Beatles News
Paul McCartney explained how a classic Beatles song came about as he lifted the lid on how Ringo Starr introduced the band to new music. Ringo hosted a concert special on American channel CBS on Monday (March 10) to celebrate his country album 'Look Up', which was released in January.
The show saw Ringo play a number of Beatles classics, including 'With a Little Help From My Friends' and 'Yellow Submarine' as well as new songs from the album. He was joined on stage by a number of stars, such as Sheryl Crow and Jack White.
It also featured a video message from Paul, who spoke about Ringo's long-standing love of country music and the song 'Act Naturally' by Buck Owens, which Ringo sang when The Beatles covered in 1965. 'Act Naturally' follows a narrator who wants to make it big in Hollywood as an actor, which Paul likened to Ringo in the film 'A Hard Day's Night'.
The Walton-born 82-year-old said: "Ringo was the first guy in The Beatles to turn us onto country music. We were very much into rock and roll but he was heavy into country.
"So, he had a lot of records we didn’t have and he was a big admirer of some of the country stars of the time. So of whom we’d never heard of, I must admit. He goes way back into country music, so it was natural for him when we first recorded for his track to be a cover of the Buck Owens song ‘Act Naturally’."
Source: uk.news.yahoo.com/Dan Haygarth
In the later years of his career, John Lennon stopped wearing rose-tinted glasses when it came to the Beatles' songs — in particular, his own.
He continued to hold a warm spot for some of the group's' earliest tunes, like "All My Loving," and for a number of those from their later era, including "Strawberry Fields Forever," "In My Life" and "Hey Jude."
But he viewed many others with a critic's unsparing eye. His most withering condemnations were saved for songs that were stamped out in cookie-cutter form or peeled off as nonsensical filler. "It's Only Love" is an example of the former, a Help! track he called “abysmal”, while the latter includes Abbey Road's "Mean Mr. Mustard," a bit of light-hearted fluff he denounced as “a piece of garbage.”
And then there's the song Lennon called his “least favorite.” It appeared on the group's 1965 album Rubber Soul, which may seem odd, given that record's status as the group's first conceptual work, in which every song received its own well-considered musical arrangement.
Source: guitarplayer.com/Phil Weller
A set of Beatles autographs from a 1963 concert in Hull could earn up to £1,500 at auction.
The Fab Four's signatures were collected by Scunthorpe teenager Jeff Scarr, who attended their gig at the old ABC Cinema on 24 November 1963. The then 16-year-old went to the stage door and spotted the band taking a break between performances.
After handing his autograph book to a roadie, it was given back to him signed by John, Paul, George and Ringo. More than 60 years later, Mr Scarr described the concert as "absolutely crazy".
"As soon as The Beatles came on stage everybody stood up and then what seemed like thousands of girls started screaming," he said.
"They never stopped. I did not hear a single song The Beatles sang. It was complete madness." The autograph book lay forgotten in a drawer until Mr Scarr's wife read an article on Beatles memorabilia.
The Beatles performed in Hull as part of their November 1963 tour. Auctioneer Paul Potter said the page with the band's signatures had been removed from the book and would be sold as a separate lot in the auction in Scunthorpe on Thursday.
Source: bbc.com
Paul McCartney may be a much-loved figure in British music, but the family favourite also has a raunchy side. After all, when The Beatles were playing tiny clubs in Hamburg it was Macca who took the mic for those Little Richard numbers, shrieking to his heart’s delight.
So when the mid 60s brought a tit-for-tit war of distortion between top tier British groups, there was only ever going to be one winner. Reading an interview with The Who’s Pete Townshend about the band’s single ‘I Can See For Miles’, Paul McCartney’s eyes were drawn to a quote saying the 45 was their loudest and most extreme record yet – so he decided to top it.
Entering Abbey Road once more, he began sketching out ideas for ‘Helter Skelter’ – arguably one of the first true rock or metal records, it was born out of friendly competition.
Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com
After The Beatles broke up, John Lennon and Paul McCartney's relationship disintegrated completely.
The years-long pop battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar concluded with something of a TKO when the latter performed the massive diss track 'Not Like Us' at the Super Bowl in 2025.
But the warring rappers are far from the first friends and collaborators whose relationship devolved into a back-and-forth of insult in songs.
Paul McCartney opens up about his last ever conversation with John Lennon. When John Lennon and Paul McCartney reconciled and nearly reformed The Beatles.
Over half a century earlier, John Lennon and Paul McCartney exchanged a series of barbs at one another in their music.
And while Drake and Kendrick were pally before things went south, that was nothing like the closeness of Lennon and McCartney, who met as teenagers on July 6, 1957 and formed what became arguably the greatest songwriting partnership in history.
