Winchester Cathedral, 1966 The New Vaudeville Band.

Uma cançoneta de vaudeville assumidamente demodée, composta como assumido pastiche das revistas da década de 20 por Geoffrey Stephens, autor de programas humorísticos, rábulas radiofónicas e ocasionais sucessos do teatro musicado. Levava-se tão pouco a sério que jamais antecipou o êxito planetário deste seu tema, um dos mais tocados em 1966 nas rádios de quase todo o mundo.

A brincadeira era tão óbvia que foi preciso improvisar uma banda quase tão fictícia como a Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band que os Beatles celebrizariam um ano mais tarde.

The New Vaudeville Band, reunida para a gravação do single, tinha o fascínio do seu próprio amadorismo nesta homenagem serôdia aos velhos salões de dança, acentuada pelos traços caricaturais do vocalista John Carter, usando um megafone em sátira aos cantores da era anterior à generalização do microfone – o mais célebre dos quais foi Rudy Vallee.

A cantiga, egou de estaca. De tal maneira que nesse final de 1966 atingiu o quarto lugar nos tops britânicos e cruzou o Atlântico, onde chegaria à primeira posição nas vendas, competindo em Dezembro com Good Vibrations, dos Beach Boys. Pouco depois receberia o Grammy como melhor canção do ano. Vendeu mais de três milhões de cópias em todos os continentes. E teve inúmeras versões internacionais, incluindo uma portuguesa, do Quinteto Académico.

De repente, a música parecia estar em todo o lado. Uma versão quase simultânea interpretada por Dana Rollin foi igualmente um sucesso de vendas. Os Shadows e a orquestra de James Last fizeram versões instrumentais do tema, cantado em 1967 também por Petula Clark, Ray Conniff, Lawrence Welk e Dizzy Gillespie. Até Frank Sinatra o gravou, embora sem resultados brilhantes.

Stephens, hoje com 82 anos, nem queria acreditar que a sua cantilena, concebida quando olhava para uma imagem da  Catedral de Winchester impressa num calendário de parede, havia alcançado aquela repercussão, tornando-se um ícone da música popular. De tal modo que o próprio Rudy Vallee, remota  pop star do fonógrafo e da telefonia, também fez questão de interpretar o tema em disco. Fechava-se um ciclo: o homenageado associava-se assim à homenagem.

Há meses, pegando num livro antigo, saltou-me lá de dentro a folha já amarelada com a letra de Winchester Cathedral. E logo esse pedaço de papel me devolveu à soalheira sala daquele segundo andar em Viana, às alegres aulas recitadas e cantaroladas em inglês, ao Pai exercendo aquilo que mais gostou de fazer na vida - ensinar.

As canções também têm este dom: são capazes de nos transportar a qualquer momento a um passado que pensávamos já definitivamente sepultado na memória. Como escreveu Fernando Pessoa, pela pena do seu heterónimo Ricardo Reis, "em tudo quanto olhei fiquei em parte".

Substitua-se neste caso "olhei" por "escutei": vem a dar no mesmo.

«Winchester Cathedral / You're bringing me down / You stood and you watched as / My baby left town. // You could have done something / But you didn't try / You didn't do nothing / You let her walk by.»

 Pedro Correia “As canções da Minha Vida”

Meet The Covers, the Beatles played

Todos nós sabemos que os Beatles não gravaram apenas músicas autorais (compostas por Lennon, McCartney, Harrison e Starr). 

Mas já pensaram quantos "covers", temas de outros compositores que eles lançaram nos seus álbuns, quer enquanto banda, quer enquanto artistas a solo ? 

Quais os autores e temas mais gravados pelos Beatles? 

Fiquem a saber igualmente quais são as 15 músicas de Chuck Berry, o eterno ‘Pai do Rock’ que os Beatles tocaram ao vivo.

