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Happy Nat, 2007 |
If you've never visited TheBeatlesRarity.com, you've missed out on:
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Jude: Hi, Nat, glad to have you with
us this month on "Meet The Beatles Fans!" As the creator
and webmaster for www.TheBeatlesRarity.com, you certainly ARE a dedicated Beatles' fan,
yeah?
Happy Nat: I am big fan of rock and roll, period!
Old and new, I dig it all! It goes without saying that it is fun
and exciting to listen to, but for me it goes beyond that. The
history, sociological impact and even the spirit of it fascinate
me. Since I credit The Beatles for having such a profound influence
in the direction rock and roll took throughout the '60s-'70s and
beyond, I have placed them high on top of my favorites list.
Jude: As a recent member of TheBeatlesRarity.com,
I'm super impressed with what you provide to Beatles fans, music
collectors, bootleg experts, and people who just want to hear
the music of the 1960's. There are just so many websites out there
today focused on The Beatles. Tell us what The BeatlesRarity.com
has to offer that makes it different from other Beatles websites.
HN: Very true, Jude! There are a phenomenal amount of websites
about The Beatles. I've seen a few really good ones and lots and
lots of bad ones, unfortunately.
I have been a Beatles fan since the mid 70's when I became old
enough to have a more serious appreciation of music. As I learned
more and more about The Beatles over the years and became very
familiar with all of their music, I realized that as much as I
love it, wouldn't it be really thrilling if they never broke up
and there was still something new to listen to by them? After
buying up and listening to all of their catalog hundreds of times
over, I realized that even though there is a timeless quality
about Beatles songs, that it would be quite a thrill to hear something
by them that was new to my ears. Well of course they never reunited,
but...there's the next best thing. I mean there is still something
about hearing a song you love but are overly familiar with done
in a new way, or that is somehow different, that gives it back
a newness or freshness that allows you to appreciate it even more.
It's like a new song all over again. That's how I feel anyway.
And when it occurred to me that there were probably lots of other
fans out there that feel the same way, I came up with the idea
of the Beatles Rarity Of The Week (commonly dubbed the 'BROW'),
where I give someone a different version of an already familiar
Beatles (or Beatles-related) tune, or sometimes an out-take tune
that was never released officially in any version. To put it another
way, the BROW is where I take on the attitude that you can find
the mainstream Beatles and solo-Beatles hits anywhere, but once
a week or so, you might want to hear something that is a little
more out of the ordinary. And if you maybe have already come across
the particular variation of a song I post, then maybe it's been
awhile, because it's not on the radio or as easily found in stores
anywhere. That being said, I created the website primarily as
a way to channel the BROW to Beatles fans.
It is really for any Beatles fans, but the ones I specifically
had in mind were those who have been familiar with the official
and easily buyable stuff for quite awhile and are now ready to
hear alternative accounts of the music as a means of "keeping
it fresh". I try to put a sort of historical spin on
the BROW post, to explain why it's different and also throw in
other interesting tidbits about whatever I post, such as the dates
it was recorded, etc. I even take requests for 'out of the loop'
accounts of some of my subscribers' favorite Beatles songs. And
you can listen to it (but not download it!) right on the site.
The site started with the BROW, and grew from there.
I soon started adding video features and cartoons. Since I have
been a collector of rare Beatles vinyl for quite a few years back
now, I recently added the Collectors Corner feature where I discuss
a rare record, what its value is and why it's rare. I also include
photos from my own collection and, if applicable, how to spot
fakes.
There are interviews on the site too. This idea came about when
I struck up an online friendship with 'Beatle Ed' of Internet
streaming station Fab 4 Radio, and since I was attending the Beatles
Fest, he asked me to see if I could record a short talk or two
with a few of the special guests for his station, and then that
led to a few phone interviews from some really interesting people
that have either loomed high in the Beatles legend or are key
people in keeping the legend alive today, such as yourself.
