MARY WELLS - LOVE SONGS TO THE BEATLES (1965)

In this post, I present the tribute to the Beatles released by the singer Mary Wells, in 1965, by 20th Century Fox Records, added by 2 bonuses.

American soul, R&B and pop singer Mary Esther Wells was born on May 13, 1943 and died on July 26, 1992.

She was the first singer to sign a contract with the Motown label, where she recorded her biggest hit, the song My Guy, in 1964. She also recorded a duet with singer Marvin Gaye, with whom she scored the hits Once upon a time and What's the matter with you baby?"

Upon turning 20, Wells decided to break his contract with Motown and signed with 20th Century Fox. In addition to music, there was the promise of a film career. But on the new label she didn't repeat the same success she had on Motown.

Despite relative success with her first three singles on Fox, her album failed commercially and her contract was terminated.

Then, the singer signed with a new label, ATCO, which was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. Although their first single, Dear Love, peaked at number six on the Billboard R&B chart, subsequent ones flopped.

In 1968, she signed with Jubilee Records, but was again unsuccessful - and so would Reprise afterward.

Her career would be reborn in 1981, when she recorded the album "In And Out Of Love", released by Epic Records. The single Gigolo became a huge hit and reached number two on the Billboard charts.

Sadly, singer Mary Well died in 1992 from laryngeal cancer.

Below, the list of songs that are part of the album "Love Songs To The Beatles", posted here on the blog:

01. He loves you;

02. All my lovin';

03. Please, please me;

04. Do you want to know a secret;

05. Can't buy me love;

06. I should have known better;

07. Help;

08. Eight days a week;

09. And I love him;

10. Ticket to ride;

11. Yesterday;

12. I saw him standing there;

Bônus:

13. Come together;
14. Money 

Links:

MARY WELLS - LOVE SONGS OF THE BEATLES

20th CENTURY FOX RECORDS - USA 1965

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UPDATED LINKS (Click Here)

MANFREDO FEST TRIO - OS SAMBEATLES (1966) REPOST

Manfredo Fest was a Brazilian jazz and bossa nova instrumentalist, composer and arranger. He was born on May 13, 1938, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and died on October 8, 1999, in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA.

He was visually impaired and learned to read sheet music using the Braille Method. A jazz lover, he was interested from an early age in the music of Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and George Shearing.

In the city of Porto Alegre, he organized several groups, performing at parties, meetings and balls. In 1961, he graduated as a pianist from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. That year, he moved to São Paulo, where he met musicians linked to bossa nova. In São Paulo, he formed his first trio, performing in famous nightclubs such as Baiúca, Hotel Jaraguá and Cabridge Hotel.

He recorded his first album Long Playing-LP in 1962, including songs of his own, such as Eu sou feliz, with Lili Fest. In the following years, he recorded two more albums, the second with songs by Edu Lobo, Durval Ferreira, Baden Powell and Vera Brasil.

In 1965, he recorded Beatles hits in a samba rhythm on an album and, in the following year, he released Alma Brasileira. Invited by Sérgio Mendes, he acted as arranger and keyboardist for the group Brasil 66. In the recording of this tribute album, the trio's formation was: Manfred Fest (piano), Matias (bass) and Humberto Guy (drums)

He settled in Los Angeles (USA), where he began to research a mix of Brazilian jazz and samba. He formed a new trio and participated in the opening shows for the Brasil 66 presentations, recording several albums produced by Sérgio Mendes.

He left the group in 1970. He then formed new groups, including Batucada. In 1976, he released an LP album on his own label, which included his song Jungle cat. In 1992, he paid tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson with the song A blues for Oscar, recorded on an independent album.

From the following year, he began to record for the Concord label (USA), releasing four discs in Compact Disc format - CDs with instrumental versions of Caminhos cruzados, by Tom Jobim and Newton Mendonça, Passarim, by Tom Jobim, Ivan Lins and Vítor Martins, Amazonas, by João Donato, Over the rainbow, by Harold Arlen and Harburg and Summertime, by George and Ira Gershwin and Du Bose Heyward.

In 1996, he toured Germany and Denmark, accompanied by his son Phill Fest on guitar and Hendrik Mevrkens on harmonica, recording his most recent work with them. Two years later, he recorded on CD, live, his performance at Vartan Live Jazz, in Denver (Colorado), re-recording songs of his own.

