September 4, 1962: The Beatles have their 1st recording session with EMI-Parlophone Records. No one could yet foresee that the band would be so successful, they would pretty much own what was once Electrical & Mechanical Industries, and it would be renamed Apple Records.
To set the scene: For less than a year, the band from Liverpool, England had been managed by Brian Epstein, who took them out of their black leather suits, and put them in business suits, but encouraged their continued efforts to write their own songs with nice harmonies.
He had gotten them signed to EMI, on the provision that rhythm guitarist John Lennon, bass guitarist Paul McCartney and lead guitarist George Harrison fire drummer Pete Best, and replace him with Richard Starkey, a.k.a. Ringo Starr, a drummer from another Liverpool band, with whom they were already familiar and liked.
Now, they were at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, ready to record for the first time. And what would become famous as their "quirky Liverpool sense of humor" was already apparent. Producer George Martin, who would become integral in their success, told them, "Let me know if there's anything you don't like." And Harrison said, "Well, for starters, I don't like your tie."
The band rehearsed 6 songs. One was "Please Please Me," which would become their 2nd single and 1st really big hit. One was "How Do You Do It?" which Mitch Murray had written for Adam Faith, one of the earliest British rock stars. Martin insisted that this be the band's 1st single. They recorded it, but it wasn't very good. John sang lead, and it's clear that none of them had their hearts in it. The song would be recorded the next year as the 1st single by another Liverpool band, Gerry & The Pacemakers, and it would be a lot better.
Martin wanted them to play a pre-written song: "It wasn't a question of what they could do, as they hadn't written anything great at that time. But what impressed me most was their personalities. Sparks flew off them when you talked to them."
But he let them record 2 songs that they had written. One was "Love Me Do." In later interviews, John said that it was mostly Paul's composition, saying, "Maybe I helped out in the middle." But Paul, for once deflecting some credit, said it was a 50-50 writing effort, as a lot of their early songs were. The other was "P.S. I Love You," which, clearly, was all Paul. Paul sang lead on both.
Martin agreed to let them record "Love Me Do" because he liked the harmonica that John played on it. Although Martin was used to recording jazz, he said John's harmonica part on a version of the song they had previously recorded with Best on drums reminded him of blues records he liked by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. So it was recorded, the 1st session with what would become the familiar lineup: "John, Paul, George and Ringo."
And Martin didn't like it. He had them come back in a week later, on September 11, 1962, and record it again. This time, a session drummer, Andy White, was brought in to play drums, and Ringo was relegated to playing the tambourine.
The version with Ringo on drums was released as the single -- and proved Martin's point. It only reached Number 17 on the British music charts. The version with White on drums was put on the group's 1st album, titled Please Please Me, after the 2nd single which was released around the same time. This would be the version released as the U.S. version of the single. The way to tell the difference is that the one where Ringo plays drums has no tambourine on it. I have to admit: The White version is better. Even the vocals are better on it.
By the time that album was recorded, in a single all-day session on February 11, 1963, Ringo had been with the band a bit longer, and was more integrated into them, and they sounded better together. "Please Please Me" was their 1st U.K. Number 1, and even Mimi Smith, John's hyper-critical aunt, who told them "Love Me Do" was no good, said she liked it. The rest is history.
Andy White, a Scotsman, was 32 years old at the time, 10 years older than Ringo, the oldest Beatle. He was the drummer every British producer wanted, a Scottish version of Los Angeles' Hal Blaine. He would end up drumming on some of the biggest soloists' hits to come off the Sceptered Isle in the Swinging Sixties, including "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones and Lulu's version of The Isley Brothers'"Shout."
Despite his name, he had nothing to do with The Beatles, the 1968 production nicknamed "The White Album" for its all-white cover. In the 1980s, he moved to New Jersey, taught drumming, and lived until 2015, at the age of 85.
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September 4, 1962 was a Tuesday. It was a few days before the NFL and AFL seasons would begin, and several weeks before the starts of the NBA and NHL seasons. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels, 7-6 at the old Yankee Stadium. Mickey Mantle did not play. Clete Boyer hit a home run, but Whitey Ford ran out of gas in the 7th inning, and the Angels scored 6 runs, including a home run by Lee Thomas. The Yankees tied it 6-6 in the 8th, but a single by future Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and Montreal Expos manager Robert "Buck" Rodgers off Bud Daley won it for the Halos in the 9th.
* The New York Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The expansion Mets went 40-120 that year, the most losses in any season in the 20th Century. There would be only 14 days in 1962 that the Mets won and the Yankees lost, and this was not one of them.
* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Dick Donovan, on the staff of Chicago's 1959 Pennant-winning "Go-Go White Sox," pitched all 13 innings for the Indians. This was a mistake by manager Al Lopez, as Al Smith singled home the winning run off him.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee, Braves, 9-6 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Warren Spahn didn't have it that day. Eddie Mathews hit 2 home runs, and Hank Aaron hit a double, but it wasn't enough.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-1 at the original Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's Park, in St. Louis. Stan Musial hit a home run.
* The Houston Colt .45s beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 at Colt Stadium in Houston. In 1965, the Colts would move into the Astrodome, and change their name to the Houston Astros.
* The Baltimore Orioles were supposed to host the Detroit Tigers at Memorial Stadium, but the game was rained out. It was played the next day, as part of a doubleheader. The Tigers won both games, taking the 1st 5-2, and the 2nd 6-0, as Hank Aguirre pitched a 5-hit shutout.
* The Minnesota Twins and the Washington Senators were also rained out that day -- not surprising, as Washington and Baltimore are so close, although the Yankees' game with the Angels in New York was played as scheduled. This game was also rescheduled as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Twins won the opener 9-7, on a Vic Power double in the 11th inning. The Senators won the 2nd game 3-0, as Claude Osteen pitched a 3-hit shutout.
* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Tom Haller and Jose Pagan hit home runs in defeat. Willie Mays went 0-for-3. This win put the Dodgers 3 1/2 games ahead of the Giants with 23 games left to play (24 for the Giants). But they would finish tied for the Pennant, and, as in 1951 on the other coast, the Giants would win the Playoff. Also as in 1951, the Giants would lose the World Series to the Yankees.