When The Beatles went to India, it was with the purpose of learning Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in his ashram. George Harrison, in particular, was very interested in learning about the discipline, but the other Beatles, while curious, used their time away to write. John Lennon and Paul McCartney went back to writing together and comparing notes as they used to at the beginning of their songwriting partnership, and according to Lennon, “Regardless of what I was supposed to be doing, I did write some of my best songs there.”

One of those songs, many fans would say, was "Dear Prudence," a sweet, innocent, but still groundbreaking ballad dedicated to one of The Beatles' companions in the retreat, actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence Farrow. Among all the Maharishi's disciples, she was one of the most keen on learning about meditation. Because of that, she spent a lot of time locked in her room, sometimes worrying her "course-buddies", as she called them. In his song, Lennon calls for her and urges her to go outside and join the rest of their friends.

Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play?

Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day

The sun is up, the sky is blue

It's beautiful and so are you

"As I was acoustic all my life, I was playing guitar constantly, and John looked at me and said, ‘How do you do that guitar pickin’?’ So I taught John," Donovan explained. The song "Dear Prudence" meant a lot to him because of that, and he named it among one of his favorites of all time.

“With the guitar style and John’s caring attitude to Prudence, it was very touching.”
Prudence Farrow Finally Spoke About the Beatles' "Dear Prudence"

Prudence Farrow was a Beatles fan when she went on the retreat, so she was thrilled to find out they would be in the same group. But admittedly, because she grew up in Hollywood, she was a little apprehensive, since she'd met a lot of celebrities and been disappointed by them. But they pleasantly surprised her.

"The Beatles were all very nice, humble, modest, kind, and down-to-earth people. This actually shocked me since other celebrities I had met before disappointed me and did not live up to my expectations," she explained.

"Dear Prudence" is an absolute fan favorite, with simple but moving lyrics, and a complex but peaceful arpeggio that hypnotizes the listener and draws them into the world Lennon was writing about. Truly, a timeless masterpiece.

Source: collider.com/Val Barone

Billy Joel has shared his thoughts on The Beatles’ 1968 self-titled ninth studio album, commonly referred to as the White Album, and they aren’t positive.

During his appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, Joel and Maher were discussing classic double albums when Maher mentioned The Beatles’ record.

“I’m not a big fan of the White Album, but some people love it,” Joel said. “I hear it as a collection of half-a**** songs they didn’t finish writing because they were too stoned, or they didn’t care anymore.”

He adds, “I think they had fragments and they put them on the album.”

Joel also suggested that John Lennon “was disassociated” during the recording of the record, and Paul McCartney was “carrying the weight.”

While The Beatles officially broke up in 1970, Joel said he has a theory that the Fab Four “almost broke up a couple of times, just like a marriage.” He added, “They had their ups and downs and sometimes they were more prolific and sometimes they weren’t and I hear that in some of those things.”

Source: lakesmedianetwork.com

Paul McCartney Reveals the Billy Joel Song He Wishes He'd Written originally appeared on Parade.

Paul McCartney has penned some pretty iconic songs over the course of his storied career, from "Let It Be" to "All My Loving." But there's one tune that took the music world by storm in 1997 that the legendary Beatle, 83, wishes he'd written: Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are."

"When I first heard Billy, it was like 'Oh, wait a minute. He's good. Who's this?'," McCartney recalled in the new HBO Max documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes. "You know, like you do, your ears prick up. The song that really made me know that that was happening was 'Just the Way You Are.' And where I get asked, 'Is there a song that you wish you'd written?' And I always ... that's the one I always say."

The song almost didn't make it on Joel's album The Stranger, though.

"[Producer] Phil Ramone was the one who was pushing to have that song. But it just didn't feel right to me," the 76-year-old singer admitted in the doc. "It was too mushy."

The band workshopped the song in the recording studio, and Joel started to come around to it.

"I heard the playback and went, 'Okay, it's a nice recording, well-written," he said. "But I don't think it should be on the album. So Phil, he brings in a couple of people and they're listening to it and they're looking at each other like ... 'That's one of the best songs we've ever heard.'"

Still, the Piano Man had his reservations. "I said, 'I don't really want to put it on the album,'" he shared. "[And they said,] 'You're crazy. That's got to be on this album. It's a big hit.' I said, 'It is?'"

It was. In 1979, Joel went on to win two Grammy awards for "Just the Way You Are," including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

Source: yahoo.com/Kaitlyn Monteiro

This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.

The Beatles released some of the catchiest, most accessible and melodic songs in the history of music.

In the early days there were hits like 'She Loves You', 'Yesterday' and 'Help!'. Even as they developed, you had songs like 'Revolution', 'Something' and 'Let It Be'.

'Carnival of Light': The mysterious Beatles recording that still hasn't been released. But The Beatles were never afraid to experiment.

With the help of the genius that was Fifth Beatle George Martin, even on their first records they pushed the technology available to its limits, marrying new techniques with their own unique style of songwriting.

