Here is the cool interview with Paul White that was featured by the CBC to commemorate the Beatles 50th anniversary of Beatlemania in Canada. The Interview was conducted by CBC National producer Perlita Stroh in January 2014 via arrangement with Piers Hemmingsen. Used here with permission. The clip was aired at the same time as the special CBS exclusive Beatles TV show "The Night That Changed America: A GRAMMY Salute To The Beatles" on February 9, 2014. So for those who missed the interview because they were watching the historical reunion of Paul and Ringo on television, here, for your viewing pleasure, is the 5 minute clip in its entirety.
The music industry really gave its all for the 50th anniversary of the Beatles in the USA, issuing a brand "new" box set, preparing a 2 and a half hour TV special after the Grammys (a show that will now soon be aired all around the world), and lately, Apple (computers) have issued a remastered 15 minute film clip of the band's historical first Ed Sullivan Show performance from February 1964. The temporarily available film is accessible for free on iTunes, and more interestingly, through Apple TV devices, so rush up to your computer, access the iTunes Store and take a few minutes to enjoy a great show that was seen by a record audience 50 years ago!
Fifty years ago tonight I sat with my family in the cold basement of our home in Petawawa, Ontario and watched The Beatles "blast off" on the Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast across Canada by the CBC television network in black and white on that winter evening.
Our family had moved there from England in the summer of 1963, and we had seen the Beatles on British television earlier that same year when they had topped the British charts with their second British Parlophone single Please Please Me. We were a unique family in Canada I suppose because we had heard and seen the music of the Beatles pretty much right from the start.
Fast forward 50 years and their music is still fresh and vital today. And Canada certainly still loves the Beatles. So much so in fact that over the past few weeks, there have been some great articles in the Canadian Press celebrating Canada's very own Beatles history. A history that pre-dates the Sullivan shows of February 1964 by many months.
Some recent Canadian newspaper articles we can recommend include the following.
Bruce Ward wrote a great couple of articles for the Ottawa Citizen (January 20, 2014).
Robert Everett-Green wrote a great piece in yesterday's Globe And Mail (February 8, 2014).
Stephanie Maclellan wrote a fan-based piece for the Toronto Star yesterday (February 8, 2014).
John Einarson wrote a nice fan piece in the Winnipeg Free Press today (February 9, 2014).
Tonight is very special for all Canadian Beatles fans too because the CBC will air an exclusive interview with Capitol's very own Paul White on the nightly news program The National at 10 pm. The interview was recorded in Toronto a couple of weeks ago.
The Paul White interview this evening is not to be missed.
Piers
Sunday February 9 2014
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles playing the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time. For the occasion, CBS will be airing a 2-hour special show commemorating the event at 8:00 pm (EST), the very hour at which the original show was aired in 1964. Many artists will be honouring the Beatles tonight, notably Stevie Wonder, Eurythmics (reunited), and Maroon 5. Of course, the highlight will be the reunion of the remaining two Beatles on stage: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, who will perform a few Beatles songs for the delight of all Beatles fans around the world!
In The Grammy's organization's own words: "The two-hour show was taped on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014, the day after the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards, and will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound". Don't miss this historical event, If you don't already have the CBS channel in your cable plan, it will be well worth adding it for this month!
For more details, please visit both CBS and the grammy's websites: http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-night-that-changed-america/ http://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-beatles-special-to-air-feb-9-2014
In the midst of craziness surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' venue in the USA, Beatles records sales are still reaching sky high summits that would make many contemporary artists jealous... From the new iTunes exclusive compilations and "new" box sets that feature very little new material, to online sales of original 60s pressings, the Beatles clearly still hold a top spot in music fan's collections. Here are some of the interesting items that sold in early 2014:
First, retro rainbows were very popular this last month: a hard to find retro rainbow pressing of Meet The Beatles sold for 31$, A library copy of the HELP! album on the retro rainbow label sold for 64$, while a test pressing of the red album by the same collector sold for 61$ with a generic hand written white sleeve, and finally, a pressing of the UK format Rubber Soul (CLJ series) sold for 22.50$.
Special items also marked the beginning of 2014: a Gold Box series of the Abbey Road reel tape sold for an impressive 185$, while a special pressing of the 1978 marbled Sgt Pepper with different colours (probably a test made at the pressing plant) sold for 600$! But the most impressive item this week was actually an "almost-sale"... A sealed copy of the Canadian Let It Be box set was put up for auction, and reached a mind blowing 2050$, but unfortunately, the owner had put a higher reserve price and the record hasn't found a new owner yet.
In the 45s department, hard to find target 45s were at the top of the sales last month: I don't Want To Spoil The Party sold for 36$, And I Love Her sold for little less at 22$ for a VG+ copy, and Twist And Shout sold for 35$. Otherwise, the always popular Canadian pressing of the Four By The Beatles EP with the Parr's sleeve (NM) sold for 587$
The Beatles are great, but other artists (sometimes unfortunately not as widely known, but still as interesting) also still sell well all these years later, and are worth noticing. Many of them were indeed featured on a 60s compilation from the 6000 series, called Sound's Great, and featured the Yardbirds, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Adam Faith and Billy J Kramer. This sought after record sold for 27$ last month, while Ian Withcomb's Mod, Mod, Music Hall sold for 20.50$. Tommy Steele's hard to find 6000 series album So This Is Broadway LP sold for 12$, and Jackie Lomax's rare Apple 45 New Day/Thumbin' A Ride sold for 40$.