Smokin' George! He looks very young here, so I don't know if this picture was taken during one of the band's Hamburg jaunts, or not, but I like it a lot.
I'm certain that I have nattered on and on here before about the Beatles' fondness for early Elvis Presley tunes. However, there is one very early Elvis song, covered by the Hamburg-era Beatles and sung by George Harrison, that I haven't been able to get out of my head lately.
So, it seems like a good idea to devote a posting to it today. The tune is called I Forgot to Remember to Forget. As usual, just click on the blue highlighted song title to be magically transported to a YouTube track of the Beatles performing the song at the BBC.
So, it seems like a good idea to devote a posting to it today. The tune is called I Forgot to Remember to Forget. As usual, just click on the blue highlighted song title to be magically transported to a YouTube track of the Beatles performing the song at the BBC.
This version of the song comes, naturally, from the Beatles at the BBC CD set, first issued back in the mid-1990s. And it doesn't get much more country & western than that. I just love Paul's twangy Hofner bass! Interestingly, this tune was THE very first hit (on the country charts) for Elvis Presley when he was still at Sun Records in Memphis, not Heartbreak Hotel as is commonly thought.
Ok, we've heard the Beatles' cover. Now, let's give a listen to the original version of I Forgot to Remember to Forget from 1955. A good tune, but the the Beatles' version is preferable. George's guitar work during the break, among other things, just has a certain something about it that the original lacks as nice as it sounds.
Ok, we've heard the Beatles' cover. Now, let's give a listen to the original version of I Forgot to Remember to Forget from 1955. A good tune, but the the Beatles' version is preferable. George's guitar work during the break, among other things, just has a certain something about it that the original lacks as nice as it sounds.
