Beatles News
The Beatles' "Don't Pass Me By" is one of two Fab Four songs Ringo Starr is credited with writing himself. "Don't Pass Me By" set Ringo on a country-fried path.
The Beatles‘ “Don’t Pass Me By” is one of only two Fab Four songs Ringo Starr is credited with writing himself. The second one is a lot more famous. Regardless, “Don’t Pass Me By” set Ringo on a country-fried path.
Only two Beatles songs have Ringo as their sole credited writer: “Don’t Pass Me By” from The White Album and “Octopus’s Garden” from Abbey Road. During a 2008 interview with Goldmine, Ringo discussed the former. “Well, ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ was the first song I’d written that we recorded,” he said. “I’d written other songs, but they were always other people’s song; I just rewrote the words. I used to say that I was rewriting Jerry Lee Lewis B-sides.
“It was just a thrill,” he added. “I remember writing it at the piano at this home in England that we were living in at the time. Then for me and ’til this day, it’s still magic when I write a song and get together with other musicians, and we record it, and it turns into the track.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
In a new podcast McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, Sir Paul McCartney talks about his most famous songs with the poet Paul Muldoon. The podcast is aimed at “dissecting the people, experiences, and art that inspired McCartney’s songwriting.” A recent episode explored the meaning of the lyrics of the title song of the Beatles’ last album, “Let it Be.”
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
The song arose in times of trouble. War raged in Vietnam, riots rocked the Chicago Democratic convention, and students protested all over the world. Rev. Martin Luther King, as well as presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, both died by the bullets of assassins. It was a time of trouble for McCartney personally, as the Beatles were fighting over finances and heading for their breakup at the end of what he called “the crazy sixties.”
Source: Dr. Christopher Kaczor/wordonfire.org
A ROLLS-ROYCE "invention" made by Beatles legend Ringo Starr has hit auction for a bargain price - but don't expect to drive it.
Ringo recycled two original Rolls-Royce radiators to make a stylish wood and metal table. He was inspired to design the table after passing a car showroom near his home in Highgate, north London. Appearing on Blue Peter to discuss the table in 1971, Ringo said that it had been tricky finding authentic Rolls-Royce radiators for the table.
Rolls-Royce would only sell radiator parts to customers with a chassis number - which Ringo did not have. Ringo ended up buying the radiators from a dodgy dealer - who delivered them on foot in a plain bag and would not say where he got them.
The table was produced by Ringo or Robin Ltd, a firm founded by the Beatles star and his craftsman friend Robin Cruickshank. The company's office was on the top floor of the Beatles' Apple Corps HQ on Savile Row.
Cruickshank also designed much of the furniture for Ringo's house in Highgate, north London. The table is 168cm long, 66cm high and 60cm high, with its middle section made from Amboyna wood.
Source: Harry Goodwin/thesun.ie
The Beatles' Ringo Starr covered a sentimental song after the Fab Four's breakup. Quincy Jones had some negative things to say about Ringo's cover.
The Beatles’ Ringo Starr covered sentimental songs after the Fab Four’s breakup. On his solo debut record. he recorded a quaint 1950s hit that he liked as a child. Quincy Jones had some negative things to say about Ringo’s cover.
During a 2015 interview with Goldmine, Ringo was asked if he wore out any of his records as a child. “You know, as a kid, I didn’t really wear out any records,” he recalled. “I did buy The Four Aces’ ‘Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing.’ I mean, that’s a memory I have of early days.” Ringo covered “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” for his debut solo album, Sentimental Journey. The record features covers of many pre-rock ‘n’ roll musical standards.
However, Ringo wasn’t only interested in the musical stylings of The Four Aces. “But then when rock ‘n’ roll came in, I’d play records by Little Richard,” he added. “But I had country music as well, people like Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, and Kitty West was my heroine.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles are back inside the highest tier on the Hot 100 this week with their “last” single “Now and Then.” The tune opens at No. 7 on the ranking of the most-consumed songs in the nation. As the Fab Four arrives once again, they break a number of records, including one held by perhaps the most famous piano star of all time.
As “Now and Then” debuts inside the top 10 on the Hot 100, it extends The Beatles’ time between their first win and their latest on the chart. According to Billboard, the band now claims the longest span between a debut top 10 and the last to hit the uppermost region on the tally.
The Beatles first reached the top 10 on the Hot 100 back in January of 1964. The band’s “I Want to Hold Your Hand” reached the competitive region, eventually climbing to the No. 1 spot. With their brand new smash, the band’s span of top 10 wins is now more than 59 years long.
