Beatles News
Many Beatles fans through the years have made a hobby out of picking apart the Fab Four’s lyrics to find some hidden message or meanings. That was commonplace when the band was still together. In fact, John Lennon even wrote “I Am The Walrus” to mess with listeners who were assigning way too much meaning to their songs. Still, The Beatles recorded many songs with hidden meanings that flew over the heads of many listeners back in the day. Let’s look at a few Beatles tunes with fascinating, deeper meanings that you might have missed.
“Got To Get You Into My Life”
Fans go back and forth on how drug-influenced or drug-referential certain songs from The Beatles are. “Got To Get You Into My Life” is one song that has been confirmed by Paul McCartney to be about p*t.
“[We] were on tour, so we were all together in the hotel suite,” said McCartney of the inspiration for the song. “We were having a drink, and then Bob [Dylan] arrived and disappeared into a backroom. Then Ringo went back to see him and after a couple of minutes Ringo came back into the suite looking a little dazed and confused. And we said, ‘What’s up?’ and he said, ‘Oh Bob’s smoking pot back there’, and we said, ‘Oh, well what’s it like?’ and Ringo said, ‘the ceiling feels like it’s coming down a bit.’”
“Run For Your Life”
If you danced to this tune without listening to the lyrics, you’re not alone. In retrospect, a lot of people don’t love this Beatles song, including John Lennon himself. Despite writing it, Lennon condemned the song shortly after it was released on Rubber Soul. Lennon is on record saying he “never liked” the tune. I can see why. The lyrics of this song are quite creepy, sung from the perspective of a man who threatens to kill his woman should she ever cheat on him. There’s no defending lyrics like “I’d rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man”.
It’s worth noting that some listeners believe “Run For Your Life” was allegedly Lennon’s attempt to condemn the darkness of domestic violence through irony. That has never been confirmed. And even if that were true, that irony was lost on listeners and radio DJs alike. The latter refused to play it on many radio stations.
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
Paul McCartney mourned Rob Reiner and wife Michele’s deaths in an emotional Instagram post. McCartney praised Reiner’s work and recalled fond memories from filming 'Spinal Tap II.' 'Spinal Tap II' scene with McCartney was inspired by a real-life musical encounter.
Like many, Paul McCartney was shocked and saddened by the tragic news of the death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.
McCartney shared his grief in an Instagram post on Dec. 15 with a photo of him and the famed director on the set of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which featured a cameo by the former Beatle.
“What a tragedy the death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, is. It is so shocking in many ways but for me especially so, because over the last year I had been working with him. He directed me in ‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’. He was such an upbeat, lovable man,” McCartney wrote.
“Life can be so unfair and this tragedy proves it. His father, Carl Reiner, was a great humourist before him and Rob followed in his dad’s footsteps doing a terrific job making many great films. I will always have fond memories of Rob and the idea that he and his wife will no longer be in the world with us is heartbreaking,” he added.
“Thanks for all the humour, Rob. Rest in Peace. Love Paul,” he signed off.
McCartney’s fans shared their memories of Reiner in the comments of his post.
“He was an amazing director and a good actor!! When harry met sally and spinal tap are two of my favourite films… such a terrible, tragic and sad sad end to their lives. 💔,” one wrote.
“So sad I join you in your loving words,” added another.
“So senseless! I’m so sad this happened. And for what? Praying for all our broken hearts. 💔,” another fan wrote.
In Spinal Tap II, McCartney visits the dysfunctional aging rockers in the studio as they’re preparing their comeback and final show and catches the ire of Michael McKean’s David St. Hubbins for agreeing with Christopher Guest’s Nigel Tufnel about a chord change. The scene was inspired by real life, Reiner revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“We try to figure out what the idea is before we ask,” he explained. “In other words, we wouldn’t just ask people to do it just for the sake of it. Paul McCartney comes out of a very real thing that happened with him. The guys were rehearsing at this facility out in the Valley here in L.A. It was a big rehearsal facility. They had a number of bands, and the guys were rehearsing for a tour. They were about to go on, and Paul McCartney was in another studio rehearsing for his tour, and at one point, he just dropped in on them. He came in and said, ‘Hey fellas, sing us a song.’ And they wound up singing the worst version of ‘Start Me Up’ that ever lived. But the point is, we took that from reality. That’s something that actually happened.”
