Historic letter sent by the Beatles to the Crickets unearthed in Nashville

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Historic letter sent by the Beatles to the Crickets unearthed in Nashville
Steve Marinucci
Beatles Examiner
September 22, 2015



Pictures of the letter sent by the Beatles to the Crickets in 1962.
Musicians Hall of Fame - used by permission.

A historic letter from The Beatles that was sent to the rock 'n' roll group The Crickets at the personal request of Paul McCartney was recently re-discovered in Nashville, it was announced Sept. 22. The discovery was made by Freda Kelly, the former secretary of the Beatles Official Fan Club on a recent trip she made to the Music City's Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.


Freda Kelly at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville with the Hall's Jay McDowell.

McCartney asked her to write the letter, Kelly said. "It was typed by me, as you can see by the reference at the top of the letter (PMC/FK). Paul asked me to type it.”

The text of the historic note reads, “Dear Crickets, When we were rehearsing for a TV show the other day, we met someone who had known you during your recent trip to England, and they told us how you had complimented us. We also heard from EMI in London that you had a copy of our record. Well, we’d just like to say that this is a great compliment and appreciate it very much. Yours sincerely, The Beatles.”


Freda Kelly examines the historic letter. (Musicians Hall of Fame - used by permission. )

“Paul came into the office the next day to sign the typed letter and the other Beatles came in later and also signed it,” Kelly said on the Facebook page for the “Good Ol' Freda” documentary about her. When she told the Musicians Hall of Fame the story of the letter, they had her add her signature to it. You can see pictures of the letter and Kelly with Jay McDowell of the Musician's Union on this page.

Buddy Holly and the Crickets were one of the biggest musical influences on the Beatles. “The first tune I ever learned to play was 'That'll Be the Day,'” John Lennon once said. The Crickets were also influential in the naming of the Beatles. “Good Ol' Freda” is a 2013 documentary that tells the story of Freda Kelly's loyalty in her years working for Brian Epstein and as secretary of the Beatles Fan Club. The film featured many previously untold anecdotes.



Poster from "Good Ol' Freda." (Good Ol Freda - used by permission. )


Freda Kelly and Paul McCartney. (Good Ol' Freda - used by permission. )





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Freda Kelly at The Musicians Hall Of Fame
September 14 2015

Freda Kelly was a secretary for Brian Epstein and was involved with The Beatles Fan Club for eleven years. If you are a Beatles fan, the documentary "Good Ol' Freda" is a must-see. She was visiting friends in Nashville and they brought her by the hall. Museum Founder Joe Chambers and Multimedia Curator Jay McDowell l gave her a tour. As they approached the Buddy Holly & The Crickets exhibit, Freda came across something that she was directly involved in. The story goes like this…… The Beatles found out that The Crickets had heard their record and had good things to say about it. Paul McCartney came into the office and asked Freda to type up a letter for him. She had a full day's work on her plate from Brian. (After all, she worked for Brian Epstein first and foremost.) She assured Paul that if he would write down what he wanted to say, she would type it up for him that evening after work. The museum attained the copy of the letter from J.I. Allison of The Crickets. At the top of the letter, just under the NEMS letterhead, are the letters PMC/FK. This represented Paul McCartney and Freda Kelly. Upon learning this, Joe had Freda sign the letter in the exhibit. 52 years later, Freda's signature has joined those of the Fab Four!




Freda Kelly at The Musicians Hall Of Fame