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Author Topic: Matchbox  (Read 5626 times)

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LennonStarrFan

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Matchbox
« on: June 13, 2010, 11:38:17 AM »

One of my fav Carl Perkins covers by The Beatles. :)

THE BEATLES Remasters! /// 13. Matchbox - (MONO MASTERS Vol.1) (MONO Remastered 2009)


The Beatles Live At The BBC - Matchbox
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"John was the best. I loved John. He was fine singer, a fine musician and he was a fine friend." -Ringo
β€œHe's (Ringo) every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John

peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2010, 10:19:18 PM »

According to Wikipedia, it's John singing the Star Club version of this song. I always thought it was Ringo - it never crossed my mind that it might be John.

On closer inspection, it sounds like neither of them!

Listen to this version and compare the vocal in Matchbox to the one in Talkin Bout You, which comes straight after.

Matchbox - I'm Taking about you / The Beatles Live at Star Club


Maybe they were recorded on different nights or something (I know the Star Club tapes are supposed to have been recorded across a few dates in December 1962) but they don't sound like the same singer to me.

Perhaps Pete Best snuck back in to reclaim his old vocal spotlight song!!  ;)
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peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2010, 11:05:28 PM »

Going off at a tangent a little, can anyone tell me what song George is playing on guitar between 0:17 and 0:27 in this clip, just before Matchbox starts?
Is it an old ragtime tune?

There's a singer-songwriter from north-east England called Martin Stephenson and I'm sure I've heard him playing it on occasion. He's really into old American guitar players like Merle Travis and Doc Watson so it may be one of their songs.

If so, why would George be playing it? Doesn't really strike me as something he would have known.
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Bobber

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2010, 07:58:42 AM »

Between 0.17 and 0.27? That's already Matchbox there.
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Joost

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2010, 08:20:44 AM »

It sounds like John to me.
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peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #5 on: July 14, 2010, 08:44:21 AM »

Between 0.17 and 0.27? That's already Matchbox there.


Sorry - I meant to add a new YouTube link!!!
Here it is ...

MATCHBOX - THE BEATLES



It might have been something Chet Atkins played - he was a country-style guitar picker and may have played the same songs as Doc Watson and Merle Travis. I know George was a fan of Chet.
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peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #6 on: July 14, 2010, 02:20:25 PM »

I wonder if Pete is singing Matchbox here .... (notice Macca on drums!!!) ...


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Joost

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2010, 02:25:18 PM »

Sorry - I meant to add a new YouTube link!!!
Here it is ...

MATCHBOX - THE BEATLES


It might have been something Chet Atkins played - he was a country-style guitar picker and may have played the same songs as Doc Watson and Merle Travis. I know George was a fan of Chet.


Between 0:17 and 0:27: I don't think he's playing an actual song, sounds to me like he's just noodling away.

The vocals indeed don't sound like John or Ringo (or Paul or George, for that matter). If you listen to the vocals, you notice that the singer slurs the last word of every line. That's a sign of a singer who's insecure about his own voice so I suppose it's someone who wasn't used to singing lead.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2010, 02:32:37 PM by Joost »
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peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #8 on: July 14, 2010, 02:45:03 PM »

Between 0:17 and 0:27: I don't think he's playing an actual song, sounds to me like he's just noodling away.

The vocals indeed don't sound like John or Ringo (or Paul or George, for that matter). If you listen to the vocals, you notice that the singer slurs the last word of every line. That's a sign of a singer who's insecure about his own voice so I suppose it's someone who wasn't used to singing lead.


Listening to the introduction again in that second Star Club clip, Paul and John are talking to Tony Sheridan - I wonder if it is him on vocals.
Sounds more like him than it does John, Paul, George or Ringo.
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Bobber

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2010, 03:32:45 PM »

No, I don't think it's Tony. The clip seems to be speeded up somewhat. I think it's John after all. Don't have a clue about George's guitarlick between 17 and 27.
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peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2010, 03:43:49 PM »

Don't have a clue about George's guitarlick between 17 and 27.


I said that I thought I had heard Martin Stephenson play the song so I asked on one of his forums.
He does indeed play it. It's a song called "Windy and Warm" which was written by John D Loudermilk for Chet Atkins.
It appeared on one of Chet's albums in 1962, which is presumably where George had heard it and was still learning it (by the sounds of it) in December 1962.

