Beatles trivia might brighten your day

Idon’t remember a lot about my school years; probably because I did so poorly and couldn’t wait to get out. I do remember some of the trouble I got into and I was blessed with a great circle of friends, many of whom I am still tight with today. And I remember The Beatles. I was in Grade 11 (the second time). They had finally caught on in Britain and were soon to conquer America.

In English class, we occasionally had unannounced general knowledge tests. On this occasion, one of the questions was: “Where would you expect to find the Beatles?”

I guess a few of my classmates had heard of them, but I had not so, I wrote: “Under a rock.” Our school was stodgy so, when our teacher brought in a copy of She Loves You, we were (or, at least, I was) knocked out.

It was so out of character to have a record player in the classroom, let alone be playing rock and roll. I have been a fan of the Beatles’ early stuff, since.

Within three months, John, Paul, George and Ringo owned the North American music charts. In the spring of 1964, six of the Top 10 were Beatle songs, including positions 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 10. Of the top 12, the Beatles had eight.

Some Beatles trivia for you. It was John Lennon who coined the phrase “house husband,” which he was to his and Yoko’s son, Sean.

Paul’s middle name is Paul (his real first name is James), John’s middle name was Winston, which he changed to Ono and George and Ringo didn’t have middle names.

Yesterday is one of the most recorded songs of all time and it’s the only Beatles song that only one Beatle sang on (Paul, of course).

McCartney carried the melody around in his head for two years, unable to find word combinations that worked.

To his band mates, he’d sing, Scrambled eggs, oh my baby, how I love your legs.

Fred Trainor is a retired broadcaster living in Okanagan Falls. Email: fredtrainor@shaw.ca.