– “Anna (Go to Him)” | 1963 | Please Please Me | Arthur Alexander
– “Chains” | 1963 | Please Please Me | The Cookies
– “Boys” | 1963 | Please Please Me | The Shirelles
– “Baby It’s You” | 1963 | Please Please Me | The Shirelles
– “A Taste of Honey” | 1963 | Please Please Me | Bobby Scott/Lenny Welch
– “Twist and Shout” | 1963 | Please Please Me | The Top Nodes (as hit The Isley Brothers)
– “Till There Was You” | 1963 | With the Beatles | Barbara Cook
– “Please Mr. Postman” | 1963 | With the Beatles | The Marvelettes
– “Roll Over Beethoven” | 1963 | With the Beatles | Chuck Berry
– “You Really Got a Hold on Me” | 1963 | With the Beatles | The Miracles
– “Devil in Her Heart” | 1963 | With the Beatles | The Donays
– “Money (That’s What I Want)” | 1963 | With the Beatles | Barrett Strong
– “Long Tall Sally” | 1964 | Long Tall Sally (EP) | Little Richard
– “Slow Down” | 1964 | Long Tall Sally (EP) | Larry Williams
– “Matchbox” | 1964 | Long Tall Sally (EP) | Carl Perkins
– “Rock and Roll Music” | 1964 | Beatles for Sale | Chuck Berry
– “Mr. Moonlight” | 1964 | Beatles for Sale | Dr. Feelgood
– “Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!” | 1964 | Beatles for Sale | Little Willie Littlefield/Little Richard
– “Words of Love” | 1964 | Beatles for Sale | Buddy Holly
– “Honey Don’t” | 1964 | Beatles for Sale Carl Perkins
– “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby” | 1964 | Beatles for Sale Carl Perkins
– “Bad Boy” | 1965 | Beatles VI | Larry Williams
– “Act Naturally” | 1965 Help! | Johnny Russell
– “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” | 1965 | Help! | Larry Williams
– “Maggie Mae” | 1970 Let It Be | The Vipers | Skiffle Group (traditional)
– “I Got a Woman” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Ray Charles
– “Too Much Monkey Business” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Chuck Berry
– “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Little Eva
– “Young Blood” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | The Coasters
– “A Shot of Rhythm and Blues” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Arthur Alexander
– “Sure to Fall (In Love with You)” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Carl Perkins
– “Some Other Guy” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Richie Barrett
– “That’s All Right, Mama” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Elvis Presley
– “Carol” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Chuck Berry
– “Soldier of Love (Lay Down Your Arms)” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Arthur Alexander
– “Clarabella” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | The Jodimars
– “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Elvis Presley
– “Crying, Waiting, Hoping” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Buddy Holly
– “To Know Her Is to Love Her” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | The Teddy Bears
– “The Honeymoon Song” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Marino Marini
– “Johnny B. Goode” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Chuck Berry
– “Memphis, Tennessee” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Chuck Berry
– “Lucille” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Little Richard
– “Sweet Little Sixteen” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Chuck Berry
– “Lonesome Tears in My Eyes” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Johnny Burnette & His Rock’n’Roll Trio
– “Nothin’ Shakin'” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Eddie Fontaine
– “The Hippy Hippy Shake” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Chan Romero
– “Glad All Over” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Carl Perkins
– “I Just Don’t Understand” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Ann-Margret
– “So How Come (No One Loves Me)” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | The Everly Brothers
– “I Forgot To Remember To Forget” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Elvis Presley
– “I Got to Find My Baby” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Chuck Berry
– “Ooh! My Soul” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | Little Richard
– “Don’t Ever Change” | 1994 | Live at the BBC | The Crickets
– “That’ll Be the Day” | 1995 | Anthology 1 | The Crickets
– “Hallelujah I Love Her So” | 1995 | Anthology 1 | Ray Charles
– “Ain’t She Sweet” | 1995 | Anthology 1/Anthology 3 | Milton Ager/Jack Yellen
– “Searchin'” | 1995 | Anthology 1 | The Coasters
– “Three Cool Cats” | 1995 | Anthology 1 | The Coasters
– “The Sheik of Araby” | 1995 | Anthology 1 | Harry B. Smith/Francis Wheeler/Ted Snyder
– “Bésame Mucho” | 1995 | Anthology 1 | Consuelo Velázquez
– “Lend Me Your Comb” | 1995 | Anthology 1 | Carl Perkins
– “Shout” | 1995 | Anthology 1 | The Isley Brothers
– “Leave My Kitten Alone” | 1995 | Anthology 1 | Little Willie John
– “I’m Talking About You” | 2013 | On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 | Chuck Berry
– “Beautiful Dreamer” | 2013 | On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 | Tony Orlando/Stephen Foster

