1957 – John Lennon persuades his Aunt Mimi to buy him a guitar that costs 17 pounds, sometime early in March of this year. John forms a skiffle group with friend Pete Shotton. The name The Blackjacks lasts only about a week. It is then changed to The Quarry Men, after their school named Quarry Bank High School for Boys. The first line-up of the Quarry Men includes John Lennon (guitar), Pete Shotton (washboard), Colin Hanton (drums), Eric Griffiths (guitar), Rod Davis (banjo), and Bill Smith (tea-chest bass). There is considerable dispute about how John Lennon acquired his first guitar. Mark Lewisohn and Bill Harry both claim that John’s Aunt Mimi bought it for him, but Lewisohn claims this happened in March 1957 while Harry says it took place when John was 17, which means it had to have occurred after October 9, 1957. Since the Quarry Men first played in public in June 1957, one would naturally assume that John acquired the guitar prior to his 17th birthday.
1961 – The Beatles perform at Aintree Institute, Aintree, Liverpool.
1962 – The Beatles perform a lunchtime show at the Cavern Club, Liverpool. That night they give a performance at the Storyville Jazz Club on Temple Street in Liverpool.
1963 – The Beatles, on the Helen Shapiro tour, perform at the Odeon Cinema, Southport, Lancashire.
1964 – The Beatles in the recording studio, Studio Two, EMI’s Abbey Road Studios, London. They record three songs in three hours. “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You,” a song John Lennon had written for George Harrison to sing, is completed in four takes. “Long Tall Sally” is recorded in a single, terrific take, and “I Call Your Name” is completed in seven takes. Note: “Long Tall Sally” and “I Call Your Name” is released in the U.K. on the “Long Tall Sally” EP (Parlophone 8913) and in the U.S. on the album “The Beatles’ Second Album” (Capitol 2080). “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You” is included on the “A Hard Day’s Night” album in both countries, although the U.K. and U.S. albums will be quite different. “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You” will also be released on the U.S. album “Something New” (Capitol 2108).
1966 – The Beatles’ Shea Stadium concert, filmed on August 15, 1965, is broadcast in the U.K. by the BBC.
1967 – The Beatles in the recording studio, Studio Two, EMI’s Abbey Road Studios, London. A new piano track is taped for the already-mastered “A Day in the Life,” but this new overdub is later discarded. Recording then begins for “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Seven takes are recorded.
1970 – The Beatles’ promotional film of “Two of Us” and “Let It Be” is shown on U.S. television, on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Paul McCartney announces, in early March, that he intends to release his first solo album in April, which conflicts with the scheduled release of Ringo’s “Sentimental Journey” and The Beatles’ “Let It Be.” John and Yoko undergo three weeks of intensive ‘primal scream’ therapy in London with Arthur Janov, creator of the method in early March.
1972 – John and Yoko begin recording songs for “Some Time in New York City.”
1975 – John Lennon (with Paul Simon) is a guest presenter at the Grammy Awards. Paul McCartney receives two Grammys for “Band on the Run.”
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