Beatles News
George Harrison sits in the pantheon of the greatest guitarists of all time. Rolling Stone put him at No. 31 in a list of the 250 greatest guitarists thanks to his otherworldly talent.
His greatness was displayed on the Beatles’ 1969 hit Something, which Rolling Stone ranked as the No. 32 greatest guitar solo of all time.
“All it takes is 26 seconds of sweet, low-gain distortion — played by the guitar maestro himself, George Harrison, in tones more akin to a piano — to make one of the most dynamic and memorable solos of the Beatles canon. Complemented by swelling strings, Something is, well, something in its surprising simplicity,” Rolling Stone wrote.
While his guitar playing is the stuff of legend, Harrison finally found a songwriting win when he broke through with Something.Harrison was stuck behind two of the greatest pop songwriters in history who just so happened to be in the same band as him. But he finally broke through with Something.
Source: mensjournal.com/Andrew McCarty
“I thought for a long time there was no room for me in writing about the Beatles,” says British journalist and author Philip Norman. “So many millions of words have being written about the Beatles. How could there possibly be room for me?”
Yet the fates conspired to have Norman write not just one, but four Beatles-related tomes: Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation (1981), and biographies of John Lennon (2008), Paul McCartney (2016), and George Harrison (2023). Now, he’s onto his fifth book about the Fab Four, but has skipped over Ringo Starr (“Ringo would not be a book, really; a ‘booklet,’ I think, in Ringo’s case”). Instead, he tackles the life of the group’s ill-fated manager, Brian Epstein, in Mr. Moonlight: Brian Epstein and the Making of the Beatles.
Epstein’s story is as remarkable as those of the Beatles’ own band members. He was from a prosperous family, albeit in provincial Liverpool, running what was billed as “The finest record store in the North [of England]” when he fell under the Beatles’ spell. Then, through sheer determination and a sizeable dose of luck, he managed to get them a record contract, sending them on their way to worldwide fame.
Polite, soft-spoken, and immaculately groomed, Epstein stood in stark contrast to the stereotypical view of a brash, cigar-chewing rock band manager. But he was also a highly conflicted person; Jewish at a time when casual antisemitism was normalized, gay when it was illegal and brought risks of assault, blackmail, and a prison sentence. Epstein, Norman shows, coped with these mounting anxieties through an increasing, and ultimately fatal, use of alcohol and drugs.
Source: bookandfilmglobe.com/Gillian G. Gaar
Given how wildly popular The Beatles were, one would imagine they felt anything but isolated. How do you feel alone when the entire world knows your name, and you can’t walk down the street without being recognized? Many musicians have spoken about the perhaps ironic sense of isolation that fame brings. John Lennon put his two cents in on the matter with his solo track, “Isolation”.
This song was the manifestation of Lennon’s inner turmoil after being pitted against the rest of the world, alongside Yoko Ono, because of his broken image. Despite being beloved, Lennon wasn’t a saintly, pristine figure. He often ruffled feathers, leaving him with a unique legacy as both one of the most legendary musicians of all time and the source of public hatred. He bottled up that complex position in “Isolation”.
“I don’t expect you to understand / After you’ve caused so much pain / But then again, you’re not to blame / You’re just a human, a victim of the insane,” the lyrics to Lennon’s “Isolation” read. As with many of Lennon’s solo songs, this track takes a bit of dissecting to get to the bottom of. But, as many fans and Beatles historians have surmised, this song is about feeling broken down by public perception.
Lennon had several scandals, and his overall likability was called into question more than once. On top of the infamous “Jesus” comment, his protesting turned off many fans who weren’t quite as invested in the hippie movement. Moreover, his relationship with Ono was called into question. She was unjustly given the sole blame for breaking up The Beatles.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper
While he doesn't sit in the pantheon of greatest drummers of all time, Ringo Starr certainly isn't the worst drummer of all time - or the worst drummer of the Beatles, for that matter.
A long-held myth regarding the popular musician is that his bandmate John Lennon suggested he was, in fact, the worst drummer in the band's history.
"Ringo wasn’t the best drummer in the world … Let’s face it, he wasn’t even the best drummer in The Beatles," the quote goes. The truth is Lennon never said it and the quote was eventually attributed to comedian Jasper Carrott.
