The Beatles had a couple of distinct eras. A better amateur music historian than I could probably split them up further than “Beatlemania,” “psychedelic,” and “folk rock,” but those three categories make the most sense to me. And the band’s smallest but still notable era has to be the latter. Let’s take a look at what I consider the best and worst songs from the Fab Four’s folky era, shall we?

It’s worth noting that I would also consider both Help!, Beatles For Sale, and Revolver to be “of the folk rock era” for the Fab Four, but I already covered them in the other lists in this series.
Best Song on ‘Rubber Soul’ — “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”

This was an easy pick. That absolutely beautiful sitar à la George Harrison, that swaying, propelling melody… There’s something about “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” that still entrances listeners after all these years.
Worst Song on ‘Rubber Soul’ — “Run For Your Life”

I was at a crossroads between “Think For Yourself” and “Run For Your Life” as the worst song on Rubber Soul, based less on my opinion and more on the opinions of the masses online. “Run For Your Life” was famously hated by John Lennon in retrospect and has some hard-to-ignore lyrics that are insanely creepy. “Think For Yourself” often ranks at the bottom for “best Beatles songs” lists from what I’ve seen. However, I think “Think For Yourself” is a bit of an underrated Harrison gem. “Run For Your Life”, however, is extremely difficult to defend.
Best Song on ‘The Beatles’ — “Blackbird”

“Blackbird” is one of the folkiest songs on the White Album, and it’s also one of the most beautiful works that the Fab Four ever released. During a time when the group was reluctant to make overt political statements (though this album’s “Revolution” came pretty darn close), Paul McCartney opted to pen a tune as an ode to and balm for Black Americans who were struggling during the Civil Rights Movement. “Blackbird” is such an angelic and soothing song, and one that won’t soon be forgotten.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Em Casalena

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Original working lyrics for Paul McCartney's "Hey Jude" song are being offered for $599,415.

The 1968 manuscript shows important notes written by the Beatles songwriter that shaped the iconic finished version.

New Orleans-based gallery M.S. Rau said the lyrics were transcribed by Mal Evans, the band's road manager and studio assistant, before McCartney annotated the sheet by hand.

On the paper, he marked cues for tambourine, as well as for bandmates Ringo Starr and John Lennon.

Most significantly, in the final verse, he revised the closing line to "Remember to let her under your skin, then you'll begin to make it better", the version immortalized in the recording.

The Beatles recorded rehearsals and attempted backing tracks at EMI Studios in July 1968, before moving to Trident Studios, where eight-track equipment allowed them to construct the master recording between July 31 and August 2.

Released later that month, "Hey Jude" remained at number one in the United States for nine weeks.

The lot includes an RIAA Gold Record award for "Hey Jude" and a notarized letter from Craig Inciardi, a founding curator of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, documenting their origin and authenticity.

Source: gjsentinel.com

Paul McCartney is opening up about his late pal. Following a Los Angeles screening of the Wings documentary, Man on the Run, McCartney sat down for a conversation with director Morgan Neville and moderator Judd Apatow for a wide-ranging conversation.

After the Beatles split, McCartney formed a duo with his then-wife, Linda, and released an album titled Ram. Shortly thereafter, McCartney started his band, Wings. In both post-Beatles projects, McCartney’s one-time bandmate, John Lennon, was publicly critical.

“I think maybe he expected more from me,” McCartney theorized of Lennon, according to Variety.” He expected something different from me, and I wasn’t doing that. I was just doing ‘madcap.’”

McCartney noted that he “wasn’t privy” to Lennon’s inner thoughts at the time. However, he admitted that he was pleased when Lennon lightened up on the subject before his death. Paul McCartney Opens Up About John Lennon.

Despite the public spat, McCartney said that none of it affected how he felt about Lennon.

“I loved John and love him to this day and always will,” he said. “And it wouldn’t matter, as it didn’t matter, what he said or did, because I’d known him since I was 15, and so he was like this mad guy I knew, and I really looked up to him.”

