“MAUREEN IS A CHAMP” sung by Frank Sinatra for Maureen Starkey 1968
Maureen is a Champ - Frank Sinatra
(to the tune of The Lady is a Tramp recorded by Frank for Mo’s birthday)
“Maureen Is A Champ”
As a special surprise birthday gift for Maureen arrangements were made on Ringo’s behalf by Peter Brown with record execs in Los Angeles to have Frank Sinatra record a special version of Rogers and Hart’s “The Lady Is A Tramp“. Sammy Cahn rewrote the original lyrics and personalised them to Maureen as “Maureen Is A Champ” and Frank Sinatra performed it. It is said only one record was pressed of this very first recording on the Beatles’ new Apple Records label. Then the master was destroyed. The one-of-a-kind single was given to Maureen Starkey, who was a big Frank Sinatra fan, by her husband at her 22nd birthday party on August 4, 1968.
Lyrics to:
“MAUREEN IS A CHAMP” (to the tune of “The Lady Is A Tramp”)
There’s no one like her,
But no one at all.
And as for charm
Hers is like, wall to wall.
She married Ringo
And she could have had Paul.
That’s why the lady is a champ.
Creates excitement
Whenever it’s dull.
She just appears
And there goes the lull.
She merely smiles
And you’re out of your skull.
That’s why the lady is a champ.
The folks who do
And don’t meditate
Agree she’s great.
They mean Maureen.
I’ve got more lyrics
Right after this band.
Because the lady is a champ.
Though we’ve not met
I’m convinced she’s a gem.
I’m just F.S.
But to me she’s big M.
Mainly because
She prefers me to them.
That’s why the lady is a champ.
I have lots of fans
Well at least one or two.
But Peter Brown calls me
To tell me it’s true.
She sleeps with Ringo
But she thinks of you.
That’s why the lady is a champ.
But I can boast, boast
As much, as much as I please.
The fact is that’s
She’s his wife
Well that’s life.
But it’s her day
So I whistle and stamp,
Because the lady,
The charming lady,
Mr. Ringo’s lady is a champ.
May I toast you all the way
Lift my glass and softly say
I have thoughts for you this day.
But beautiful thoughts for you
And for your Ringo
That I must express,
With a warm and deep affection
Of F.S.
Would you kindly ask the guys
If they’d grab a glass and rise
‘Cause I think we’d harmonize.
But beautiful
May your birthday
And your birthday candles
Softly gleam and glow.
For that would be
But beautiful I know.
*****************************
Apple Records Catalog #1 1968
Original composition “The Lady Is A Tramp” by Rogers and Hart
Rewritten lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Performed by Frank Sinatra
Photo of Maureen Starkey at the London premiere of Yellow Submarine on July 17, 1968 - just three weeks before her 22nd birthday. Scan from the Maureen Starr Tribute group at Yahoo!
PLANET ALICE OPENING PARTY
May 1991 - Lee Starkey, 20, and her mother, Maureen Tigrett, at the opening party for Lee’s Los Angeles sixties style boutique, Planet Alice. The whole Starkey clan was there to support Lee - dad Ringo plus brothers Zak and Jason. Maureen sometimes helped Lee out by working at the boutique.
AP photo from the Maureen Starr Tribute at Yahoo!
Beatles in Bangor, Wales
August 27, 1967 - Sad portrait by Henry Grossman of the Beatles with Jane Asher, Cynthia Lennon, Pattie Boyd Harrison and Jenny Boyd posing with Maharishi Mahesh Yogo at Normal College in Bangor, Wales on the day they heard Brian Epstein had died.
Scan from the Something About Pattie Boyd group at Yahoo!
Maureen Starkey is Not in this photo. Maureen did not go to Bangor, Wales with the Beatles’ party. Maureen was just released from the hospital in London after the birth of second son, Jason Starkey, the day before this photo was taken. Jenny Boyd is sitting beside Ringo on the far right.
Photo taken by Henry Grossman at Normal College in Bangor, Wales on August 27, 1967.
Jane Asher, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Cynthia Lennon, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Pattie Boyd, George Harrison, Ringo Starr & Maureen Cox.
NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE
May 26, 1971 - Pattie Boyd Harrison and Joanna Lumley with author Gaynor Millington at the charity launch party for her model cook book, Not Just A Pretty Face. Pattie was one of 50 British models featured in the book - which included each models’ favorite recipes along with a fact sheet of their tastes in other things, too, and a photo. Pattie and Joanna Lumley along with other models celebrated at the launch party of the book from which all proceeds benefited the Save the Children Fund. (Note: Author Gaynor Millington is the mother of actress Minnie Driver.)
Photo of Pattie (date unknown) in the book by Henry Grossman. Book launch photos from Getty Images. Scans from the Something About Pattie Boyd group at Yahoo!
Excerpts about Pattie Boyd from NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE - her Favorite Things and recipes for a vegetarian meal:
NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE
by Gaynor Millington
Patti Boyd (sic)
Married
Restaurant - Parkes
Painter - Gustav Klimpt
Clothes - Ossie Clark
Actor - Marlon Brando
Colour - Purple
Drink - Wine
Magazine - National Geographic
Nightclub - Don’t like them
Shop - Quorum
Composer - George Harrison
Author - Yogananda
Animal - Cat
Hairdresser - Me
Sport - Table Tennis
Flower - Hollyhock
Ugh! - Celery
Pattie’s Three Recipes:
4 people
Vegetarian meal
FRIED MUSHROOMS
1 large field mushroom each
1 egg
Fresh breadcrumbs
Garlic salt
1 ½ oz. butter
Remove stalks from mushrooms. Add a little garlic salt to the beaten egg. Dip the mushrooms in the egg, then in breadcrumbs. Fry in the butter and serve very hot.
