Matchbook Lyrics
Airdate – Jul 17, 2022
In the late 80s and early 90s our creator of Moments In Time, Tom Locke, was engaged in chairing Vancouver film initiatives that involved hosting film producers from Los Angeles who were interested in shooting in British Columbia, Canada.
One of these film producers was a 70+ year old gentleman by the name of Walter Shenson who was noted for producing the 1959 film, ‘The Mouse That Roared’
that starred Peter Sellers.
Via a subsequent follow up visit to Los Angeles, Tom soon found out that Shenson had also played a significant role in the British Invasion of the mid 60s …
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While in London, Shenson consented to producing a low budget film on a musical group that was causing a sensation in the UK. A year later he produced another movie with the group. That group was the Beatles.
During the first film, Shenson was on the set every day, and after he had looked at some early rushes, his wife asked him whether the Beatles could act. ”I don’t know if they can act,” he replied, ”but you can’t keep your eyes off them.”
Shenson recounts getting along with the “boys” as he called them very well. In fact, according to Tim Morse in his 1998 book, “Classic Rock Stories” Shenson told John Lennon that he thought it would be great if he could come up with a song that mirrored the title of the film and could be played over the credits. Lennon said he would think about it.
According to Shenson, “The next morning at about 8:30, John asked me to step aside into this little room. Paul was in there, and they began playing their guitars, singing words John had written out on a matchbook.” This song was “A Hard Day’s Night,” this week’s Tom Locke moment in time.
YouTube video of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMSiHdrHl0g
Epilogue – A Hard Day’s Night (’64) and Help (’65) recouped their budgets in the first day they were released. Both movies certainly fueled the fire for the British Invasion of North America.
