All the songs in this session were good because they came from the former Beatles solo careers. Arlene, Joe, Larry, Sam, Scott, Bonnie, Jen, John and WendySue were here.

1. It Don't Come Easy, Ringo, 1971 (Ken)

Here was a worthy, steady rocker to start us off, Ringo's first hit and my favorite of his career.

2. Imagine, John, 1971 (Arlene)

This is the one most closely associated with Lennon, from his second album. We played two other lesser-known ones from this album.

3. Instant Karma, John, 1970 (Arlene)

Fantastic song, but a little tough to play and sing.

4. My Sweet Lord, George, 1970 (Arlene)

This was the smash hit from his sensational triple album, All Things Must Pass. We were a little messy but had the right spirit.

5. In Spite of All the Danger, Paul and George, 1958 (Sam)

The Quarrymen, the name John, Paul, George (and a few other guys) used before they became the Beatles, did this. Only Sam knew it, so he sang it, we played and it turned out well. It was easy to follow.

6. Stand By Me, John, 1975 (Sam)

We could do this C Am F G7 song in our sleep. (That's how talented we are!)

7.Gimme Some Truth, John, 1971 (Sam)

There was a protest-song theme one evening awhile back, and I was going to do this one, but then took ill and missed it. It seemed the least likely song you'd ever hear on a ukulele. It starts off Side 2 of the Imagine album. He crashes right into his angry rant with no intro or pleasantries. I had never heard anything like it at age eleven and it was shocking. I don't think my parents were pleased.

8. Isn't It A Pity, George, 1970 (Scott)

Gorgeous and heartbreaking. There's an unusual and pretty chord in there, an Em6 (C string first fret, A string second fret). A regular Em won't cut it, and neither will an Em7. It turned out not to be difficult to play. If ever you're in a mood to sit alone and think back on relationships in your life which ended unhappily, while quietly strumming sad and sweet chords, this song might suit the occasion.

9. You're Sixteen, Ringo, 1974 (Scott)

Johnny Burnette had the first hit with this in 1960. This is another we always do perfectly.

10. Photograph, Ringo, 1973 (Ken)

He wrote this one with George.

11. Jealous Guy, John, 1971 (Dan) [paper copy with corrections]

Thanks, everyone, for indulging me on this less-than-famous one from the Imagine album, the third from that record we played this evening. My wedding song, Oh My Love, also came from this album.

12. (Just Like) Starting Over, John, 1980 (Ken)

This was the big hit from his last album, Double Fantasy. It has an old-fashioned fifties sound.

13. Woman, John, 1980 (Jen)

Nice sentimental ballad, also from Double Fantasy.

14. Another Day, Paul, 1971 (Arlene/Scott)

People protested that they didn't know this, or didn't know it well, but we did a surprisingly good rendition.

15. A World Without Love, Peter and Gordon, 1964 (John)

Paul wrote this. I don't think they ever recorded it, or if they did, it never came out on a record. He gave it to Peter Asher, brother of Jane Asher, Paul's girlfriend.

16. Got My Mind Set On You, George, 1987 (Arlene)

An American, James Ray, did this first in 1963.

17. Maybe I'm Amazed, Paul 1970 (Arlene)

This didn't sound that great. Not our fault. The person who posted this chordsheet has some 'splainin' to do. Yet this was a good reality check, that a fabulous song such as this sounded noticeably worse than everything else we did the whole evening. We might have thought, "Of course we did well tonight. How could we miss with such a batch of top-notch songs?" All it takes is a song in a funny key, some misplaced chords, wrong lyrics, omitted lyrics. But let us celebrate an overall good performance for the night.

Most of these songs came from the turn of the seventies, when all the individual Beatles' pent-up creativity came tumbling out of them and onto our record players. If I ran things, I would declare that time should have been frozen in, oh, say 1971. You can't beat the music coming out at the time. Also, we didn't have such preposterous devices as smart phones, which have turned us all (not me---I don't have one) into brainless zombies, nor those horrendously loud leaf blowers (what's the matter with rakes?), nor car alarms which go off at the drop of a hat. If you ever get hold of a used time machine in good condition and are deciding when to set the dial, you could do worse than a Tuesday afternoon in September of 1971. Carole King's "It's Too Late" and the Bee Gees "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" would be on the radio while you ate your personal Hostess cherry pie for 15 cents or a Milky Way for a dime. Some say it isn't good to dwell in the past, and I admit I do appreciate advances in modern dentistry, but there was something about that time and the mountain of good songs that were around then that I bet will never be topped.

For our next session, we'll remain in the past, wallowing hopelessly, in our salute to Bob Dylan, an idea we must thank Jen for.

-- Dan.