Meanwhile, the Quarrymen had become the Silver Beatles and, as they prepared to leave for Hamburg, Germany, needed a drummer.

CNN: The man who was a Beatle

According to the myth-busting site Snopes.com, Lennon and McCartney each had 15 percent of the shares, Epstein (and his NEMS Enterprises) had 7.5 percent, James and partner Charles Silver had 37.5 percent and Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr had less than 2 percent.

CNN: Rumors about Jackson, Beatles catalog untrue, McCartney says