The Beatles Recorded Their First Song a Day Before John Lennon’s Mother Died
The Beatles recorded their first-ever song, “In Spite of All the Danger,” on July 14, 1958, a day before John Lennon‘s mother, Julia, died. She was struck by a car.
The Beatles recorded their first song on July 14, 1958
In the summer of 1958, The Beatles were called The Quarry Men. The band consisted of John Lennon, Paul, George Harrison, drummer Colin Hanton, and Paul’s school friend, piano player John “Duff” Lowe. The Quarry Men decided they wanted to record their first-ever song.
In his book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul wrote that he and the band went to a little recording studio owned by Percy Phillips in Kensington, Liverpool. Recording something on shellac cost only five pounds, and they split the money.
They rehearsed once and had only one shot recording the single. They chose a cover of Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day” as the A-side. Their “self-penned epic,” “In Spite of All the Danger,” was the B-side. Paul and John had a few songs by then, but Paul admits they weren’t very good. “In Spite of All Danger” was the best.
The most important thing to know about “In Spite of All the Danger” is that it is now one of the rarest records in the world and the only “McCartney-Harrison” writing credit on record. It’s also worth pointing out that their recording session only produced one copy of the single. So, they took turns sharing the disc and showing it to family and friends. “We were quite thrilled just to hear ourselves on a record because we’d never really done that before,” Paul wrote.
However, John’s mother, Julia, died the next day. So, the thrill of having just recorded their first song must have been snuffed out.
John Lennon’s mother, Julia, died on July 15
Initially, John didn’t have the best relationship with his mother. The singer-songwriter lived with his Aunt Mimi, but eventually, John started seeing more of Julia.
In 1957, she bought him his first guitar, the same one he played during his performance at the Woolton Village Fete at St. Peter’s Church the day he met Paul.
On July 15, a day after her son’s band recorded their first song, an off-duty policeman, 24-year-old Eric Clague, struck and killed Julia. She was crossing Menlove Avenue shortly after leaving Mimi’s house.
According to Beatles Bible, John accompanied his step-father, John Dykins, to the hospital, but John wouldn’t give his mother a final look. However, he had his bandmates to help him get through it all.
Paul helped after John’s mother died
Fortunately, John had a great support system after his mother died. His Aunt Mimi was there, and his bandmates, especially Paul.
The younger Beatle lost his mother, Mary, in 1956 when he was just 14 years old. She died of complications due to breast cancer. In The Lyrics, Paul wrote that his mother’s death is something he’s never gotten over.
After John’s mother died, the pair of musicians bonded over the loss of their mothers. Later, in The Beatles, both penned songs dedicated to the women. John wrote “Julia,” and Paul wrote “Let It Be” and “Lady Madonna.”
The joy of recording a song for the first time might’ve been ruined for John, but at least he got to immortalize Julia in a famous song.
