Beatles News
It’s been almost 44 years since The Beatles star John Lennon was killed at just 40. A couple of years later after processing his grief, Paul McCartney wrote a tribute song to his late friend called Here Today.
Reflecting on the track in the podcast McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, the 81-year-old recalled comforting Lennon in his moments of anxiety.
Macca confessed: “I remember him saying to me, ‘Paul, I worry about how people are going to remember me when I die’ and it kind of shocked me, I said ‘Okay hold on, just hold it right there.
“People are going to think you were great, you’ve already done enough work to demonstrate that.’ I was like his priest. Often I’d have to say ‘My son, you’re great, don’t worry about it,’ and he would take it. It would make him feel better.”
McCartney also spoke of bonding with Lennon over the loss of their mothers at an early age.
He said: “John’s persona was very guarded. Hopelessly guarded, that was where all his wit came from. Like so many comedians, it’s to shield themselves against the world. And John having had this very difficult upbringing, where his father leaves home, then his uncle dies, then his mother gets killed, by the time I knew him he could be very sarcastic. But we all could. It was my way of dealing with my mother’s death, and his too.”
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
John Lennon‘s “Give Peace a Chance” isn’t the sort of song that’s ripe for a dance remix. That didn’t stop DJ Dan from releasing a dance version of the track. Yoko Ono said DJ Dan’s “Give Peace a Chance” would have made John burst out laughing.
John Lennon’s ‘Give Peace a Chance’ inspired a remix that barely used the lyrics
During a 2016 interview with Medium, Yoko was asked how the “Imagine” singer would have reacted to DJ Dan’s remix of “Give Peace a Chance.” “Oh, he would have had a good, good laugh,” she replied. “John had an incredible sense of humor, and we did these things not with incredible seriousness. Tongue in cheek, you know.” DJ Dan’s “Give Peace a Chance” is a bunch of bleeps and bloops interspersed with a few lyrics from the original song.
In the same interview, Yoko was asked if she still thought there was new musical ground to break. “Of course!” she replied. “You know, we’re breaking new ground every day. That’s how the world is. And you know, anything that comes out is better coming out, because the other side of this is the war industry — and you don’t want that to be active. We have to be active ourselves. The peace industry.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
One Direction captured the hearts of millions worldwide with their infectious melodies, undeniable charisma, and relatable lyrics. As one of the most iconic boy bands of the 21st century, their discography boasts a treasure trove of hits that have stood the test of time. In this article, we delve into the realm of nostalgia and musical excellence to curate a list of the Top 10 Best One Direction Songs of All Time. From their early days on “The X Factor” to their chart-topping success as a group, each song on this list represents a momentous chapter in the band’s illustrious career, resonating with fans across generations.
1. What Makes You Beautiful
2. Story of My Life
3. Best Song Ever
4. Drag Me Down
5. Perfect
6. Live While We’re Young
7. One Thing
8. Steal My Girl
9. Kiss You
10. Midnight Memories
Source: Samuel Moore/singersroom.com
Mobile recording studios are a cornerstone of the recording industry, but few have the style— or inspiring mission—of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. For more than a quarter century, the nonprofit Lennon Bus has circled the U.S. and Canada, making stops at high schools and colleges to help students create music. The experience isn’t a simple feelgood photo-op either; it’s an exciting eight-hour day where visitors come aboard to write, perform and produce an original song and music video from scratch.
Students come away from the experience not only with content, but also new skills. “It’s not just for people who are self-described musicians or creators,” says Brian Rothschild, who co-founded the Bus with Yoko Ono Lennon. “It’s increasingly a way to show young people tools that they can use to demonstrate their knowledge and communicate about almost any kind of topic. It’s been made possible over the years by a collection of great sponsors, and we go to a lot of underserved communities, taking the finest tools that the industry has to offer out to places where maybe they don’t get to see and experience that. It’s meant to inspire.”
Source: Clive Young/Mixonline
On March 23, 1964, John Lennon’s first book, In His Own Write, was published in the U.K. The 78-page volume featured 31 nonsensical and absurd short stories and poems, as well as an introduction by Lennon’s Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney.
Besides his obvious passion for music, Lennon was an avid reader and art lover growing up. As a child and teen, he began to channel his creativity into making cartoon doodles and writing poems and short stories that displayed his skewed, absurd sense of humor and knack for clever wordplay.
With The Beatles’ star on the rise, Lennon showed some of his writing and drawings to journalist Michael Braun, who in turn showed them to the head of U.K. publishing company Jonathan Cape, Tom Maschler. Impressed by Lennon’s works, Maschler agreed to publish them in a book.
On the evening of In His Own Write’s publication, an interview with Lennon about the book aired on the BBC television show Tonight. In addition, several excerpts from the book were read by some of the show’s presenters.
The book received mostly favorable reviews and was a huge commercial success, with its first edition run of 25,000 copies selling out in one day. In His Own Write eventually sold 300,000 copies in the U.K. The book also was a bestseller in the U.S., where it was published on April 27, 1964.
Source: Matt Friedlander/americansongwriter.com
Paul McCartney is likely a familiar face on “favorite songwriters” lists everywhere. But, McCartney has a list of his own. Find three of the former Beatle’s favorite songwriters below.
1. Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan and the Beatles are intrinsically linked. Each member of the Fab Four has expressed their love for The Bard and they often ran in the same circles. Naturally, McCartney cites Dylan as one of his favorite songwriters to date.