VEGETABLE PASTIES
¼ medium cauliflower
½ swede, diced (aka - rutabaga)
2 large carrots, diced
¼ lb. lentils
¼ lb. shelled peas
2 medium onions, sliced
¼ lb. mushrooms, chopped
1 courgette, sliced (aka - turnip)
1 aubergine, sliced
1 egg
¼ pint single cream
Mixed herbs and seasoning
2 - 3 oz. butter
¾ lb. short-crust pastry
Divide the cauliflower into small flowerets and boil with the swede, carrots and lentils in salted water for 15 - 20 minutes, adding peas 3 minutes before the end. Drain and set aside. Melt some of the butter in a frying pan and fry the remaining vegetables one at a time. As they are cooked add them to the boiled and fried vegetables. Stir in the mixed herbs, seasoning, cream and beaten egg (reserving a little of the latter to brush over the pastry). Roll out pastry and divide into 4 squares, spoon vegetable mixture onto each square. Damp the edges with a little water, fold over and press firmly together. Prick with a fork, brush over with egg and place on the top shelf of a moderate oven for about 25 minutes or until pastry is cooked. Serve with salad of cos* lettuce, sliced avocado, fennel and spring onions. Dress with vinaigrette and sprinkle with a handful of cashew nuts.
(*cos lettuce is same as romaine lettuce.)
RASPBERRY SORBET
1 lb. raspberries
½ pint water
8 oz. sugar
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 stiffly beaten egg whites
1 miniature bottle Curacao
Liquidise the fruit and press it through a fine sieve. Make a syrup by boiling together the sugar and water*. Cool, add the raspberry puree, and the strained lemon and orange juice. Pour into a well chilled tray and place in freezing compartment of fridge for about 30 minutes or until mixture is almost frozen. (set fridge to coldest). Turn the mixture into a bowl and beat with a whisk or rotary beater, then add beaten egg whites and liqueur. Whip thoroughly, return to freezer for about ¾ hour or until set.
*See syrup-making instructions for Blackcurrant Ice-cream recipe, page 105.
(Excerpt from page 105 - to make syrup: )
Boil the sugar and the water together. After about 4 minutes boiling it must be watched carefully as it begins to thicken. At the point where the syrup starts frothing and the bubbles look white (just before it starts caramelizing) take it off the heat.
* * * *
George & Pattie in Monte Carlo
May 22, 1966 - George & Pattie posing together in Monte Carlo during a brief holiday where they attended the opening day of the Monaco Grand Prix and watched British driver Jackie Stewart win the first Formula One race of the 1966 season.
Scan from the Something About Pattie Boyd group at Yahoo!
Jane & Peter Asher in Los Angeles
March 1967 - Jane and Peter Asher clowning for photographer Gene Trindl in a Los Angeles park. Jane was in LA on tour with The Bristol Old Vic from March 7th to March 25th, 1967 and Peter was on a concert tour in the U.S. with partner Gordon Waller.
Scan from the Lady Jane Asher group at Yahoo!
(Sorry to those who reblogged the previously posted version of this photo. I realized it was printed backwards and deleted it. This version is correct.)
Jane & Peter Asher in Los Angeles
March 1967 - Portrait of Jane and Peter Asher clowning in a Los Angeles park by Gene Trindl. Jane was on tour with the Bristol Old Vic Company and Peter was touring with partner Gordon Waller when the Asher siblings tours coincided in Los Angeles.
Scan from the Lady Jane Asher group at Yahoo!
Peter and Jane Asher in Los Angeles
March 1967 - While on tour with The Bristol Old Vic in Los Angeles Jane Asher ran into her touring brother Peter. The Asher siblings were photographed in a Los Angeles park by Gene Trindl. (Jane was in Los Angeles from March 7th to 25th, 1967 performing in Romeo & Juliet and Measure For Measure.)
Scan from the Lady Jane Asher group at Yahoo!
All Alone Mrs Beatle - Article
February 17, 1964 - Article from the Daily Mail, London. Scan originally from the martha-saurus tumblr blog.
February 17, 1964: Daily Mail article - All alone - Mrs Beatle (Submitted by liquidcassidy)
“Being left alone doesn’t worry me a bit. I am enjoying myself,” she said.
Monaco Grand Prix
May 22, 1966 - George and Pattie in Monte Carlo attending the opening day of the Monaco Grand Prix where they watched British driver Jackie Stewart win the first Formula One race of the 1966 season.
Photo Copyrighted by Frank Seltier of the Bavarian Beatles Store. Scan from the Something About Pattie Boyd group at Yahoo!
Isle of Wight Festival
August 31, 1969 - Close-up of George and Pattie in the audience watching Bob Dylan perform at the Isle of Wight Festival.
Scan from the Something About Pattie Boyd group at Yahoo! (This is the unaltered scan as originally posted at Something About Pattie Boyd - before it was taken and altered by other bloggers falsely taking credit.)
Peppermint Lounge
February 9, 1964 - John and Cynthia Lennon arriving at New York’s Peppermint Lounge around midnight on the evening of the Beatles’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. A fake “Beetles” band was performing there!
Photo from the book, John Winston Lennon, by Ray Coleman. Scan from the Cynthia Powell Lennon group at Yahoo!
February 9, 1964: The Peppermint Lounge in New York
