Teaching the ABCs...

A is for APPLE SCRUFFS (Hard-core Beatles fans in the late 1960's who had their own fan magazine and spent most of their time waiting to catch a glimpse of The Beatles. They were mostly on first-name basis with them.)

B is for BEATLEMANIA (The official name for the hysteria caused by The Beatles among massive groups of the world's youth. Screaming, crying, fainting, all at the mere mention of "Beatles" was perfectly normal....)

C is for CAVERN CLUB (A former jazz club turned rock 'n' roll club where The Beatles played many, many times up until 1963.)

D is for 'DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?' (A Lennon/McCartney song which George sang on the first Beatles album, 'Please Please Me'.)

E is fo ENGLAND (The country where The Beatles were from.)

F is for FAB FOUR (The affectionate nickname for The Beatles, since there were four of them and they were, indeed, very fabulous, i.e. fab.)

G is for 'GET BACK' (A Lennon/McCartney song famous for being performed during the January 1969 rooftop concert.)

H is for HARRISON, GEORGE (Youngest member of The Beatles, lead guitarist, extremely talented and very much missed.)

I is for INDRA CLUB (A club in Hamburg, Germany, where The Beatles played while they were in Hamburg; therefore a starting point for them, as well, since Hamburg is where they really learned how to play live for hours on end.)

J is for JOHNNY AND THE MOONDOGS (A former band name for The Beatles before they changed it to The Beatles. Johnny is John Lennon, of course.)

K is for KAISERKELLER (Yet another club in Hamburg, Germany, where The Beatles played.)

L is for LENNON, JOHN (Rhythm guitarist and founder of The Beatles. Genius, talented and sadly missed.)

M is for McCARTNEY, (JAMES) PAUL (Bassist of The Beatles and part of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting duo. Still touring and being his wonderful self.)

N is for 'NOWHERE MAN' (A beautiful song on the 'Rubber Soul' album; the harmonies are mind-blowing.)

O is for 'OB-LA-DI, OB-LA-DA' (Song written by Paul, which can be found on the White Album and is a great one to sing along to.)

P is for PARLOPHONE RECORDS (Sub-label of EMI, which is where The Beatles were under contract from 'Love Me Do' onwards.)

Q is for QUARRYMEN (John Lennon's band, which would, with the additon of Paul and George, mutate into what would become known as The Beatles.)

R is for ROCK 'N' ROLL (Music movement that began in the 1950's and influenced The Beatles. They would take rock 'n' roll to all new levels in the 1960's, of course.)

S is for STARKEY, RICHARD [aka RINGO STARR] (Eldest member of The Beatles, drummer and everyone's favorite. The best drummer ever.)

T is for THE BEATLES (...well, since "B" was taken up by "Beatlemania"... The band which is considered, rightly so, to be the best and most influential ever. And they are.)

U is for UNITED ARTISTS [UA] (The company which was responsible for The Beatles' films, including 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'Help!')

V is for VAUGHN, IVAN (The person who, since he was friends with both Paul and John, took Paul along to that fateful Woolton Village Fete in July 1957, where Paul and John were first introduced to eachother. The rest, as they say,....)

W is for 'WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS' (Brilliant song by the very talented George Harrison on the White Album.)

X is for X-TRAORDINARY (Yes, yes, I know, that's cheating, but the "E" was already taken, so... The word that should be used to describe The Beatles.)

Y is for 'YELLOW SUBMARINE' (The song and the film; sung by Ringo, and the inspiration for the cartoon movie.)

Z is for ZAPPLE (Apple Records' electronic music label...)