Cover illustration by Todd Sinclair		 I didn't own a copy of Meet the Beatles until 1970. I was 12 years old and the most important things in my life were my guitar and my record player (Well, I also did have a thing for a particular girl, but I knew that wasn't going to be a reality). I was already familiar with some of the songs on the album like, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "All My Loving" from the radio and watching the Beatles cartoons on TV. I bought every magazine and book that had pictures and stories about them. I loved their music ever since I saw the Ed Sullivan appearances 6 years earlier. I'd visit the record departments of "Two Guys" and "E.J. Korvettes" and wished I could hear the songs on these cool looking records. I was pretty obsessed with the Beatles and I had to figure out a way to own every album they made.

In 1968, my parents purchased a mono record player that accommodated 33 1/3's, 78's and 45's for me. It wasn't a stereo like I wanted, but at least it was a start. My dad had just entered into the tavern business that year and he would let me keep the old singles from the juke box every month when they would replace them with the latest hits. To buy a full length LP back then would have been a luxury that we couldn't afford. The only Beatles 45's I owned were, "I Feel Fine", "Love Me Do" and "My Bonnie". By 1970, I needed to have a Beatles LP. The first album I talked my mom into buying for me was probably their latest release. It was called the Hey Jude album, or, The Beatles Again, as it says on the spine of the sleeve. It was a collection of songs taken from their singles that never appeared on American Capitol/Apple albums up to that point. It was a crazy mix of songs, "I Should Have Known Better", "Old Brown Shoe", "Revolution", "Rain", "Can't Buy Me Love", just to name a few. The cover had a fairly current picture of them with shoulder length hair and sporting beards. My mom wasn't thrilled about their appearance and was afraid it would influence me in a negative way. I wasn't allowed to grow hair over my ears in those days, so you can imagine her horror when she saw that photo image on the album.

Illustration by Frank Galasso

The next album I purchased may have been my way of dealing with my mom's reaction to the Hey Jude album by trying to make her feel at ease. It was Meet The Beatles!

The photo on the cover was a striking image. It was otherworldly and their hair was very short by 1970 standards, so my mom accepted it.

When I listened to that album for the first time, it blew me away. I loved the songs immediately. The songs sounded fresh and exciting, even though it was the Woodstock era. Most of the kids in my 7th grade class didn't even like The Beatles, but that didn't matter to me. Songs like "Not a Second Time", "Don't Bother Me" and especially "All I've Got to Do" hooked me right away. I hadn't heard these songs on the radio before and they just struck me like lightning. That record stayed on my turntable for months and I wanted to be able to play that type of music on my guitar. It shaped my initial approach to playing rhythm guitar. The following year, when I met my future band mate Dennis Diken that first day in High School in 1971, I followed that dream and actually did it.
I am being totally honest: I was never a big fan of the idea of recording Beatles songs because I always thought that they should be left alone. But I have to say, damn! It’s so much fun to play if you’re a musician. I highly recommend it. It brings back some real good feelings. Feelings I had growing up and dreaming of playing in a Rock and Roll band.

By the way, I never got that girl. Never even tried. She was more interested in the football players anyway. My consolation prizes included meeting Dennis, following a crazy dream and you know what? I found an even better girl who became my wife.

I'm glad that I'd met the Beatles.

-Jim Babjak

Illustration by Frank Galasso