John Lennon released his second solo album, Imagine, on Sept. 9, 1971. It became his first solo album to reach No. 1.

By late October, the album had pulled off a rare transatlantic feat. It topped the charts in the U.S. and U.K. at the same time.

Billboard called Lennon "the real British Dylan" in its review, per uDiscover Music.  The title track became one of Lennon's most enduring songs. He later called it his best work.

"Imagine is the best song I've ever written," Lennon told writer David Sheff in 1980, per MusicRadar. "It's almost like a prayer."

The song's origins, though, involved more collaboration than Lennon first let on. The song's title traces back to a poem in Lennon's wife Yoko Ono's 1964 book, Grapefruit. The poem "Cloud Piece" included the line "imagine the clouds dripping."

Lennon borrowed that imagery directly for his own lyrics. For years, though, he never publicly credited Ono for the connection.

That changed in a 1980 interview with BBC Radio 1's Andy Peebles, per MusicRadar. Lennon admitted the song should carry both their names.

"A lot of it, the lyric and the concept, came from Yoko," he admitted.  "But in those days I was a bit more selfish, a bit more macho, and I sort of omitted her contribution, but it was right out of Grapefruit, her book.

Source: uk.news.yahoo.com/Paolo Songco

Read More<<<

Tensions between the four members of The Beatles were clear when it came time to record Abbey Road. George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon were pulling in different directions, and the Peter Jackson documentary, Get Back, shows it. But the final time the four were in the studio together proved fruitful despite the animosity in the studio.

Reflecting on the late 1960s and those career-best recordings, Harrison would single out McCartney as the problem in the studio. Contributions made by McCartney were seen by the other band members as far from his best, with Maxwell’s Silver Hammer singled out for scrutiny by Harrison.

He said in 1977: “And it was a good date. Paul would always help along when you’d done his ten songs – then when he got ’round to doing one of my songs, he would help. It was silly. It was very selfish, actually. Sometimes Paul would make us do these really fruity songs.

“I mean, my God, Maxwell’s Silver Hammer was so fruity. After a while, we did a good job on it, but when Paul got an idea or an arrangement in his head… But Paul’s really writing for a 14-year-old audience now anyhow. I missed his last tour, unfortunately.”

McCartney too would later say he was a bit of a menace in the studio around this time. Speaking during the Anthology documentary series, McCartney said: “In fact, he was about one and a half years younger than me. That’s quite a big age difference at that time.

Source: cultfollowing.co.uk/Ewan Gleadow

Read More,,,

George Harrison spent the last three decades of his life falling in love with a garden. The former Beatle purchased an old Victorian mansion known as Friar Park in January 1970. According to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, which built an entire exhibition around Harrison’s love for gardening, he was only 27 years of age when he acquired this neglected property. This simple purchase grew into a restoration project that continues to thrive under the care of Harrison’s family.

A grand house that had fallen into disrepair

Friar Park was not built by Harrison. Records held by Historic England, the government body that protects the country's important sites, show the mansion was constructed in the late 1800s and was commissioned by Sir Frank Crisp, a lawyer, who designed the gardens that surround the property. By the time Harrison came looking for a new home, much of that splendor had long faded. Historic England's records, along with Selby Gardens' account, describe the magnificent Victorian mansion with its gardens as having run down, with yews having taken over the topiary.

A young Beatle finds his forever home

Harrison purchased Friar Park shortly after the Beatles disbanded, ending one period of his life as he embarked on another one. The property covered some 32 acres of land, inclusive of the main house and the smaller lodges, according to the exhibition. In an interview with NBC News at Friar Park, Harrison's second wife, Olivia, remembers how Harrison had been looking for some place away from the bustle of London, and Friar Park offered just what he wanted. She said the couple had moved several times in search of more privacy before finding Friar Park. After moving into the house with his wife, Pattie Boyd, Harrison spent more time outside than in his house.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com/Team Global

Read More<<<

We know that The Beatles had many admirers among other musicians. They were also huge music fans themselves. Once they secured their clout in the industry, some of those folks whom the Fab Four held up as idols started recording their songs.

We found four examples where artists that The Beatles greatly adored took on their material. And they did so with fascinating results.
“Something” by Ray Charles

In terms of the number of times that a Beatles song has been covered, “Something” ranks way up there. (“Yesterday”, of course, stands as the all-time leader in that department.) The famous story here is that when Frank Sinatra covered “Something” in concert, he would often credit it as a Lennon/McCartney song. In actuality, George Harrison wrote the track. He initially envisioned it as something that Ray Charles might sing. Two years after The Beatles’ own version appeared, Charles got around to recording the track on his 1971 album Volcanic Actions Of My Soul. The R&B legend used his clever phrasing to wring every last bit of emotional potency from the song.
“Lady Madonna” by Fats Domino

Fats Domino managed to stay true to the roots of R&B while winning the adulation of early rock and roll fans as well. His husky vocals and rolling piano-based rhythms immediately set him apart from his competition. When you heard a song by Fats, you couldn’t really mistake it for anybody else. When Paul McCartney composed “Lady Madonna”, with its quick-fingered piano style and its smoky atmosphere, he thought of Fats Domino as a kind of touchstone. You can even hear it in the vocals, as McCartney does a little bit of mimicry. Domino must have caught wind of it. He soon did his own easy-rolling version of the track on the 1968 album Fats Is Back.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia

Read More<<<

In 1979, Paul McCartney and his wife Linda bought a secluded 151-acre ranch near Tucson, Arizona, creating a private family retreat away from the global spotlight surrounding one of music’s most recognisable figures.

Located near the foothills of the Rincon Mountains, the property offered the McCartney family something that was increasingly difficult to find — privacy. Rather than serving as a celebrity showpiece, the ranch provided a modest home, open desert surroundings and isolation where Paul, Linda and their children could spend time together away from cameras and crowds.

Over the years, the Arizona property became an important part of the family’s life, from everyday trips around Tucson to gatherings with friends and neighbours. It also remained deeply significant after Linda’s death in 1998. Decades later, the ranch continues to offer a glimpse into the quieter, more personal side of McCartney’s extraordinary life.

According to Architectural Digest, the main residence was a two-storey home with a tin roof and stucco exterior. Its secluded setting gave the family the peace and privacy they were looking for. The ranch was located on Tucson’s far north-eastern side, near Reddington Pass. ‘The Paul McCartney Project’ describes the property as a secluded escape.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Read More<<<

A long-lost interview with George Harrison recorded at the height of Beatlemania has been heard publicly again for the first time in more than six decades.

The previously unavailable telephone interview with George Harrison was recorded in February 1964 and originally broadcast by WJPS radio in Evansville, Indiana, on 17 February, just one day after The Beatles made their second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The recording captures George, then just 20 years old, at one of the most significant moments in The Beatles’ history as their phenomenal rise to fame in America was gathering pace.

The band’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February 1964 attracted an estimated 73 million viewers and became one of the defining moments in popular culture.

Their second appearance, broadcast live from Miami Beach on 16 February, confirmed the scale of Beatlemania sweeping across America.

The following day, George spoke by telephone from Florida to a teenage schoolgirl who had reportedly won a competition to interview one of The Beatles.

Source: theguideliverpool.com/Rachael Rhodes

Read More<<<