ne thing is certain: when they write the definitive history of pop, rock and jazz, drummer Bernard Purdie will figure prominently. With credits that include sessions for Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Steely Dan, Miles Davis, the Rolling Stones, Dizzy Gillespie, Hall & Oates, James Brown, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Ray Charles, Jeff Beck and The Beatles, Purdie's place in music history is secure.

But wait! While it's true that Purdie's name appears on hundreds of albums released during the past 40 years, he has never been officially credited for his work with The Beatles.

In fact, the only known source for this astonishing bit of music trivia is Bernard Purdie himself!

In a number of published interviews, beginning in the mid-70's and continuing to the present day, Purdie claims to have substituted for Ringo on as many as twenty-one Beatle recordings!

Here's an excerpt from Max Weinberg's excellent book, "The Big Beat" (1984):

Purdie made similar claims in the February 1978 issue of "Gig" magazine, saying he was hired to do a session six months before the first Beatle album was released in the U.S.A.

"I had never heard of The Beatles," said Purdie, "but their manager, Brian Epstein, called me and took me down to Capitol's 46th Street studio [New York]. I overdubbed the drumming on twenty-one tracks of the first three Beatle albums." He doesn't remember specific titles except one he calls Yeah Yeah Yeah -- obviously 'She Loves You'. "I got paid in five figures [$10,000 or more]," Purdie adds, "and that was the largest amount of money I'd ever gotten in my life. I thought they were paying me all that money because they liked what I played. Then [Epstein] told me I was being paid to keep my mouth shut." Purdie says he signed a contract. Does he still have it? "The contract", he explains, "was the check that I signed -- and I cashed it! On the back of the check, it was spelled out what I did ... 'payment for services rendered'. It took up half the check. But I didn't think about making a photo-copy. It didn't mean anything to me." Purdie says he worked on finished tapes. Seeing as the early Beatle albums had already been released in England, this would mean the original English versions have Ringo doing the drumming while the American counterparts have Purdie on some tracks, Ringo on others, and, as Purdie suggests, both of them on others. "They had four track [tape recorders] and they put me on two separate tracks. I would listen to what Ringo had played and then overdub on top of it to keep it happening." He says he never met any of The Beatles at the time. "The only people in the studio were me, the engineer, and Brian Epstein and a few of his people." Purdie says he doesn't even think Beatles producer George Martin knows what he did. George Martin would only say "I did not use another drummer", and no one at Capitol Records -- past or present -- knows anything or is willing to talk about it. "The manager did everything", Purdie stresses. "Epstein instigated everything that had to be done. He was the one who told me to keep my mouth closed. He was the one."

Here's Purdie in a 2007 interview conducted before an audience at the Red Bull Music Academy in New Jersey (click on the logo, left, to read extended transcript):

And finally, here's an excerpt from an August 21, 2008 interview on "PodShow Radio":

Brent Bradley: The word is that you played on the first three Beatles' albums and that Ringo did not play on any of them. Is that true? Bernard Purdie: Well, it's true, but the point is, is that I'm going to leave that alone for the time being, because every time I open my mouth about that I've gotten myself into trouble ...

Podshow Radio (audio)

f Purdie's claim is true then musicologists may be forced to re-write one of the most significant chapters in Popular Music history! It would mean The Beatles were not masters of their musical destiny after all, but were as manipulated and fabricated as Herman's Hermits or The Monkees!

Could Bernard Purdie be lying? 

It's not unprecedented for people of considerable accomplishment to also be considerably flawed.  Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon come to mind. So does Jim Bakker ... and Jimmy Swaggert. The list goes on and on.

Take the Duke of Wellington, for example ...

In 1812 he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, one of the most famous military victories in history! However, some historians believe the Duke may have embellished his story to make his role at Waterloo appear even more significant than it was!

I mean, dude, you defeated Napoleon. Why not just leave it at that?

Personally, I think Purdie might be stretching the truth a bit, too. In fact, he might be stretching the truth a lot!  As in ... lying.

Well, that happens to be my opinion, but I suppose Purdie is entitled to a fair hearing. And thanks to his numerous interviews on the subject, Purdie has given us more than enough information to get started.

So, let's dissect the evidence, put it under a microscope, and see how Purdie's "story" holds up to closer scrutiny.

Clue #1: Purdie says, "Brian Epstein called me and took me down to Capitol's 46th Street studio ... Epstein instigated everything that had to be done."

