My Bonnie

My Bonnie was the first commercial release of a recording of the Beatles. The lead singer was Tony Sheridan, and the back-up band (consisting of Paul, John, George and Pete Best) was listed as "The Beat Brothers." It was recorded on June 22, 1961 on a stage at Friedrich-Ebert-Halle high school in Hamburg, Germany. Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers also recorded a rock version of When the Saints Go Marching In, listed on the record simply as The Saints. The producer and band leader was Bert Kaempfert. He first proposed that the Beatles record some songs together with his group. Lennon later said, "It's just Tony Sheridan singing, with us banging in the background. It's terrible. It could be anybody." After the recordings with Sheridan, the Beatles recorded two songs by themselves: Ain't She Sweet and Cry For A Shadow. In October of 1961 the recording of My Bonnie (with The Saints on the b-side) was released in Germany and rose to number five. It was released in the UK as "Tony Sheridan and the Beatles." The historical importance of My Bonnie is that it caught the attention of Brian Epstein, who later became the manager of the Beatles. My Bonnie can be heard on the Anthology 1 collection.