Happy New Year to everyone! Well, except maybe the Beatles who were turned down on this day in history by Dick Rowe of Decca Records in what will go down in history as one of the worst mistakes ever made.
The Beatles weren't down for long, it was just a few short months later that they were signed with producer George Martin at EMI's Parlophone label and history was made.
The audition was ill fated from the beginning, with the group not arriving in London until after 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve 1961 due to their driver getting lost several times. The audition took about an hour and the group, with original drummer Pete Best, performed a total of 15 songs, including; Money (That's What I Want), Till There Was You, To Know Her is to Love Her, and others. In the end the group was passed on because "guitar groups are on the out" and "the Beatles have no future in show business".
In the end, it was probably for the best that the Beatles weren't signed be Decca. But, I bet Rowe kicked himself for the rest of his life for letting this group of guys get away from him.
Other notable events for January 1:
-Hank Williams passed away Jan. 1, 1953 on his way to a show in Canton, Ohio
-Country Joe McDonald born Jan. 1, 1942
-Johnny Cash plays his first, of many, free concerts for the inmates of San Quentin Prison Jan. 1, 1960
-The Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield, and The Dave Clark Five all appear on the primer episode of Top of the Pops, a BBC show similar to the Ed Sullivan Show, Jan. 1, 1964
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