John Lennon

– “Ya Ya” (Lee Dorsey) – Walls and Bridges, 1974
– “Be-Bop-A-Lula” (Gene Vincent) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Stand by Me” (Ben E. King) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Rip It Up”/”Ready Teddy” (Little Richard) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “You Can’t Catch Me” (Chuck Berry) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Ain’t That a Shame” (Fats Domino) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Do You Wanna Dance?” (Bobby Freeman) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Sweet Little Sixteen” (Chuck Berry) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Slippin’ and Slidin'” (Little Richard) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Peggy Sue” (Buddy Holly) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Bring It On Home to Me”/”Send Me Some Lovin'” (Sam Cooke/Lloyd Price) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Bony Moronie” (Larry Williams) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Just Because” (Lloyd Price) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1975
– “Hound Dog” (Big Mama Thornton) – Live in New York City, 1986
– “Angel Baby” (Rosie Hamlin) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, relançamento 2004
– “To Know Her Is to Love Her” (Phil Spector) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, relançamento 2004
– “Since My Baby Left Me” (Arthur Crudup) – Rock ‘n’ Roll, relançamento 2004
– “Just Because (Reprise)” – Rock ‘n’ Roll, relançamento 2004
– “Mucho Mungo” (Harry Nilsson) – The Lost Sleepy Blind Lemon Lennon Album, 1990
– “Be My Baby” (Phil Spector) – Lost Weekend, 1973-1974

Paul McCartney

– “Ain’t No Sunshine” (Bill Withers)
– “All Shook Up” (Elvis Presley)
– “Be Bop a Lula” (Gene Vincent)
– “Blue Jean Bop” (Gene Vincent)
– “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (Bill Monroe)
– “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” (Chuck Berry)
– “Good Rocking Tonight” (Roy Brown)
– “Hi-Heel Sneakers” (Tommy Tucker)
– “Lonesome Town” (Ricky Nelson)
– “San Francisco Bay Blues” (Jesse Fuller)
– “Singing The Blues” (Marty Robbins)
– “Twenty Flight Rock” (Eddie Cochran)

Do álbum Choba B CCCP (1990):
– “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” (Lloyd Price)
– “I’m in Love Again” (Fats Domino)
– “Bring It On Home to Me” (Sam Cooke)
– “Lucille” (Little Richard)
– “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” (Duke Ellington)
– “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday” (Fats Domino)
– “That’s All Right” (Elvis Presley)
– “Summertime” (George Gershwin)
– “Ain’t That a Shame” (Fats Domino)
– “Crackin’ Up” (Bo Diddley)
– “Just Because” (Nelstone’s Hawaiians, The Shelton Brothers, Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee)
– “Midnight Special” – traditional

George Harrison

– “Got My Mind Set on You” (James Ray)
– “If Not for You” (Bob Dylan)
– “Absolutely Sweet Marie” (Bob Dylan)
– “Anna Julia” (Los Hermanos)
– “True Love” (Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly)
– “Roll Over Beethoven” (Chuck Berry)
– “Hong Kong Blues” (Hoagy Carmichael)
– “I Really Love You” (Leroy Swearingen)
– “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” (Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler)