Even before The Beatles broke up, things had turned sour between John and Paul, and after the split was made official, things went public. Below we look at each of the diss tracks in
Source: goldradio.com/Mayer Nissim
Decades after their split, The Beatles’ classic compilations remain U.K. favorites as 1967-1970 ... [+] returns to the charts, joining 1962-1966 on key rankings. Portrait of British pop group The Beatles (L-R) Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943 - 2001), Ringo Starr and John Lennon (1940 - 1980) at the BBC Television Studios in London before the start of their world tour, June 17, 1966.
The Beatles remain one of the most successful and beloved bands in history, and that will likely always be the case. Decades after breaking up, the band’s music is still finding new life on the charts – a statement which may also ring true for the rest of time.
This week, one of the group’s most popular compilations returns to a pair of rankings in the U.K. as listeners across the country continue to revisit the band’s biggest hits. As 1967-1970 makes a notable comeback, it joins its longtime companion, 1962-1966, on the lists.
Source: forbes.com/Hugh McIntyre
John Lennon’s death in 1980 absolutely shook the world. Not only was it the passing of one of the world’s finest musicians, but it was also the death of an activist, a spokesperson, and the voice of a generation. That being so, the masses mourned his loss, and musicians did the same, both through song and ceremony.
Some musicians who paid homage to their fallen friends went the extra mile by writing and releasing a full-fledged single. As a matter of fact, several of these singles found quite a bit of success. Sadly, the context that supported that success was incredibly melancholic. With all that in mind, here are three songs that pay homage to the generational voice, John Lennon.
“Roll on John” by Bob Dylan
Released by Bob Dylan in 2013, his single “Roll On John” is a lengthy tribute featured on his album, House of The Risin’ Sun. Dylan’s single is a total of seven minutes long and poetically captures the cradle to crib story of John Lennon.
By name-dropping Liverpool, The Beatles’ former name, The Quarry Men, and other facts personal to John Lennon, Dylan truly tries to define the undefinable figure in his lines. Even if he doesn’t accomplish this task, it still shows that he was thinking about his musical contemporary for quite some time after his death.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Peter Burditt
Elvis Presley had a mixed relationship with The Beatles. The Fab Four were heavily influenced by the King of Rock and Roll during their 1950s upbringing. And by the time the five men finally met 60 years ago this August, The King saw them as his rivals whose music careers were in a much better place than his own. By 1970, he was telling President Nixon that the Beatles were “un-American” due to their association with hippy drug culture. And yet Elvis would end up covering a number of their hits live during his residency years from Yesterday to Hey Jude.
Daily Express spoke exclusively with the King’s step-brother David Stanley, who we interviewed on that very Las Vegas stage where the star performed every show. During our conversation, the Memphis Mafia confidant and bodyguard shared that, of all the Beatles, Elvis “loved George Harrison.” Davis shared: “He thought George was the most prolific writer. He really liked his writing.” He then listed off Elvis’ four favourite Beatles songs all penned by the Quiet Beatle.
This is the only Beatles song on the list Elvis regularly covered live, including at his 1973 concert movie Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite. Penned by Harrison for the Abbey Road album, the track is believed to be a love song to his first wife Pattie Boyd.
Source: express.co.uk/George Simpson
The Beatles are one of the most iconic bands of all time, but not every song that Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote was a classic - and they admitted some were just 'work'.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a number of hits for The Beatles, but not every song turned out so well.
After retiring from touring in 1966, the band could devote more time to honing their albums in the studio, but their early years were a whirlwind. Their record label, Parlophone, was eager to capitalize on their skyrocketing popularity by releasing a steady stream of music.
As a result, Paul and John weren't always happy with every track they wrote. Paul admitted that some songs were simply churned out just for work and ended up as "filler on albums," some of which he can't even remember much of.
Speaking about their 1963 track Hold Me Tight, he confessed, "I can't remember much about that one. Certain songs were just 'work' songs, you haven't got much memory of them. That's one of them."
Source: themirror.com/Dan Haygarth
Instead of taking pictures with fans, Paul McCartney has confirmed he does something far nicer.
The Beatles and Wings legend confirmed he rarely poses for photos with people who may bump into him on the street, instead preferring a chat and a handshake. Part of McCartney’s reasoning behind the lack of photos is that his adaptation to being one of the most famous musicians in the world needs some distance between fans and his private life. McCartney also confirmed he does not do autographs either, finding the experience a “bit strange”. In an interview with Reader’s Digest, McCartney confirmed his distaste for selfies with fans.
He said: “What you’ve usually got is a ropey photo with a poor backdrop and me looking a bit miserable. Let’s chat, let’s exchange stories.” McCartney went on to explain his distaste for photos in a separate interview, where the legendary songwriter said being “recognised” was still a weird experience.
Source: cultfollowing.co.uk/Ewan Gleadow
