"Cry for a Shadow"

"Cry for a Shadow" is an early Beatles instrumental. It was recorded on 22 June 1961 at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg-Harburg, Germany while they were performing as Tony Sheridan's backup band for a few tracks. It was written by George Harrison with John Lennon as a parody of The Shadows style. (The Shadows, who backed Cliff Richard were the biggest British instrumental rock & roll group at the time of the recording.) It imitates the lead guitar with typical Hank Marvin licks, the melodic bass fills, and even has an imitation during the second middle 8 of the famous Jet Harris yell. It is the only Beatles track to be credited to Lennon and Harrison alone.

It was intended to be released as the b-side of "Why," another Sheridan song with The Beatles, but the record company chose to release another song instead. In early 1964, as The Beatles were gaining popularity, the record company Polydor decided to release it, with "Why" changed to the b-side. According to Bill Harry, editor of the Mersey Beat newspaper, "Cry for a Shadow"'s original title was "Beatle Bop."

It was also released in 1995 as part of the Anthology 1 compilation.

It is the only Beatles song to have been sold via iTunes Store, however the track has since been removed.

Personnel

* John Lennon – guitar
* Paul McCartney – bass
* George Harrison – lead guitar
* Pete Best – drums

B-side: "Why"
Released: 27 March 1964 (single), 30 November 1994 (Anthology 1)
Recorded: 22 June 1961
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:20
Label: Polydor
Writer(s): Harrison/Lennon
Producer: Bert Kaempfert

Wikipedia