Fonte: http://musicasdosanos60.blogspot.com.br/ e http://jbpimentel.blogspot.com.br/

The album in this post was released in Brazil in 1966, by the label RGE, with the Fermata label and the selection was made up of the following Beatles songs:

01 – Can’t buy me love
02 – Michelle
03 – A hard day’s night
04 – Girl
05 – Ticket to ride
06 – I should have known better
07 – Help
08 – Yesterday
09 – All my loving
10 – And I love her
11 – Ask me why
12 – If I fell
 
Bônus: 
13. Something.

LINKS:

MANFREDO FEST - OS SAMBEATLES (Mp3)

RGE / FERMATA - BRASIL 1966 (FLAC)

GÜNTER NORIS - BEATLES ALBUM (1969)

To start the month of August, which the old ones said was the month of mad dogs, I present the tribute album "Beatles Album", by German musician Günter Noris, which was released in Germany, in 1969, by the label EMI/Columbia.

Conductor, pianist, arranger and composer Günter M. Noris, actually Günter Maier, was born on June 5, 1935, in Bad Kissingen, Lower Franconian and died on November 27, 2007, in Kerpen, North Rhine, Westphalia.

The son of a postman, he got in touch with music at an early age and learned piano and composition at the Bavarian State Conservatory in Würzburg. He financed his studies as a jazz musician, with performances in American clubs, as a member of the group Hep Cats.

After completing his studies, he continued to perform as a jazz musician with the Helmut Brandt group. In 1961, RIAS hired him as a pianist and assistant conductor for the RIAS Dance Orchestra in Berlin.

In 1966, Hildegard Knef made him the music director for her first tour. At that time he adopted the stage name of "Noris", after the "Villa Noris", in his hometown.

In 1967, he moved to Cologne to work as a pianist and arranger for the WDR Dance Orchestra. In 1968, he followed a successful tour of Japan and in 1970, WDR recorded the musical "Noris Pierre & Madeleine", starring René Kollo and Gitte Haenning.

In 1971, he founded the Big Band of the German Armed Forces, with which he also created the musical support program for the Munich Olympic Games (1972) and the 1974 World Cup in Germany. In 1983, he resigned from the Bundeswehr and founded his own band, the Gala Big Band, which focused on the typical "Noris sound".

From 1977 to 1996, Noris Günter, Hugo Strasser and Max Greger released 20 official dance records of the year for the General German Dance Teachers Association - ADTV. In 1995, ADTV named the Gala Big Band the "Best Dance Orchestra in the World".

Günter Noris performed around 2500 live performances in 15 countries in almost 40 years of his career. Proceeds from many of his concerts went to charity. President Richard Von Weizäcker personally presented him with the Federal Merit Cross.

In 2005, to mark his 70th birthday, former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Jürgen Rüttgers, honored him.

The following is the list of songs that make up the album of this post:

01. Lady madonna;
02. With a little help from my friends;
03. Bungalow Bill;
04. Ob-la-di, ob-la-da;
05. Penny lane;
06. Hey Jude;
07. Can't buy me love;
08. Back in the URSS;
09. Birthday;
10. Norwegian wood;
11. When I'm sixty four;
12. All you need is love.

 LINKS:

GÜNTER NORIS - BEATLES ALBUM (1969) New Link

OS PSICODÉLICOS - OS GRANDES SUCESSOS DOS BEATLES (1968)

In this post, I present the unknown Brazilian instrumental group Os Psicodélicos, with the rare tribute album "Os Grandes Sucessos dos Beatles". Unfortunately I didn't get more information about the formation and history of the group.

The album was released in Brazil in 1968 by the RCA Camden label. The following are the songs that were selected to compose this tribute to the Beatles:

01. Hello, goodbye;
02. I need you;
03. Ticket to ride;
04. All my loving;
05. Penny lane;
06. Do you want to know a secret;
07. A hard day's night;
08. Daytripper;
09. Yesterday;
10. I Feel fine;
11. Michelle;
12. I want to hold your hand;
13. And I love her;
14. Here, there and everywhere.

