published in 1981. It features a tribute to John Lennon. I also included the magazine credit page to identify the people that put the issue together: The cover features a photo collage put together by Peter Blake who helped design and put together the Sgt. Pepper cover
John Lennon
New Departures
I love cover stories about the Beatles from Billboard magazine, this one featuring the famous Richard Avedon photos.
This is the November 18, 2000, issue:
Billboard
Could not resist this UK issue of the Independent on Sunday Magazine from March 9th, 2008. It was the photo of two musical titans speaking about their views of what was going on the world in 1968…
John and Mick
I normally do not purchase too many Beatles-related books and magazines that are not written in English. However, I purchased this wonderful magazine from Spain featuring many unique photos from the J and Y Bed-In. This issue is from March 22, 2009.
Spanish Magazine
Sundance Magazine Vol 1 No 1 April 1972features John and Yoko discussing Women’s Liberation issues. In 1972 John and Yoko agreed to do a series of articles for Sundancewhich dealt with many social issues. Somewhere in the collection I have the magazine with the poem that John wrote about another issue…
Sundance
Saw this magazine on Ebay in order to read the feature on Sean Lennon published in this UK magazine. Article written by Conrad Bischoff and photographed by Zackery Michael. Interesting interview and many nice photos of Sean are featured in this article from Foxes magazine in 2017.Apparently, this magazines strongpoint are the great photo essays being presented.Bought this on Ebay!
Sean Ono Lennon
Journalism has changed over the years and certainly so has the treatment of women in popular magazines. I bought this magazine of course because of the John and Yoko article but I was amazed of how the material was presented judging by today’s cultural norms of what is considered appropriate. I personally believe that Yoko would have been offended by the way some of the material was being presented in the article but maybe I am not being fair in that assessment. I will leave that judgement to you, if you ever get the chance to read it or indeed if you have already seen it.
LIFE – In Asia
This is one concert I wish I had attended. It was a loving tribute to George Harrison in 2002, a year following his passing. Many of George’s friends and fellow musical luminaries contributed to this wonderful show which was released as a cd, dvd, and a beautiful Genesis book title to commemorate the event. Having been unable to attend this event in the UK, I attempted to do the next best thing. I saw on Ebay the concert program being offered for sale as well as an unused ticket from the event. I purchased the program, and I am very happy that I did.The concert was such a special one that I was thrilled to have acquired this keepsake though I certainly would have preferred that I had been able to attend this special event!
Concert for George
The ticket of the event:
Concert for George
This Progressive Media magazine from 1980 known as CMJ Magazine was published bi-weekly. This issue came out in that horrible month of December 1980. Published by College Media this Vol 4 No. 6. Jeff Tamarkin was the Managing Editor of this magazine. Jeff was a former editor of Goldmine magazine and is a music scholar.
This issue contained a tribute to John Lennon following his murder/passing. This is the back cover of that December 1980 issue of the magazine:
Progressive Magazine
Prior to the onslaught of digital media, it was very difficult to acquire magazines and books that were available only across the pond. The rapid expansion of computers and the quickly evolving internet and such internet sources as Ebay allowed us all to acquire print items that we were not privy to before.
Love this 1996 issue of Weekend magazine, a supplement to the UK based Daily Mail. Features an interview with John’s sister Julia.
John’s Sister Julia Speaks
Main photograph below is by Steve Poole. The story in this wonderful magazine article is by Lynda Lee-Potter:
John’s Sister Julia Speaks
I have a particular fascination in collecting Beatles-related magazines from the Sgt. Pepper era like this cover shot of John Lennon from theJune 3, 1967 issue of a radio-based magazine.
Then and Now
My copy of this January 1969 issue of Disc magazine. A great issue featuring a cover photo of John Lennon from the 1968 Rolling Stones R&R Circus. I love scouring through the old rock magazines especially those from the UK as you often find information of events or projects that may have been planned by the group but never materialized. Unfortunately, older magazines in the newspaper like format such as the older Rolling Stone Magazine yellow over time and become very fragile, and they need to be placed in plastic encasings to postpone their deterioration.
