Do you want to know a secret? - the story behind the song

This is a love song written by John Lennon and based on a song his mother would sing to him as a child (photo): "Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell? We are standing by a wishing well." ("I'm Wishing" from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie).

Although rumors have persisted that John wrote this song about his girlfriend Cynthia, whom he'd just married, evidence remains inconclusive. It is true that he'd gotten her pregnant and was urged by Brian to marry her, yet keep the marriage a secret so as to make him appear available to female fans. But whether the "secret" in question is that John has decided he loves Cynthia, or that their marriage is the secret, is hard to tell. For his part, Lennon always treated it as a generic love song in interviews.

This was given to George to sing and was the first recorded Beatles song not sung by John or Paul. It was not, however, written specifically for him. (George and Ringo were often given songs to sing in the early days, so as to reach out to their individual fans.) John has said that "I thought it would be a good vehicle for him, because it had only three notes and he wasn't the best singer in the world." :)

John Lennon's football drawing

Did you know that John Lennon's "Walls and Bridges" album cover shows a drawing made by him when he was 11? This is a depiction of the Newcastle vs Arsenal FA Cup final in 1952, drawn by him after seeing this match. Arsenal lost to Newcastle, 0-1 with several injuries on the field (no substitutions allowed then) and ended the game with just seven fit players.

The cover shows the unmistakable black and white stripes of Newcastle players and the red jerseys and white shorts of Arsenal. Lennon drew this in June, 1952 a month after the final.

The album "Walls and Bridges" reached no 1 in the USA and no 6 in England in 1974. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", a song from this album, was Lennon's only no. 1 single as a solo hit in the American Billboard, during his lifetime.

When did John and Paul meet?

Saturday, July 6, 1957 is the day John met Paul!

John (aged 16) and his band the Quarrymen were performing at a fête at St. Peter's Woolton Parish Church in Liverpool. Paul (aged 15) was wheeling around on his bicycle - hoping to pick up girls - and heard the Quarrymen play (photo). A mutual friend named Ivan Vaughan introduced Paul to John. Paul whipped out the guitar strapped to his back and played "Twenty Flight Rock" and "Be-Bop-a-Lula", among others. John was impressed that Paul could tune a guitar and "looked like Elvis", and John said that he "dug him." That October, Ivan told Paul that John wanted him in the band. The rest, as they say, is history.

They shared the passion for music and, sadly, the early loss of their mothers. In 1956, Mary McCartney, a heavy smoker, died of an embolism after a mastectomy operation to stop the spread of her breast cancer. Lennon's mother died in 1958. John was living with his Aunt Mimi and her mother came to visit him. After spending the day with his son, Julia Lennon waved goodbye and began to cross the road in order to catch the bus home. She never made it. She was hit by a car being driven by an off-duty policeman and died instantly, aged 44.

Then and Now: Chubby Checker, the twister :)

Then and Now: The Righteous Brothers

Then and Now: Ringo Starr

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Then and Now: Diana Ross

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Leslie Gore

Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein) is an American singer-songwriter of the "girl group era". She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.

Lesley was a junior at the Dwight School for Girls in nearby Englewood when "It's My Party" became a no. 1 hit. It was later nominated for a Grammy Award for rock and roll recording. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Gore's first hit was followed by many other songs, including "Judy's Turn to Cry" - the sequel to "It's My Party", "She's a Fool", the proto-feminist "You Don't Own Me" which held at no. 2 for four weeks behind The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "That's the Way Boys Are", "Maybe I Know" and Grammy nominated for Contemporary Rock and Roll female vocal performance "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows". Her record producer was Quincy Jones, who would later become one of the most famous producers in American music. "You Don't Own Me" also sold a million copies, and was awarded gold disc status.

Instead of accepting the television and movie contracts that came her way, Gore chose to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York. This limited her public career to weekends and summer vacations and undoubtedly hurt her career. Nevertheless, throughout the mid 1960s Gore continued to be one of the most popular female singers in the United States and Canada.

Gore was given first shot at recording "A Groovy Kind of Love", but Shelby Singleton, a producer, recommended that she not record a song with the word "groovy" in it. The Mindbenders went on to record the song, and it went to no. 2 on the Billboard charts.

Gore announced in 2005 that she is a lesbian. Some commentators consider the lyric content of some albums to contain implicit references to Gore's sexuality. For example, she covered the song "You're the One That I Want" (from the film Grease), altering the line "'cause I need a man" to "'cause I need a friend". Leslie Gore currently lives with her partner of more than 23 years.


Source: wikipedia.org

The Dixie Cups

The Dixie Cups are an American pop music girl group of the 1960s. They are best known for their 1964 million selling disc, "Chapel of Love". The group hit the top of the charts in 1964 with "Chapel of Love," a song that Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich had originally written for The Ronettes. The trio consisted of sisters Barbara Ann and Rosa Lee Hawkins, plus their cousin Joan Marie Johnson, . They first sang together in grade school. Originally they were to be called Little Miss and the Muffets :), but were named The Dixie Cups just prior to their first release.

By 1963 the trio had decided to pursue a career in music and began singing locally as the Meltones. Within a year Joe Jones, a successful singer in his own right with the Top Five 1960 single "You Talk Too Much," became their manager. After working with them for five months, Jones took them to New York, where record producers / songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller signed them to their new Red Bird Records.

Their first release, "Chapel of Love," proved to be their biggest hit, although they had other hits with "People Say" (no. 12, 1964), "You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me" (no. 39, 1964), "Iko Iko" (no. 20, 1965), and "Little Bell" (no. 51, 1965). "Chapel of Love" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Source: wikipedia.org

Little Peggy March

Peggy March is an American pop singer, primarily remembered for her 1963 million-selling song "I Will Follow Him".

Her real name is Margaret Annemarie Battavio.. but why did she choose the name "Little Peggy March"? She was discovered at age thirteen singing at her cousin's wedding and was introduced to the record producer partnership Hugo & Luigi. They gave her this nickname because she was only 1.47 m (4'10") in height, she was only thirteen, the first record she did with them was "Little Me", and her birthdate was in the month of March.

In 1963, when she was only 14 years old, she released the single "I Will Follow Him", which soared to number one on the U.S. charts. March became the youngest female artist with a number one hit, a record that still stands for the Billboard Hot 100. The recording also took the number one spot in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, and Scandinavia.

As in many cases, the success also came with financial trouble. She was a minor and the Coogan Law prevented her parents from managing her money. The responsibility was placed on her manager, Russell Smith. It was discovered in 1966 that he had squandered the fortune away, leaving her with $500. But she soon had a new manager, Arnie Harris, who later on became her husband.

Although she is remembered by some as a one-hit wonder, her singles "I Wish I Were a Princess" and "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love" made the Top 30 in the United States. She began making a strong presence in the European and Asian music markets (you should see this video :)), and she moved to Germany in 1969. Her commercial success in Germany continued through much of the 1970s and she also tried her luck in representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, only to be placed second in the national final. March made another Eurovision attempt in 1975. Again she was placed second.

Source: wikipedia.org

The Shirelles

The Shirelles, an American girl group in the early 1960s, were the first to have a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. They were the first major female vocal group of the rock and roll era, preceding Motown as a crossover phenomenon with white audiences. The members of the quartet were Shirley Owens, Doris Coley (who sang lead on "Dedicated to the One I Love"), Beverly Lee, and Addie 'Micki' Harris.

The quartet formed in New Jersey in 1958 and went on to release a hit after hit including "Mama Said", "Baby It's You","Foolish Little Girl", and the no. 1 Pop hits "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Soldier Boy".

Their "Sha La La" became an international hit when covered by the British group Manfred Mann, giving them a Top 5 hit in 1965, and the song "Boys" was covered by The Beatles. The Beatles also covered "Baby It's You" on their album Please, Please Me in 1963.

Other artists that recorded The Shirelles' hits were Cher, Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, Pattie LaBelle, Neil Diamond or Dionne Warwick.

Source: wikipedia.org