Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr’s friendship has survived decades. The only surviving members of The Beatles, the two men, now both well into their 80s, have a special bond.

“With John [Lennon] and George [Harrison] not here, I think we realize nothing lasts forever,” McCartney told The New York Times of himself and Starr.

The Beatles and their fans certainly know that to be true. Lennon was assassinated in 1980 when he was 40. Harrison died in 2001 after a cancer battle. He was 58. With those tragedies in mind, McCartney said, he and Starr “grasp onto what we have now because we realize that it’s very special.” “It’s something hardly anyone else has. In fact, in our case, it’s something no one else has,” he continued. “There’s only me and Ringo, and we’re the only people who can share those memories.”

When McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison crossed paths with Starr in 1962 and invited him to join their group, it was a consequential move.

“He was a fantastic drummer,” McCartney recalled. “We asked him if he would be in our band, and luckily for us he agreed.” Starr wasn’t the first drummer to play with The Beatles, but, according to McCartney, he was the best.

“Even though I’ve played with other drummers, he’s the best,” McCartney said. “Ringo has got a certain feel that is very difficult for other drummers to capture. He’s Ringo. And nobody else is.” 

Starr’s love for drumming dates back to 1957 when his stepfather bought him his first kit. “When I first started, my mother would come to the gigs. She would always say, ‘You know, son, I always feel you’re at your happiest when you’re playing your drums.’ So she noticed,” he said. “And I do. I love to hit those buggers.”

Source: americansongwriter.com/Paige Gawley

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They had the whole music world waiting for what they’d do next. Yet amidst those myriad expectations, it’s safe to say that The Beatles’ release of the single “Strawberry Fields Forever”/”Penny Lane” in 1967 was something that no one saw, or heard, coming.

These two songs represented just how far the band was pushing the limits in the studio, since they no longer had to worry about touring. And it was just the first taste of the incredible music that the group was about to foist upon the world in that magical year.

The Beatles’ momentous decision to quit touring shook up their fandom. Was it a sign that they were considering breaking up? Even George Harrison wondered about their future as the band left their final gig in San Francisco in August 1966.

Once the shock of the decision wore off, and they had taken some time away, The Beatles filed back into Abbey Road studios in November 1966 to get back to work. They had some vague ideas about what they wanted to do once they started. And they had written a few songs that they wanted to try.

There was some talk about doing an album where all the songs would be based on the childhood experiences of the group. Although that never came to pass, each of the two songs that they chose for their first single of 1967 could have fit that concept. Those two songs also shared a sense of fearlessness. Especially when it came to what the band was cooking up in the studio.
Dual Masterpieces

The Beatles’ John Lennon based the title of “Strawberry Fields Forever” on the grounds of a Salvation Army children’s home near where he grew up. His imagination ran wild from there with stream-of-consciousness lyrics that expressed feelings of confusion and self-doubt. The music, starting with a woozy Mellotron and continuing through passages that alternated between crackling rock and pomp-filled classical music, was hallucinatory.

Paul McCartney followed suit in “Penny Lane” in terms of looking back to places of his youth. If McCartney’s tale was a bit more straightforward, the lyrics were still startlingly accomplished. And the music, chugging along brightly and set apart by a piccolo trumpet, kept pace in terms of invention.

Even as advanced as the songs from Revolver, their previous album, had been, “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane”, released as a double A-sided single in February 1967, represented a huge leap forward. It was impossible to categorize these songs or try to pin them down. But their brilliance was undeniable.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia

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On this day (July 1), the Beatles’ eighth studio album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It would retain the top spot for 15 consecutive weeks, making it the Fab Four’s most successful album in the United States. More than a massive chart success, the album introduced the world to a new incarnation of the iconic band and became the soundtrack to the rising hippie culture.

The mid-1960s saw the Beatles drifting away from the sound and image that made throngs of teenagers scream until they fainted. They were aging and, more importantly, maturing as musicians. As a result, they wanted to expand their musical horizons. This made playing their new material, specifically songs from Revolver, almost impossible. After a lackluster world tour, Liverpool’s favorite sons chose to retire from touring and spend some time apart.

According to a Billboard feature on the album, members of the Beatles took a three-month break. George Harrison traveled to India on a spiritual retreat, John Lennon dipped his toes into the world of film, and Paul McCartney took a trip to Africa. When they came back together, they were refreshed and full of new ideas.

Along with the “fifth Beatle” George Martin, they stepped into Abbey Road Studios to create their most ambitious work. Knowing they would never have to play the songs live, they were free to pile effects, instruments, and musicians high to create a collection of unforgettable tunes. 700 studio hours later, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was finished.
The Beatles See Unprecedented Success with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band brought the Beatles, a band previously on the verge of breaking up, massive success. It spent 27 weeks atop the UK Albums Chart and 15 weeks atop the Billboard 200. However, that was only the beginning. It later became one of the best-selling albums of all time. Today, many of the songs on the album have garnered hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify since appearing on the streaming platform in December 2015.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Clayton Edwards

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Near the end of John Lennon‘s life, all signs pointed to him never playing a Beatles song live again. He wasn’t frequently on the road as a general rule. The likelihood that he would revisit his old material amid one of his rare appearances was close to zero. Luckily for Beatles fans, Lennon did manage to sneak in one final live performance of a Beatles classic before he was murdered. Find out which Beatles song bookended Lennon’s career below.

