DAVE SCHWENSEN /
THE BEATLES IN CLEVELAND / 9-7-2020
Interview conducted by Joe Viglione
A little Q & A for the Sunny page!
Q:David, how many years has the book Beatles in Cleveland been out?
A)It came out in April 2007. I was writing two books at the same time, the other being “Comedy FAQs And Answers.” I’d say I’m better known as a “behind the scenes guy” in the comedy industry because of my work in New York and Los Angeles.
The comedy book deal was through my literary agent with a NYC publisher so was on a deadline for that one. The pressure was on – ha!
“The Beatles In Cleveland” was mainly for myself – as a Beatles fan – and I could take my time and have fun with it. So, the comedian interviews I did for the “FAQs” book were researched and pre-scheduled. The “Cleveland” book was more relaxed for me to do. I’d do one interview and it seemed that person would lead me to another. I’ve often said, that book pretty much wrote itself.
Q:Each year that goes by, is there renewed interest as more of the younger crowed find Beatles' history intriguing?
A – Definitely and I see it for myself quite often. Since the book came out, I’ve put together a presentation that I’ve done for schools, libraries, LifeLong Learners and festivals. Now, not so much with the LifeLong Learners who are mostly first generation Beatles fans, I’ve been very pleasantly surprised at how many really young – and I’m talking maybe nine or ten years old through high school and college – fans show up at my programs. Quite a few are wearing Beatles t-shirts and come over for a signed book when I’m finished. I always tell them their mom and dad were even too young to be around when the Beatles were together!!!
Also, some of the first generation fans will attend my programs and bring their grandkids with them. They want them to understand the excitement of Beatlemania and what was going on in the 1960s. I’ve always tried to deliver that feeling to my programs.
Of course, it helps that my “day job” is a as a comedy coach – working with standup comedians and humorous speakers – so I’ve had plenty of experience on stage and know the value of humor in presentations. And in case some fans aren’t aware of this, another attraction of the Beatles other than their music and hair, was humor. They were the gap between “The Goon Show” and “Monty Python” in England. If you don’t believe me, watch “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help!” These are both comedy movies with a great pop music soundtrack.
Q:Have people written you new information on Cleveland's Beatles show or have you found more information to possibly update the book?
A. - Yes, yes and YES! Again, I’ve done a lot of live presentations – and now quite a few online as webinars (also for my book “The Beatles At Shea Stadium”) and fans have sent me rare photos and their stories about the Cleveland shows.
In the years since the book was released I’ve also continued to interview people that were with them, such as Art Schreiber, the famed journalist who reported on their 1964 North American tour, and Bill Briggs who was a member of The Remains and opened all the shows for the Beatles on their final 1966 tour. The Remains also backed up Bobby Hebb on stage at all the shows. Again, as a Beatles fan if someone has a story about the Cleveland or Shea Stadium shows, I excited to hear it.
Since my most recent book, “Something To Laugh About” was released on August 31 this year, I’ve turned my attention to an “Author’s Edit” updated version of “The Beatles In Cleveland.”
It will keep all the interviews from the original release (including Bobby Hebb) but will go deeper with the new interviews and lots of new photos. Okay, the photos aren’t exactly “new” since the camera work was done at the 1964 and 1966 “riotous” concerts (remember – the police stopped both shows!) but for fans they will seem new. I don’t think they’ve been previously published anywhere else before.
Q:We know you spoke with Bobby Hebb for your book, any other artists or people involved talk to you for The Beatles in Cleveland?
A. – I mentioned two important additions above. The new interviews include promoters, fans and others that aren’t household pop music names. But their stories are fab!
Q:Did you get to talk to Trini Lopez about opening for the Beatles in Paris when you researched the 1966 book and the Shea Stadium book?
A – No, I didn’t have a hammer… Okay – sorry! I’m a comedy coach and I can’t help myself. Sometimes the humor works and other times… well, you are now a witness to the “other times.”
Q:Do both books complement each other or are they two separate stories?
A. – “The Beatles At Shea Stadium” is a very separate story.
A lot of people don’t know the seeds for that famous concert were being planted in 1962. Ringo had just taken over from Pete Best and… well, you’d have to read it to learn more.
But in one way they were connected. The Shea Stadium concert was the true beginning of “stadium rock” as we know it today. Elvis did a few before going into the army, but nothing like The Beatles in 1965. Because they drew 55,600 fans to Shea – with no advertising – it was expected they would do the same at every venue during the 1966 North American tour.
The only reason Cleveland got a show in 1966 was because the original site – Louisville, Kentucky – didn’t have any place to put that many fans. Cleveland had a stadium that sat over 80,000 – so a change was made. That was a direct result of what happened at Shea. But because of John Lennon’s comments about Christianity and a few other factors, they didn’t need that many seats.
Q:With Barry Tashian's Ticket to Ride and your Beatles in Cleveland we have documented information on the 1966 tour...any other books that you recommend on that final Beatles tour?
A – I know there are some out there and I wouldn’t want to miss anyone by not mentioning them. I’ve met some very cool Beatles authors over the years, and all have a lot to say about the subjects they’ve focused on. For me it’s the two books I’ve written – but I’d lose in Beatles trivial pursuit on topics other than those two books.
I would say Ivor Davis and Chuck Gunderson have put together fab books about the Beatles North American tours. I relied a lot on Barry’s book and made sure I had a copy and it was in front of me when I interviewed him.
Bobby Hebb had mentioned this story to me earlier, but Barry’s book was the proof I needed about The Beatles stopping in my hometown in Vermilion, Ohio on Saturday, August 13, 1966 while driving from Detroit to Cleveland. Haven’t heard that one? It’s in my book… ha!
A. Here’s a story – experience – with Bobby Hebb that I’ve never forgotten and talk about when someone asks me about writing “The Beatles In Cleveland.” In fact, I was also a newspaper entertainment journalist for years and I can’t image too many other celebrities doing this…
Bobby and I did his interview for the book over the phone. I’ve done it that way for most of my books – and recorded the conversations. Then I can transcribe and edit for the book or my newspaper column.
Bobby and I had a great conversation. He was super nice, informative and a lot of fun to talk with. Plus, it was Bobby Hebb!! Yeah, I consider myself to be a “classic rocker,” “Sunny” is a classic song – and I had seen Bobby perform at the 1966 Beatles concert. If someone had told me then that I would someday actually talk with Bobby Hebb… well, I would have never imagined it.
Anyway, when we finished our conversation I couldn’t wait to listen back. But there was NOTHING on the tape! It was blank!!
In my excitement about talking to Bobby, I had forgotten to hit “record.”
I was pretty sick about this and couldn’t believe I had lost the opportunity for Bobby Hebb to be in my book. But instead of letting it get me down – I reacted immediately. It had only been a couple minutes since we hung up, so I called him back.
Now – again, I’ve interviewed quite a few celebrities. There are some that act like they’re doing you a big favor giving you a short amount of their “precious” time and others that are fun about it. I thought Bobby would be fun – or at least okay with my dilemma – and I was right.
He answered his phone, I explained what happened (my “duh” moment of not hitting record) and we did the entire interview again! In fact, I’m sure I thought this one was even better because I was already familiar with what he told me before and we could go a little deeper.
I’ve never forgotten that. I was a Bobby Hebb fan from 1966 – and even more so forty years later.
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