 

Links:

OS PSICODÉLICOS - OS GRANDES SUCESSOS DOS BEATLES

RCA CAMDEN - BRASIL 1968

JACK NITZSCHE - DANCE TO THE HITS OF THE BEATLES (1964)

To my Beatlemaniac friends, I present the instrumental album "Dance To The Hits Of The Beatles", by Jack Nitzsche, released in the United States, in 1964, by Warner Records, with the Reprise label.

American Jack Nitzsche (Bernard Alfred Nitzsche) was born in Chicago on April 22, 1937 and died in Hollywood on August 25, 2000, aged 63.

He was a jazz musician, composer, pianist, saxophonist and arranger. He became famous as a composer of film scores, winning an Oscar for the song Up where we belong, from the 1982 film "An Officer And a Gentleman", directed by Taylor Hackford, whose main actors were Richard Gere, Debra Winger and Louis Gossett Jr.

Thee following is a selection from the album "Dance To The Hits Of The Beatles", including two tribute compositions by Jack Nitzsche himself:

01.  I want to hold your hand;
02. She loves you;
03. Chains;
04. My bonnie;
05. I saw her standing there;
06. Ringo;
07. Please, please me;
08. From me to you;
09. All my loving;
10. Twist and shout;
11. It won't be long;
12. Beatle-mania.

Links:

JACK NITZSCHE - DANCE TO THE HITS OF THE BEATLES (Mp3)

WARNER BROS. RECORDS / REPRISE - USA 1964 (FLAC)

EXPÓSITO E SUA ORQUESTRA - OS GRANDES SUCESSOS DOS BEATLES (2021)

In June 2020, I posted a single (EP) by the Orquestra Namorados do Caribe containing 4 Beatles hits, which was released in Brazil in 1966 by RCA Victor.

Some time later, checking other Brazilian orchestras, I noticed that several of them also recorded tracks by the quartet The Beatles.

So, I had the idea to select the recordings of these orchestras. To start with, I present six orchestrated songs recorded by the Argentinean conductor Expósito & Sua Orquestra, which were released in Brazil, on several albums, by the record label RCA Victor.

Maestro Virgílio Hugo Expósito was born on May 3, 1924, in the city of Zárate, a province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and died on October 25, 1997.

The musician worked as an arranger and conductor throughout the 1960s, in the orchestras of the Brazilian record company RCA. In Brazil, he left a discography consisting of seven albums, including a Bossa Nova compilation, from 1963 to 1967.

Following are the songs selected for this post:

• 01. All my loving;
• 02. Michelle;
• 03. Help;
• 04. Here, there and everywhere;
• 05. Yesterday;
• 06. A taste of honey.

Maestro Expósito

Links:

EXPÓSITO & SUA ORQUESTRA - OS GRANDES SUCESSOS DOS BEATLES

RCA VICTOR - BRASIL 2021

ORQUESTRA NAMORADOS DO CARIBE - OS GRANDES SUCESSOS DOS BEATLES (1966)

Among the various Beatles tribute singles I found one that presents the quartet's music in a bolero / salsa style. This is the EP of the Orquestra Namorados do Caribe, entitled "Os Grandes Sucessos dos Beatles".

There is little information on the network about the Orquestra Namorados do Caribe. But there are mentions that this orchestra was a studio orchestra by the record company RCA Victor and that it emerged as a marketing counterpoint to the Orquestra Românticos de Cuba, by maestro Severino Araújo, from the record company Musidisc.

Unfortunately, at that time it was common practice to not mention the musicians, nor the conductor of such records. In this particular case, I found information that the conductor of the Orquestra Namorados do Caribe was the conductor of Rio, hired by the record company RCA Victor Brasil.

The conductor, Carioca, whose name was Ivan Paulo Silva, was born in Taubaté, São Paulo and died in the city of Rio de Janeiro. He performed as in Brazil as an instrumentalist, trombonist, orchestrator and orchestra leader.