Jude: So...the obvious follow-on query:
How'd you first become a Beatles Fan?
HN: Well, I guess I'm not quite a "First Gen"
fan, but I might've been if I had had some older siblings to get
me into music at a young age! Ha!
But alas...I was an only child born in '63, an Army brat with
a father who loved music, but it was the WRONG KIND...mainly COUNTRY
(although he did like Dylan a lot, and a few of Dylan's songs
I liked at a very early age; I remember Highway 61 Revisited
quite well). I do recall hearing a few Beatles songs on the radio
from time to time at an early age, but it was kind of background
for me at that point.
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Jude: All right, I'll bite...what
changed that????????????
HN: Well, I just needed to get a little older I guess.
In the early-mid '70's, I was the typical rebellious young teen
with divorced parents. That sort of thing gets you interested
in rock'n'roll, right? I guess at first it was pop radio stuff,
but as you know, pop in the early-mid '70's was a lot more rock'n'roll
infused than pop is now, so I'm really not as embarrassed to say
that as I would be if I was talking about "today's pop".
Jude: Who were you listening to?
What groups?
HN: Just the stuff that was on the radio at the time, like
Bad Company, Elton John, Sweet. Some is a little dated now, but
stuff from that 1974-75 period. I listened to Casey Kasem's "American
Top 40" (who didn't, right?), I also started really diggin'
a song called "Band on the Run" by this guy Paul McCartney,
whom I'd heard was actually in The Beatles at one time.
Jude: Ah, so t'was McCartney who hooked
ya?
HN: Yeah well those McCartney tunes certainly have their hooks,
and I was just the right age. I also remember liking George's
"You" and Ringo's "No No Song". They were
talked about at school and heard on the radio. John was
kind of in a lull about that time, so I wasn't interested in his
stuff at this point. But once I got into music, there was no backing
out. I LOVED it, and still love it as much or more today. I wasn't
really interested in The Beatles, though, because hey...that was
"old stuff" and when you're eleven to thirteen, the
ONLY good music is new music. Right? What a funny concept that
is now when I think of how my tastes have matured.
Jude: So, if The Beatles were "old
hat," and if you were only into current releases, how did
you get from Point A to Point B-eatles?
HN: I started branching out and getting more interested
in AOR format (Album Oriented Rock instead of just Top 40). I
started listening to this FM station out of Charlotte, North Carolina
(WROQ I think it was), they played a lot of Led Zeppelin, Pink
Floyd, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Cat Stevens, and of course,
The Beatles...well, late Beatles. I started taking a huge interest
in all of these bands and artists. In the process, every time
I heard a Beatles song that was new to me, I got more interested
in them. When I first heard the Elton John cover of "Lucy
In The Sky With Diamonds" and then found out it was a cover
of an old Beatles song, my curiosity about The Beatles picked
up a little more. I soon realized that John was quite an interesting
musician with a very rock'n'roll kind of voice, and I quickly
began to get into his solo stuff. It came on WROQ, and I listened
to it, too. It was just a matter of me "taking notice"
of him before I started to appreciate his work.
Jude: And you bought that first Beatles
album when?
HN: Well, as a "broke Junior High student,"
I never did get the opportunity to actually buy much music, other
than a few 45's here and there...
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Happy Nat, 7th grade school picture, circa 1975 |
...but in 1976, I finally bought my first Beatles album. It was
"The Blue Album," and I was almost thirteen. I was right
at that impressionable age, and I had become captivated by The
Beatles at this point! I mean, I went to the library in downtown,
Charlotte NC, and checked out Hunter Davies's biography of the
group, The Beatles. It wasn't long before I started
to scrounge up all my allowance money for buying other Beatles
records.
About that time, my mom told me that serial killer Charles Manson
had claimed that messages in The Beatles' song "Helter Skelter"
had inspired his killing spree, and I was so fascinated that I
read the book Helter Skelter. I remember reading Manson's
interpretation of certain songs and then playing them on the record
player...and trying to hear what Manson heard. In a scary sort
of way, I made sense out of some of his irrational interpretations
of certain White Album songs. As serious as all that was, it was
also spooky and quite fascinating to my young mind.
