The Beatles Almost Live But Really Alive!

Imagine being there at Abbey Road back in the day, when the four Beatles—John, Paul, Ringo, and George—gathered to record some of the greatest music of our times. Hit after hit, with the normal hiccups and adjustments, bits of frustration, and then the final brilliance. Oh the lucky few who got to see that! 

OK, that’s not going to happen again for obvious reasons! Then this event comes next best, a gathering of some of the most talented singers, guitarists, keyboard players, drummers, and percussionists to grace our planet, all present to lend their talents in a musical tribute to the Beatles. It was like that on July 7th, 2024 when the Grammy Museum hosted a phenomenal team of artists who collaborated to perform all four sides of the holy grail of Beatles music, aka The White Album. 

Two hours of bliss ensued and not a bad view in the house, in this case the elegant 200 seat Clive Davis Theater situated on the upper floor of the museum, which itself serves as a musical oasis for Los Angeles and is located just west of downtown.

I was lucky to be there and quite happy that super talented Steve Cooke was going to be
joining the performance. Now, having seen this guy play both sides of the Led Zeppelin—
Jimmy Page’s guitar AND Robert Plant’s singing — I half expected that type of performance. But, instead, it was Steve breaking out into the Beatles. He had the whole deal down, including costume changes (not St. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club stuff). And this time he was just singing, and not playing his guitars, neither the 6 nor the 12 string. I almost went into withdrawal not hearing his fab tribute Zeppelin stuff. But, hey, this was a performance of the White Album, dude, the freaking Beatles masterpiece!

It was great to see and hear, with a cozy little crowd in such a landmark place. It was a last
minute decision for me to attend and I was lucky enough to get the very last ticket, too!Amazingly, I even got to look around a bit of the museum, as well as have a brief chat with Steve and his lovely, supportive wife Sandra after the show finished. It was like being on that rooftop in London, or at the Hollywood Bowl, or in Shea Stadium, or at the Ed Sullivan Show. If you don’t know the references, please do look them up! So Steve crushed it, and it was one hell of a night! Almost like being at any of the events I just alluded to! It was a wonderful song-after-song, shuffled deck show of brilliance, which also featured Tal Bachman, the Canadian singer and guitarist and son of Randy Bachman (of Bachman-Turner Overdrive fame), as well as Laurence Juber, flawless lead guitarist from Wings. Also present was the ever-touring Albert Lee, who has performed with the likes of Joe Cocker and Eric Clapton and at “The Concert for George” with Paul and Ringo. Bassist Bill Cinque was musical director for most of the performance, and Steve Bauman added his keyboard perfection. Rhythm was kept by Christopher Allis and additional guitar work was added by David Blasucci. Steve Cooke and the whole gamut of performers were spot on amazing! Maybe this performance will come out as a film or streaming on TV one day. If it does, don’t miss it! Just grab a chair and reward yourself, watching something most of us missed live oh so long ago. 

Congratulations to Steve and the rest of the band, and thanks for bringing back the laughs, the gaffes, the spontaneity, and the musical mystery that was rolled up into The White Album. No one left the performance wanting or short of enthusiasm. A true golden oldie night, made as fresh as if we all were back with The Beatles in the 60s!