Disc
This is the hardcover edition of the Paul McCartney 2011 Tour program which comes encased in a slipcase. I do not normally collect tour books, but this one was special to me because not only was it a hardcover edition of the tour book, but it was also presented in a protective slipcase. Shown here are front and back covers of the book followed by a side view of the blue slipcase with the book inside.Many wonderful photos of Paul and the tour entourage are included in this tour book.
Paul on the run
Back cover of the hardback tour book:
Paul on the run
The side view of the book in the provided blue slipcase:
Paul on the run
This book has a multicultural origin. The book was printed in Hungary, but the publisher BAKHALL is located in Sweden and the text of the book appears in English. Published in 2007 under the supervision of Yoko Ono. The book presents a snapshot of the 1969 Bed-In event with many quotes from John and Yoko. The book is a small in size hardback which come with a dvd that features Bed-In documentary footage and Yoko’s Onochord video from 2004. The dvd is in the PAL format which is the European configuration for dvd’s and may not be watchable in some US dvd machines.
Front cover of the book:
Give Peace a Chance
Back cover of the hardback book:
Give Peace a Chance
A photo of the PAL format dvd that came with the book:
Give Peace a Chance
Hope you enjoyed the HODGEPODGE post of today! In the comments section I would like to hear from you about Beatle print-related items that were very difficult for you to find or locate or were so obscure that you felt compelled to buy them when you first encountered them. I am interested in hearing about Items that you had never seen before or that that your first reaction in seeing them was WOW, I have to purchase this for my collection!!!
Bought a copy of this item at the Discogs site several years ago. It is a promo cd, based on music that appeared in some of George’s Handmade films. It is estimated that there are less than 100 copies of this promo in existence!
FROM SOUTH AFRICA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND ISRAEL, AND ONE BONUS RARITY FROM THE NETHERLANDS
Shown below is the cover of the fabulous book that got me interested in the subject noted above. As a collector, I have become fascinated with the matter of rare Apple Records. The person that I know that fits the bill of being one of largest collector of Apple Records in the world is Nigel Pearce whose collection is both extensive and fabulous.
Nigel’s Book – Inside Number Three
Inside Number Three – The Illustrated History of Apple Records
Inside No3 takes you through that famous door, deep into the minds of all who worked there at Apple Records. This is done also in a very different way. This is not a kiss-and-tell diary, it is through fan adulation and understanding via a personal collection of artifacts and memorabilia that author Nigel Pearce has built up over the last 50 years.
There are also many knowledgeable people about the subject in Europe in countries such as Belgium where a good friend, Philippe Colinge, assisted me in finding some of the records you are about to see for me to purchase, or at least finding photographs of many of them to present to you so you are aware of their existence.
Magical Mystery Tours
There is a chapter in Tony Bramwell’s book that deals with the various licensing deals that Apple did to issue many of its records in multiple countries across the world. Three of the countries hold a particular fascination for me: The Philippines, South Africa and Israel.
For quite some time it has been reported that Tony has been working on an updated version of this book!
Magical Mystery Tours by Tony Bramwell
Mary Hopkin-Mary Had A Baby
According to some reports, the Philippines was the only country in the world that issued this Christmas holiday record on Apple Records, as Mary’s contract with Apple had just expired with Apple when it was issued there. The song appeared on different labels in all of the other worldwide locales. Mary’s husband at the time, noted record producer, Tony Visconti was involved in the production of this record. After the dissolution of their marriage, Tony was to marry May Pang who in 1973-75 had more than an 18 month relationship with John Lennon of the ex-Beatles!
First of all, I would like to take the time to acknowledge a phenomenal site based in the Netherlands that is a primary source of many of the photographs you are seeing on this blog post: This is the site and it is highly recommended. Philippe Colinge from Belgium shared this with me and I am very grateful to him. The Netherlands are the source of some of the most knowledgeable Beatles fans in the world!!!
