Impromptu band to re-enact Beatles' '69 rooftop concert

FLORENCE - Four Shoals musicians plan to recreate a piece of music history Friday, weather permitting.

Friday is the 40th anniversary of The Beatles famous concert on the roof of Apple Records' headquarters in London.

Since 1999, Randy Summers has wanted to do a similar show on a rooftop in the Shoals.

Summers, along with bassist Mark Sandlin, drummer David Weiss and guitarist Wayne Counts, will play the five songs the Beatles performed on a chilly Jan. 30, 1969.

The show will take place at noon on the roof of Trowbridge's Ice Cream & Sandwich Bar on Court Street in downtown Florence.

Co-owner Jay Trowbridge said he's known Sandlin and Weiss for years.

"One day David came in for lunch and said 'we've had this dream for three years of playing on the rooftop,' Trowbridge said. "I said I can't turn down a dream like that."

Trowbridge said he checked with business owners on either side of him, and they agreed to allow the event.

The original rooftop concert, which turned out to be The Beatles last live performance, took place during the "Let It Be" recording sessions and was ultimately shut down by London police because of noise complaints from a neighbor.

The concert's set list included "Get Back," "Don't Let Me Down," "I've Got a Feeling," "One After 909" and "Dig a Pony."

While The Beatles performed multiple takes of several tracks, Summers and friends will perform those five songs only once.

"We're doing this for the fun of it," Summers said. "I call it a commemoration of The Beatles rooftop concert held in 1969."

The original show, which ran about 42 minutes, also featured a brief version of "God Save the Queen" and a brief rehearsal of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)."

"It was real raw," Summers said. "It was not the most polished performance you'll ever see. That's kind of the way we'll be."

Summers said the show will last about 20 minutes and will likely not be visible from the Court Street side of Trowbridge's.

The best location to hear the music is the alley behind the building.

Summers said access to the roof is limited to a few friends.

Summers said their versions of the Beatles songs will be played as close to the originals as possible.

"It will probably take longer to load the equipment up there than it will to do the songs," Summers said.

Counts said he recently started playing with the other three musicians, who like to get together and play Beatles songs.

"We just get together every month or two and just play their music for two or three hours," Counts said. "It's a blast."

Counts, a guitarist for the Shoals-based band The Midnighters, said he grew up listening to The Beatles.

Sandlin said the group uses vintage equipment, including a Hoffner bass guitar and Vox amplifiers, to recreate The Beatles signature sound. The drummer uses a Ludwig Ringo Starr signature kit.

"It's just a hobby thing we do," Sandlin said. "We've played one gig outside the basement."

He and Summers said the show is heavily dependent on the weather and there are no alternative plans in case of rain.

The National Weather Service is predicting a partly sunny day with a high temperature of 39.

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.