In the film, McCartney and Spinal Tap revive the band’s classic “Cups and Cakes,” originally featured in This Is Spinal Tap.
Source: Craig Rosen/Parade.com
Two legendary albums recorded in the same year using the same musicians, but released by completely different artists... Such an abundance of musical riches could have happened only in the early 1970s, before rock became corporate and was still in a state of communal bliss.
We are talking, of course, about George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and Derek and the Dominos’ Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs. The two albums were created simultaneously, with the latter’s recording sessions taking place while Harrison was in the final stages of completing his first post-Beatles’ solo work.
It’s well known that Derek and the Dominos grew out of Harrison's backing band for All Things Must Pass. The Dominos — Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon — were among the many musicians who played on Harrison’s triple-LP magnum opus. Having just completed work on Clapton’s self-titled solo album that March, they joined the former Beatle in May to begin work on what turned out to be a three-album set, comprising two albums of new songs and a bonus disc of studio jams, dubbed Apple Jam.
On August 23, as work continued on Harrison’s album, Clapton, Whitlock, Radle and Gordon flew to Miami to begin work on their own debut, with Tom Dowd producing. But as Whitlock explained in an interview for the 40th anniversary edition of Layla, they had next to nothing to record.
“We didn’t have enough songs for one album, let alone a double,” Whitlock recalled.
Eric Clapton (right, playing a Martin acoustic guitar) and Bobby Whitlock (left) of Derek and The Dominos, backstage before the band's live debut at the Lyceum Theatre, London, 14th June 1970.
Eric Clapton plays a Martin acoustic while talking with Bobby Whitlock backstage before Derek and the Dominos' live debut, at the Lyceum Theatre, London, June 14, 1970. (Image credit: Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)
He and Clapton had written some songs together the previous spring, before they worked on Harrison’s album. As Whitlock recalled, they had three originals: “I Looked Away,” “Anyway” and “Tell the Truth.”
But Whitlock had an idea that he managed to sell to Clapton. Throughout the recording of All Things Must Pass, producer Phil Spector kept the tape running. As a result, he captured many of the extended jams that took place between songs and during rehearsals. A selection of those were presented — including two from a June 18 session that marked the official formation Derek and the Dominos — on the Apple Jam bonus disc.
Source: Elizabeth Swann/guitarplayer.com
There are so many films out there that are about or inspired by The Beatles. Not all of them are top-notch productions, but the following three are definitely worth a watch, in my opinion. Let’s take a look! If you’re a diehard Fab Four fan, you’ve probably seen at least a couple of these films.
‘Across The Universe’ (2007)
While some may not love it, I think Across The Universe is one of the finest films to utilize The Beatles’ music. They could have turned this into a cheesy reimagining of The Beatles’ lives as bandmates. But, instead, they looked into the lives of completely different people during the same era The Beatles were around, without including anything about The Beatles other than their music. It’s quite creative, undeniably psychedelic, and a poignant look at the real-life era of war and cultural tide-changing that occurred with the Fab Four as the musical backdrop.
‘Nowhere Boy’ (2009)
I rarely ever hear about this film nowadays, and that’s absolutely insane to me. Nowhere Boy is definitely one of the best films about The Beatles, specifically the early years of one of the band’s most iconic members, John Lennon. Even marginal fans know that Lennon had a troubled childhood, but the way this film handled his early life is painfully honest and nuanced. That’s probably because it is based on a book that Lennon’s half-sister, Julia Baird, wrote about him. Aaron Taylor-Johnson might look nothing like Lennon (in my opinion), but his performance was absolutely amazing in this film. I strongly recommend watching it if you get the chance. The soundtrack is killer, too.
‘Two Of Us’ (2000)
This film was new to me until recently. And I have to say, I was impressed by Two Of Us. It’s essentially one of those Beatles films that focuses on “what ifs” and timeline changes that fans wish could have occurred. Specifically, this film is a fictionalized dramatization of what could have happened after Lorne Michaels offered The Beatles a measly $3,000 to get back together and perform on Saturday Night Live in 1976. That specific event actually happened, but in reality, The Beatles didn’t go for it, though John Lennon apparently wanted to. In Two Of Us, the timeline changes, and we see what Lennon and McCartney might have discussed after Michaels’ invitation.
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
At 92, Yoko Ono is finally finding an unlikely wave of support from Beatles fans who once blamed her for splitting up the band, with many now pointing to her lifelong pain over her abducted daughter as the reason they finally understand – and forgive – her.
OK! can reveal the renewed empathy follows the release of the HBO Max documentary One to One: John & Yoko, which revisits the 1971 abduction of Ono's daughter, Kyoko, now 61, by her former husband Anthony Cox and the decades-long search that consumed Ono and John Lennon over the "lost" girl.
The film, anchored around Lennon's 1972 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, also reveals the emotional toll Kyoko's absence took on Ono's art, her public persona and – according to newly vocal Beatles fans – her treatment in pop history.
Much of the surge in sympathy stems from viewers who say the documentary reframes Ono's grief.
One longtime Beatles enthusiast said: "I think people underestimated just how much weight Yoko she was carrying. You can now see the pain of a mother who lost her child, and suddenly the jokes about her breaking up the band feel cruel. The revelations about Yoko's pain as a mom has changed the way many fans regard her role in the group's fractious final years."
Another fan added on a forum: "I grew up hearing Yoko ruined The Beatles, but the documentary makes clear she was living through something unimaginable. Her art, her intensity – it all makes sense when you see what was happening behind the scenes. Fans are now right to rally around Yoko and reassess her, as her personal loss puts the old accusations she 'broke up The Beatles' into a totally different light."
Harrowing documentary One to One sheds light on the painful abduction of Ono's daughter by the girl's father and the years the performer and Lennon spent trying to track her down. It reveals how the tumultuous and costly saga haunted Lennon and Ono for decades, chronicling Ono's relentless pursuit to reunite with her daughter, Kyoko, whom her first husband, Cox, abducted in 1971, resulting in a staggering $2 million spent on chasing the little girl down.
In a poignant reflection from a 2003 interview, Ono expressed the deep pain of loss, stating: "Losing my daughter was a very serious pain. There was always some empty space in my heart."
Ono married Cox in the summer of 1963 and welcomed Kyoko into the world just two months later. As she navigated the delicate balance of motherhood and her artistic endeavors, the couple's relationship evolved into a creative partnership.
Source: okmagazine.com/Aaron Tinney
For as much as karma can work in mysterious ways, it can also be glaringly obvious, which seemed to be the case for Paul McCartney when he had to field “awful” jokes about his wife, Linda McCartney, joining Wings. The band was McCartney’s first ensemble endeavor post-Beatles, the latter of which was famously overshadowed by a passive-aggressive feud between Yoko Ono and every member of the Fab Four besides John Lennon.
The theory that McCartney was looking directly at Ono while he sang “Get Back” in the studio (specifically, “Get back to where you once belonged”) was a manifestation of this divide. Years later, McCartney discussed this contentious time in Beatles history during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show. “Those were very paranoid times, you know,” the ex-Beatle said.
“And let’s face it, we didn’t welcome Yoko in the studio. I thought it was a guy thing. Even the guys’ wives and the girlfriends and stuff weren’t really welcome in the studio. Control room for a quick visit. But actually sit in the studio with us? It was like, ‘Uh, no. Excuse me? We’re working.’”
Not long after the infamous “Get Back” sessions, McCartney found himself in a somewhat similar situation. Except this time, he was the one fielding passive-aggressive remarks about his life partner.
Paul McCartney Later Learned to Empathize With John Lennon
During his interview with Howard Stern, Paul McCartney said that one of the most jarring things about Yoko Ono joining The Beatles in the studio was seeing her sitting on their amps instead of a stool—a sort of physical manifestation of the overcrowding they already felt internally. But, he added, “Later on, we suddenly sort of thought, ‘You know what? John’s in love with this girl. If he wants to bring her in the studio, we’ve got to cope with that.’ And you know, I now feel that he had the right to do that.”
In contrast, McCartney said he wished Lennon had approached the band before bringing Ono into the studio. But in hindsight, he didn’t actually have to—it would have just been a polite courtesy. Moreover, McCartney came to appreciate the creative guidance Ono offered Lennon, both as his second wife, mother to his second child, and his artistic muse.
We’d imagine that experiencing similar treatment with his own wife, Linda McCartney, helped refocus Paul’s perspective on the matter.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
Many Beatles fans through the years have made a hobby out of picking apart the Fab Four’s lyrics to find some hidden message or meanings. That was commonplace when the band was still together. In fact, John Lennon even wrote “I Am The Walrus” to mess with listeners who were assigning way too much meaning to their songs. Still, The Beatles recorded many songs with hidden meanings that flew over the heads of many listeners back in the day. Let’s look at a few Beatles tunes with fascinating, deeper meanings that you might have missed.
“Got To Get You Into My Life”
Fans go back and forth on how drug-influenced or drug-referential certain songs from The Beatles are. “Got To Get You Into My Life” is one song that has been confirmed by Paul McCartney to be about p*t.
“[We] were on tour, so we were all together in the hotel suite,” said McCartney of the inspiration for the song. “We were having a drink, and then Bob [Dylan] arrived and disappeared into a backroom. Then Ringo went back to see him and after a couple of minutes Ringo came back into the suite looking a little dazed and confused. And we said, ‘What’s up?’ and he said, ‘Oh Bob’s smoking pot back there’, and we said, ‘Oh, well what’s it like?’ and Ringo said, ‘the ceiling feels like it’s coming down a bit.’”
“Run For Your Life”
If you danced to this tune without listening to the lyrics, you’re not alone. In retrospect, a lot of people don’t love this Beatles song, including John Lennon himself. Despite writing it, Lennon condemned the song shortly after it was released on Rubber Soul. Lennon is on record saying he “never liked” the tune. I can see why. The lyrics of this song are quite creepy, sung from the perspective of a man who threatens to kill his woman should she ever cheat on him. There’s no defending lyrics like “I’d rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man”.
Source:Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
Ringo Starr’s most notable endeavor post-Beatles is his creation and career with his band, Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band. Founded in 1989 and still going strong to this day, Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band always includes Ringo, of course, as well as some of the finest rock ‘n’ roll musicians of all time. Minus the core members, Gregg Bissonette, Steve Lukather, and Colin Hay, a few of the musicians who have been a part of the group include Joe Walsh, Billy Preston, Levon Helm, Jeff Lynne, Todd Rundgren, and many more. One musician who had an invitation to join the band but never did was Starr’s old pal and bandmate, George Harrison.
Following the breakup of The Beatles, George Harrison went on to have an incredibly successful solo career. Arguably, the best solo career of a Beatle. Prior to his passing, George Harrison scored three No. 1 hits, two No. 1 albums, and several Top 10 songs and albums. Needless to say, Harrison was a hot commodity, and that is seemingly why he never joined Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band.
George Harrison Jokingly Stated That He Was Too Expensive
Per the list we just gave you, Ringo Starr didn’t toss invitations out willy-nilly. He chose the best of the best, and consequently, his band was not only great, but also a celebration of the sound and culture of the peak days of rock ‘n’ roll. Nevertheless, one high-caliber talent Ringo Starr could never book was his buddy, George Harrison.