In the Philippines, the title of Instant Karma was transposed and the A-side reads as We All Shine On with Instant Karma within parentheses!
John Lennon Mother/ Isolation and The Beatles?
For some strange reason, many of the solo Beatles recordings in the Philippines began to appear with the solo artist’s name being followed by “The Beatles” on the label. This happened to John, George, and Ringo, but not Paul so I can only assume this was due to some management issue or lack thereof. What was odd about this Mother 45, it not only had the incorrect Beatles labeling but the A side of Mother was also issued as the B-side in other issues of the 45.
APPLE – “LOVE”
APPLE – “POWER TO THE PEOPLE” and the Beatles listed as the performers of Yoko Ono’s “Open Your Box”
“IMAGINE”/ “OH MY LOVE”
Soon thereafter, the Beatles label was dropped from John’s 45’s.
George: “My Sweet Lord”/ “Isn’t It a Pity”
George – “What Is Life”/ “Apple Scruffs”
George – “Bangla Desh”/ “Deep Blue”
After Bangla-Desh, the Beatles attribution was dropped from the Philippine George 45’s
Ringo – “Beaucoups of Blues”/ “Coochy Coochy”
Ringo – “It Don’t Come Easy”/ “Early 1970”
A couple of Paul rarities from the Philippines. The Apple issue of Give Ireland Back to the Irish is credited as Wings featuring Paul and Linda McCartney and The “I Lie Around” Apple 45 featured I Lie Around as the A-side to Live and Let Die as the B-side!
A rare Beatles 45 from the Philippines is one that I am still seeking for in my collection: It is Two of Us with the flip side of Across the Universe from the Let It Be album! This would have made a wonderful single from the LP in my opinion. Here is a photo of the 45:
From Israel:
On Discogs, I was able to locate the rare Billy Preston EP on Apple which featured the only Apple appearance of the song “In the Midnight Hour,” by Wilson Pickett and Steve Cropper. Cropper was also to play guitar on the Phil Spector Lennon oldies sessions in California in 1973.
I want to make one exception to my three-country Apple rarity discussion. This rarity is from the Netherlands and it is the only version of James Taylor’s first Apple album to feature it on the label listed as “The First Album.”
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, APPLE RARITIES FROM SOUTH AFRICA
UYANDIZE UMABENGWANE / SIYAV UNGAZELA (Abafana Be Myunge)
DIE JARE GAAN VERBY / ROSE IS ROOI (Gene Rockwell) The AFRIKAAN VERSION OF THOSE WERE THE DAYS
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language that is spoken in South Africa according to Wikipedia!
“TSI TSI NO.1″ / “MAHLOMELA (Big Voice Jack)”
The 4th known Apple South African release-no photograph is available:
DARK CITY JIVE / WHITE CITY JIVE (Izinyozi Boys)
Hope you have enjoyed this post! Special thanks go to Philippe Colinge for providing many of the photographs presented hereas well as the wonderful site based in the Netherlands of:www.applerecords.nl
TRIVIA QUESTION: “Which was the first Beatles song released on Apple Records in the UK”? Answers in the comments below.
Many people do not realize that Peter Max, the celebrated pop artist, was approached by the Beatles to be involved with the Yellow Submarine film project. John Lennon had called him directly to work on the project. However, the project would require his committing to be in Europe for a 17-month period which he was not willing to do. It was Peter Max who recommended that Heinz Edelmann take the reins.
Much of this story is provided at the Park West Gallery link shown below. The link below provides a photo of the Peter Max piano that Ringo signed for him and it also discloses/ reveals that Heinz Edelmann’s business cards identified him as the “German Peter Max.” This may help to explain why many people were convinced that Peter had been involved with Yellow Submarine’s production. Edelmann’s work on Yellow Submarine certainly had similar properties to Peter Max’s artistic style. Peter Max and The Beatles: Friends, Artists, Icons of the 1960s (parkwestgallery.com)
In 2002, New Life Magazine asked Peter Max to do the four Beatles as separate covers for their magazine. Each issue featured a pull-out poster of the issue’s respective Beatle. Finding all four of these issues is not easy and usually is expensive. Luckily, I was able to obtain a set at a very reasonable cost on eBay. Sometimes the price that you pay on eBay is being fortunate to be at the right place at the right time.