But it was after they quit touring in 1966 that they really took advantage of the time and space available in the studio to get a little strange. George Harrison jokingly dismissed some experimental music as... "Avant garde? Avant garde a clue!" , but he certainly got in on the act himself.

'The Inner Light' and 'Within You Without You' were a then-experimental fusion of Indian music with western pop sensibilities. 'It's All Too Much' is a glorious racket of cascading sounds.

For John Lennon and Paul McCartney, after the backwards sounds on 'Rain', there was also the strange 'Tomorrow Never Knows', 'Wild Honey Pie' 'Sun King', 'A Day in the Life' and, unreleased for years, glorious freak-out jam versions of 'Helter Skelter' and 'Revolution'.

Most experimental – and divisive – of all though, there was 'Revolution 9'. But do you know who wrote the song, who plays on it, how it came about, and why it's actually a bona fide Beatles classic?

The Beatles had already stretched their quirky limbs with Revolver and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, but it was over the four sides of The Beatles (also known as The White Album) that they really went wild.

it was on The White Album where John, Paul, George and Ringo would occasionally go off and do their own thing, before it was all patched together in one album under The Beatles banner.

That's why John Lennon didn't appear on 'Martha My Dear', 'Blackbird', 'Why Don't We Do It in the Road?', 'Mother Nature's Son' or 'Wild Honey Pie', for example.

Source: goldradio.com/Mayer Nissim

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John Lennon found success during both his time in The Beatles as well as his solo endevors - but it has taken fans over four decades to agree on what was his 'best' album

Its fair to say John Lennon thrived both in a band and by himself and fans have managed to agree on what his most successful solo album was.‌  The late musican, who founded The Beatles in 1960 alongwith Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, ventured out alomg when the band, who found successes world wide, decided to go their separate ways.  ‌

Lennon released several solo albums and also produced the likes of Harry Nilsson after leaving the Fab Four in 1970. Lennon, alongside Yoko Ono, would go on to write the likes of Imagine, Walls and Bridges, and Mind Games after leaving the era-defining group.

A post to the r/JohnLennon subreddit has sparked the debate on what could be Lennon’s most “influential” work after he ventured out on his solo endevors.  John Lennon ventured out into a solo career after The Beatles split(Image: Vinnie Zuffante, Getty Images)

A fan asked, “What is his best solo album?” While responses were mixed, many have agreed that the Ono-featuring Plastic Ono Band was his most influential solo album.‌

One user replied, “Plastic Ono Band was such an influential album for me as a youth. Then, it was my interest in Sometime in NYC that caused my older brothers to call me a hippie. I have such good memories attached to John’s albums as I grew into the teenage years. To pick a best, for me, would have to include his partner, Move Over Mrs. L. and without question, Milk & Honey was their best music and timeless.”

Source: themirror.com/Ellie Hook

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“As a performer,” Paul McCartney says, “you’re often thinking, “Is this any good? Is this rubbish? Is this a cliché?”

You wouldn’t expect someone with Paul McCartney’s catalog of hits to have moments of self-doubt. But the 83-year-old former Beatle says he’s no less critical of himself today than he was in his youth, despite being one of popular music’s most successful songwriters and musicians.

While some artists at his age might decide they’ve done enough, McCartney continues to create music and perform. He just announced his Got Back fall tour of the United States, which kicks off September 29 in Palm Desert, California.

So what keeps him going? As it turns out, it’s the self-doubt. But it’s also having someone in your corner who points out the brilliant thing you didn’t see in your creation.

“Any time you write a song, you’re going, ‘This is crap. This is terrible. Come on,’” he revealed to GQ. “So I kick myself and say, ‘Get it better. If it’s terrible, get it better.’

“And sometimes someone will come along, someone who you respect, and say, ‘No, that’s great. Don’t worry about that,’ and then show you a side to it that you didn’t notice and, then you’ll go, ‘Oh, yeah.’”

For years in the 1950s and ‘60s, that person for McCartney was John Lennon. When the two met in 1957, they were both struggling guitarists and budding songwriters who would sit face to face with their acoustic guitars, writing their tunes and pushing each other toward greatness.

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In 1968, some 10 years after they first sat down to build their songwriting partnership, McCartney found himself presenting a song to Lennon. And though he had doubts about one line — McCartney said it was simply a “crummy” placeholder at the time — Lennon helped him realize it was actually brilliant.

“A classic example of that was when I was playing ‘Hey Jude’ to John,” McCartney explained, “and I said, ‘The movement you need is on your shoulder.’ I turned round to him and Yoko, who was standing behind me, and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll fix that.’

“And John said, ‘No, you won’t. That’s the best line in it.’”

McCartney has said elsewhere that a little nudge of support can make him actually like what he was ready to reject all that much more.

Source: guitarplayer.com/Elizabeth Swann

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