Source: Peter Burditt/americansongwriter.com
Before George Harrison's death at 58, the Beatles’ lead guitarist delivered one final hit that carried deep personal meaning. In 2001, Harrison recorded the only song he's ever developed with his son, Dhani Harrison.
In his music career, Harrison had previously written a song in honor of his song after his birth in 1978. The song "Unknown Delight" was released on his 1982 album Gone Troppo. It took almost 20 years before Harrison could record a song with his son, and it unknowingly became his last.
The song "Horse to the Water" was recorded by Harrison on guitar and on lead vocals, while his son also played guitar. Instead of the song being released as their own, it became part of the 2001 album Small World, Big Band. It was performed by Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and Friends.
According to American Songwriter, Harrison and his son's parts were sent out to Holland in London, where his band finished the rest. All the while, Harrison sang the track while battling throat cancer.
"Horse in the Water" was recorded in early October 2001, with Harrison having died almost two months later on November 29, 2001. The song was later released shortly after his death in December.
In May of that year, Harrison had undergone surgery to remove a cancerous growth from one of his lungs, and in July underwent treatment for a brain tumor. The month of his death, he was in New York getting radiotherapy for non–small cell lung cancer that had spread to his brain.
The Beatles' guitarist died on a property belonging to Paul McCartney and was in the company of his wife, son, his daughter Olivia, and close family and friends present, including musician Ravi Shankar.
Fans have long seen the song as Harrison’s lighthearted reflection on his continued smoking habits, despite their risks and his cancer diagnosis. True to his wit, he listed the copyright under "R.I.P Music Ltd." instead of "Harrisongs."
Source: Gabriela Silva/yahoo.com
Liverpool's most notable quartet has no shortage of famous admirers. The English music industry would be unrecognizable without The Beatles, the band that helped lay the foundations for modern music. Whether it's the penmanship of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, paired with the musical sensibilities of George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the group pushed the limits of pop-rock, psychedelia, and even Indian music across their seven key albums. Although generations of musicians would embrace the band's spirit of innovation, a certain early fan took one of their songs for a spin. In fact, this song by The Beatles achieved even greater fame thanks to the reinterpretation of this fellow English singer. The Beatles Wrote It but Joe Cocker Turned It into a Bluesy Masterpiece
One notable fan of Sgt. Pepper's is none other than rocker Joe Cocker — specifically the track "With a Little Help from My Friends." A year after Sgt. Pepper's release, Cocker recorded the song for his debut album of the same name. The cover is unlike anything performed by The Beatles, which originally features drummer Starr on the vocals and was written as a light, peppy pop-rock tune with a simple 4/4 time signature. Cocker went the opposite direction, re-arranging the song into a slower, fuzzy guitar-soaked piece with a complex waltz-like 6/8 meter, lush orchestration, and a gospel-like choir. Joe Cocker Electrified Woodstock 1969 with "With a Little Help from My Friends"
Cocker's debut album caught the attention of the US charts, peaking at number 35 on the Billboard 200. However, it was his 1969 Woodstock performance of "With a Little Help from My Friends" that won the hearts of his American audiences. The hotbed of the hippie movement, Woodstock served as a critical turning point for rising musicians of that era, including Jimi Hendrix, Santana, and Cocker himself. Despite his album doing fairly well in the States, Cocker was considered a newcomer to the land.
Surrounded by press, The Beatles wave at fans as they arrive in New York City in 1964.
McCartney has sharp ears for talent, and he ensures they receive their due recognition. In early 2025, he issued a February 25-dated letter via his publicist, Bob Merlis, showing his full support for the late Cocker's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which took place on November 8 that year. This wasn't the first time McCartney voiced his support for fellow artists deserving of acknowledgment. In 2024, he urged the Hall of Fame to induct Foreigner. In the letter, he specifically pointed out Cocker's cover of his song.
Source: Dyah Ayu Larasati/collider.com
