60 years Ago: Beatles Back at BBC
The Beatles began the week of June 17, 1963, with a return to the BBC to record another installment of their radio program Pop Go The Beatles, this time taped at Maida Vale Studios in London. The program consisted entirely of songs from the group’s Please Please Me LP: I Saw Her Standing There, Anna, Boys, Chains, P.S. I Love You and Twist And Shout. The show was broadcast on June 25. The following day, June 18, was a day off coinciding with Paul’s 21st birthday. It was back to London the next day for the evening recording of their performance for the BBC show Easy Beat before a live audience at the Playhouse Theatre. The group knocked out Some Other Guy, A Taste Of Honey, Thank You Girl and From Me To You before their screaming fans.
The weekend began with a Friday night concert at the Odeon Cinema in Guildford, Surrey. On Saturday evening, the group performed in Wales at the Ballroom located in the Town Hall in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. While three of the Beatles traveled there by van, one was flown in by helicopter that evening to allow him to participate in the taping of the BBC TV show Juke Box Jury, a weekly program that had panelists listen to songs and judge them as a “Hit” or “Miss.” This particular Beatle was negative on all of the songs, resulting in only one of the songs being voted as a Hit. The showed aired one week later on June 29.
On Sunday, June 23, the Beatles traveled to Birmingham for the taping of the ABC television show Lucky Stars (Summer Spin), which was the summer version of Thank Your Lucky Stars, at Alpha Television Studios. The program showcased several Mersey Beat acts, with the Beatles topping the bill. The group lip-synced From Me To You and I Saw Her Standing There. The show was broadcast on June 29.
Today’s trivia questions cover the infamous Beatle appearance on the June 29 Juke Box Jury.
- Which Beatle appeared as a panelist on the June 29, 1963 broadcast of Juke Box Jury?
- What was the only song on the program voted by a majority of the panelists as a “Hit”?
- Which of the Beatles idols was subjected to a negative comment by the Beatle on the show?
- One of the songs labeled as a “Miss” during a segment not broadcast was performed by an artist who would later record for Apple. Who was the artist?
- What was the name of the song judged as a “Miss” that was a parody of On Top Of Old Smokey?
- John appeared on the Juke Box Jury program broadcast on June 29, 1963.
- Devil In Disguise by Elvis Presley was deemed a “Hit” even though John called it a “Miss.”
- John was not happy with the direction of Elvis Presley’s career, saying that he now sounded like Bing Crosby.
- Just One Look by Doris Troy was also called a “Miss.” She would later record and write songs for Apple, working with George Harrison and Billy Preston.
- On Top Of Spaghetti by American folk singer Tom Glazer was sung to the tune of On Top Of Old Smokey, a song popularized by the Weavers. I remember singing along with Spaghetti when the tune was played on the radio during the summer of 1963. (I was only eight and I also sang along to the Coasters, Motown and New Orleans R&B, so cut me some slack!) While viewed as a “Miss” by John, the song was a “Hit” in America, reaching number 14 in the Billboard Hot 100. Glazer was accompanied by a group of kids dubbed the Do-Re-Mi Children’s Chorus – check out this fun video. John would later have the Harlem Community Choir join him on his single Happy Xmas (War Is Over). For those who remember the song or those curios to hear what Americans were listening to while Please Please Me and From Me To You were ignored in most markets, click here and raise a can of spaghetti and meatballs as a toast to Chef Boy-Ar-Dee.
