Monday, December 11, 2017

My Dinner with George, and How Much Is a Beatles Autograph Worth These Days Anyways

We're talking about George Harrison here. This past weekend I dreamt we were sharing a meal. This is a brief summary of what I remember about the dream.

Scene from dream, before waitress shows up.
A young George Harrison was seated at a rectangular table with another young man who looked a little like Brian Jones of the Stones. The two were eating and engaged in conversation when I arrived in the company of another fellow. I took a seat by George and the other fellow took a seat between George and the Jones look-alike. (Illustration show seating order with place settings and glasses missing.) The table was situated in a wide corridor and one could hear quite clearly that down the hall the other Beatles --John, Paul and Ringo -- were evidently working out harmonies and chord progressions in the recording studio, George being on break. I recognized the song, which would soon appear on an upcoming album.

A waitress approached and in an exchange with George I learned he did not have a wallet with him, and that none of the other Beatles had paid for their meals. This malfeasance was atoned for because they had given her a copy of their album With The Beatles, upon which each had signed their faces. She had a Sharpie and the album cover at the ready, so that George could add his signature to the cover, which he promptly did.

The strange part of the dream is that I was my current age of 65, whereas this scene taking place was back in 1965 while George was in his twenties. As I watched him put his signature there, I was trying to determine what this signed album cover would be worth in our 21st century eBay era. Here is what I learned.

My first Beatles album, With The Beatles.
This is the one George signed in my presence, in the dream.
SIGNED ALBUM COVERS HAVE REAL VALUE

My first stop after waking: a Beatles forum at BeatlesBible.com. Once authenticity is determined, however, you can get a sense of the real value here at the Beatles Blog.

THE BEATLES ON QUORA

It wasn't until I became involved in the Quora online community that I really learned how much enthusiasm is still out there for the Fab Four. I wrote an answer to a question about Ringo, and suddenly all variety of Beatles questions were delivered my way, most which I preferred to defer to higher authorities. I knew the albums, intimately familiar with them all, but I'd not read all the books or zines. When I read an answer by Chantal de Paus of the Netherlands, whom I interviewed here, I realized quite quickly how extensive the knowledge base is out there beyond the album tracks.

If you're a Beatles fan, you might enjoy this timeline of Beatles trivia, along with links to three Beatles trivia contests.

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"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." --Abbey Road, 1969

1 comment:

Sammy Fingers said...

Great dream. Keep sleeping!

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