While doing a bit of work on the website today, I remembered what I think was my earliest memory of The Beatles. I was about 7 and my mother had bought me a Fisher Price record player. It was white and made out of plastic with a big, fat plastic playing arm. I remember the record player because it had a little built-in adaptor in the center that you had to pull up in order to play a 45. You sort of had to twist it into a set position, but it wouldn't always stay up too well.
Soon thereafter, my mother gave me her copy of the Capitol single Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out which I LOVED and played over and over again. In retrospect, I think she sacrificed the record so that I wouldn't be tempted to get into her other records - I was definitely that sort of kid.
I would put it on and jump all over the room breaking many of my other toys in the process. I played it so often that I'm sure my mother began to regret having given it to me - 3:30 am, the dead of night, George Harrison blares out that monumental riff at top volume to fits of mischievous laughter. If she got mad, I could flip the record and play We Can Work It Out.
I remember like it was yesterday the mesmerizing yellow and orange label spinning round and round. That the songs were references to drugs was lost on both of us.
Of course, I ended up scratching it to the point that it was unplayable, but I'll never forget that record. For me, that little record was The Beatles.
By high-school I had become a proper fan and have been ever since. I don't listen to them everyday, every week, or even every month but they will always be my favorite band.
They are one of the few artists that I think are truly "a-generational". No matter when you were born, there will be a point in your life when you first discover that incredible thing called The Beatles.
So, what was your earliest memory of The Beatles? Post your memory in the comments section below... it would be very cool to hear about it.
