Christmas Special
…The Beatles Unravelled Special Edition #1
…..The Beatles to Led Zeppelin
……..Three Degrees of Separation
There are just three degrees of separation between The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour – Ken Kesey / beat poets – Jimmy Page / The Yardbirds – Led Zeppelin.
17-23 December
…guest feature on the Mop Tops and The King show
Derek Shelmerdine presents the feature segment The Beatles Unravelled (alternating with Elvis Presley Unravelled)
…fortnightly on Steve Chelmsford’s Mop Tops and the King show.
……It’s a one-minute snapshot of The Beatles (and Elvis Presley) history.
The MTK Network broadcasts the show, syndicated to nearly 100 radio stations around the world.
See the Show Schedule for broadcast details of times and radio stations.
(The times on the Show Schedule are Eastern Time, the UK is five hours ahead.)
Listen Again
PODCAST –
The Beatles to Led Zeppelin – 3 degrees of separation
Watch this space…
Three degrees of separation from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin
There are just three degrees of separation between The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. We can start at The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour – Ken Kesey / beat poets – Jimmy Page / The Yardbirds – and here we are at Led Zeppelin
from The Beatles…
Magical Mystery Tour premiered on BBC-1 on 26 December 1967 in glorious black-and-white.
Paul McCartney’s inspiration for Magical Mystery Tour comes from Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, published 1962. In 1964 Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters set off on a journey across America, in their brightly-painted bus named Further. Ken Kesey was also a leading counterculture figure in 1960s. He was great friends with the beat poets and writers, including Allen Ginsberg.
In the UK, Royston Ellis was a prominent beat poet and often referred to as the British Allen Ginsberg.
In the 1950s American beat poets often did poetry readings with a jazz accompaniment. Consequently, achieving a fusion of poetry and music. Royston Ellis liked this concept. In early 1960s various musicians backed Roysten at his poetry readings (including Beatles John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe at the Jacaranda Club). However, we’ll save that particular story for a future Beatles Unravelled!
to Led Zeppelin…
At the Poetry at the Mermaid festival at London’s Mermaid Theatre, on 21 July 1961, 17-year-old Jimmy Page accompanied Royston Ellis in a fusion of poetry and music.
Jimmy Page joined the Yardbirds in the summer of 1966. He joined as bassist but soon moved to duel lead guitar with Jeff Beck. When Jeff Beck moved on, Jimmy Page became the Yardbirds’ lead guitarist. Consequently it was Jimmy Page (and manager Peter Grant) who morphed the band into led Zeppelin – guitarist Jimmy Page, drummer John Bonham, bassist John Paul Jones and singer Robert Plant.
From The Beatles to Led Zeppelin – via counterculture and beat poets. How cool is that…
Robert Plant went on to record a duet with Alison Krouse. The Light of Christmas Day features in the 2015 Christmas movie, Love the Coopers.
Extracts from Rock’n’Roll Unravelled
All of The Beatles/Elvis Presley Unravelled podcasts are based on extracts from Derek Shelmerdine‘s book Rock’n’Roll Unravelled.
THE EXTRACTS FOR THIS STORY
21 July 1961: Poetry at the Mermaid – Jimmy Page accompanied beat poet Royston Ellis
21 June 1966: Jimmy Page – joined the Yardbirds
26 December 1967: The premiere of Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour on BBC TV
7 September 1968: First Led Zeppelin gig – billed as “The Yardbirds”
About the book – Rock’n’Roll Unravelled
With its unique three-part structure, Rock’n’Roll Unravelled tells the story of rock’n’roll from its roots to mid-1970s punk. Click on the link for lots more information…
TO BUY – a signed copy of Rock’n’Roll Unravelled
Mop Tops and The King Radio Show
Derek Shelmerdine presents the feature segments Elvis Presley Unravelled and The Beatles Unravelled on Steve Chelmsford’s weekly Mop Tops and The King radio show.
Derek is a fortnightly guest on Steve’s show.
The MTK NETWORK of nearly 100 radio stations around the world carries the Mop Tops and The King show. This means that every day, someone, somewhere in the world is broadcasting the Mop Tops and the King show.
For the broadcast time for each station – check out the WEEKLY SCHEDULE.
(The times in the weekly schedule are Eastern Time – the UK is five hours ahead.)
The Mop Tops and the King show is all about the music, lives and times of The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
For all the previous editions of…
The Beatles Unravelled and Elvis Presley Unravelled
First Broadcast: The Beatles to Led Zeppelin – three degrees of separation
This show was first broadcast 17-23 December 2021, on the MTK network of nearly 100 radio stations around the world.