I also got caught up in the "Paul is Dead" rumor (fiendish
thingy!) Eerie! While I never really thought Paul was dead, in
my young assessment of what I picked up about it, I did think
the clues in the music and jacket/insert photos added up to too
many coincidences to NOT have been planned. It intrigued me. I
remember some news story about in on local television even as
late as 1978, or so.
I also started realizing "Beatle innovations". Things
they brought into mainstream practice, such as including the lyrics
in album packaging, and the concept approach to an album with
an opening and closing title-theme. Nobody did either of these
things in rock music before Pepper. There were backwards messages
in the music as early as the 1966 song "Rain". The list
goes on and on: hidden drug references (as early as "Dr.
Robert"), strings in a pop song ("Yesterday"),
the mysticism of the sitar sound on a rock album (as early as
"Norwegian Wood"), etc., etc. Even though I was appreciating
these things late, through my reading and exploring I was
picking up on The Beatles as having done these things first.
Jude: So it sounds like your appreciation
of the genius of The Beatles went beyond the music.
HN: That's right. I realized that the music was good (great),
but there was so much more. All of the myths and the legend...very
important, it was a very important part of my fascination with
them. It still is.
In fact, that's what led me to become a collector. I worked my
way backwards from Let It Be to Meet the Beatles,
buying every single album. The record store owner saw me in his
store so often that he gave me one of his big promo posters with
pictures of all the U.S. albums on it. (I recently saw that poster
in one of Bruce Spizer's books, and it brought back memories!!)
Buying and listening and studying albums the way I did in reverse
chronological order made me realize that each album was a more
complex advancement in the definition of rock music. At first,
because of my age, I thought I would only be able to relate to
the later Beatles stuff, but after getting each album, I wanted
more and would keep going backward through the catalog until I
was at Meet The Beatles! I realized The Beatles were the
ultimate trendsetters of an entire generation. I went from this
to getting interested in the harder to find releases. In many
ways I feel the rock music of the 70's and beyond was a product
defined and steered by The Beatles. That's not to say there were
not other bands that were influential as well, of course, but
The Beatles played a big part--in my book, the biggest part.
Jude: So, you became a serious music
collector. I can see how that eventually led to TheBeatlesRarity.com.
I assume this went on and on, well into the '80's and '90's.
HN: Yes and it still goes on now. By 1980, I had Beatles
posters all over my bedroom walls. I had a pressing of all the
Capitol Beatles albums and some of the 45's as well (the ones
with non-album B-sides). I learned to play guitar and knew how
to play a few Beatles songs. I was 17 and apparently into it for
the long haul.
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Happy Nat in bedroom, 1980 |
On 9 December, 1980, my mother got me up for school and just pointed
to the TV. Good Morning America was on...I was shocked.
I thought I must still be half-asleep and wasn't hearing the story
right. But yeah, I was crushed. When I left for school,
I was in a daze. In fact, I never made it to school; I just drove
around and thought and returned home a half-hour later when I
knew Mom and step-dad would be off to work. I played Beatles records
all day and was withdrawn for quite a while after that.
Jude: Yeah, me, too. I hear you.
HN: Yes, losing John, the "chief Beatle" was
quite a shock and took a good deal of time to sink in. I guess
it is largely because my mind always returns to the question "Why?"
and the answer that follows is only the inability to grasp anything
about it other than what a senseless waste it was.
Jude: Did John's death and the "wake-up
call" that we all experienced in losing John prompt you to
start taking The Beatles and their work more seriously?
HN: Yes, I became a serious "student" of The
Beatles and a serious vinyl collector. When The Beatles came out
on CD, I went out and bought a CD player, just so I could buy
their collection.
The older I became, the more obsessive and "completist"
I became about my Beatles collection.
