The Fifth Beatle: The Temps

John! George! Paul! Andy...?

Imagine being a session musician and getting caught up in Beatlemania, however briefly.

Andy White was called in to record when the Beatles were in transition from Pete to Ringo. Producer George Martin wasn't sure about Ringo's ability to play Love Me Do, and arranged for White to play on the single; Ringo's version of the song is on the album. (There is a third version of Love Me Do, with Pete Best on drums, on Anthology I.) 

White went on to be an in-demand session player, playing for Herman's Hermits, Burt Bacharach, Lulu, Tom Jones, and Rod Stewart, before retiring in 1975. He married voice actress Thea and cheerfully displayed the bumper sticker "Fifth Beatle" on his car. He died in 2015. 

Jimmie Nichol is another session musician who toured briefly with the band, making eight concert appearances (and a couple of TV spots) when Ringo fell ill and had his tonsils removed. 

When it came to Nichol, George Harrison, in a pissy fit of solidarity, was adamant that they find two replacements and the tour continue without him. He calmed down, and they carried on with their commitments. Nichol was shell-shocked by the hype and often missed his cue, surprised by all the screaming girls. 

Nichol was amused by the fickle nature of celebrity, noting that he was a nobody before the tour and has lived with the memory of those eight days as a Beatle since. He also retired from the music business in 1975. He has a son, Howard, an award-winning sound engineer. 

But was their presence enough to be labeled as the fifth Beatle? Blame it on the negative reinforcement.

Both of these replacements wreaked havoc on Ringo's psyche: first, he thought he wasn't good enough for George Martin; second, he feared the mania would continue without him: "I was worried they no longer loved me." This may, in theory, have pushed Ringo to be a better drummer, since he was not a songwriter. He has often said he was determined to make sure each song had a different feel from his kit, thus making each song unique. 

Typing Out Loud: Did He Finally Cross that Line?

A reminder da Pope is from the South Side of Chicagah

I'll say it again: Jesus fucking Christ. 

The orange menace has had himself quite an eventful few weeks, what with threatening war against Iran, closing down a major trading strait on the other side of the world, picking fights with Pope Leo, and threatening to enact the draft, which is GREAT for this mother of a 17-year-old. All while trying to keep a wrap on the Epstein files. 

And his MAGA base was eating it up, as if he was some sort of badass hero. 

I feel like he's been trolling and testing everyone to see how far he can go. I thought it all along during his 2024 campaign. He still has outstanding bills from his pep rallies from his first administration, so he took advantage of people's good faith and charity to pick up the check while he held rallies in plants, orchards, warehouses and the like. 

His last political stop before the election was here in Grand Rapids at the Van Andel Arena. He was supposed to be there at 9 PM, as no campaigning was supposed to happen after midnight, as that would officially be election day. When did he arrive? 12:30 AM. 

It was a test to see what he could get away with: he broke the rule by campaigning on election day. What was more disturbing to me was how many people, in obvious devotion, got in line as early as 2 PM for doors to open at 6 PM, and stayed, hanging on his every word when all the kids shoulda been in bed. 

He was testing their loyalty, and they passed his test. They rewarded "the rebel, the cowboy" with their votes, and continued to reward his as his actions, his words, and his policies became more and more outrageous. He's "owning the libs!" 

Pope Leo, with a bat, saying in his beset midwestern nice "yeah... no."

Then he crossed a line this weekend by depicting himself as Jesus. 

Whoopsies. 

The Christian Nationalists are suddenly, "ope, he's gone too far!" 

Really? After demolishing the White House, decimating higher education, demonizing LGBTQIA Americans, breaking up families, destroying economies, bankrupting farmers, marginalizing women and minorities, increasing taxes, and generally being a dick for the last 10+ years, an AI portrait of him as Jesus is the line he finally crossed? 

Nah, bish, you created the monster, you deal with him and invoke the 25th amendment. He's 0 for 3 on my scorecard; I washed my hands of him back in 2016. 

Lipstick on the Mic: Donna Summer

 
Queen of Disco

For about eight years, from the 70s into the 80s, Donna was everywhere. 

But before she was everywhere, she attempted to do everything. 

She got her start in music, like many before her, performing in church. While in high school, she performed with a rock/blues band, Crow. After graduating, she auditioned for the musical Hair and joined the German touring company. Stints in musical theatre followed, with roles in Showboat and Godspell. 

A true beauty, of course, she was a model, too. 

Work as a recording artist soon followed, with her repertoire shifting from musicals to the dance music filling the European discos. Her first big hit, Love to Love You, was inspired by the French hit Je T'aime, mon non plus.  

Disco - and Donna - hit the big time. 

I Feel Love. 

She portrayed Nicole, an aspiring disco singer, in Thank God It's Friday, singing Last Dance. 

Heaven Knows.

Hot Stuff.

Bad Girls.

Dim All the Lights. 

No More Tears. 

On the Radio.

My dad's favorite version of the holiday hymn Oh Holy Night as performed on Solid Gold.

The 80s were a bit of a struggle, but she still scored major hits with She Works Hard for the Money and Unconditional Love. She released more albums showcasing her range, which now included inspirational, gospel, and nostalgia recordings. She was a soundtrack staple through the 90s and 00s, and a regular at political rallies and fundraisers. 