“I always thought John was very cool, and I still do. But he could be a complete idiot, over some things,” McCartney added. “He was a lovely guy. And the thing is, if you look at his life, there’s reason for him to be crazy. A lot of bad things happened to him… He had a lot of stuff to get out. And comparatively, I was very lucky.”

Though Lennon may have been critical of McCartney’s post-Beatles work, the singer himself said that he’s come to “like that period” of his life.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Paige Gawley

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It was like stepping into a time machine and going back 62 years.

One of the Beatles was singing rock songs, playing two instruments, making jokes and having a grand old time.

The Ringo Starr concert here in Washington got me thinking about the impact that he, John, Paul and George had on the music business, the country and the culture — and how Americans are still fascinated by the Fab Four, and even their grandchildren are listening to their ancient albums.

Ringo is 86 and touring again, bringing more energy to his shows than most of his Boomer-heavy audience.

Paul McCartney, who I’ve seen several times in recent years, is 84, still belting out the hits and, hip guy that he is, sharing short videos on social media.

It’s not about money — the two surviving Beatles became multimillionaires back in the day. They are still releasing new albums; McCartney’s "Dungeon Lane," about growing up in Liverpool, and with him playing most of the instruments, nearly matches some of his best work.  Ringo, who played drums and piano at the concert, has been saluted by today’s top drummers as having inspired generations of those behind the kit with his unique, left-handed, play-to-the-song style that doesn’t show off by overwhelming each tune.

So what does this say about us as a society?  It’s partly pure nostalgia, like a soup that reminds you of the way grandma made it.

For those who saw the group’s American debut on Ed Sullivan and remember the frenzy of Beatlemania — with screaming girls drowning out the group — it’s a throwback to the days when they were young and groovy and often spaced out. The swinging sixties were like that — and now many of those fans now talk about medications and doctors’ visits.

Some of the mystique is about the group’s incredible growth from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to "Let It Be," with such groundbreaking records as "Rubber Soul," "Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper," the "White Album" and "Abbey Road." (In those days, when record players dominated our lives, music reigned because there were no Apple Watches, no TikTok, no group chats, no Netflix, no distractions from vinyl other than mediocre TV.)

Source: foxnews.com/Howard Kurtz

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The Beatles helped revolutionize music in several incalculable ways, from re-energizing the British music scene to popularizing the concept album, but one of the smaller — but still significant — ways the Fab Four changed the creative landscape was rewriting the rules of what could be a radio hit.

“Hey Jude,” the 1968 standalone single penned by Paul McCartney, clocked in at 7 minutes and 12 seconds, around twice the length of an average pop single the band would be competing alongside for the coveted #1 spot on the charts.

To make matters worse, the second half of the song simply repeats a variation of “Nah, nah nah, nah nah, nah, nah, nah nah/ Hey, Jude” for at least 3 and a half minutes. While this creative decision has since made the anthem a crowd favorite at sports events (most recently, England’s 2026 World Cup stint, as an ode to Jude Bellingham), as well as McCartney’s concerts, there were concerns that this would be cut by radio stations, comprising on McCartney’s “fade-out to end all fade-outs,” as described in a 2018 retrospective on the song by The Guardian.

George Martin, the Beatles’ longtime producer, warned that the length would discourage DJs from playing the song altogether, clipping its commercial success. Lennon, however, offered his signature defiance in response: “They will if it’s us.”

Lennon’s pragmatism proved to be correct, with the song staying on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for 9 weeks, from September 28 to November 23, 1968, and broke the record for the then-longest #1 single in U.S. chart history — as well as the longest in song length.

Source: mensjournal.com/Bethany Gemmell

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Paul McCartney is among hundreds of public figures backing a new international campaign calling on the United Nations to abolish trophy hunting. Launched on July 1, 2026, the initiative brings together celebrities, conservationists, former heads of state, Indigenous leaders and religious figures around a declaration calling for an end to trophy hunting. The launch was timed to coincide with the 11th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, whose death in 2015 became a major international flashpoint in the debate over trophy hunting. The Wildlife & Conservation Foundation, through its Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, is coordinating the initiative. Its organisers say more than 500 founding signatories have backed the Declaration on the Abolition of Trophy Hunting, which was developed with the late primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall.