Ever since The Beatles broke up, everyone and their mother has seemingly been blaming their demise on Yoko Ono. The conspiracies that she broke the band apart and that John chose her over the band are incredibly far-fetched and, frankly, unfair. Thanks to these loose and unfounded claims, Paul McCartney has often stated that Yoko was not the sole reason for The Beatles’ disbandment. However, McCartney has definitively declared that he was not a fan of her joining in on The Beatles recording sessions.

If anyone has watched The Beatles: Get Back, they know that Yoko was present for nearly the entire recording process of the band’s final album. Consequently, fans and critics were always curious as to what her presence made The Beatles feel like. Well, eight years before the release of the film, McCartney divulged exactly why he wasn’t a fan of it. Paul McCartney Reveals His Reason on the Matter

In a 2013 interview on The Howard Stern Show, McCartney went fairly in-depth on the matter in a candid fashion. Being McCartney, he was, of course, polite, cordial, and kind, but he put the rumours to rest with his answer. So, if you’re still crafting your rumors about Yoko and The Beatles, then give this a listen so you can tame your imagination.

McCartney started his story by stating, “Let’s face it, we didn’t welcome Yoko in the studio.” “Even the guy’s wives and the girlfriends and stuff weren’t really welcome in the studio,” continued Paul McCartney. Given that rule, when Lennon invited Yoko into the studio, the band was perplexed and taken aback. McCartney attested to that fact, saying, “It was like ‘uh no excuse me, we’re working.”

Source: americansongwriter.com/Peter Burditt

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The night Elvis Presley played with The Beatles is fondly remembered as the most epic jam in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. That is, if it actually happened.

What is certain is that Elvis politely hosted the Fab Four at his Bel Air home on Aug. 27, 1965, when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were in Los Angeles to perform two shows at the Hollywood Bowl. Elvis, looking every inch a rock god, greeted the quartet with his future wife Priscilla Beaulieu and his “Memphis Mafia” inner circle at his side.

“The Beatles were in awe, and I can say that because they told me that the next day,” Jerry Schilling, Elvis’ longtime friend, tells USA TODAY, while discussing the new Elvis collection “Sunset Boulevard,” which spans Presley’s LA studio sessions from 1970 to 1975. “But it got kind of quiet” after they were ushered into the den.

Elvis sat on the couch, holding his Fender bass guitar, as the four shaggy-haired Beatles stood and sat uneasily. Then Elvis announced, “If you guys are going to look at me all night, I’m going to bed,” Schilling, 83, recalls. “Everyone burst out laughing and that broke the ice. Not that there was any cold ice at all. I don’t care what anyone says, I was there, it was a great night.”
Elvis fiddles with an electric bass inside Graceland on March 7, 1965, months before hosting The Beatles at his California home in Bel Air.

By all accounts, Charlie Rich’s “Mohair Sam,” one of Elvis’ favorite songs of the moment, was playing on repeat. George went off with Larry Geller, Elvis’ hairstylist, and “there was probably some grass going on,” Schilling says, pausing for a beat. “Let me be honest, there was.”

Starr and Schilling took on Beatles roadie Mal Evans and Elvis’ cousin Billy Smith in a game of pool. But what happened next is hotly debated. Did The Beatles jam with Elvis?

Source: usatoday.com/Kim Willis

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Everyone has their favorite Beatles album, including the iconic musicians themselves, but one album in particular seemed to drive a wedge between two of the bandmates.

‌While many fans would name Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as their favorite, featuring hugely popular hits, the 1967 record divided Paul McCartney and George Harrison. While McCartney touted the album as his favorite, Harrison said it felt like taking a step "backwards" from their revolutionary craftsmanship.

While their eighth album was Paul's "baby," Harrison had grown tired of that particular sound. Comparing it to Rubber Soul and Revolver, Harrison said Sgt Pepper was "not as enjoyable" as the other two and said it "felt like going backwards."

He said, "Everybody else thought that Sgt Pepper was a revolutionary record – but for me it was not as enjoyable as Rubber Soul or Revolver, purely because I had gone through so many trips of my own and I was growing out of that kind of thing."
Revolver was created after Harrison's time in India with Ravi Shankar, where he honed his own voice as a musician. The track Love You To in particular was inspired by that time in Harrison's life and how it shaped his personal musical style.

‌McCartney, however, said in 1991 that Sgt Pepper was his favorite of their repertoire, though he loves all of the albums the band created. He said, “I’d pick Sgt. Pepper’s, myself, because I had a lot to do with it.” He continued, “It wasn’t entirely my idea but to get us away from being ‘The Beatles’ I had this idea that we should pretend we’re this other group."

He remembered George being distant from the record. “George wasn’t very involved in that album,” McCartney said later. “He just had one song. It’s really the only time during the whole album, the main time, I remember him turning up.” 

Sgt. Pepper's is a blend of pop and rock music featuring some heavy hitters, such as With a Little Help from My Friends and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, which the band insisted was not code for LSD.‌

Beatles fans were in a frenzy this week after the band's official Instagram account posted a cryptic hint at some big announcement. The page posted four slides, each displaying the numbers one, two, three and four alongside imagery connected to the band, including several of their most iconic album artwork.