Ringo Starr

Do álbum Sentimental Journey (1970):
– “Sentimental Journey” (Bud Green/Les Brown/Bon Homer)
– “Night and Day” (Cole Porter)
– “Whispering Grass (Don’t Tell the Trees)” (Fred Fisher/Doris Fisher)
– “Bye Bye Blackbird” (Mort Dixon/Ray Henderson)
– “I’m a Fool to Care” (Ted Daffan)
– “Stardust” (Hoagy Carmichael/Mitchell Parish)
– “Blue, Turning Grey Over You” (Andy Razaf/Fats Waller)
– “Love Is a Many Splendoured Thing” (Sammy Fain/Paul Webster)
– “Dream” (Johnny Mercer)
– “You Always Hurt the One You Love” (Allan Roberts/Doris Fisher)
– “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?” (Scott Wiseman)
– “Let the Rest of the World Go By” (Ernest Ball/Karen Brennan)

Outros álbuns:
– “You’re Sixteen” (1973), Ringo, Bob Sherman/Dick Sherman
– “Husbands and Wives” (1974), Goodnight Vienna, Roger Miller
– “Only You (And You Alone)” (1974), Goodnight Vienna, Buck Ram/Ande Rand
– “No No Song” (1974), Goodnight Vienna, Hoyt Axton/David Jackson
– “A Dose of Rock ‘n’ Roll” (1976), Ringo’s Rotogravure, Carl Groszman
– “Hey! Baby” (1976), Ringo’s Rotogravure, Margaret Cobb/Bruce Channel
– “Drowning in the Sea of Love” (1977), Ringo the 4th, Kenny Gamble/Leon Huff (Joe Simon)
– “Sneaking Sally Through the Alley” (1977), Ringo the 4th, Allen Toussaint
– “Bad Boy” (1978), Bad Boy, Lil Armstrong/Avon Long
– “Lipstick Traces (On a Cigarette)” (1978), Bad Boy, Toussaint
– “Heart on My Sleeve” (1978), Bad Boy, Gallagher and Lyle
– “Where Did Our Love Go” (1978), Bad Boy, Eddie Holland/Lamont Dozier/Brian Holland
– “Monkey See – Monkey Do” (1978), Bad Boy, Michael Franks
– “You Belong to Me” Stop and Smell the Roses, Pee Wee King/Redd Stewart/Chilton Price
– “Sure to Fall” (1981), Stop and Smell the Roses, Carl Perkins/Quinton Claunch/William Cantrell
– “She’s About a Mover” (1983), Old Wave, Doug Sahm
– “I Keep Forgettin'” (1983), Old Wave, Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller
– “Golden Blunders” (1992), Time Takes Time, Jonathan Auer/Kenneth Stringfellow
– “Don’t Be Cruel” (1992), Time Takes Time, Otis Blackwell/Elvis Presley
– “Love Me Do” (1998), Vertical Man, Lennon–McCartney
– “Drift Away” (1998), Vertical Man, Mentor Williams
– “Winter Wonderland” (1999), I Wanna Be Santa Claus, Felix Bernard/Richard B. Smith
– “The Little Drummer Boy” (1999), I Wanna Be Santa Claus, Harry Simeone/Henry Onorati
– “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1999), I Wanna Be Santa Claus, Johnny Marks
– “Blue Christmas” (1999), I Wanna Be Santa Claus, Bill Hayes/Jay Johnson
– “White Christmas” (1999), I Wanna Be Santa Claus, Irving Berlin
– “Think It Over” (2012), Ringo 2012, Buddy Holly/Norman Petty
– “Rock Island Line” (2012), Ringo 2012, Johnny Cash

Chuck Berry Ao Vivo

Os Beatles tocaram um total de 15 músicas do grande ídolo Chuck Berry:
– “Roll Over Beethoven”, 1957-64
– “Sweet Little Sixteen”, 1957-62
– “Johnny B. Goode”, 1958-62
– “Maybellene”, 1959-61
– “Rock and Roll Music”, 1959-66
– “Almost Grown”, 1960-62
– “Carol”, 1960-62
– “Little Queenie”, 1960-63
– “Reelin’ and Rockin'”, 1960-61
– “Thirty Days”, 1960-61
– “Vacation Time”, 1960-61
– “Memphis, Tennessee”, 1960-62
– “Too Much Monkey Business”, 1960-62
– “I Got to Find my Baby”, 1961-62
– “I’m Talking About You”, 1962

José Carlos Almeida no Portal dos Beatles