For all the flak Starr took, he also received some praise. Drumeo ranked his performance on Come Together as the second greatest drum song of all time.
"In this iconic beat, Ringo emphasizes John Lennon’s vocal “Shoot me…” with the bass drum, the bass line on the hi-hats, and finishes with a roll on the toms," wrote Drumeo.
"Ringo leads with the left hand, playing the kit backwards so it goes from floor tom to rack tom. He keeps time with a simple kick and floor tom pattern in the verses, but the feel is unbelievable – it’s not what is being played, but how Ringo is playing it."
It was also one of the few songs on Abbey Road that John Lennon actually liked, famously saying: “I liked the A-side. I never liked that sort of pop opera on the other side. I think it’s junk. It was just bits of song thrown together. And I can’t remember what some of it is.”
The track eventually reached the top of the charts in the United States and peaked at No. 4 in the United Kingdom.
Source: MSN/Andrew McCarty
The Beatles grabbed the world’s attention in a hurry in the 60s. They rose from anonymity in Liverpool to world domination in hardly more than a year’s time. You could certainly say they knew how to make a first impression.
They carried that skill over to their individual songs. Here are four tracks from throughout The Beatles’ career that immediately made us sit up and take notice thanks to unforgettable musical intros.
“A Hard Day’s Night”
Not only was the intro to “A Hard Day’s Night” tasked with introducing a song, but it also revved up both an album and a major motion picture. It’s no wonder that the band wanted it to be iconic. They certainly came through on that front. Most people who listen and then try to reproduce that initial chordal blast make the mistake of thinking that it’s just a guitar making that noise. There are actually a few different instruments at work there, some of them playing slightly different chordal patterns. In any case, that sound explosion acted like a starter’s pistol. It set the tone for a song that was all about how life sometimes won’t allow you to slow down.
“I Feel Fine”
The Beatles innately understood that they needed to change things up, if ever so slightly, with every single release. Sometimes, that meant incorporating a new instrument into the mix. Or it could mean finding a different method of bringing the sound in (a la the fade-up of “Eight Days A Week”). In the case of “I Feel Fine”, the novelty came from a happy accident that the band decided to then incorporate into the mix. Although the recollections somewhat differ among band members about how it exactly happened, the blast of feedback that started off “I Feel Fine” provided an instantly grabby opening to the song. From there, the ebullience of the singing and playing carried the day.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
The Beatles' 'Here Comes the Sun' Surpassed 1 Billion Streams Despite Not Being a Single.
The Beatles' most streamed song on Spotify, "Here Comes the Sun," has 1,843,025,190 streams, surpassing all their other hits, despite never being released as a single.
You might think that a band's most streamed songs on Spotify would also be their biggest hits...but that's actually not always the case. Take the Beatles, for example. Considering the iconic band had a whopping 20 tunes go all the way to #1 on the charts (and 34 Top 10 hits), it would make sense if the only Beatles song on Spotify to have over a billion streams would be among those chart-toppers. As it turns out, however, the Fab Four's most streamed song never even made a showing on the Billboard Hot 100.
George Harrison's Abbey Road (1969) masterpiece, "Here Comes the Sun," currently has 1,843,025,190 streams on Spotify, more than any other Beatles song; in second place is "Let It Be" with 957,259,543, while "Come Together" is in third place with 965,933,617. But while "Come Together" and "Let It Be" were both released as singles, from Abbey Road and Let It Be, respectively, "Here Comes the Sun" was not.
Source: YEntertainment/Jacqueline Burt Cote
As fans of The Beatles are aware, the beloved British group wasn't afraid to write about a plethora of topics, ranging from octopuses ("Octopus's Garden") to a fictitious band ("Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"). So it shouldn't be all that surprising that one of the songs off of 1968's White Album was based on singer and bassist Paul McCartney's dog, Martha.
During a 1968 interview with Radio Luxembourg, McCartney shared some insight into penning said tune, titled "Martha My Dear." He explained he didn't intend to write a song that focused on the Old English Sheepdog.