The double compact disc for this post was released in Brazil in 1966 by the label RCA Victor and contains the following Beatles songs:

Lado A:

01. Day tripper;

02. Yesterday;

Lado B:

03. Girl;

04. Michelle.

Links:

ORQUESTRA NAMORADOS DO CARIBE - OS GRANDES SUCESSOS DOS BEATLES

RCA VICTOR - BRASIL 1966

CHET ATKINS - PICKS ON THE BEATLES (1966)

Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician, occasional vocalist, songwriter, and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, Bob Ferguson and others, created the country music style that came to be known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country music's appeal to adult pop music fans. He was primarily known as a guitarist. He also played the mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and ukulele.

Atkins's signature picking style was inspired by Merle Travis. Other major guitar influences were Django Reinhardt, George Barnes, Les Paul, and, later, Jerry Reed. His distinctive picking style and musicianship brought him admirers inside and outside the country scene, both in the United States and abroad.

Atkins spent most of his career at RCA Victor and produced records for the Browns, Hank Snow, Porter Wagoner, Norma Jean, Dolly Parton, Dottie West, Perry Como, Floyd Cramer, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, Jerry Reed, Skeeter Davis, Waylon Jennings, and many others.

Rolling Stone credited Atkins with inventing the "popwise 'Nashville sound' that rescued country music from a commercial slump," and ranked him number 21 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time." Among many other honors, Atkins received 14 Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

He also received nine Country Music Association awards for Instrumentalist of the Year. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. George Harrison was also inspired by Chet Atkins; Early Beatles songs such as "All My Loving" show the influence.

The album was released in 1966, by the recorder RCA Victor and contains the following selection of instrumental songs, in tribute to the Beatles:

01. I feel fine;

02. Yesterday;

03. If I fell;

04. Can't buy me love;

05. I'll cry instead;

06. Things we said today;

07. Hard day's night;

08. I'll follow the sun;

09. She's a woman;

10. And I love her;

11. Michelle;

12. She loves you.

Links:

CHET ATKINS - PICKS ON THE BEATLES

RCA VICTOR - USA 1966

THE BROTHERS FOUR - SING LENNON & MCCARTNEY (1966)

The Brothers Four is an American folk singing group, founded in 1957 in Seattle, Washington, known for their 1960 hit song "Greenfields".

Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland, and Dick Foley met at the University of Washington, where they were members of the Phi Gamma Deltafraternity in 1956 (hence the "Brothers" appellation).

Their first professional performances were the result of a prank played on them in 1958 by a rival fraternity, who had arranged for someone to call them, pretend to be from Seattle's Colony Club, and invite them to come down to audition for a gig. Even though they were not expected at the club, they were allowed to sing a few songs, and were subsequently hired. Flick recalls them being paid "mostly in beer."

They left for San Francisco in 1959, where they met Mort Lewis, Dave Brubeck's manager. Lewis became their manager and later that year secured them a contract with Columbia Records.

Their second single, "Greenfields," released in January 1960, hit #2 on the pop charts, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Their first album, Brothers Four, released toward the end of the year, made the top 20.

Other highlights of their early career included singing their fourth single, "The Green Leaves of Summer," from the John Wayne movie The Alamo, at the 1961 Academy Awards, and having their third album, BMOC/Best Music On/Off Campus, go top 10.

They also recorded the title song for the Hollywood film Five Weeks in a Balloon in 1962 and the theme song for the ABC television series Hootenanny, "Hootenanny Saturday Night," in 1963. They also gave "Sloop John B" a try, released as "The John B Sails".

The British Invasion and the ascendance of edgier folk rock musicians such as Bob Dylan put an end to the Brothers Four's early period of success, but they kept performing and making records, doing particularly well in Japan and on the American hotel circuit.

The group, with Jerry Dennon, built a radio station in Seaside, Oregon (KSWB) in 1968. The station was subsequently sold in 1972 to a group from Montana, and later to a self-proclaimed minister, and finally merged into a larger conglomerate of radio stations.

The group attempted a comeback by recording a highly commercial version of Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” but was unable to release it due to licensing issues, and The Byrds eventually stole their thunder by releasing their heralded version.

Mike Kirkland left the group in 1969, and was replaced by Mark Pearson, another University of Washington alumnus. In 1971, Pearson left and was replaced by Bob Haworth, who stayed until 1985 and was replaced by a returning Pearson. Dick Foley left the group in 1990 and was replaced by Terry Lauber. Despite all the changes and having spent 60 years in the business, the group is still active.