Source: irishstar.com/Shannon Brown

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Comedy legend Eric Idle has opened up on his strong friendship with the late George Harrison. The Monty Python star struck up a close bond with The Beatles icon when they met at a party in Los Angeles in the 1970s.

‌However, Eric lived in Merseyside as a child and he told the ECHO in an exclusive interview how he's convinced he met the iconic musician when they were both children. He said: "I hung out with someone called George on the Red Noses in New Brighton when I was about five and I often wondered if it was him because we got on so well when we met.

‌"It was like I already knew him and we were talking all night. He was wonderful and he had such a great effect on my life." The 82-year-old will pay tribute to his friendship with the All Things Must Pass writer in his new show, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, LIVE!, which is coming to the Liverpool Empire on September 14.

‌The one man musical is described as "an evening of comedy, music, philosophy and one fart joke", and Eric told the ECHO how one song is dedicated to George. He said: "There's a couple of singalongs. there's some touching songs. I've written a song for George because I miss him so much. That's really quite emotional because you see us on screen."

Eric became one of George's closest friends after their meeting in California. The comedy icon said the similar status they both held in their respective groups was why they had such an understanding of one another.

He said: "We were both the individual in between two strong powerful forces. He had Lennon and McCartney, I had Chapman and Cleese; Palin and Jones.

‌"I think we were both in a similar role. The younger one, a little bit overpowered and you had to find and fight for your own space in it." George was a huge fan of Monty Python's work and Eric lifted the lid on the While My Guitar Gently Weeps writer's incredible gesture that ensured The Life Of Brian, could get made.

Eric explained George remortgaged his house and his assets to raise the £4.5m budget for the classic 1979 film, which is regarded as one of the most influential comedies of all time. He added: "He raised the entire money. That was everything he had and he put it all in on a Monty Python film. Imagine telling the wife. 'What did you do today?' Well, I've remortgaged our house, I've remortgaged our company and I've put it all into a Monty Python film about religion.

"It's an unbelievable story. I don't think people quite appreciate how extraordinary that is. Putting all your money on a Python project. I asked him why he did it and he said, 'It was because I wanted to see the movie.'"

‌Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk/Ryan Paton

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While the title of the greatest band of all time is completely subjective, we can all probably agree that The Beatles receive it the most often. They broke up in 1970, and 54 years later, The Beatles continue to stay relevant and attract the attention of fans across the globe. The Beatles’ resounding success comes, of course, from a plethora of different factors. However, at the root of it is ultimately their timeless music.

To some Beatles fans, the Fab Four didn’t create a bad song. Now, you might agree or strongly disagree with that statement, and if you are part of the latter, you might cite these three songs as “bad” Beatles songs. Despite these “bad” Beatles songs, they are still, in fact, one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
“Revolution 9”

One could make the argument that The Beatles’ “Revolution 9” isn’t even a song. Rather, it’s just a bunch of arbitrary noises meshed together, seemingly created as an experimental way to throw off listeners and bolster The Beatles’ psychedelic mystique. However, that is what makes it a “bad” song, as it isn’t traditional in any sense of the word.

“Revolution 9” was seemingly a deliberate decision by The Beatles. After all, did the most talented musicians in the world at the time not realize that this song would face major criticism? I think not, but regardless, in their extensive catalog of hits, this is certainly not a crowd favorite.
“Wild Honey Pie”

Also residing on The Beatles’ 1968 White Album is the ever-so weird “Wild Honey Pie”. Like “Revolution 9”, this Beatles track was seemingly created to confuse and baffle listeners. Needless to say, it did just that, as the song hosts one lyric and features harshly grotesque instrumentals.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Peter Burditt

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George Harrison’s exotic soundtrack to Joe Massot’s swinging sixties cinematic head trip film Wonderwall was the first solo Beatle project – that is, of course, if you don’t count Paul McCartney’s 1966 soundtrack to The Family Way, which was actually credited to The George Martin Orchestra.

1968’s Wonderwall Music is all over the musical map—delightfully so—with songs ranging from classical Indian ragas to jaunty nostalgic-sounding numbers to proto-metal guitar freakouts. It’s a minor classic, and I wish more people knew about it. I’ve long been an enthusiastic evangelist for this album, sticking tracks on mixed CDs and tapes for quite some time. Even avowed Beatlemaniacs tend to have missed out on Wonderwall Music. It’s a real overlooked gem.

Harrison’s principle collaborator for the Wonderwall soundtrack was orchestral arranger John Barham who transcribed Harrison’s “western” melodies into a musical annotation that the Indian musicians in Bombay could work with. Barham was a student and collaborator of Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar, who had introduced him to the quiet Beatle.

Barham, who would soon go on to compose the soundtrack to Alejandro Jodorowsky’s psychedelic western El Topo and contribute to Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, played piano, harmonium and flugelhorn, and acted the role of orchestral arranger on certain tracks.

Harrison later said Wonderwall Music was “partly an excuse for a musical anthology to help spread the word”, before going on to explain: “I used all these instruments that weren’t as familiar to western people as they are now, like shehnais, santoor, sarod, surbahars, tabla tarangs.”

Source: dangerousminds.net/Richard Metzger

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