Beatles News
In the 1960s, The Beatles were enjoying No. 1 hits like candy. And on this day in 1967, they scored yet another No. 1 in the United States with a psychedelic pop jam. On this very day, March 18, 1967, The Beatles scored a hefty hit with “Penny Lane”. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on this day. It remained at the top for one week. “Penny Lane” would remain on the chart in some fashion for 10 weeks.
The song was released as a double A-side with “Strawberry Fields Forever”. That song ended up being a bit less popular in the United States than “Penny Lane”. “Strawberry Fields Forever” peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100.
The Origins of “Penny Lane”
“Penny Lane” was written by Paul McCartney. The tune makes some pretty direct references to where he and bandmates George Harrison and John Lennon grew up in Liverpool. The lane in question was a real place, a street in Liverpool that McCartney traversed often in his youth, as did two of his bandmates. “Penny Lane” is the most stark reference to the street. Though, Lennon had previously written the song “In My Life” with an original lyric that referenced the street.
Much of Lennon and McCartney’s songwriting partnership can be linked back to bus rides taken via Penny Lane throughout Liverpool. McCartney confirmed that notion himself.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Em Casalena
On the 10th of April 1970, Paul McCartney announced what had, by then, been falsely reported so many times as to seem almost impossible—The Beatles, the biggest band to ever do it, were finished.
Within a week, McCartney had released his first solo record. Before the year was out, all three of his former bandmates had done the same. And as of today, the solo Beatles have collectively produced around 85 albums, depending how you count.
That’s a lot to wade through for anyone keen on venturing beyond the band’s tight 12-studio-album discography. But wade we must, and there is so much to learn in our wading. These records are charged with parting barbs and so variously excellent and awful and bewildering. They contain not just a huge quantity of interesting and enjoyable music, but a path toward an understanding of what it was that made the band work as it did. Who was good at what? Who needed what from whom, whose instincts were balanced by whose, and what kinds of adventures might result from the removal of the structures of the band?
If you would like to know the answers to those questions and don’t want to listen through 82 albums to get them, you’re in luck. We’ve done it for you, and then we’ve distilled the discog down to a delightfully diverse dodecahedron of records. And then we’ve ranked them. Sometimes you really are this lucky.
10. Ringo Starr, Ringo (1973)
Source: gq.com/Killian Faith-Kelly
Paul McCartney is putting on sale two performances in an intimate setting at Hollywood’s Fonda Theater for March 26-27. The appearances at the 1,200-capacity venue are his first shows since wrapping up an arena tour in November.
The concerts could just be one-offs, or a two-off, but the announcement does raise intrigue among McCartney fans that he may have something else up his sleeve, like an album reveal… although history does show that the man also just likes to play.
Registration for ticket offers began at 9 a.m. PT Tuesday morning. The link is through an AXS site here. At the webpage referenced, further information shows that registration will continue through 10 p.m. PT Wednesday night, with no preference given in how early or late anyone registers through the length of that window. Fans are allowed to register for both dates, and only one registration per show will be accepted. The limit is two tickets per customer and, of course, “registering does not guarantee ability to purchase.” “Selected” fans will be sent an invitation to purchase tickets, at an unspecified time.
Source: variety.com/Chris Willman
Thirty years ago, The Beatles expanded their historical archive with Anthology 2, a collection that revealed rare studio recordings, outtakes and live material from the most experimental years of The Beatles.
When The Beatles released “Anthology 2” on 18 March 1996, the album served as a remarkable continuation of the band’s ambitious archival project, offering a deeper look into one of the most transformative periods in the group’s career. Arriving as the second chapter in the multi-volume “Anthology” series, the release brought together rare recordings, alternate takes and live performances spanning sessions from the 1965 “Help!” era through to the creative build-up before the band’s 1968 trip to India.
Issued by Apple Records, “Anthology 2” followed the commercial success of “Anthology 1”, which had reignited global fascination with the band’s history only months earlier. Like its predecessor, the collection debuted at No.1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, underlining the enduring commercial power of the band decades after their break-up. The album would eventually earn multi-platinum certification in the United States and chart strongly around the world.
At the heart of the project was “Real Love”, the opening track and one of the most historically significant recordings in the Beatles catalogue. Built from a demo originally recorded by John Lennon in 1980 at his New York apartment, the track was completed fifteen years later when Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr reunited to add new instrumentation and backing vocals.
Source: noise11.com/Paul Cashmere
A BEATLES drumhead used on their first US TV appearance has become one of the band’s most expensive pieces of memorabilia.
Drummer Ringo Starr used the bit of kit on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 as the Fab Four propelled themselves to global superstardom. A Beatles drumhead played by Ringo Starr on their first US TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, above, has sold as one of the band’s priciest memorabilia.
It is also the most expensive item belonging to Sir Ringo to ever be flogged. Earlier in the auction, another drum kit used by the 85-year-old between 1963 and 1964 sold for £1,804,700. Other Beatles items to be sold during the auction include a Broadwood upright piano used by John Lennon when he wrote Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.
It was estimated to fetch around £450,000, but instead sold for £2,448,968.
Source: the-sun.com/Thomas Godfrey
When it comes to naming children, some parents flip through baby books, consult family trees, and scroll through lists of the trendiest names of the year. There's tradition and trends, and then there's giving your child a piece of rock 'n' roll history mere seconds after they’re born.
The Beatles not only wrote hits that remain playlist staples decades after they were recorded, but also gave fans a handful of potential baby names that stand out from the crowd. From the dreamy "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" to the introspective "Eleanor Rigby," these titles offer a fine-tuned selection of ideas and give each name a backstory. Why keep them in your head when they can be immortalized on a birth certificate?