She recorded an album of standards late in life and had a dance hit single in 2010. She died of lung cancer in 2012. 

She is currently having a viral moment after American Alysa Liu won the Olympic gold medal in women's figure skating, performing to Donna Summer's version of MacArthur Park. All the kids are raccooning their hair and lamenting cakes left out in the rain. And wouldn't you know it - MacArthur Park has surged on the Billboard dance tracks to #1, 48 years after its original release. 

YA Book Club: Fifteen

The copy I had

Beverly Cleary is more known for her juveniles on the adventures of Henry, Beezus, and Ramona the Great, but she did take a sweet dive into YA romance with her novel Fifteen. 

I think I related to the book because I identified with 15-year-old Jane's insecurities and innocence. There have been countless stories relayed in this blog of my social ineptness during those teenage years. 

While some of the references in the book are dated, such as receiving an ID bracelet to signal going steady, there are some universal moments anyone in 2026 can relate to:

• Stan, the sixteen-year-old object of affection, has a delivery job after school for a pet store. Think Amazon meets Pets Supply Plus. He is sweet, awkward, and his ears turn pink when he is embarrassed. 
• Jane's dad amps up on the dad jokes when Stan is around. 
• Frenemy Marcy Stokes flaunts her designer clothes and goes out of her way to belittle Jane in front of others. 
• Jane, on a double date for Chinese food, quietly slips the fortune from her cookie into her purse, hopeful from the message and already saving tokens from the relationship. How many objects did I collect over the years: dried flowers, jewelry, keychains, heart-shaped Valentine candy boxes, miniature golf scorecards, ticket stubs, and love notes dashed on scraps of paper and slid under windshield wipers? It's universal and cuts across generations. Even now, there's a bracelet not worn but not quite abandoned on my son's bathroom counter from a former girlfriend. 

Cleary was a well-loved children's author, who sold nearly 100 million books and lived to the grand age of 104. 

Raised on Country Sunshine: On the Road

Same roads, different journey

Some songs are about the road, others about the journey, some about the destination: 

John Denver, Take Me Home Country Roads

Jerry Reed, Eastbound and Down

Old Crow Medicine Show, Wagon Wheel

DeFord Bailey, Pan American Blues

The Eagles, Desperado

Les Paul and Mary Ford, Vaya Con Dios

Dave Dudley, Six Days on the Road

Lil Nas X, Old Town Road

Willie, Waylon, Kris, and Johnny - Highwaymen

Johnny Cash and June Carter - Jackson

That's It, Just One Line: The Man Who Sold the World

 "We passed upon the stairs, we spoke of was and when." 

The Fifth Beatle(s): The Quarrymen

Music's big bang, July 6, 1957. Look at those little squirts. RIP Len.

John Lennon formed the skiffle group The Quarrymen with classmates from Quarry Bank High School in 1956 when he was barely 16 years old. 

Eric Griffiths, Pete Shotton, and Bill Smith were founding members along with Lennon; according to Wikipedia, Smith's tenure in the band was extremely short, and he was replaced in quick succession by Nigel Walley, Ivan Vaughan, and Len Garry throughout late 1956 and early 1957. Also during this period, drummer Colin Hanton and banjo player Rod Davis joined. 

The group (I read somewhere that calling them a band was not done in the 50s) practiced in the Shotton family's air-raid shelter and hung out at Julia Lennon's house, listening to rock-and-roll records. They entered a talent contest and lost to a skiffle group from Wales, missing their chance to be on England's version of Star Search. 

Ivan introduced John to Paul at the St. Peter's Church picnic, and the rest, they say, is history. 

Colin, Rod, and Len had been performing together around the world for Beatles/skiffle fans; whether or not Colin and Rod continue is to be determined, as Len recently passed, on March 3. 

With the release of the Anthology Vol. 1, The Quarrymen have two recordings to their credit: That'll Be the Day and In Spite of All the Danger, which is on my 2024 Beatles list at #24. 

From wiki:

Current members

Colin Hanton – drums (1956–1958, 1997–present)
Rod Davis – banjo (1957); guitar, vocals (1994–1995, 1997–present)

Former members

Eric Griffiths – guitar (1956–1958, 1997–2005; died 2005)
Pete Shotton – washboard, tea-chest bass (1956–1957, 1997–2000; died 2017); 

Bill Smith – tea-chest bass (1956)
Nigel Walley – tea-chest bass (1956); manager (1956–1958)
Ivan Vaughan – tea-chest bass (1956–1957; died 1993)
John Duff Lowe – piano, keyboards, vocals (1958, 1994–1995, 2005–2017; died 2024)
Ken Brown – guitar (1959–1960; died 2010)

Chas Newby – bass guitar (1960; 2016–2023; died 2023). 

Len Garry – tea-chest bass (1957–1958); vocals, guitar (1997–2026, died 2026)

Quarrymen who continued on as Johnny and the Moondogs, The Silver Beetles, The Beatles 

Stu Sutcliffe - bass guitar (1960-1961; died 1962)

John Lennon - guitar (1957 - 1970; died 1980) 

Paul McCartney - guitar, bass (1957 - 1970)

George Harrison - guitar (1958 - 1970; died 2001)

Interesting to note that while Pete Best and Ringo Starr were Beatles, neither were Quarrymen.