This is highly unlikely. Not only was Brian Epstein musically illiterate and technically unqualified to oversee a recording session, The Beatles were outspoken, even rude, in discouraging Epstein from meddling in their music.

One episode in particular illustrates just how true this was. The incident is recounted by George Martin in his book "All You Need Is Ears", with a near-identical version of events in Brian Epstein's autobiography, "A Cellarful of Noise".

Epstein wrote: "I remember once attending a recording session at EMI Studios in St. John's Wood. The Beatles were on the studio floor and I was with their recording manager, George Martin, in the control room. The intercom was on and I remarked that there was some sort of flaw in Paul's voice in the number 'Till There Was You'. John heard it and bellowed back, 'We'll make the records. You just go on counting your percentages'. And he meant it."

And yet Purdie would have us believe, despite Lennon's humiliating tongue-lashing, that a week or two later Brian Epstein was in New York brazenly supervising the addition of Purdie's drums to twenty-one Beatles recordings!

Clue #2: Purdie says, "I overdubbed the drumming on twenty-one tracks of the first three Beatle albums".

It's convenient that Purdie remembers at least one title -- "Yeah Yeah Yeah" -- as this helps establish a time-line. In fact, if Purdie recorded all twenty-one songs during the same nine-day period, which he presumably did, then we only need one title to determine "earliest" and "latest" possible dates for the Purdie sessions.

Surviving studio documents (see Mark Lewisohn's book, "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions") indicate that "She Loves You" was recorded at EMI's Abbey Road studio on July 1, 1963. A mono mix was completed by George Martin on July 4th, and the single was released to the British public seven weeks later on August 23rd, 1963. If Purdie is indeed drumming on "She Loves You", then we must assume he added drums to Martin's mix sometime after July 4th, but before the British release date of August 23rd -- otherwise there would be two distinctly different versions of the recording: the USA version and the UK version (the song wasn't released in the USA until September 16, 1963, on the Swan label).

To put a finer point on it, the Purdie sessions could not reasonably have begun any earlier than July 6th, which would have given Epstein just enough time to fly from London to New York on the 5th, the day after George Martin's mix was completed (I'm trying to picture an agitated Brian Epstein hovering over George Martin, thinking, "Hurry up and finish these bloody mixes so I can rush over to New York and add Bernard Purdie's drums!").

Nor could the Purdie sessions have begun any later than August 14th, considering the nine days Purdie claims to have spent overdubbing, and the August 23rd British release date. In fact, to allow enough time for pressing and distributing the British singles, another week or two must be trimmed from the schedule, making August 1, 1963 a more likely "latest start date".

Purdie's time-line is further eroded by the fact that Brian Epstein was in London for The Beatles "Till There Was You" session (see above). We don't know if Epstein was referring to the original version of "Till There Was You", recorded on July 18 (takes 1-3) or the "re-make" which was recorded on July 30th (takes 4-8) ... but either way it compromises Purdie's already narrow window of opportunity.

Therefore -- and this is important -- any Beatle recording released in the UK prior to July 6, 1963 must be struck from the list of songs that might include Purdie, because if the U.K. and (later) U.S. releases of those songs are compared and proven to be identical -- which they are -- then they can't possibly include Purdie's overdubs.

Purdie insists he worked on "finished tapes". Therefore the only songs he can safely claim to have played on are tracks that were recorded and mixed (but not released) prior to August 1, 1963, the latest possible "start date" for the New York sessions.

Only two songs fit that criteria: "She Loves You" and "I'll Get You". 

I've been a professional drummer for 40 years.  To my ear there is no audible evidence of overdubbed drumming on either of those two tracks.

Clue #3: Purdie says, "The only people in the studio were me, the engineer, and Brian Epstein and a few of his people."

Brian Epstein had a small, close-knit circle of trusted friends and advisors.  Certainly, some of them would have been among the "people" who were present at the Purdie sessions, if indeed those sessions took place:

Peter Brown was Brian Epstein's personal assistant.  In 1961 he was hired to manage the Epstein family's NEMS music shop in Great Charlotte Street, Liverpool, and was later named Executive Director of NEMS Enterprises, The Beatles management company. Brown was "best man" at John and Yoko's wedding. His 1983 autobiography "The Love You Make" (revised in 2003) makes no mention of Bernard Purdie.

Derek Taylor was another of Epstein's personal assistants.  He later served as press officer for Apple Corps. His books about The Beatles include "As Time Goes By" (1973), "Fifty Years Adrift" (1984) and "It Was Twenty Years Ago Today" (1987). There is no reference to Bernard Purdie in any of Derek Taylor's books.

