Sigma Alpha Iota

20 Summer 2025 • sai-national.org 20 Summer 2025 • sai-national.org A Wld of Music It was shocking to discover that although they ultimately sold millions of records, they didn't pass their first Decca Records audition because of their excessive drinking to celebrate the new year the night before. However, it was not long thereafter that their second audition was successful, and their first album for Abbey Road Studios was recorded and released in March 1963. This changed the popular music scene forever. I was somewhat disappointed not to find chairs and headphones at audio stations throughout the museum to take breaks and listen to their most beloved recorded songs. There was music piped continuously while I was standing or walking, but surprisingly not always Beatles compositions; rather, other selections (such as "Till There Was You" from Meredith Willson's The Music Man) were merely sung by one of the Beatles. But there were two video monitors. One played relevant interviews and another a short segment of the group's earliest-filmed footage. Beatles aficionados will be pleased to learn the museum plans to try and restore never- released tapes. I knew little about certain events in their lives. In fact, although aware of one of their commercial ventures, Cirque du Soleil's Love, I did a double-take when I saw a full apple image for the short-lived retail store in London, Apple Boutique. I vaguely remember their 1968 Indian sojourns but did not recall anything concerning the controversy they caused in Japan a few years earlier. On the walls were photographs and promotional posters; in glass cases were various authentic items—letters, keys for their first van, a microphone, original guitars and drums, Sgt. Pepper medals, stage clothing (including pink hats, leather boots, and red-and-black blazers), receipts, tour folders, a bass amp, and numerous items they collected on tour. Once while in the United States, they visited Graceland and met Elvis Presley who gave them several LP record albums that are on display. Roped off were two red seats from Shea Stadium where they performed to a crowd of more than 55,000 fans. Also shown were a variety of commercial items; I smiled when I saw the yellow submarine lunchbox and thermos. As a cellist, it was easy to choose my most favorite object in the collection—the white cello from the "Blue Jay Way" video, a part of their third film, The Magical Mystery Tour. Inside the glass enclosure, I located the tailpiece but still wonder what happened to the missing bridge, strings, and bow. Museum Manager Rosie O'Donnell assumes they have been lost over time. Above the display are four photos— one of each of the Beatles posing as a solo cellist. Interestingly, I noticed Sir Paul McCartney was playing the instrument backwards—fingering with his right hand and holding the bow in his left! He was a southpaw and chose to play his guitar the same way. Most likely the instrument was used only for effect in the movie anyway. The museum warmly welcomes families and school groups, providing colorful age-appropriate Beatles Explorer! worksheets to introduce facts and objects in the collection, asking youngsters to tick (check) boxes after finding certain items. Being young at heart, I looked for and found all of them myself. To whet the appetite of prospective visitors, the museum website, liverpoolbeatlesmuseum.com, even shows an intriguing mystery object from John Lennon's Tittenhurst Mansion. You'll need to go to Liverpool on a Beatles Museum treasure hunt to find this quirkiest piece yourself—just as I did! I've decided to keep up with Beatles Museum news and subscribed to the newsletter on the website, which no doubt will list the debut date of the above-mentioned unreleased, restored tapes. Jayne I. Hanlin is an initiate of Alpha Omicron and current member of the St. Louis Alumnae chapter. Mrs. Hanlin, the sister of famed pianist Malcolm Frager, is the co-author of Learning Latin Through Mythology (Cambridge University Press, 1991). The white cello from the "Blue Jay Way" video The white cello from the "Blue Jay Way" video

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