Here are the four New Life Beatles covers with the Peter Max design:
John Lennon on New Life by Peter Max
Paul McCartney on New Life by Peter Max
George Harrison on New Life by Peter Max
Ringo Starr on New Life by Peter Max
My Peter Max signature in one of the books concerning his artwork:
Peter Max Signature
The Art of Peter Max
When Ringo Starr visited Peter Max in his studio, he signed the music stand on Peter’s piano:
Ringo’s signature to Peter Max
Hope you like these covers?
Buzz
More Artwork at The Beatles Bookstore
Art & Craft
Original art and craft related to Liverpool and the Beatles
Author Steven Gaines who co-wrote the book “The Love You Make” with Peter Brown, the longtime Beatles associate, has disclosed that he has numerous hours of unreleased interviews from his research conducted for the original best-selling book from the 1980’s. Steven has expressed the desire to be able to eventually leave the actual audio tapes to a research based institution like a university library or a museum.
This book seems to be a bonus release for Beatles historians to use as research source material. It also creates the unique opportunity for a book that deals with the creation of a best-seller which was also a biography that was tinged with controversy upon it’s release. Having the full transcribed interviews rather than an author’s editorial choice of what to print from the interviews can help to lend credibility to the conjectures presented by an author writing a biography. For researchers of the future having access to the actual audio interviews from these tapes would also be fascinating because one’s tone of voice often adds credibility to what one is saying, or often it strips that credibility away. History’s best-selling musical entertainers deserve the most accurate portrayal possible.
This is Steven’s partial list of the audio interviews that he has transcribed and will be publishing in the book. Perhaps the complete interviews with these individuals will help to shed some distinct credibility to those who criticized the authors for relying on controversy to sell the original book.
The tapes are approximately 80 hours of interviews with Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, George Harrison, and their families, friends and business associates. The tapes were recorded in 1980-1981 during the preparation of the international bestseller, “The Love You Make.”
The full transcription of these interviews have never been seen by the public. Here is the partial list of the tape archive that the April 2024 release contains the transcribed interviews of the participants with:
Brian Epstein (from a tape discovered in the closet of Nat Weiss, it’s only one paragraph)
Paul McCartney
Alistair Taylor
Queenie Epstein
Nat Weiss
Alistair Taylor on Brian’s Death
Peter Brown on Brian’s Death
Allan Williams
Bob Wooler
Dick James
Geoffrey Ellis
Peter Brown on Manila
Vic Lewis
George Harrison
Alexis Mardas
Peter Brown on Maharishi
Pattie Boyd Harrison Clapton and Jenny Boyd Fleetwood
Neil Aspinall
David Puttnam
Martin Polden
Peter Brown on Apple
Alistair Taylor on Apple
Derek Taylor
Peter Brown on “Hey Jude”
Robert Fraser
Ray Connolly
John Dunbar
Cynthia Lennon Twist
Ron Kass on Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
May Pang
Peter Brown on Allen Klein
Dick James II
Ron Kass
John Eastman
Alistair Taylor on Allen Klein Having Him Fired
Allen Klein
Maureen Starkey
Ringo Starr
US COVER TO THE APRIL 2024 RELEASE OF THE BOOK
All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words: Unpublished, Unvarnished, and Told by The Beatles and Their Inner Circle Hardcover – April 9, 2024 by Peter Brown (Author) Steven Gaines (Author) Published by St. Martin’s Press
All You Need Is Love
UK COVER TO THE BOOK
All You Need Is Love: The End of the Beatles – An Oral History by Those Who Were There Hardcover – 11 April 2024
Published byMonoray
All You Need Is Love
You can pre-order the book at Amazon now! Click the link below: