My Bonnie is a 1962 album by English rock and roll singer-songwriter and musician Tony Sheridan. Sheridan,then playing in clubs in Hamburg with the Beatles,was discovered by producer Bert Kaempfert and subsequently signed with him to record for Polydor. Sheridan recorded several songs with the Beatles,of which only a single was released in 1961,the titular "My Bonnie" and B-side "The Saints",credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. While both songs are included here,the remaining tracks on this album were credited again to the Beat Brothers but recorded without the Beatles.
Because of the later fame of the Beatles,the eight songs recorded in Hamburg with the then-fledgling group were issued in 1964 as The Beatles' First! and repackaged several times through the years.
Background and recording
In June 1961,Sheridan and the Beatles (then consisting of guitarists John Lennon,George Harrison,Paul McCartney,bassist Stuart Sutcliffe,and drummer Pete Best) were both playing in Hamburg's Top Ten Club,the two frequently performing together.[2] German producer Bert Kaempfert visited the Top Ten on the recommendation of music publisher Alfred Schacht and singer Tommy Kent,and subsequently signed Sheridan and the Beatles to his company Bert Kaempfert Productions.[3]
Kaempfert set a recording date for 22 June at Hamburg's Friedrich-Ebert-Halle. Engineered by Karl Hinze,the session featured Sheridan and the Beatles playing "My Bonnie","The Saints","Why","Nobody's Child",and "Take Out Some Insurance". The Beatles performed "Ain't She Sweet" and an original song,"Beatle Bop" (later titled "Cry for a Shadow"). Sutcliffe attended the session,but did not play,leaving McCartney to play bass.[4] From these sessions,"My Bonnie" was released as a single (with "The Saints" as the B-side) through Polydor Records (who had an exclusive deal with Kaempfert's company) credited to "Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers",as the Beatles' contract enabled the record company to use a pseudonym.[5]
A single with "My Bonnie" backed by "The Saints" was released in Germany in October 1961[6] and was a moderate success,peaking at number 32 in the national chart published in Der Musikmarkt,number 11 in the national jukebox charts,and number four in a local Hamburg chart.[7] Kaempfert and Sheridan conducted another session on 21 December 1961 at Musikhalle Hamburg,without the Beatles.[8][failed verification] Ten songs were recorded at this session which,along with "My Bonnie" and "The Saints",formed the My Bonnie LP,released 5 January 1962.[citation needed]
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