Fonte: wikipedia/out 2018

The songs that are part of the disc selection are the following:

01. Norwegian wood;

02. Yesterday;

03. All my loving;

04. Nowhere man;

05. I'll follow the sun;

06. And I love her;

07. If I feel;

08. Help;

09. Michelle;

10. We can work it out;

11. Girl.

Links: 

THE BROTHERS FOUR

SING LENNON & MCCARTNEY

COLUMBIA / CBS - 1966 USA

THE TORERO BAND - LENNON & McCARTNEY TIJUANA STYLE - 1969

In this post, we present the album The Torero Band - Lennon & McCartney Tijuana Style, released in England in 1969, by the label MFP, EMI Records.

Unfortunately, there is little information about this group. The songs on the disc are as follows:

1. Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da;

2. Yesterday;

3. From me to you;

4. With A Little Help From My Friends;

5. All my loving;

6. Yellow submarine;

7. Please, please;

8. Hey Jude,

9. Can't buy me love;

10. I Want To Hold Your Hand;

11. She loves you;

12. Eleanor rigby.

Links:

THE TORERO BAND

LENNON & McCARTNEY TIJUANA STYLE

EMI RECORDS / MFP - England 1969

THE JOHNNY MAN SINGERS - BEATLE BALLADS - 1965

John Russell Mann (August 30, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, and recording artist.

Johnny Mann and his vocal group The Johnny Mann Singers were involved in several classic rock 'n' roll and rockabilly recording sessions forJohnny Burnette (including "God, Country and My Baby"), The Crickets and several 1957–1958 sessions with Eddie Cochran, who was also signed to Liberty Records in Hollywood.

As bandleader with the Johnny Mann Singers, he and the group recorded approximately three dozen albums, hosted the TV series titled Stand Up and Cheer (1971–1974), and was the musical director for The Joey Bishop Show. He was also musical director of The Alvin Show, and was the voice of Theodore. Mann was also choral director for the NBC Comedy Hour.

The Johnny Mann Singers' instrumental "Cinnamint Shuffle (Mexican Shuffle)" hit the US Pop chart in 1966. Their next single, a cover version of "Up, Up and Away", became the hit version of the song in the UK Singles Chart, rather than the US hit version by The 5th Dimension.

The Johnny Mann Singers performed a strongly patriotic musical presentation at the 1972 Emmy Awards telecast hosted by Johnny Carson.Following their performance, Carson returned to the stage and declared "War Bonds are available in the lobby," a sarcastic comment on the group's flag-waving. The remark offended some conservative viewers around the country.

Mann wrote a number of radio jingles, the most famous being Los Angeles station 93 KHJ as well as the "Sound of the City" jingle for KSFO inSan Francisco, California. This jingle became as requested as many of the songs played by KSFO in the era of Don Sherwood, and it was adapted by Mann for other radio stations around the country which included KFRC (AM) in San Francisco and CKLW in Windsor, Ontario.

Mann was credited as "Johnnie Mann" in some of his earlier works. His group's most notable alumna was Vicki Lawrence. In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.

In 2010, Mann was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree from Anderson University in Anderson, SC. In April 2014 at the age of 85, he was a guest conductor of The South Carolina School of the Arts,  at Anderson University's spring gala where he led the university choir in performing the Johnny Mann Singers arrangement of "Up, Up and Away". At the song's conclusion, the audience of about 1,000 stood in Mann's honor.

On June 18, 2014, Johnny Mann died of heart failure at age 85 at his home in Anderson, South Carolina. This day, at his memorial service, Dr. Evans Whitaker, president of Anderson University (SC) announced the creation of the Johnny Mann Center for Commercial Music at Anderson University in his memory.

The Lp album this posting was launched in United States in 1965 by Liberty Records.

TRACK LIST:

1. Do You want to know a secret;

2. All my loving;

3. Things we said today;

4. She loves you;

5. This boy - Ringo's theme;

6. P.S. I love you;

7. From me to you;

8. And I love her;

9. I'm happy just to dance with you;

10. If a fell;

11. Love me do;

12. I'll be back.

Links:

THE JOHNNY MAN SINGERS

BEATLE BALLADS

LIBERTY RECORDS - 1965