Del Shannon?
Ding, Ding, Ding - we have a winna - Mr. BM!
Here's what I found out (BTW, Dell Shannon wrote and recorded the huge hit "Runaway" in 1961, with huge credit due to his keyboardist Max Crook. Crook built a tone generator from tubes and bits of wires and resistors lying around the house, and so that incredible keyboard solo cannot be replicated exactly by anyone but him!):
1) Del Shannon, on the basis of Runaway met The Beatles while they were performing at the Royal Albert Hall in 1963 (wonder who was higher on the bill?). They played from me to you, he loved it, recorded it, and charted with it in the States in June of 1963. Del Shannon hailed out of Battle Creek Michigan. His story can be read here
http://www.delshannon.com/runaway.htm and here
http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/del-shannon .
2) Del Shannon wrote the song "Needles and Pins" which was a big hit for Peter and Gordon in the early '60s. From what I remember about the song, it sounds VERY Lennon-McCartney like, I was really surprised to learn that it was written by someone as far removed from the Beatles as Del Shannon. "Peter" of Peter and Gordon is Peter Asher, the brother of Jane Asher, Paul's girlfriend for most of the early '60s.
3) Del Shannon produced "Baby It's You" for "A Band Called Smith". A great cover version of The Beatle's great cover version of a (?) Shirelle's song!
So there it is ... some random dude from Battle Creek, Michigan part of the magical Beatles web - even being the first one to chart in the States with a Lennon-McCartney tune!