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I wanted to have ALL of The Beatles songs...all of the
official mixes and all of the songs that at least one Beatle had
played on (including recordings where one or more of them acted
as support for other artists).
As time went on, I got into bootlegs, and I wanted all of the
recordings that had been bootlegged. If a bootleg recording appeared
on more than one release (as is usually the case), I only needed
to have it ONCE, but I had to have it at least once!!
Honestly, if I learn of some recording or track that I don't have,
immediately my mission is to acquire it. I have a few contacts
who help me with this, and as a last resort, there are always
certain dealers and E-bay and other things like that.
I also never missed an opportunity in creative writing assignments
in high school or college when it came time to write little stories
and whatnots. I always used characters in my writings like Vera,
Chuck and Dave or maybe Rita, Dr. Robert or Mr. Mustard. Some
of the cooler teachers were hip to what I was up to and others
didn't have a clue. There were also other ways the Beatles factored
into my life such as office décor and, as seen in these
photos my mailbox and license plate.
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Of course, to house my growing library of Beatles music, most
collectors will tell you they eventually need to get a Beatle
room in the house. I tried for years to keep things sort of tucked
away in a closet, but about 15 years ago I finally made the obvious
step of dedicating a room and adjoining closet to keep it all
organized and displayed properly.
Jude: When did you start making the rare
tracks available to the public and why?
HN: Well, as I said earlier, it can be quite interesting
to hear a song you love, or by a band you love, done in a new
way. You might not necessarily think the new way is better, but
because it differs, it can be a refreshing change that allows
you to appreciate it all over again. My goal is not to make everything
I've acquired available to the public. Rather, at the rate of
one per week, I find a track that would be interesting to write
about and provide the music to go with it. They have accumulated
some now because I have been doing these posts for nearly four
years now.
Jude: If someone wants to use the information
on your site, do they need a membership? What are the benefits
of membership?
HN: My site is not so sophisticated that there are membership
benefits. I offer an email subscription, Facebook feed, Twitter,
and RSS feed options. But all of these are just tools for how
you want to be notified of new content on the site. You can also
find TheBeatlesRarity on StumbleUpon, Digg and Mog.com. Different
people like to keep up with new content in different ways, so
I try to comply, but there really are no memberships being managed.
Anyone who wants can come and listen, read and interact in discussions
and the more, the merrier. For me it has been a fantastic way
to meet other Beatles fans.
Jude: One final burning question. Why
are you called Happy Nat?
HN: Well, the original Happy Nat (Nat Jackley) was one
of the circus freaks recruited to appear on the bus in the Magical
Mystery Tour film. He was also in the comic strip that comes
with most pressings of the MMT album/CD/double EP. As far
back as the 1940's, Nat was an English comedy actor and pantomime
expert. He had a hilarious trademark rubber-neck dance and ridiculously
peculiar speech impediment. Since this is just the type of person
I look up to, I have chosen him to be my namesake, just as he
was chosen by The Beatles to appear in their film and comic strip.
In the Magical Mystery Tour comic, Happy Nat was the guy
who had so much fun on the bus with his eating and dancing his
rubbery dances, that he tires and sleeps while dreaming of a bunch
of beautiful women accompanying him by the seaside. His naughty
smile while having this dream portrays him as a rather perverted
little man and again, this is just the type of person I look up
to. He died in 1988 at the age of 79 (due to cancer) and I'm very
"Happy" to let his spirit live again through me (that
is, whenever it isn't back down on the seaside with all of those
women). Every now and then when no one is looking, I'll practice
my own rubber neck dance and think of him. (So far I have not
been caught doing this and remain gainfully employed to this day.)
Thanks so much Nat, not only for sharing
your Beatles story, but for making such an amazing collection
of Beatles songs available for all of us to enjoy. I hope that
those of you reading will check out TheBeatlesRarity.com and maybe even make a donation (or two!) to
keep Nat's work going and going and going. It's wonderful!
