Beatles News
Before there was Taylor Swift, there were the Beatles. Four kids from Liverpool, England, became the biggest stars in the world and, in less than a decade, changed the course of music, fashion, and celebrity history forever. The actions of the Fab Four — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — continue to reverberate through pop culture to this day. Without them, it's hard to imagine any current musicians or bands would exist.
And while he wasn't the focus during the band's time at the top, George Harrison has gained more and more respect for his artistry over the years. His guitar work with the Beatles, as well as the few songs he wrote and sang with the band, have become fan favorites, and his solo work has been reevaluated, with his 1970 album "All Things Must Pass" being considered by many to be the best solo work of any of the former Beatles. Harrison's evolution as an artist can be followed via his music, and it can also be examined by looking at his facial hair. The "Here Comes the Sun" singer changed up his look along with his musical stylings, helping fans get an idea of where his mind was headed and what his overall mood was.
While it isn't exactly surprising that George Harrison didn't have a face covered in hair when he was 15, it is a good place to start. Before John Lennon entered the picture, Harrison and Paul McCartney were already friends.
Source: yahoo.com/Derek Faraci
Sir Paul McCartney reportedly serenaded newlyweds Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce with the 1963 Beatles hit “I Want to Hold Your Hand” at their Madison Square Garden reception Friday evening.
A source for People confirmed the performance by the legendary singer on Saturday, saying, “After the ceremony, Taylor’s mom Andrea invited everyone into the reception room where the stage was set up.”
The Grammy winner’s longtime pal, Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks, was also said to have performed at the star-studded extravaganza, which stretched into the early morning hours Saturday.
McCartney and Swift have been friends for years, and once appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone together.
The “Blank Space” hitmaker and NFL star, both 36, summoned a list of 1,000 guests — both A-list celebrities and close family members alike — to celebrate their union at an extravagant celebration at the New York City arena Friday. A more intimate rehearsal dinner at the same venue Thursday evening was held for 100 members of the couple’s inner circle — including fellow songstress Selena Gomez, sports reporter Erin Andrews, Kelce’s pal Ross Travis and Swift’s longtime publicist, Tree Paine.
Following Friday’s massive bash, signs outside Madison Square Garden read “JUST&T MARRIED” to announce the news that the power couple had finally made things official.
Source: pagesix.com/Audrey Rock
In 1965, The Beatles released “Ticket To Ride”. Written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, “Ticket To Ride” appears on Help!, their fifth studio album.
Although they likely didn’t know it at the time, McCartney and Lennon forever changed music with “Ticket To Ride”. The song is just over three minutes, making it The Beatles’ longest song at the time. From there, The Beatles began releasing longer songs, as did other acts. Their “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” comes in at just under eight minutes, although it wasn’t a hit single. That song appears on The Beatles’ final record, Abbey Road, out in 1969. The Beatles’ longest single came in 1968, with “Hey Jude”, which is just over seven minutes.
The Beatles may be known for their longer songs, but they aren’t the only artist to break the three-minute barrier. Although other artists had longer songs on their records, Bob Dylan is one of the first to have a hit on the radio with a longer song. In 1965, Dylan had his first Top 5 single, with “Like A Rolling Stone”. The song is just over six minutes long.
The Story Behind “Ticket To Ride” by The Beatles
“Ticket To Ride” is actually a sad song about a relationship ending. The song begins with “I think I’m gonna be sad / I think it’s today, yeah / The girl that’s driving me mad / Is going away / She’s got a ticket to ride / She’s got a ticket to ride / She’s got a ticket to ride / But she don’t care.”
The format of “Ticket To Ride” is also different from anything The Beatles had done before, using an outro in the song. According to McCartney, it’s what makes “Ticket To Ride” stand out.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Gayle Thompson
In July 1971, John Lennon was putting the finishing touches on a masterpiece that, according to Grunge, would become the most-covered song of the decade and an enduring anthem that would transcend borders, time, and generations.
OnJuly 4, Lennon traveled to the Record Plant in New York City to record the iconic string arrangements for "Imagine." Later that summer, he was famously filmed at his English estate, Tittenhurst Park, singing different versions of the song on his magnificent white piano.
