Doug Thompson: THE BEATLES: FROM CANADA WITH LOVE!

Usually, any 50^th anniversary is a cause for celebration.  But the 50^th anniversary of The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan TV Show in New York was especially fun.  And if you’re not tired of all The Beatles coverage, here’s a little more for you to digest.  As most of the world knows by now, these four Liverpool lads – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – along with manager Brian Epstein and record producer George Martin, revolutionized music, fashion and merchandising from 1964 through to the end of the decade.  And Canada played a major part in much of it.

Doug Thompson: CONFESSIONS OF A PROFESSIONAL ROCK AND ROLL INTERVIEWER – “AND SO, DEAR FRIENDS, YOU’LL JUST HAVE TO CARRY ON. THE DREAM IS OVER.”

I’ve been interviewing musicians, singers, actors, authors, record producers, session players and songwriters for almost 40 years…everyone from ABBA to Frank Zappa.  I’ve also produced over a thousand hours of radio programs that have been heard around the world.  Every interview and program has a story behind it.

This is one of them.

Doug Thompson: Confessions of a Professional Rock and Roll Interviewer Continues – Bobby Curtola, Quincy Jones, and More

I conducted my very first interview when I was 15 years old.  Before I continue, I think a little background is in order here.

I’d been interested in radio since I was 13, so for my 15^th birthday in July, my parents bought me a tiny portable tape recorder.  They say size matters, but this recorder only took 3 inch reels, and that was more than enough for me.  It literally fit in my hand (no jokes please).  The interview subject was my 8 year old brother, who talked about his friends, school and what life might have in store for him when he grew up.  Sadly, I no longer have that tape or I would have blackmailed my brother years ago and retired to Kauai.