Whether you want your child to be named after a song that's classic, poetic, or a bit unconventional, there's a Beatles-inspired name just waiting to make your kid the coolest in the classroom.
Let’s explore 11 iconic Fab Four tracks you can name your children after.
"Lovely Rita"
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"
"Eleanor Rigby"
"Hey Jude"
"Michelle"
"Doctor Robert"
"Julia"
"Martha My Dear"
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer"
"Sexy Sadie"
"Polythene Pam"
"Lovely Rita"
Source: mentalfloss.com/Logan DeLoye
Fresh reflections on The Beatles' final 1966 U.S. tour highlight the chaos that shifted them from stage icons to studio revolutionaries, amid ongoing tribute events in 2026.
The Beatles' legacy continues to resonate in 2026, with recent discussions spotlighting their tumultuous final tour in 1966 that effectively ended their days as a live performing act. This pivotal moment, marked by controversies from John Lennon's comments to dangerous encounters abroad, redirected the band's focus to groundbreaking studio work. Fans and historians alike are revisiting these events as tribute shows and special events keep the Fab Four's spirit alive today.
In March 2026, The Beatles remain a cultural force, with online conversations reigniting interest in their history. A prominent article details the 'infamous' 1966 tour that spelled the end of their live performances, drawing parallels to how rare it is today for major acts to abandon the stage entirely. This reflection coincides with upcoming tribute events, signaling sustained global fascination more than five decades after their breakup.
Source: ad-hoc-news.de
No one is as acutely aware of how fame can create wild, true rumors about someone quite like a fellow rock star. Yet, even these iconic musicians sometimes buy into the myths and rumors about their contemporaries. John Lennon and Frank Zappa certainly had plenty of preconceptions about the other, all of which they (mostly) disproved during their first fateful meeting in a hotel apartment in 1971.
Lennon met Zappa by tagging along with Village Voice columnist and broadcaster Howard Smith, who previously told the ex-Beatle he was interviewing Zappa later that day. The “Imagine” singer told Smith how much he revered Zappa, saying, “He’s at least trying to do something different with the form,” per Barry Miles’ Zappa: A Biography.
“I’m very impressed by the kind of discipline he can bring to rock that nobody else can seem to bring to it,” Lennon told Smith. However, not even Zappa’s impressive rock ‘n’ roll discipline was enough to dispel some of the rumors Lennon believed about him.
John Lennon and Frank Zappa Proved Each Other Wrong Simultaneously
In Barry Miles’ biography of Frank Zappa, he described the Mothers of Invention bandleader as “absolutely deadpan” when he opened his hotel-apartment door and saw John Lennon standing in the hallway with Howard Smith. Speaking of the experience with Smith on his radio show later that day, Lennon said, “I don’t know why I should have believed it because I should know better, having had all that guff written about me.”
Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis
Paul McCartneyneeds no introduction—but he deserves one anyway.
Born in Liverpool in 1942, McCartney went from a working-class kid who traded his father's trumpet for a guitar to one half of the most successful songwriting partnership in music history. (No big deal or anything.) As a founding member of The Beatles, he helped reshape popular music, culture and an entire generation. But here's the thing about Paul McCartney—his story didn't end when The Beatles broke up in 1970. In fact, you could say that's when he really got started!
The "Live and Let Die" singer formed Wings, launched his solo career, won 19 Grammys, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II—and that's not all. At the tender age of 72, he scored a top-five hit with Rihannaand Kanye Weston "FourFiveSeconds" and broke the record for the longest gap between Billboard top-ten singles in history—29 years, if you're curious!
In November 2025, he closed out his Got Back tour—playing nearly three-hour shows to sold-out stadiums at 83 years old. He's lost bandmates, buried the love of his life and weathered one of the most public breakups in music history. And through it all, he's never stopped creating, never stopped performing and never stopped believing that the best is yet to come. If that's not the definition of an eternal optimist, I don't know what is—and that's why Paul McCartney is today's quote of the day.
Source: yahoo.com/Colleen Broomall
There are a handful of Beatles tunes that feature one or some of the band’s members. “Within You Without You” is one such song that features only one Beatle: George Harrison. Released on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967, this song doesn’t feature the other three members of The Beatles. But it does feature some noteworthy session talent. And they all gathered at Abbey Road Studios on this day, March 15, to record this underrated classic.
“Within You Without You” was written by George Harrison, at the time a rare contribution from the guitarist. Traditionally, members Paul McCartney and John Lennon were the main songwriters of the group. And it was clear that the band had been sleeping on Harrison’s talents.
“Within You Without You” was Harrison’s second composition that was in the Indian classical style. It was something that he had become inspired by following a 1966 stay in India to learn sitar from Ravi Shankar. The song was recorded at EMI’s Abbey Road Studio 2 in London without the other Beatles. But Harrison didn’t record it alone.
You’ll hear quite a bit of talent on this psychedelic raga rock classic. Harrison takes on the lead vocals, swarmandal (an Indian harp), sitar, tambura (a lute-like instrument), and acoustic guitar.
Anna Joshi and Amrit Gajjar play the dilruba (an Indian bowed instrument) and Buddhadev Kansara and Neil Aspinall (a childhood friend of Harrison who would later head Apple Corps.) play the tambura. Natwar Soni can be heard on the tabla (Indian hand drums) as well. The session musicians just keep coming, including Reginald Kilbey, Allen Ford, and Peter Beavan on cello. A number of violinists also contributed to the track, including Jack Greene, Jack Rothstein, Ralph Elman, David Wolfsthal, Julien Gaillard, Paul Scherman, Erich Gruenberg , and Alan Loveday.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Em Casalena
