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SCC Couple's Son Finds His Strawberry Field

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By PAUL CATALA The Sun

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 5, 2008

When The Beatles made their history-making musical invasion and took the United States by storm in 1964, 9-year-old Joe Bithorn was immediately fascinated with their sound and style.

Bithorn's enthusiasm for the Fab Four and the encouragement from his parents, now Sun City Center residents, eventually led him to a lifelong career playing their music for thousands around the world.

Forty-four years since that momentous February day, Bithorn is helping to keep "Strawberry Fields" and other hits alive, performing as George Harrison in the internationally-known, multimedia and music act, "Rain: The Beatles Experience."

The live event features five different scene and costume changes, three video screens and live camera projection combined with television commercials and historical video footage from the 1960s. The four musicians in "Rain," including Bithorn, focus on the music, performed note for note, with no recorded tapes or digital musical sequencing.

And each time they perform, Bithorn contacts his parents, Charles and Marie Bithorn, at their King's Point home to tell them about the show and update them on his travels.

Charles, 77, has played guitar most of his life and still plays around Sun City Center in his band, "Pops...Yesterdays." Lounging at his home with Marie recently, he spoke fondly about his son's successful music career before giving him a call at his San Francisco home.

A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico and a retired technical illustrator, Charles said from The Beatles' first foray to the states, the Bithorn family - including daughter Susan Rizzo and sons Charles Jr. and Edward - became hooked on the musical legend.

"When he was seven, I showed him a few guitar chords. He took off and learned the rest on his own," Charles said of Joe. "He always liked The Beatles. In fact, we all liked The Beatles. We'd visit friends and the children would all sing in the back of the house."

By 16, Bithorn was a studio session musician and playing gigs around his hometown.

Speaking from the home in San Francisco he shares with his wife, Monika, Bithorn said he's had no regrets about dropping out of Queens College in New York at 19 to pursue his music career.

At that time, Bithorn and two friends packed their bags in their car and left for Los Angeles. Once there in the late 1970s, he auditioned for and got a part in "Beatlemania," a Broadway musical revue focused on the life and music of The Beatles, which Bithorn toured the U.S. with from 1980 to 1982.

In 1982, "Rain" went to the West Coast and Bithorn auditioned for the production. Named after the song The Beatles' released in June 1966 as the B-side of the single "Paperback Writer," the production features five different time periods in the band's history, from their 1964 appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," to recording "Abbey Road" in 1969-70. According to the "Rain" Web site, the band now plays more than 200 shows a year - a total of over 4,000 since beginning as a Beatles' cover band near Los Angeles in the mid-1970s.
Bithorn got the role of George Harrison, mastering his British accent and playing both lead guitar and guitar synthesizer.

"With 'Beatlemania,' it's the same 29 songs over and over. 'Rain' is more challenging. They're pretty adamant about playing the songs right. It's mainly about the music," he said.
Bithorn reckons he spends more than 200 days a year touring with "Rain." He most recently returned from a European tour in Austria and Germany. Still, he said he finds time to stop by and play catch up with his folks at least once a year, usually around Thanksgiving.

"It's been a very good career choice for me. There's something to be said for sticking it out when you're in an employable band," he said. "I've been touring the world and enjoying the time on stage."

Maria Bithorn said although she was originally a bit "disappointed" about her son's choice of careers, she's happy how it's turned out.

"At first, I figured a good education was worth more than music. After he started and I saw how happy he was, I became very proud of him," said Maria, a retired bilingual secretary and accomplished musician. "I'm proud of each of my children and Joey has always been very close to us."
Bithorn and "Rain" is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m., Nov. 12, at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota and will play the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center May 16-17, 2009.

Paul Catala can be reached at pcatala@mediageneral.com or (813) 865-1554.

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