Geoffrey Ellis was one of Brian Epstein's closest friends and advisors, and a senior executive at NEMS. He has never publicly commented on Bernard Purdie.

Tony Barrow was originally a record reviewer for the Liverpool Echo, and was later hired by Epstein to serve as The Beatles' press officer (1963-67). Today, Barrow is a regular contributor to "Beatle Monthly" magazine, and his 2005 book "John, Paul, George, Ringo and Me" is a detailed insider's view of The Beatles' story. There is no mention of Bernard Purdie in Barrow's book.

Tony Bramwell was a boyhood friend and school-mate of The Beatles. He worked closely with Brian Epstein and The Beatles from "day one", continuing until the band dissolved in 1970. His superb book "Magical Mystery Tours" is a tell-all chronicle that spares no details, including an unprecedented, in-depth analysis of Yoko's contribution to the break-up of the band, and the sordid details of Brian Epstein's short life. Paul McCartney has said, "If you want to know anything about The Beatles, ask Tony Bramwell, he remembers more than I do".  There is no reference to Bernard Purdie in Bramwell's book.

Norman Smith was the audio engineer who recorded and mixed almost every Beatle recording, beginning with their Parlophone audition on June 6, 1962 (with Pete Best on drums) and ending on November 30, 1965, when he resigned his position at EMI. Norman Smith's autobiography ("John Lennon Called Me Normal", 2007) makes no mention of Bernard Purdie.

Geoff Emerick assisted Norman Smith on dozens of early Beatle recordings, beginning in February 1963 and continuing until November 1965, after which Emerick was promoted to the position of balance engineer himself, manning the controls for Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, and portions of the White Album and the Abbey Road album.  With the exception of George Martin, no-one spent more time in the studio with The Beatles.  Emerick's book "Here There And Everywhere" (2006) makes no mention of Bernard Purdie.  In addition, in May 2007 I had the opportunity to work with Geoff, and I quizzed him about the Ringo/Purdie issue.  Geoff expressed anger and dismay, and wondered what might possess Purdie to make such an outrageous and fraudulent claim.

Brian Epstein died on August 27, 1967. There is no record of him ever having commented publicly or privately about Bernard Purdie.

Clue #4: Purdie says he doesn't think Beatle producer George Martin knew about the New York drum sessions.

To suggest that George Martin wouldn't know that someone had "replaced" or "overdubbed" drums on a Beatle recording is like Michelangelo not noticing a few extra chunks chiseled off his famous statue of David. It's just not possible!

Everything that's been written about -- or by -- George Martin points to the meticulous care and attention he applied to his work with The Beatles.

In his two books, "All You Need Is Ears" (1979) and "Summer Of Love, The Making Of Sgt. Pepper" (1994), George Martin is candid about the joys and disappointments he experienced working with The Beatles.

For example, there's an incident where Paul had just finished composing "She's Leaving Home", and he was anxious to have the song arranged and recorded as quickly as possible.

"I rang George Martin and said I want to record it next week", Paul told biographer Barry Miles. "He said 'I'm sorry Paul. I've got a Cilla Black session'. I was so hot to trot that I called Mike Leander, another arranger. George Martin was very hurt, apparently."

George Martin (from All You Need Is Ears): "During the making of Pepper, Paul was to give me one of the biggest hurts of my life. It concerned the song She's Leaving Home ..."

In the book "Summer Of Love, The Making Of Sgt. Pepper" George Martin continues, "I couldn't understand why [Paul] was so impatient all of a sudden. It obviously hadn't occurred to him that I would be upset".

It's not much of a stretch to assume that Martin would have been just as upset to learn that Ringo's drums had been "enhanced" in New York without his approval. But nowhere is there any mention of Purdie or the alleged New York session ... not in Martin's books, not in McCartney's autobiography. Nowhere, man!

Martin does, however, describe Ringo as an "excellent" drummer with a "super steady beat":

"You can tell Ringo's drums from anyone else's", says Martin on page 127 of All You Need Is Ears, "and that character was a definite asset to The Beatles' early recordings."

Furthermore, George Martin has been scathing in his criticism of Dave Dexter, the Capitol Records executive who, without consulting Martin, added reverb to the U.S. double-sided single "I Feel Fine/She's A Woman".  To add insult to injury, Dexter awarded himself a "producer" credit!

Surely the Purdie overdubs would have elicited a similarly scathing complaint from Martin ... had they, in fact, taken place.

