My Bonnie: Introduction
The Beatles first commercial single was “My Bonnie” (October 1961, in Germany). However, this was in the early development stages of the band. So, at the time of release in Germany, The Beatles went by the name of The Beat Brothers and were a backing group to Tony Sheridan. Hence, the credits for “My Bonnie” go to Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers.
However, when Brian Epstein secured the British release on January 5, 1962, credits went to Tony Sheridan and the Beatles. The B-side to this song is “The Saints.”
**The Beatles did record a disc previously, but that was not for commercial purposes. This was “That’ll Be The Day,” of course.
In Detail
- Release Date: October 23, 1961 (Germany) (Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers), January 5, 1962 (Tony Sheridan and the Beatles) (UK)
- Recorded: June 22, 1961
- Format: Single (A-side 45 rpm record) (B-side is “The Saints”) (also album track from 1995)
- Studio/Venue: Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg, Germany
- Genre: Rock and roll
- Track Duration: 2:42
- Record Label: Polydor
- Songwriter: Traditional, but arranged by Tony Sheridan
- Producer: Bert Kaempfert
- Engineer: Karl Hinze
Performers And Instruments
- Tony Sheridan: vocals and the lead guitar
- John Lennon: backing vocals, also the rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney: backing vocals, also the bass guitar
- George Harrison: backing vocals, also the lead guitar
- Pete Best: drums***
***Ringo Starr was not yet a part of the band.
Where To Find “My Bonnie”
My Bonnie: Background
In the early 1960s, The Beatles (aka The Beat Brothers) were regular performers at the Top Ten club in Hamburg while supporting Tony Sheridan. Obviously, they were soon to catch the eye of talent spotters.
Producer Bert Kaempfert first spotted Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers. He signed them up with his company, which would see Sheridan and the band record a number of songs together.
The band, together with Sheridan, recorded “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean,” “The Saints,” “Why,” “Nobody’s Child,” and “Take Out Some Insurance.” However, The Beatles, on their own, recorded “Ain’t She Sweet” and “Beatle Bop,” aka “Cry for a Shadow.” Pete Best was the drummer, because at this stage, Ringo Starr was not yet part of the band.
They released “My Bonnie” as a single in Germany on October 23, 1961, with credit to Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers. The B-side was “The Saints” (Oh, when the saints go marching in…), and the single reached number 32.
Brian Epstein
This single became the first commercially available disc by The Beatles. But that was just the start of a chain of events that would see The Beatles play their way into fame and fortune.
Raymond Jones was a fan of the band, and he went into Brian Epstein’s record shop in Liverpool to buy “My Bonnie.” With curiosity running wild now, Epstein insisted on finding out more about the band. Obviously, this ended with him becoming manager of The Beatles.
“A kid had gone into Brian’s record store and asked for My Bonnie by The Beatles. Brian had said, ‘No, it’s not; it’s by Tony Sheridan,’ and he ordered it. Then Brian heard that we were playing 200 yards away. So he came to the Cavern and the news got to us: ‘Brian Epstein is in the audience—he might be a manager or a promoter. He is a grown-up, anyway.’ It was Us and Grown-ups then.”
Paul McCartney
Anthology
“My Bonnie” became a UK single release on January 5, 1962, with the B-side being “The Saints.” Furthermore, Epstein insists the credits should go to Tony Sheridan and The Beatles.
Recording Studio
Tony Sheridan and The Beatles began recording “My Bonnie” on June 22, 1961, at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle school in Hamburg, Germany.
“We did a recording with Tony Sheridan, My Bonnie, for Bert Kaempfert, a band leader and producer. It was actually ‘Tony Sheridan und die Beat Brothers’. They didn’t like our name and said, ‘Change to The Beat Brothers; this is more understandable for the German audience.’ We went along with it; it was a record.”
Paul McCartney
Anthology
“It’s just Tony Sheridan singing with us banging in the background; it’s terrible; it could be anybody.”
John Lennon
Anthology
All in all, The Beatles spent two days recording their songs at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle school.
My Bonnie: Chart Success
In Germany, the song reached number 32 in the charts and the intro was in German. However, the UK release had an English intro but only reached number 48, with the American release getting to number 26. Meanwhile, in Australia, it only peaked at number 29.
These figures matter, not because the juicy bits of The Beatles was yet to come! Indeed, Beatlemania was about to hit hard.
Take A Listen
The beat takes a while to kick in, but its well worth it. So, take a listen to it then leave some comments below.
Apropos ‘My Bonnie’ recording date viz.,
“They (Beatles) released ‘My Bonnie’ as a single in Germany on the 23rd October, 1961, is incorrect.
I know this for sure, as in fact I went into Nem’s music store in Whitechapel asking for the record sometime shortly after January 25, 1961. That is the date recorded on a professional contract I signed – which I still have.
So ‘My Bonnie’ was touted in the Cavern by the Beatles sometime either shortly before, or shortly after, January 25, 1961. As the Nem’s person’s interest was aroused when I asked if they had the record, I suggested he take a walk over to Stanley street to see the Beatles live in action in a lunch-time session; I later found the person I’d asked for ‘My Bonnie’ in Nems, was Brian Epstein.
While we can’t argue with your written documentation (contract for the single), we can’t find any reference to this single being recorded or released any earlier.
Would you be able to send a photocopy of this document? If not, can you please check the wording and dates one more time?
Failing this, we can only rely on information which is available on wikipedia etc.