Hundreds of Beatles and John Lennon fans and dozens of musicians today came together to celebrate Lennon’s birthday in Strawberry Fields, singing, dancing, leaving flowers and otherwise paying tribute to the man and the music that continues to echo daily here.

Although Strawberry Fields is already a Guinness Book of World Records music marathon, musicians from New York and around the globe gathered for a kind of all-day John Lennon jam session.

Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, and died on December 8, 1980, just blocks away, with singers programmed now daily in Strawberry Fields, although today performers were welcomed to join in the jam.

“Today, there’s nobody booked on the list,” said David Muniz, the keeper of the list who programs performers daily. “Anybody can come here and play today. We have bands that show up regularly on the anniversary.”

A big band, mostly people joining for the day, played Beatles songs, beneath lights set up for the night, with a brown paper bag not collecting money, but filled with guitar picks for musicians and memories, on the mosaic.

The Core Seven, key musicians in the day-long marathon, including many from Queens, took positions at the front, bouncing from one Beatles song to another, as listeners packed the park.

“Anyone with a guitar can show up,” Jamie Rivera, one of the Core Seven, said after singing “Eight Days a Week” with lines like “Eight days a week is not enough to show I care.”

Source: amny.com

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Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell celebrated 15 years of marriage on Oct. 9. “Happy Nanniversary to all of us!” the Beatles musician wrote in a post on Instagram.The couple married in a small London ceremony in 2011 after meeting in the Hamptons in 2007

Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell are celebrating 15 years as husband and wife.

The Beatles legend, 84, paid tribute to his wife, 66, in a heartfelt post on Instagram, sharing a photo of them out for a boat ride to commemorate the occasion. This marks 15 years of marriage for the couple, who wed in 2011.

In the photo, McCartney donned a blue-and-white striped button-up beneath a black zip-up hoodie and blue slacks, while Shevell opted for a yellow floral blouse, a matching silky shawl and cream-colored pants for the breezy outing.

Last year, for their 14th anniversary, McCartney once again kept his affectionate message short and sweet: “Happy Anniversary to my lovely missus, Nancy - Paul,” he wrote in a post on Instagram.

McCartney and Shevell first met in the summer of 2007 while staying at their respective properties in the Hamptons, PEOPLE previously reported. At the time, a source told PEOPLE the couple was “clearly well-suited, well-matched,” as they both enjoyed quieter social lives.

Months later, the pair were spotted kissing on a walk along the beach in the Hamptons in November, and the following year, McCartney and Shevell took a series of trips together, including to a private island in the Caribbean, on a road trip down Route 66, to a Beatles show in Tel Aviv and to Paris for a fashion show.

By May 2011, McCartney had proposed to Shevell, who showed off the ring at the Met Gala that year, and that October they tied the knot in a simple town hall ceremony in Old Marylebone. Following the union, the couple headed to McCartney’s home for an intimate celebration with loved ones, and included a toast to McCartney’s Beatles bandmate John Lennon on what would have been his 71st birthday.

Source: people.com/Rachel Raposas

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Fans of music legend John Lennon are marking what would have been his 86th birthday today, October 9. The Beatles songwriter was murdered on December 8, 1980, when he was shot outside his Manhattan residence by Mark David Chapman. He was rushed to hospital in the back of a police vehicle, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. He was 40 years old.

The Liverpool music legend was departing his home with his wife Yoko Ono when Chapman, who was later jailed for life and remains behind bars to this day, seized the moment to shoot him, later citing John's controversial remark about the Beatles being 'more popular than Jesus' as his primary motivation.

The killing sent shockwaves across the globe, particularly affecting his former Beatles bandmates, who have subsequently spoken candidly about losing their friend. During a 1981 interview with Barbara Walters, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr recalled the devastating moment he learned John had been shot while talking on the telephone with his wife Barbara Bach's daughter Francesca Gregorini while they were in Barbados, reports the Express.

"And so, that drove me crazy," Ringo said, before explaining his initial assumption was that he'd been shot in the leg or the arm. "And then, they came back and they said, he's uh, he's dead."

