Beatles News
On a weekend when millions of Americans took to the streets to say no to “kings,” an intimate, star-studded crowd in Hollywood showed up in support of a “Sir.”
Stevie Nicks, Taylor Swift, Margot Robbie, Billie Eilish and Ringo Starr were among those who gathered to hear Paul McCartney play the second of two shows at the historic Fonda Theatre on Saturday night.
Playing a set heavy with Beatles and Wings classics, McCartney largely avoided politics aside from poking fun at President Donald Trump’s dance moves — a moment that earned the mention of the president’s name boos from the crowd, who had surrendered their phones before the show.
For those who scored highly coveted tickets to the show at the cozy 1,200-person capacity theater, the music was a much-needed escape and salve.
“I just feel like art and community and any sort of gathering around something that’s going to uplift us or bring us closer to each other in our city, that’s the antidote to troubled times,” Derek Heath, a 39-year-old graphic designer, told CNN before the show. “I think that inherently this experience fits within the world of fighting back against tyranny and fighting back against hate.”
Source: cnn.com/Alli Rosenbloom
Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood has said playing photographer Pattie Boyd in a Beatles biopic feels “quite intimidating”.
The actress, also known for playing Chelsea in the third series of The White Lotus, will portray George Harrison’s former wife in the upcoming films from Sir Sam Mendes, about the lives and careers of the Fab Four.
Filming has already begun with Wood yet to have her anticipated first “proper day” on set.
Speaking about taking on the role, Wood told The Standard: “With this one, everyone knows these people so it’s very different, and it’s quite intimidating.
“I’ve gone and done my fittings with my blonde hair and my blue eyes. I’m really stepping into a different person.
“We look like them… so it’s kind of trippy.” The 32-year old admitted the preparation for the role will be different from how she usually takes on characters and will require a level of “discipline”.
She added: “I can sometimes be like, ‘let’s just see how it goes, and throw paint at the wall and see’, which is great for certain things, but I actually can’t do that with Pattie.
“I am going to have to really prep, and I am going to have to really be detailed about that, because she is someone who is so recognisable, and obviously not do an impression.
Source: standard.co.uk/Lauren Del Fabbro
The Beatles left an impact on pop culture at large that long outlasted their actual time playing together. And it wasn’t just the fans who felt it. Other musicians couldn’t help but go back to the Fab Four for inspiration. In some cases, these artists even slyly referenced the group in their songs without technically mentioning them. Here are three songs where The Beatles low-key pop up within the lyrics.
The Monkees had to deal with Beatles comparisons more than any other artist. After all, they were molded by their creators in the image of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Hence, their nickname of the “Prefab Four.” You might think that would have bred some resentment in them towards the Liverpudlians. In actuality, they got along just fine with The Beatles by all accounts. In fact, Mickey Dolenz recounted a meeting with the group on the song “Randy Scouse Git”, the closing track on the Monkees’ 1967 album Headquarters. The song actually feels like what you would expect from a Beatles’ album cut, a little bit silly and somewhat experimental. In the lyrics, Dolenz mentions that “The four kings of EMI are sitting stately on the floor.” He apparently had attended a party with the group, one that, by the tone of the song, took on a psychedelic tenor. Even though Dolenz never mentions the title in the song, it bothered the censors in Great Britain. That’s why, in England, it was released as “Alternate Title”.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
Paul McCartney is back with his first new album since the end of 2020, and a new single that honors late former bandmate John Lennon.
The Beatles icon and former Wings frontman, 84, announced Thursday that on May 29 he’ll release “The Boys of Dungeon Lane,” which a press release dubs his “most introspective album to date.”
“The album title, comes from a lyric in the track ‘Days We Left Behind,’” he said of the single and an excerpt of its music video, released along with the news. “I was thinking just that, about the days I left behind and I do often wonder if I’m just writing about the past but then I think how can you write about anything else?”
“The Boys of Dungeon Lane” offers “rare and revealing glimpses into memories never-before shared along with some newly inspired love songs,” according to the press release.
The 19-time Grammy winner and 83-time nominee described the track as being “very much a memory song for me,” weaving in “a lot of memories of Liverpool,” including a “bit in the middle about John and … the street I used to live in.”
Source: themercury.com/New York Daily News
Lou Gramm is proud of his songwriting as a solo performer. His 1987 solo hit "Midnight Blue" was a major success; it hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. And this year, he offers fans more great songwriting, with a solo album aptly titled Released. But it’s hard to top his work in Foreigner. Being the primary lyricist for Foreigner, his songwriter collaborations with guitarist Mick Jones produced classic rock staples like "Cold as Ice," "Hot Blooded," "Juke Box Hero" and "Urgent."
And as a lyricist, Lou Gramm cites The Beatles as the guiding light to writing catchy yet meaningful lyrics. In fact, there was one Beatles album that set him on his path as a songwriter. “I like Rubber Soul a lot for the melodies,” Gramm says simply, “and the way the lyrics fit the rhythm of the song.”
And it was a particular moment that ignited the flame in him. "It hit me seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show," says the singer, "when I was 10 or 11 years old. Hearing those awesome songs just slightly over the screaming crowd and thinking about, I wonder how that would be? Although the screaming made it very exciting, the songs themselves were the part that I loved."
One of Gramm's favorite memories is meeting one of The Beatles, too, namely John Lennon. He tells his story about how he came to meet Lennon.
Source: goldminemag.com
Has there ever been a rock record more lush than The Beatles’ 1967 LP Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band? Putting the work on your vinyl record player feels as much like walking into a jungle of sound as it does listening to a recorded bit of music.
