The Fragility of Beatles History

While a lot is (rightfully so) made of the fact that when Paul McCartney met John Lennon he played Twenty Flight Rock by Eddie Cochran, an event universally considered to be the Big Bang Moment of The Beatles, what never seems to be talked about is how Cochran's tragically young death a year later had an ACTUAL direct effect on The Beatles' career:

• While on tour in England, Tony Sheridan asked to ride in the same car as Cochran but was refused
• Hours later the car crashed and Cochran was dead
• A year later Sheridan contracted a backing band for a recording session and produced nine songs in two days, including the old standard My Bonnie
• That backing band was The Beatles
• It was the first commercial record The Beatles ever played on
• Eventually a young man named Raymond Jones would visit Brian Epstein's record store and ask for My Bonnie
• More interest in the record prompted Epstein to go check out The Beatles one day at The Cavern Club, and the rest of course is history 

Is it possible we never would have heard of The Beatles if Tony Sheridan had gotten in the car with Eddie Cochran that night & met his own tragically young death? 🤔🤷‍♂️

Oh yeah, and the name of the driver of the car Eddie Cochran was in when he crashed was George Martin. Okay not that one but still crazy, right???

Luckily it worked out for all of us at least (sorry Eddie), and this was easily one of the most exciting discoveries on The Beatles Anthology.