"You see, I just start singing some words with a tune, you know what I mean. I don't ever write a song thinking, 'Now I'll write a song about...' I do sometimes, but mainly I don't. Mainly I'm just doing a tune, and then some words come into my head, you know. And these happened to be 'Martha My Dear, though I spend my days in conversation.' It doesn't mean anything, you know, but those just happened to come to my head," said the famed musician, now 83.
He clarified that the song "is about [his] dog" and suggested that some listeners have thought otherwise.
"So you can read anything you like into it, but really it's just a song. It's me singing to my dog," said McCartney with a laugh in the 1968 interview.
Source: yahoo.com/Nicole Moore
While Ringo Starr is a familiar face to many as the drummer for The Beatles, not to mention his impressive solo music career, he also has some talented children who most people don't know much about. After getting married to his first wife, Maureen Cox, in 1965, the couple welcomed three children. First came sons Zak and Jason Starkey, with the couple's only daughter, Lee Starkey, born in 1970. Although she hasn't spent too much time in the public eye, based on what we've seen over the years, Lee has grown up to be a beautiful woman, looking like the perfect mix of her parents.
Despite having such a famous father, Lee has lived quite a private life. She occasionally attends events in support of Starr or stuff happening in the world of fashion and music in London, but isn't in the spotlight often. Even with so few photos of Lee, it's easy to see that she inherited her parents' good looks. Her intense eyes are just like her mother's, as is her rounder face shape. Meanwhile, her smile seems to be all Starr.
Lee wore her hair dark for most of her upbringing, taking on an edgier look that made her similarities to Starr and Cox more striking. At one point, she even experimented with pink hair. As an adult, Lee has taken to keeping her hair some shade of blond. Her brothers might basically be twins to Starr, but Lee looks more like a blend of their parents. In 2009, Lee also passed on her genes to her kids, Smokey, Jakamo, and Ruby (pictured above with Lee), who are three of eight grandchildren Starr has. Lee welcomed the triplets with ex-Kasabian and Beady Eye guitarist Jay Mehler.
Source: yahoo.com/Devon Forward
More than six decades after Beatlemania, Ringo Starr, 85, is still as busy as ever. One of the most beloved figures in rock music, the former Beatles drummer is still dazzling fans with his perfect rhythm and affable onstage personality. But Starr's recent tour stop in San Jose, California, left fans completely stunned by the icon's appearance.
"The dude looks 45," commented one fan on a social media post shared to TikTok of Starr's performance of the Beatles hit "I Wanna Be Your Man." Wearing white jeans and a star-themed jacket, with his hair long and his signature sunglasses in place, the famed drummer seems to defy his age with his timeless looks.
"He takes good care of himself," noted one commenter.
Another added, "No one ever told Ringo he was supposed to get old, and since it didn't occur to him naturally, he simply hasn't bothered."
Other fans attributed Starr's youthful energy and appearance to doing what he loves. Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band—including Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bissonette, and Buck Johnson—wrapped up an early summer tour in which they performed a mix of Beatles classics, solo hits, and songs from fellow band members' catalogs.
Source: yahoo.com/Meredith Gordon
John Lennon believed that the important nuances about that relationship were lost in the public discourse, as an interview from 1975 shows.
George Martin was instrumental in transforming The Beatles into the global pop phenomenon they are known as today. For example, Rolling Stone wrote in 2016 that it was Martin who convinced Paul McCartney to "grab an acoustic guitar and just sing" what would become "Yesterday", when the band didn't know how to materialize the song that came to McCartney in a dream. He also introduced a string quartet to the band, Rolling Stone added.
In an interview with BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test, John Lennon argued that neither The Beatles nor George Martin were solely responsible for the band's magic. Both parties had their fill of work and benefited from each other's input (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
"It's hard to describe the relationship. They either say 'Martin did everything,' or 'The Beatles did everything.' It was neither one. George had done little to no rock and roll when we met him, and we'd never been in the studio, so we did a lot of learning together."
"He had very great musical knowledge and a background, so he could translate for us and suggest a lot of things, which he did. He'd come up with amazing technical things like slowing down the piano and playing it slowly and putting it on and things like that, you know."
Source: Guitar World