Co-written with his wife, Yoko Ono, and drafted on a sheet of Hilton Hotel stationery, the track made its official debut later that year in October. Music fans immediately embraced the song for its soft, hypnotic melody and hopeful vision for a world without borders, religions, or material possessions.
Seen as an idealistic, universal anthem of peace, the track was a natural evolution of Lennon's earlier peace activism. Despite slight controversy caused by the opening line, "Imagine there's no heaven," the song became a cultural symbol of unity and one of Lennon's defining works. It also became the most successful single of his solo career.
Source: yahoo.com/DeAnna Janes
George Harrison is sitting in a vast soundstage at Twickenham Film Studios, explaining to Ringo Starr and film director Michael Lindsay-Hogg how a BBC2 sci-fi series called Out Of The Unknown, that he watched the previous evening, has inspired a new song. Harrison is sporting the same black fur coat he wears on the iconic rooftop concert and perched on his knee is John Lennon’s 1965 Epiphone Casino.
It’s mid-morning on Tuesday 7 January, 1969 and the next Beatle to arrive is Paul McCartney. “Good morning,” says the bearded bassman chirpily as he strides across the floor. “Do you wanna hear a song I wrote last night?” Harrison asks him. “It’s just a very short one, called I Me Mine”.
What follows is a beautifully plaintive and sparse rendition with Harrison’s voice sounding particularly pure. “Lovely” exclaims Lyndsey Hogg. McCartney, with hands in pockets, stands beside Harrison and stares down at his fingers on the fretboard, but says nothing. Then John Lennon arrives. Harrison, now standing, runs through the song again but speeds it up. “Run along son, see you later,” jokes Lennon. “We’re a rock and roll band you know”.
If one incident highlights the tortuous position that George Harrison found himself in as part of The Beatles then this is it. It’s just one of a number of incidents captured in Peter Jackson’s three-part 2021 documentary Get Back, in which Harrison employs impressive levels of tenacity and tact to push his own songs forward to Lennon and McCartney. Their songwriting partnership was a source of both inspiration and frustration for George. They are ostensibly the gatekeepers, two strong personalities locked into an even stronger autonomous partnership.
Source: musicradar.com/Neil Crossley
The Beatles broke new ground with practically every move that they made in the early 60s. They rewrote the rule book for what a rock group could and should do. As such, other bands had to try to raise their game just to keep up.
The 1964 album A Hard Day’s Night represented an impressive flex by the band. It was the first album where all the songs were written by the band, specifically John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
The Beatles entered 1964 having just enjoyed one of the finest years any British band had ever encountered. They turned it up a notch by visiting America for the first time in February 1964 while their song “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was charming US audiences. The world pretty much belonged to them from that point.
For their next trick, they decided to make their first motion picture. It was a field about which they knew very little. But they wisely aligned themselves with the right people to help guide them through the making of the film. And their natural charisma helped immensely once they found themselves on camera.
The film needed a new batch of songs from the group. Deadlines were tighter than usual, since the band was not only tasked with acting in the film but also with providing the soundtrack. John Lennon and Paul McCartney then decided to raise the difficulty level even higher.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
Dolly Parton has never been one to shy away from a challenge, and when the country icon set out to make her first rock album, she knew exactly which song had to feature the two surviving Beatles.
Parton's 2023 album, Rockstar, features a rendition of "Let It Be" with Paul McCartney on piano and vocals and Ringo Starr on drums, joined by Peter Frampton on guitar and Mick Fleetwood on percussion. The pairing marked one of the rare instances of the two Beatles teaming up outside their own solo projects, following their 2020 collaboration on Starr's "Here's to the Nights" and Starr's surprise appearance at the close of McCartney's 2019 tour.
Parton's admiration for the Beatles stretches back decades. In 1979, she recorded a bluegrass-flavored version of "Help!" on her album Great Balls of Fire, an early sign of the crossover appeal she would later fully embrace with Rockstar.
Getting McCartney and Starr on board for "Let It Be" required a simple, personal touch. Parton explained that she reached out to both musicians through a love note sent via their managers, letting them know what she was working on.
"I've always loved that song. I recorded the song without them, and then I thought, 'Wow. Wouldn't it be great if Paul McCartney would agree to play piano and sing on it?!' And then I thought, 'wouldn't it even be greater to have Ringo Starr — because that's the last of The Beatles — play on that track?" the country icon shared in 2023. Despite being the living legend she is, the "Jolene" hitmaker admitted she was "very humbled" when both Beatles responded with an eager "yes."