“I always like what he does,” McCartney once explained. “Sometimes I wish I was a bit more like Bob. He’s legendary… and doesn’t give a shit! I love his singing – he came through the standards albums like a total crooner. But, yeah, I like his new stuff.”
2. Stevie Wonder
McCartney and Stevie Wonder have collaborated a couple of times. Moreover, McCartney has cited Wonder as one of his favorite songwriters. Macca dubbed Wonder with a descriptor we’re sure he’s received a fair few times: “Genius.”
“Stevie came along to the studio in LA and he listened to the track for about ten minutes and he totally got it,” McCartney once said of Wonder on the song “Only Our Hearts.” “He just went to the mic and within 20 minutes had nailed this dynamite solo. When you listen you just think, ‘How do you come up with that?’ But it’s just because he is a genius, that’s why.”
Source: Alex Hopper/americansongwriter.com
Paul McCartney’s handwritten, work-in-progress manuscript for the cheeky Beatles song “Lovely Rita” will be on view and up for grabs for US$650,000 next month at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan.
McCartney’s rough draft of the song, which John Lennon was also credited for, is from the much-acclaimed 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It’s among the treasures for sale at the ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair from April 1-4.
Torn from a spiral notebook, the 7½-by-5-inch lined page with lyrics and edits, “is a cool piece of ephemera,” says Alex Hime, director of Biblioctopus, the Los Angeles-based rare books dealer presenting the item for sale.
“It represents the most important category of popular culture in the second half of the 20th century,” he says, “which is pop music.”
“Lovely Rita” depicts a humorous encounter with a traffic warden. The rough draft reveals the inner workings of an ace songwriter’s mind. “From this working manuscript you get to see the process,” Hime says.
On the page, seven lines in black are McCartney’s first concept, according to Biblioctopus. Three lines of changes are in blue. The lyric “writing all the numbers in her little black book” led to “filling in a ticket with her little blue pen.” More changes followed. The recorded lyric is “filling in a ticket in her little white book.”
McCartney’s rare rough draft has been archivally framed and parked in storage at Biblioctopus since the 1990s, when the dealer bought it at an auction “at Butterfields before they joined with Bonhams,” Hime says. The price then was around US$20,000.
Source: Joe Dziemianowicz/barrons.com
What Janet DiGangi recalls most vividly about the day the Beatles came to town is eating cake and ice-cream with furious impatience. It was 12 September 1964, and DiGangi was 12, living in Boston, Massachusetts, the oldest of seven siblings. The Beatles were about to play Boston Garden but the family couldn’t leave until they’d celebrated her brother Peter’s second birthday with candles and presents.
“I was furious, because I didn’t want to be late,” recalls DiGangi, now 72. She had saved up all her babysitting money to buy the band’s second US album, Meet the Beatles! “I was so excited.” Thankfully, DiGangi made it to the show on time. It was “electric”, and sent fans wild. “It was just an explosion of screaming and hysteria,” she says.
Like many Americans who watched the Beatles arrive in the US – either on 9 February 1964 on their first Ed Sullivan Show, or those who caught their North American tour later that year – the experience for DiGangi fostered a lifelong love and fascination with the band from Liverpool. As she grew up from a schoolgirl to an adolescent to a young woman, she tagged along as the band’s sound developed, from the boys next door of A Hard Day’s Night to the mop-haired artists of Revolver to the mature and creatively fractious White Album.
Source: Jem Bartholomew/theguardian.com
The online auction of a trove of letters, photos and other items that Pattie Boyd, who was at the heart of the Swinging 60s, concluded Friday – and it’s safe to say that it surpassed all expectations.
Christie’s, the world-renowned auction house, said its online sale of The Pattie Boyd Collection sold for around $3.6 million, or more than seven times the pre-sale high estimate of around 380,000 pounds.
The collection, which went on public display at Christie’s London headquarters last Friday, provided a glimpse into the heart of the 1960s and 70s counterculture.
The 111 lots up for sale included affectionate letters from both her iconic rock icon husbands George Harrison and Eric Clapton, alongside clothing, jewelry, drawings and photographs – some of Boyd, and some by her.
“I am completely blown away by the enthusiasm of international bidders for these special treasures that I have always loved,” Boyd said. “I am so happy that new hearts will now enjoy them, as they enter into their next ‘chapters.’ I am lucky that my life today continues to bring me joy and different adventures – I would encourage people to follow their passions and live their lives with gusto!”
Boyd, 80, is famous as a musicians’ muse, inspiration for The Beatles’ song “Something,” composed for her by Harrison, as well as for Clapton’s scorching “Layla” and sweet “Wonderful Tonight.”
Source: pressherald.com
In 1963, John Lennon cracked jokes onstage when The Beatles performed in the Royal Variety Performance. The band nervously took the stage and played for their large, wealthy audience. According to Lennon, they received multiple other requests to play the same show over the years. He shared why they turned all of them down.
John Lennon said The Beatles often turned down requests to play for the royal family
After several years of working together, The Beatles’ popularity took off in 1963. Their fanbase was growing exponentially and, soon, they were performing for the Queen Mother.
“The fame really started from when we played the Palladium,” Paul McCartney said in The Beatles Anthology. “Then we were asked to do the Royal Command Performance and we met the Queen Mother, and she was clapping.”
The Beatles and the Queen Mother | George Freston/Fox Photos/Getty Images
Lennon said that in the years after their performance,...
Source: imdb.com
