September 1963: George's Records

     During a rare break in Beatle activity during the hectic year of 1963, George Harrison flew to America on 16 September with his older brother Peter to visit their sister Louise and her family in Benton, Illinois. The brothers had not seen Louise since she and her husband Gordon Caldwell emigrated to Canada in 1956, nor had they met their six-year-old nephew, Gordon, and 4-year-old niece, Leslie.

(Leslie, George, Louise and Peter outside 113-115 E Main Street, Benton, IL)

     Part way through his trip, Disc's Alan Walsh talked to George on a transatlantic call. George told him he had already bought eight new LPs - 'The kind the whole group are mad about,' he said.

(Disc 28 September 1963)

    Upon his return to England, George told New Musical Express reporter Alan Smith and Disc's Alan Walsh about his holiday and the sixteen LPs he bought from Barton & Collins furniture store, 303-305 Public Square, Benton. Of the sixteen records, George mentioned The Shirelles, The Miracles and Barbara Lewis in the NME article and only The Shirelles in the Disc article.

(New Musical Express 11 October 1963)

(Disc 12 October 1963)

    A photo of George with some of his new records was taken in the bedroom where he stayed at Louise's Benton home (113 McCann Street). 

In this photo, we can see three of George's new records and one of them is The Fabulous Miracles released on 28 February 1963 on Tamla. This album contains the song 'You've Really Got A Hold On Me', which The Beatles had recorded as 'You Really Got A Hold On Me' in July for their yet-to-be-released sophomore album With The Beatles.

On the bed, to George's right, is the 1963 album Little Richard Sings Gospel released on 20th Century Fox Records. To his left, the bag his record purchases came in. The Beatles were huge Little Richard fans and, although this album did not contain any of his hits, this would have been a taste of spiritual music for George, whose appetite for such music grew as the Sixties waned.

    The latest long players by The Shirelles were 1963's Foolish Little Girl and the soundtrack album for the film It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World both released on Sceptre Records. George did not specify which one he purchased in the NME interview, but it was the former one (as we can see in photos from 16 October). The only long player that Barbara Lewis had released was Hello Stranger released on Atlantic Records and named after the hit single of the same name. Unfortunately, the title of the record George is holding and inspecting cannot be discerned. It is also believed that George acquired the 1962 Caprice James Ray LP during this trip.