Before “Now and Then” hit the top 10, Elton John claimed this bit of history. His span was more than 51 years long. John reached the top 10 on the Hot 100 for the first time in January 1971 with “Your Song.” He returned to the arena many times, most recently alongside Britney Spears on “Hold Me Closer.” That tune, which also helped Spears find her way back to the top tier, reached the region in September 2022.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
“Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans” — the new biography of the Fab Four’s roadie and personal assistant in their innermost circle — was titled “Living the Beatles Legend, Or: 200 Miles to Go” when it was Evans’ own manuscript, the publishing of which was tabled after his untimely death in 1976.
And the tale behind that is just one of many magical mysteries unraveled in the book.
“The story comes from January 1963,” “Living the Beatles Legend” author Kenneth Womack told The Post. “‛Please Please Me’ was about to be their first No. 1 single [in the UK]. This is do or die time. You gotta get down to London, be on all big shows. You know, it’s now or never.”
And when his fellow Beatles roadie Neil Aspinall got the flu, it was up to Evans to literally take them on the road from Liverpool to London during a snowstorm in the midst of the UK’s historic Big Freeze.
“So England was essentially cut off by ice, and Mal drove them down — and Liverpool is 200 miles from London,” said Womack. “On the way back, the windshield cracked and basically exploded. Mal knocked out all the pieces of it, as snow and cold air is flying into the van.
Source: Chuck Arnold/nypost.com
Edward Veale (left) was in the studio with Phil Spector (centre) and Yoko Ono (right) as they recorded Imagine
In 1969, The Beatles were preparing for their rooftop concert in London when John Lennon asked an engineer if it was possible to build him a home studio.
Edward Veale, from Hertfordshire, was a regular at the Saville Row studios as the band recorded songs such as Get Back and Let it Be.
Often he would be called from his offices down the road to make repairs to The Beatles' basement studio.
Mr Veale would build studios for three Beatles, but Lennon's was the first.
As the Beatles return to the top of the UK singles chart for the first time since 1969 with Now and Then, Mr Veale has been remembering his connections with Liverpool's favourite sons.
"They were still together at that time, but John was clearly thinking about other things," said the engineer who would often fix monitors and other problems for the group as they recorded what would be their final studio album to be released.
Source: By Danny Fullbrook/bbc.com
Paul McCartney, the legendary musician and co-founder of Meat-Free Monday, has a special surprise in store for his fans. McCartney recently announced a unique opportunity for one lucky fan and a friend to join him on the final show of his Got Back Tour in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Fans from around the world are likely eagerly awaiting the chance to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. But this is no ordinary giveaway—it is a fundraising initiative to support Meat-Free Monday, a cause close to McCartney’s heart.
“I’m heading back on tour with a very special announcement just for you,” McCartney says on the campaign page. “I’m adding one fan and a friend to my VIP guest list on the final show of my Got Back Tour in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. I’ll set you up with VIP tickets, access to the soundcheck, and to the meet-and-greet. It’s going to be great.”
Source: Nicole Axworthy/vegnews.com
The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" includes some of Ringo Starr's most inventive drumming. The singer explained what he was thinking when he made his contribution to the track.
The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” includes some of Ringo Starr‘s most inventive drumming. The “Back Off Boogaloo” singer explained what he was thinking when he made his contribution to the track. Interestingly, “Strawberry Fields Forever” was a bigger hit in the United Kingdom than it was in the United States. While the tune became famous, Ringo said fame was not the motivating factor for the Fab Four.
During a 2015 interview with Goldmine, Ringo was asked about the drum pattern at the end of “Strawberry Fields Forever.” “You know, what you’re talking about just happens,” he said. “There was no plan for that. I can play basic patterns and the freedom is the fills.
“To move it to where you can put it in a different space as a drummer, especially with The Beatles, only came at the end because the songs were so set up that there was two verses, a chorus, a verse, a middle eight and a chorus and something like that,” he added. “Then at the end we’d all be allowed to blow our tops, which we did. And we still did that under three minutes.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
Giles Martin, the co-producer of the Beatles’ new song Now And Then, has shed some light on George Harrison’s lack of love for the track when they recorded it in the ’90s.
Touted as the fab four’s “last”, Now And Then features sonic contributions from all four Beatles: George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The song arrived earlier this month and is part of the newly remastered The Beatles 1962-66 (aka The Red Album) released last week along with The Beatles 1967-1970 (aka The Blue Album).
In addition to the cleaned-up audio sourced from a John Lennon demo tape dating back to the late 1970s, the song features guitar contributions from the late Harrison, who made no secret of his dislike of the song.
Asked if there were concerns about Harrison’s wishes being posthumously overruled with the release of Now and Then, Martin told MOJO magazine: “No, because of course this wouldn’t happen without [George’s widow] Olivia and [son] Dhani’s approval.”
“It wasn’t that George didn’t like the track,” the producer explains.
“It was that they’d done the other two and the quality [of the Now And Then demo] was so bad, I wouldn’t be surprised if George wanted to get back to his garden in all honesty.”
Source: musictech.com