Source: country1037fm.com/Jennifer Eggleston
With a songwriting catalogue that features some of the most important music ever created, there's no doubt that John Lennon changed the world. His partnership with Paul McCartney throughout their tenure with The Beatles spawned some special, revolutionary, and oftentimes musically complex songs.
With tracks like "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Day in the Life," there's no shortage of musical experimentation across the band's catalog. In a new interview however, the legendary singer's son Sean Lennon spoke about the song that he finds "shockingly complex," and the story behind its composition. That song is "Because."
The story goes that Yoko Ono was playing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on the piano, and Lennon took notice and asked for her to write the chords down backwards. These chords became the basis for the chords in the song.
It's so interesting learning this and then listening to the two iconic songs next to each other. It's so obvious, I don't know how I didn't notice the similarities sooner. The song is a particularly interesting one in in The Beatles' discography as well, as it comes just before "The Long One," the nine song medley that completes "Abbey Road." As one of the last songs the band ever released, it occupies this interesting place as a statement that they're still innovating, still experimenting, and still pushing the envelope.
Source: aol.com/Rylan Fischer
The Beatles were always open about the artists who shaped them. But within that broad field of influence, there was a select few they spoke about in near-devotional terms – figures without whom they almost certainly would not have become the band that changed the world.
Like almost every forward-thinking musician of their generation, The Beatles were profoundly shaped by the American rock ‘n’ roll explosion of the late 1950s. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Gene Vincent all fed into what the Fab Four would become. But for John Lennon in particular, one American figure loomed larger than most: Little Richard.
Arguably the most pioneering performer of that era, Little Richard brought a wildness and physicality to rock ‘n’ roll that nobody else had quite managed – and it was a quality The Beatles would absorb and carry into their own music.
In The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography, Lennon recalls the moment he first heard ‘Long Tall Sally’ in 1956 – and how it immediately complicated his absolute devotion to Elvis.
“Elvis was bigger than religion in my life,” he said. “Then this boy at school said he’d got this record by somebody called Little Richard who was better than Elvis – we used to go to this boy’s house after school and listen to Elvis on 78s: we’d buy five ciggies loose and some chips and go along.”
The new record stopped him in his tracks. “When I heard it, it was so great I couldn’t speak.”
‘Long Tall Sally’ – frenetic, bluesy, barely contained – can be heard as a direct precursor to early Beatles classics like ‘Twist and Shout’. Hearing it for the first time, Lennon found himself torn in a way he had never expected. “You know how you are torn,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave Elvis, but this was so much better. We all looked at each other, but I didn’t want to say anything against Elvis, even in my mind. How could they both be happening in my life?”
Source: whynow.co.uk
A book signed by Sir Paul McCartney has sold for nearly £1,000 after being donated to a charity shop.
The copy of Paul McCartney In His Own Words, a collection of interviews with the Beatles star, was given to an Oxfam shop in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion.
The book, donated as part of a wider collection of 1970s memorabilia, sat in the shop for several months before its inscription was discovered by manager Joan Randle.
It was subsequently sold at auction with Bonhams, raising £950 for the charity.
PA Media The inside front cover of a book. The pages are cream and on the inside there is a signed note from Sir Paul McCartney. On the other side there is a black and white image of Sir Paul McCartney and the headline text Paul McCartney In His Own WordsPA Media
The copy of Paul McCartney In His Own Words was given to an Oxfam shop in Aberystwyth
Randle said: "The book had actually been sitting on a shelf for a few months alongside lots of other 1970s memorabilia. "I'd been planning to use some of the items in a fun window display, so it wasn't something we'd paid particular attention to at first."
She added that one afternoon she found herself "with a bit of spare time" and decided to work her way through the pile.
"It was one of the very last things I looked at. "When I opened the book and saw Paul McCartney's signature, I could hardly believe it... it was one of the best moments of my 10 years working in the shop."
The book is signed on the inside front cover in black ballpoint pen by Sir Paul, reading: "All the best! to ye!" Oxfam staff have so far been unable to trace the donor.
Source: bbc.com/Miriam BarkerRead More<<<