Combing through an album like that can be one of the most fun things to do, but whittling it down to its top three songs—now that’s a difficult task. But it’s one we here at American Songwriter took on! These are the three best songs from The Beatles’ 1967 LP Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
“With A Little Help From My Friends” (Track 2, 2:42)
Just about every album from The Beatles includes a song where drummer Ringo Starr sings. It provides an almost cartoonish respite as you meander through the modern art museum that is the rest of the album. But to pigeon hole Starr as some silly performer is way too shallow. He is your avatar in the band. To think you might have John Lennon’s, Paul McCartney’s, or George Harrison’s talent is absurd. But Ringo? He is you. So, be kind.
“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” (Track 3, 3:28)
Only The Beatles can follow “With A Little Help From My Friends” sung by Ringo Starr with “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”. One of the most neighborly classic rock songs ever followed by one of the most psychedelic and transcendent? That’s a winning combination, it turns out. But would other bands have the courage? Well, The Beatles did and that’s why they are who they are.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jacob Uitti
Sometimes a single side-by-side comparison can say more than a full timeline. That’s exactly what happened when two photos of John Lennon taken just one year apart started circulating online.
In a post on Reddit, fans pointed out how dramatically his appearance changed between 1966 and 1967—sparking a wider conversation about how quickly things were evolving during that era. A Visual Shift That Feels Bigger Than One Year
At first glance, the difference between the two photos is striking. In one, Lennon appears polished and aligned with the clean-cut image associated with early Beatlemania. In the other, the look is noticeably more relaxed and experimental.
While it’s technically just a one-year gap, the contrast feels much larger. It captures a moment when not just his style, but the entire direction of the band, was beginning to shift.That’s what makes the comparison feel so significant.
Source: aol.com/Vinyl & Velvet
Love triangles go along with Rock 'N' Roll. There have been many tangled romances throughout music history, and they often fuel emotions that create classic songs. But one famous love triangle was named the "messiest musician love triangle that rocked the music world."
According to Ranker, the #1 spot belongs to the love triangle among music legends Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Pattie Boyd. "George Harrison, like the other members of the Beatles, was no stranger to romantic drama, much of which centered on his wife, Pattie Boyd, and his good friend and collaborator, Eric Clapton," Ranker wrote. The good news is that the twisted love story produced at least three iconic songs.
But what exactly went down? Pattie Boyd Met George Harrison on a Film Shoot & He Proposed to Her Immediately.
People described Boyd as "the iconic fashion model whose style and beauty helped define an era." According to the magazine, she was married to both Harrison and Clapton; Harrison wrote "Something" with her in mind, and Clapton wrote both Layla and Wonderful Tonight about Boyd.
She told her side in a book of photos. According to People, she met Beatle Harrison on a film set, and he proposed to her just moments after their first meeting. She had a boyfriend, but they soon broke up, and she started dating Harrison, a relationship that would last a decade. They married in 1966.
Clapton wrote Layla about Boyd when she was still married to Harrison, according to Christie's.
"So I went up to the flat and he put on a cassette, and it was Layla," Boyd told Christie's, which auctioned off some of her letters and photos. "It was inspired by a 12th-century Persian tale called The Story of Layla and Majnun about a young poet whose unrequited love turns him mad, and it was so passionate and full of love and raw emotion. I was taken aback by its beauty — but at the same time I felt guilt."
Source: yahoo.com/Jessica McBride
The Beatles released a lot of music over the course of their career, and there’s no doubt some songs are better than others. So, which Beatles songs are the best?
Of course, the answer to that is subjective, but Collider has some thoughts, and it just came out with its choices for the 10 most “perfect” Beatles tunes, noting songs were chosen based on “songwriting, musical construction, overall influence, and the song's impact on the band's musical evolution.”
Topping the list is the 1968 classic "Hey Jude," which Paul McCartney wrote for Julian Lennon after John Lennon left his first wife, Cynthia Lennon.
"Whether it's tears of triumph or pain, 'Hey Jude" is a song meant to make you feel something," the mag writes. "It's what music is all about, after all."
Coming in at #2 is 1969’s "Come Together," followed by 1970’s "Let It Be" at #3, 1968’s "Blackbird" at #4 and 1964’s "A Hard Day’s Night" at #5.
Rounding out the top 10 are: "In My Life," "All You Need Is Love," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Yesterday" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand."
Source: yahoo.com/Jill Lances
The Beatles’ songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney worked in several different ways. In the early days, they did indeed write some songs together in a room, line by line. Later, one would often bring a song more or less complete. The other then suggested changes.
On a few occasions, the two men were working on separate songs. And they combined these separate creations into a magnificent whole. Here are three hybrids delivered by Lennon and McCartney for The Beatles. “A Day In The Life”
Many people consider “A Day In The Life” to be the pinnacle of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership and the finest Beatles song ever. That such an achievement came from two unique songs sort of crammed together is a marvel in itself. John Lennon created the ethereal main part, based in part on his struggles to find much meaning in anything that daily life could offer him. Needing something to connect the sections of Lennon’s song, Paul McCartney suggested a number with a jumpy rhythm that he was concocting. McCartney’s lyrics touched on the hassles of the typical morning routine. Give credit to George Martin for helping the two songs not only seamlessly transition one into another but also eventually meld into a unified whole in the final verse. The crazy orchestral flourish somehow captured everything the lyrics were trying to express.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