Here's one of my favourite guitarists covering the song ...

Tommy Emmanuel - Windy And Warm


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Bobber

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2010, 07:51:42 PM »

I wonder if Pete is singing Matchbox here .... (notice Macca on drums!!!) ...





Probably not. Pete is known to sung Peppermint Twist on stage. Also notice George playing Paul's bass right handed.
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peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #12 on: July 14, 2010, 08:03:02 PM »

Probably not. Pete is known to sung Peppermint Twist on stage. Also notice George playing Paul's bass right handed.

I hadn't noticed that George was on bass - can't have been easy playing the bass with the strings upside down!

I had never noticed that they used a back-drop on stage before, as well.
I'm assuming that picture is at the Cavern, yeah?
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peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #13 on: July 14, 2010, 08:09:42 PM »

To get this thread vaguely back on the Matchbox track (!) .....

I read this post at the Pete Best forum, which is suggesting that there is a recording of Pete singing Matchbox with The Beatles live at The Cavern, just before he was sacked, but Paul bought the tape at auction.
What do you reckon? Is that likely?

http://www.petebest.net/forums/showpost.php?p=9004&postcount=3

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Bobber

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #14 on: July 14, 2010, 08:45:47 PM »

Richie Unterberger's 'The Unreleased Beatles' (highly recommended) does mention the tape, plus that Paul McCartney bought it at an action at Sotheby's. Matchbox is supposed to be on the tape, but it is not known whether Pete sings the song or not. It's not automically a song sung by Pete just because Ringo did it in later years. As for the recording to be released, Unterberger says

"Even if the fidelity of the tape is lousy (which one would guess it to be), it would probably at the very least make for very interesting and historically significant listening. The winning bidder for the tape at the Sotheby's auction, incidentally, was Paul McCartney. That would have made it easy for an excerpt to be included on Anthology 1. But it wasn't, raising suspicions that the fidelity might not even be as good as the 1960 tapes, as bites of the latter did make the cut for that release."
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Joost

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #15 on: July 14, 2010, 09:19:39 PM »

I hadn't noticed that George was on bass - can't have been easy playing the bass with the strings upside down!

Depends. If you just stick to the root notes it's not too hard.
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peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #16 on: July 14, 2010, 09:34:41 PM »

No, I don't think it's Tony. The clip seems to be speeded up somewhat. I think it's John after all. Don't have a clue about George's guitarlick between 17 and 27.

I will have to dig out my Purple Chick Star Club CD - I think they did some speed correction on there so it should be easier to tell.
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peterbell1

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #17 on: July 14, 2010, 10:10:23 PM »

Richie Unterberger's 'The Unreleased Beatles' (highly recommended) does mention the tape, plus that Paul McCartney bought it at an action at Sotheby's. Matchbox is supposed to be on the tape, but it is not known whether Pete sings the song or not. It's not automically a song sung by Pete just because Ringo did it in later years. As for the recording to be released, Unterberger says

"Even if the fidelity of the tape is lousy (which one would guess it to be), it would probably at the very least make for very interesting and historically significant listening. The winning bidder for the tape at the Sotheby's auction, incidentally, was Paul McCartney. That would have made it easy for an excerpt to be included on Anthology 1. But it wasn't, raising suspicions that the fidelity might not even be as good as the 1960 tapes, as bites of the latter did make the cut for that release."

I have seen interviews with Pete where he says he did sing Matchbox while he was with The Beatles, plus Boys and the Peppermint Twist one. He hated doing Peppermint Twist because he had to stand out the front, so that picture above is probably him doing that song, as you suggested.

Apparently John encouraged Ringo to take over the vocals that Pete used to do - which is why he ended up learning Matchbox and Boys, though obviously not straight away since John is still singing Matchbox in December, months after Ringo joined (assuming it IS John!)

That Cavern tape with Pete Best would indeed be great to hear, even if the sound quality is rubbish.
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Bobber

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Re: Matchbox
« Reply #18 on: July 15, 2010, 08:38:28 AM »

Mark Lewisohn also gives the lead for Matchbox and Boys to Pete in his Chronicle.
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