The Sheik of Araby
From BeatlesWiki
The Sheik of Araby is a 1922 vaudeville song. The Beatles covered it live from 1961 to 1962 and a recording of The Beatles playing it at their unsuccessful audition for Decca Records exists.
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The Beatles' Version
It is widely believed that The Beatles based their cover around a 1961 version by Joe Brown and The Bruvvers. However, the first recorded version by Brown was not released until 1963 (on the 'Joe Brown - Live!' LP, recorded in early 1963 in Stockton-on-Tees), which suggests that the band learned the song from Brown's many radio and TV appearances. George Harrison was a fan of Joe Brown, so he took lead vocals on this song. George commented, "In those days a lot of the rock 'n' roll songs were actually old tunes from the Forties, Fifties or whenever, which people had rocked up. That was the thing to do if you didn't have a tune: just rock up an oldie. Joe Brown had recorded a rock 'n' roll version of The Sheik Of Araby. He was really popular on the Saturday TV show Six-Five Special and Oh Boy!. I did the Joe Brown records, so I sang Sheik Of Araby." Brian Epstein had told The Beatles what songs to play at the Decca audition, finding songs in their live set that would fit Decca's tastes best.
Personnel
The Beatles
- Lead Vocals: George Harrison
- Lead Guitar: George Harrison
- Backing Vocals: John Lennon
- Rythm Guitar: John Lennon
- Backing Vocals: Paul McCartney
- Bass: Paul McCartney
- Drums: Pete Best
Production
- Producer: Mike Smith
Available Versions
- Decca audition, January 1, 1962, (Anthology 1, Bootlegs)
Available On
- Anthology 1, 1995.
