(Saturday, March 14, 1964) — “My Bonnie” by The Beatles peaked at #26 on today’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Recorded in 1961 with Pete Best on drums, it was the group’s fifth appearance on the Hot 100 singles chart in five weeks, following “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You,” “Please Please Me” and “I Saw Her Standing There.”

Tony Sheridan and The Beatles were signed by bandleader Bert Kaempfert to Polydor, and they recorded a number of songs including “My Bonnie” in their first recording session on June 22, 1961, at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg, West Germany.

These songs were The Beatles’ first commercial recordings.

Kaempfert produced the song, assisted by sound engineer Karl Hinze.

“My Bonnie” was said to have been chosen because it was a song known to the Germans.

Tony Sheridan sang lead on the song, starting with a slow Elvis Presley style introduction. The Beatles were the backing band; Paul McCartney provided vocal harmony and shouts, Best on drums provided a constant “2-and, 4” beat on the faster part of the song, and George Harrison on guitar notably on the bridge.

The Beatles were credited as the Beat Brothers in its original release; their name was changed because the German producer wanted to avoid association with the similar sounding German slang “pidels” (pronounced “peedles” meaning “little willies”), and the ‘Beat Brothers’ was thought more understandable to the German audience.