Rant #2,539: I Want To Hold Your Hand (Not)

Today is November 24, and we are right in the middle of Thanksgiving week, although this year’s celebration will certainly be so much different than any other Thanksgivings we have ever experienced.

 
But today, we are going to give a shout out to someone who fits this year’s bill more than ever.
 
He was a guy who was part of the party, invited to the party, but then dumped from that party for a variety of reasons and wasn’t around when the big celebration happened … sounds like some people on our Thanksgiving guest list this year, doesn’t it?
 
Today, we are talking about Pete Best, the Beatles’ original drummer, who turns 79 years of age today.
 
Yes, way before anyone knew who Ringo Starr was—and probably before Richard turned to Ringo—Best was the drummer for the fledgling Liverpool group, one that just months later would become one of the all-time global phenomenons of our, or any, generation before or since.
 
There are a lot of stories why he was not the Beatles’ drummer when they hit pay dirt, and his dismissal wasn’t as cut and dry as that of Stu Sutcliffe, the other forgotten Beatles member, who pretty much left the band on his own accord and passed away soon after.
 
But with Best, it really was an amalgam of stories that led to his dismissal.
 
Among the stories are that he was simply an incompetent drummer, and a rock and roll band needs a good drummer as the backbeat of the band. He was also not a very good singer, and the strength of the band was that each member could carry a tune. Best was supposedly uncomfortable as a singer, so he did not fit into the band’s career plan.
 
Starr, who had been with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, had become available, and even though he was a few years older than John, Paul and George, when Starr became available, Best became disposable.
 
Starr was not exactly the greatest drummer at the beginning, either, being left off a few recorded tracks and relegated to tambourine playing, but this dovetails into another explanation for his dismissal—that he was too good looking for the other Beatles to handle, in particular, Paul McCartney, who saw the girls gravitate to Best rather than to him, even though he was out front when they were on stage.
 
Even though Best was in the background as the drummer, the focus, McCartney though, was on him, not the others, and as young lads, this bent the other band members out of shape, and in particular, McCartney, or so the legend goes.
 
It also lends credence to the reason they chose Starr to handle the drumming chores, as he was not exactly a Hollywood casting leading male type, but of course, as a Beatle, there was a point that he was certainly on the par of popularity with the others, but because of his talent and good naturedness, but not for his looks.
 
And although he wasn’t much of a singer, he was competent and comfortable enough to handle the vocal chores on occasion.
 
And then there is another rumor that once Brian Epstein became the Beatles’ manager, he had a dislike of Best for whatever reason, and therefore, he had to go.
 
But what became of Best as the Beatles took over the world?
 
He soldiered on as a musician, having a number of bands including the aptly named Pete Best Combo, but these were not very successful.
 
As the Beatles became the talk of world, he left the music business, and worked as a civil servant in England for 20 years, serving as a living and breathing footnote to Beatlemania.
 
But over the years, he was constantly hounded for his Beatles connection, and in the late 1980s, he started the Pete Best Band to capitalize on that association that simply would not go away.
 
And over the past 30 years or so, he has become a popular figure in Beatles folklore and history, appearing at Beatles conventions and being portrayed in a number of films about the Fab Four.
 
Although Best came to terms with his brush with international fame quite early on, there have been some bumps in the road.
 
He was due royalties for the numerous recordings he drummed on, but up until the release of the “Anthology” series of CDs in the 1990s, he never saw any money from those recordings.
 
It also came out that Paul McCartney was the band member who most wanted him to leave the band, but it also was rumored that all those years later, it was McCartney himself who contacted Best about the money he was owed, which amounted to a few million dollars.
 
However, Best denies that McCartney was the one who put this into motion, stating that it was actually Beatles confidant Neil Aspinall who contacted him about the owed royalties in 1995. In fact, Best claims that he and McCartney hadn’t spoken since he was dismissed from the band.
 
So Best took the royalties that were owed to him, forever being a Beatles footnote, but proud of what he did in the formation of the band that literally rocked the world.
 
So yes, he is the perfect person to honor this year on his birthday, right before Thanksgiving and one who was part of the party but who, due to circumstances beyond his control, was quickly disinvited.
 
Social distancing between the Beatles?
 
“Yes It Is.”