One of Lennon’s last performances saw him play alongside Elton John at Madison Square Garden. It seems that only the consequences of a bet (more on that later) could bring Lennon back on stage after so many reclusive years.

Amid the set, Lennon and John decided to play a rendition of “I Saw Her Standing There.” This early Beatles cut is among their most beloved songs. It is indicative of the writing style of Lennon and Paul McCartney. It was one of the first songs they penned together.

“I wrote it with John in the front parlour of my house in 20 Forthlin Road, Allerton,” McCartney once said. “We sagged off school and wrote it on guitars and a little bit on the piano that I had there.”

“We were learning our skill,” he continued. “John would like some of my lines and not others. He liked most of what I did, but there would sometimes be a cringe line, such as, ‘She was just seventeen, she’d never been a beauty queen.’ John thought, ‘Beauty queen? Ugh.’ We were thinking of Butlin’s so we asked ourselves, what should it be? We came up with, ‘You know what I mean.’ Which was good, because you don’t know what I mean.”

In many ways, it seems fitting that “I Saw Her Standing There” would be the last Beatles song Lennon ever performed–poetic almost.
Final Performance with Elton John

Before their MSG performance, Lennon and John wrote a collaborative track, “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night.” The pair already had a strong personal friendship, but this song also connected their careers.

After writing the song, John made a wager with the former Beatle, begging him to join him in New York for a surprise appearance if the song went no. 1. Much to Lennon’s surprise, the song did reach the top of the charts. He went through with his end of the bet, leading to the iconic and bittersweet performance below.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper

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Here’s one for Sir Paul McCartney fans: a house near his long-term St John’s Wood home is for sale with Robert Irving Burns for £3.6 million.

McCartney bought his house on Cavendish Avenue for £40,000 in 1965, embarking on a months-long refurbishment and finally moving in the following year. It has been his London home since.

Cavendish Avenue is one of the capital’s most in-demand streets, where houses rarely come up for sale. According to the Land Registry, there have only been 20 property transactions on the road in the last 30 years.

The average sold price of houses on the road in the last five years is £6.925 million, according to the Land Registry’s figures.

To Lee Koffman, director of Robert Irving Burns, the £3.6 million house now for sale represents an opportunity to “buy the worst house on the best street,” as the old estate agent’s adage goes.

“Cavendish Avenue is the best road in St John’s Wood,” says Koffman. “The houses on the street are few and far between.

“They’re very rare because once people buy there, they stay on the road for decades and don’t move out, because they’ve got the convenience of everything on their doorstep and yet Cavendish Avenue itself is a very quiet road. The security is off the charts because of the types of people who live there.”

Compared to the listed, stucco-fronted 19th century townhouses on the rest of the road, number 20 was built in 1969 and is “in need of modernisation”.

As well as being more affordable than the street’s listed townhouses, its price per square foot is 20 per cent cheaper than the more modern houses too, at £1,448 compared to £1,731, says Antony Antoniou, CEO of Robert Irving Burns.

“If you’re happy with the look outside and you want to be on the best street, then conceivably it’s a deal,” says Koffman. “Houses on the opposite side are trading at £3,500 to £4,000 per square foot. I can’t compare this house to those, but once this house is done, it’s going to be worth quite a lot of money, being Cavendish Avenue. Someone will trade off the aesthetic of the front of the house to be on the best road in St John’s Wood.”

Source: uk.finance.yahoo.com/Emma Magnus

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The Beatles, known for stirring the pot, certainly did so when John Lennon's bold statement in 1966 that they were "more popular than Jesus" sparked outrage among American Christians, contributing to the band’s cessation of touring later that year.

Their knack for pushing boundaries also saw several of their songs slapped with bans by radio stations. The BBC censored 'A Day in the Life' over alleged drug references, while 'The Ballad of John and Yoko' faced bans from some US stations for its mention of Christ.

‌The trend of controversy carried on even after John, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr went on to solo endeavours post-1970. For instance, the ECHO delved into how Paul McCartney and Wings' 'Hi, Hi, Hi' was shunned by the BBC for perceived nods to sex and drugs.

‌John's Beatles legacy includes one particularly infamous tune, 'Happiness Is a Warm Gun', penned by him in 1968 and presented under the Lennon-McCartney songwriting banner like all compositions from the duo for the Fab Four.

The title, which kick-started the song, was lifted straight from the May 1968 issue of American Rifleman magazine, where an article by Warren W. Herlihy depicted his experience teaching his son shooting skills, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Regarding his first impression upon seeing it, John remarked, "I just thought it was a fantastic, insane thing to say. A warm gun means you just shot something."

The song was part of the Beatles' iconic 'White Album', released in November 1968, a tumultuous time for the band as creative differences began to emerge. Despite their differences, they collaborated to craft this intricate track. John revealed that he merged "three sections of different songs" to create the final piece, which tackled various themes. ‌

Upon its release, certain sections of the song were interpreted as references to sex and drugs. The 'warm gun' in the title was seen as a metaphor for John's desire for Yoko Ono, leading to a ban by the BBC and commercial radio stations.

The line 'I need a fix' was also perceived by some as a reference to heroin. However, John disputed this, explaining: "'Happiness Is A Warm Gun' was another one which was banned on the radio – they said it was about shooting up drugs. But they were advertising guns and I thought it was so crazy that I made a song out of it. It wasn't about 'H' (heroin) at all".

Source: mirror.co.uk/Michael D. Carroll, Dan Haygarth

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