‘The Saints’ – a rock ‘n’ roll version of ‘When The Saints Go Marching In’ – was the b-side of ‘My Bonnie’, The Beatles’ first commercially-released record.
The songs were recorded in Hamburg in 1961, after German bandleader Bert Kaempfert suggested that The Beatles recorded some songs as the backing group to English singer Tony Sheridan.
The recording took place on a converted stage at Hamburg’s Friedrich-Ebert-Halle school, during a two-day session on 22–23 June 1961. The group were the backing band for Sheridan, who took lead vocals, and together they recorded My Bonnie and ‘The Saints’. They also taped ‘Why’ and ‘Cry For A Shadow’.
It’s just Tony Sheridan singing, with us banging in the background. It’s terrible. It could be anybody.
A single of ‘My Bonnie’, with ‘The Saints’ as the b-side, was released in Germany in October 1961. Credited to Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers, it reached number 32 on the German charts.
They didn’t like our name and said, ‘Change to The Beat Brothers; this is more understandable for the German audience.’ We went along with it – it was a record.
The single had its UK release in April 1962, as Tony Sheridan and The Beatles. ‘The Saints’ first appeared on a US album in 1964, once the group had achieved worldwide fame, and was credited to The Beatles with Tony Sheridan.
‘The Saints’ was omitted from Anthology 1, but has remained widely available since the 1960s on a number of non-Apple releases.
Lyrics
Well a-when the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching in
Mmm I want to be
I’m gonna be in that number
Ooh, when the saints go marching in
Oh when the sun, yeah, begins to shine
When that old sun above begins to shine,
I tell you something: I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be in that number
When the sun begins to shine
Yeah when my lord, mmm, he calls me there
Ah when my lord calls, yeah ge calls me there
I’ll tell you something that I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be in that number
Oh when my old lord calls me there
Yeah, when the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching, marching in
I tell you something I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be in that number
Yeah, when the saints go marching in
Well when the sun, yeah, begins to shine.
Whoo, when that sun begins to shine
I tell you something I’m gonna be
I’m a-gonna be in that number, whoo
When that old sun, boy, begins to shine
I say one time
Ah-ha, mmm, ah-ha yeah
Oh, I like it that way baby
Mmm, yeah, ooh
When the saints go marching in
Yeah when the saints go marching in
Yeah when the saints go marching in
I tell you something, that I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be in that number,
Yeah when the saints go marching in
When my lord, he calls me there
Yeah when my lord, he calls me there
I’ll tell you something that I’m gonna be
Gonna be, I’m a-gonna be in that number
Yeah, when the saints go marching in
Tony Sheridan did not arrange The Saints..it was Iain Hines and Jimmy Maken. Correctly on first pressings..but unlawfully credited to Sheridan later then correctly credited to Hines and Maken on a Beatles EP. Time royalties were paid to them.
Correct…Iain and Jimmy should receive all royalties..as credit was stolen from them.
There is some influence possibly but a tremendous resemble is a big stretch. The number of words and their syllable placements in each line cannot give them the same meter.
Just listening to the song now, and I think it bears a tremendous resemble to, “I Saw Her Standing There.” The meter and feel are similar, if slower on this tune, and there’s even a Little Richard style “woo.” I especially notice the similarity in the cadence of the lines “when the saints go over there” and “when I saw her standing there.” Maybe that’s why it’s not included in the Anthology 1 release?
Or maybe it’s just odd and not nearly as listenable (nor “featuring” the Beatles) as “My Bonnie” or -obviously – “Ain’t She Sweet”.
Re The Saints being arranged by Jimmy Maken and Iain Hines…spot on….The Saints was a favourite of Iain Hines’ Mom, Mary….Iain and Jimmy did the arrangement for The Jets before Sheridan joined…Mrs Hines even visited Hamburg…loved their arrangement, and joined them on piano….time the PRS took notice of this wrongful credit to Tony and addressed it..after all, mire than 200,000 sold!
Jan
Correct, my Dad had first pressing with Hines/Macken arrangement credit.
No idea where it us, more’s the pity.
The German release under Polydor 24673 release date June 1961 has The Saints credited to Hines- Ward. The 1962 release US Decca 31382 release date April 23 1962 and UK Polydor release NH 66-833 release date January 5 1962 also has The Saints credited to Hines- Ward. So three releases should have had part of those royalties paid to the arrangers. All there are listed in ‘The Long and Winding Road’ book by Ted Greenwald. I’m not sure who owns the Polydor and Decca back catalogues but I think it’s Universal Music. It’s unclear what the agreement was back in the 60s but they were pressed and credited to the arrangers above. I know a fare bit about this as Iain is my father and I tried to look into this whilst working in the music industry.
Hallo Clive.
Ich bin der Sohn von Jimmy Ward ( Del Ward).
Ich habe jetzt Kontakt zu deinem Vater. Wenn du möchtest dann schreib mich an. Vielleicht finden wir eine Weg, an unser Recht zu kommen