Many hours of audio and film footage exist which allow us to study Ringo performing "live" with The Beatles. These include the concerts in Washington D.C. (1964), Shea Stadium (1965), Tokyo (1966), the 1964-65 "Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl" recordings, and of course the "Let It Be" documentary, filmed in January 1969.

In every case it's abundantly clear that Ringo is a solid and competent drummer. If he's merely parroting Purdie's studio performances, then he does a pretty fine job of it! In fact, he seems more than capable of having created the original studio performances in the first place, without Purdie's help!

Furthermore, if Ringo wasn't good enough to record with The Beatles, then why, after the band broke up in 1970, did John, Paul and George each invite Ringo to play on their solo recordings?  Or was that Purdie, too?

Clue #6: Purdie says, "They had four track [tape recorders] and they put me on two separate tracks. I would listen to what Ringo had played and then overdub on top of it to keep it happening."

In his book "All You Need Is Ears" George Martine writes, "When The Beatles arrived in 1963, I was still forced to record all their early songs using twin-track ... with the rhythm on one track and the vocal on the other".

In other words, the drums were mixed together with the guitars and bass onto one of two available tracks, rendering the drums inseparable from the other instruments. While it would have been possible to add more drums by "overdubbing" onto the existing tracks, the original drum performance could not be separated or erased, and would still be audible.

Purdie's reference to four-track recording is also correct: U.S. studios were using four tracks at the same time their British counterparts were still using two tracks. The Beatle's two-track recordings could easily have been transferred to a four-track recorder, leaving two tracks available for additional drums.

Regardless, if Purdie does appear on any early Beatle recordings, then two drums kits (or parts thereof) would be clearly audible ... and nowhere is this apparent.

So far I haven't seen a single shred of evidence to support Purdie's claims. But let's give him one more chance. 

If there is some truth to Purdie's story, then which recordings did he play on?

n June 1961 The Beatles (with original drummer Pete Best) were part-way through their second residency in Hamburg, sharing the bill at the Top Ten Club with fellow Liverpudlian Tony Sheridan. Polydor, a German record label, was interested in Sheridan as a vocalist, but they felt Sheridan's band was weak. Producer Bert Kaemfort decided to use The Beatles as backing musicians for Sheridan.

On June 24, 1961 at Hamburg's Studio Rahtstedt, Sheridan and The Beatles recorded several tracks including "My Bonnie", "The Saints", "Why," "Cry For a Shadow," "Ain't She Sweet," "Take Out Some Insurance On Me," and "Nobody's Child".

The first single, My Bonnie (billed as "Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers") reached the German "Top Twenty", selling about 180,000 copies.

Three years later, when The Beatles hit it big in America, Polydor released a "cash-in" album of the Sheridan material on the Atco/Atlantic label. However, it appears that Atco/Atlantic may have brought in a studio drummer to enhance Pete Best's less-than-stellar performances. Consequently, two versions of the Sheridan recordings exist, distinguishable on "Ain't She Sweet", for example, by the addition of a drum roll after each verse and an extra hi-hat in the bridge section. It's possible these drum overdubs were provided by Bernard Purdie, who was regularly doing session work for Atlantic Records at the time.

If those are Purdie's overdubs on the Hamburg recordings, then I suppose that provides a very slim sliver of truth to Purdie's claim that he "recorded with The Beatles". In the intervening years Purdie may have embellished that sliver of truth into a tale so fantastic, even he can't escape the monster he's created ... at least not without "fessing up" and appearing foolish.

And one last thought ...

As I mentioned in my opening paragraph, Purdie's "track record" is stunning.  He's played on sessions for Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Steely Dan, Miles Davis ... on and on. All of these amazing artists, and many more, are listed on Bernard Purdie's web-site. 

But there's no mention of The Beatles.

If I had played drums on the most obscure Beatle track, it would be the first credit on my web-site! Top of the list.  Purdie claims to have played on twenty-one Beatle tracks, including some of their biggest hits, and yet it's not on his web-site.

No mention of The Beatles at all.

Conclusion: I believe the only claim Bernard Purdie can safely make is that he added some minor drum parts to some relatively insignificant tracks, a full year before The Beatles recorded their first "real" session with producer George Martin, and at least fourteen months before Ringo even joined the band!

To say that Bernard Purdie substituted for Ringo on "twenty-one tracks" -- or that Ringo played on "nothing" -- is blatant fabrication. 

Fiction. 

A lie.