Source: express.co.uk/Alice Sjoberg, Ian Craig

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Fans of music legend John Lennon are marking what would have been his 86th birthday today, October 9. The Beatles songwriter was murdered on December 8, 1980, when he was shot outside his Manhattan residence by Mark David Chapman. He was rushed to hospital in the back of a police vehicle, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. He was 40 years old.

The Liverpool music legend was departing his home with his wife Yoko Ono when Chapman, who was later jailed for life and remains behind bars to this day, seized the moment to shoot him, later citing John's controversial remark about the Beatles being 'more popular than Jesus' as his primary motivation.

The killing sent shockwaves across the globe, particularly affecting his former Beatles bandmates, who have subsequently spoken candidly about losing their friend. During a 1981 interview with Barbara Walters, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr recalled the devastating moment he learned John had been shot while talking on the telephone with his wife Barbara Bach's daughter Francesca Gregorini while they were in Barbados, reports the Express.

"And so, that drove me crazy," Ringo said, before explaining his initial assumption was that he'd been shot in the leg or the arm. "And then, they came back and they said, he's uh, he's dead."

Source: express.co.uk/Alice Sjoberg, Ian Craig

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Sixty-one years ago today, one of the most iconic tracks of all time, which was ranked the “Absolute Best Song in History” more than 50 years later, hit No. 1. The fact that The Beatles’ “Yesterday” has continued to be celebrated across generations of listeners is especially noteworthy since it nearly wasn’t released for a fascinating reason.
‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles Hit No. 1 on October 9, 1965

After The Beatles’ “Yesterday” was first released on September 13, 1965, the song quickly rose in popularity. Less than a month later, on October 9, 1965, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for a total of four weeks. The only tracks from the legendary rock band that stayed at No. 1 for longer than that are “Hey Jude,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Get Back,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Why ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles Almost Wasn’t Released

On September 13, 2020, Ultimate Classic Rock released an article that chronicled how The Beatles’ “Yesterday” began its journey to leaving a mark on music history. It noted the well-known story that the melody for “Yesterday” came to Paul McCartney in his dreams. It also focused on the lesser-known fact that the song was in jeopardy of never being released because McCartney was seriously worried about the track. The article quoted him stating that he was so worried that the song was an unintended rip-off of a previous track that he consulted with his peers to see if they’d heard the melody before.

“For about a month, I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before. Eventually it became like handing something in to the police. I thought if no one claimed it after a few weeks, then I could have it.”

Even after overcoming that barrier that nearly convinced McCartney not to even record “Yesterday,” the song’s success was still in peril. As the Ultimate Classic Rock article noted, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr questioned if the song should be released as a single since it was so different than the rest of their music. In fact, there was even talk about putting the song out as a McCartney solo track. Ultimately, the article quotes McCartney saying the band agreed to release it as a Beatles single in America, and its legacy grew from there.

Source: mensjournal.com/Matthew Thomas

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Paul McCartney has penned some words on how they shot the iconic cover for The Beatles‘ ‘Rubber Soul’ for the re-release of their classic 1965 album. Check them out exclusively on NME below.

The Fab Four’s landmark sixth album is currently heading to Number One in the UK charts, 60 years after its original release. Released last week (Friday October 2), the expanded edition comes presented in new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes, and with a box-set alongside the original mono mix and the original Capitol US Album version mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell.

As well as the original tracklist – which features fan-favourites including ‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Michelle’, and ‘In My Life’ – there is also be the contemporary double A-side single, ‘Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out’, and a selection of previously unreleased session recordings and home demos.

The Super Deluxe Special Edition Super comes as either a 5-LP box-set or a 4-CD box-set, with 68 tracks and an 88-page hardbound book featuring a brand new written introduction by McCartney, and a foreword compiled from the late John Lennon’s own words.

McCartney’s introduction comes with insight into the making of the album cover with photographer Robert Freeman. Read it in full below:

“Our friendship with the photographer Robert Freeman, who had lived in the same block of flats at John, meant that he was an obvious choice to take the cover photograph. We did the session with Robert, and he showed us the results. The method he used in those days was to project the images he had taken on to a white piece of cardboard the shape and size of an album cover.

Source: nme.com/Andrew Trendell

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