I had the unique pleasure and privilege to see a legend at the Palace Theatre in Albany last night—the great Ringo Starr. And after sitting through the concert and hearing him sing his early Beatles hits, it hit ME and HARD.

The Early Beatles were VERY "country." They loved Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, and others.

OK kids - here's your homework assignment if you've never heard these songs.

1. "Act Naturally" - this was a song written by Carl Perkins, and the Beatles covered it, with Ringo singing lead.  Take a listen.

2. "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party"- from the 1964 album "Beatles For Sale" was written by the Fab 4 and has strong country influences.

3. "I'm A Loser" - from same album. Same flavor.

4 "I've Just Seen A Face" -from "Rubber Soul", circa 1965.  Someone should re-cut this.  I swear it would sell today! Maybe Brad Paisley?

So thinking about this further, here's a band that started out "country" and morphed into country rock and other styles! Sound familiar?

So from now on, when you hear bands or artists today who "jump genres," maybe we shouldn't be so shocked and critical. The only thing certain is CHANGE!  And that is the end of today's music history lesson. There'll be a test on this material tomorrow.

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