Beatles News
On This Day George Harrison Met the Quarrymen. February 6, 1958, is often credited with being the day George Harrison first saw the Quarrymen perform. Fronted by John Lennon, Paul McCartney had also joined the band at this point and seeing the performance left an impression on George.
'I'd been invited to see them play several times by Paul but for some reason never got around to it before. I remember being very impressed with John's big thick sideboards and trendy Teddy Boy clothes. In a way, all that emotional rough stuff was simply a way for him to help separate the men from the boys, I think. I was never intimidated by him. Whenever he had a go at me I just gave him a little bit of his own right back.' - George Harrison
While there is disagreement about 6th February being the day George first saw the Quarrymen, we know that this event, whichever day, would be a pivotal moment in the young Beatles' life.
George went on to join the band himself at the young age of 15, and so the foundations to the Beatles were set. It was Paul's brother and budding photographer, Mike McCartney, who took the first ever colour photo of the trio as they performed at the wedding reception of Paul and Mike's cousin.
In Mike McCartney's Early Liverpool, the early days of the Beatles and their rise to fame is documented through Mike McCartney's exquisite photographs. Featured alongside original commentary, his photographs also capture other talent to come out of Liverpool, including his own group, the Scaffold.
Source: Genisis 50 Publications
Paul tried his hardest to get the vocals right
Paul McCartney and John Lennon didn't always see eye to eye. In the early days of The Beatles, the two would write songs as they sat together in Paul's childhood home on Forthlin Road in Allerton.
However, as they got older and artistic differences emerged within the band in the second half of the 1960s, John and Paul tended to write independently. Often, they would write the basis of a song before presenting it to the other for final tweaks and touches.
Occasionally they would clash and recording sessions for 'The White Album' and what became 'Let it Be' were marked by tempestuous moods, which resulted in Ringo Starr and George Harrison leaving the band for periods. John also shared his disdain for some of Paul's later work with The Beatles, saying he disliked the 1967 album 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', the single 'Let it Be' and the closing medley on 'Abbey Road', which he called 'junk'.
It wasn't just the final songs on 'Abbey Road' that John shared his disdain for. He also wasn't happy with the finished product of 'Oh!
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk/Dan Haygarth
Because he left us way too soon, and because he didn’t record all that much in the last few decades of his life, the George Harrison solo catalog isn’t all that extensive. He still left behind a wealth of great music, including some excellent album-closers.
One note: For this list, we considered all three LPs included in All Things Must Pass as individual albums. Here are five outstanding final songs that left George Harrison fans wanting more.
5. “I Got My Mind Set on You” from Cloud Nine (1987)
Weird Al Yankovic wasn’t all that far off when he parodied this track as “(This Song’s Just) Six Words Long.” Harrison first heard it, as recorded by James Ray, when he was visiting the United States in 1963, before The Beatles had broken big in America. One day during the sessions for Cloud Nine, keyboardist Gary Wright (of “Dream Weaver” fame) started playing the chords of “I Got My Mind Set on You,” and Harrison immediately chimed in with the lyrics. The fun he’s having singing translates to the listener, as the song sparked his comeback by becoming a surprise No. 1 hit.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
The Beatles were blessed with four outstanding vocalists to deliver their wonderful songs. They really didn’t have any need to go looking outside the band for somebody else to bring something to the mic they couldn’t.
But there were a few occasions when someone who wasn’t a member of the group can be heard singing on a Beatles track. Some of them might be obvious to you, while others you might have either forgotten or not even realized.
“All You Need Is Love” from Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
You might not realize it when you hear it on the radio, but “All You Need Is Love,” aside from a prerecorded backing track, was mostly a live take. The Beatles performed the song in front of a worldwide audience for the first-ever international satellite broadcast. In honor of the occasion, the group invited a bunch of friends to come and sit in during the show. These luminaries sang along with the chorus as the song faded out. Among the famous folks included: Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, and Graham Nash.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
John went through a run of writing songs about his struggles. The Beatles monumental early success meant they were catapulted to fame. Less than 18 months after the UK release of their debut single 'Love Me Do' in October 1962, they were watched by 73 million Americans on the Ed Sullivan show as the track 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' took the USA by storm.
They became the most famous people in the world and it all happened very quickly. It was not easy for Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr to adapt to - and John used those struggles to inspire some of his music.
In an interview with Playboy in 1980, he said: "The whole Beatles thing was just beyond comprehension. I was subconsciously crying out for help".
That cry for help became the song 'Help!', which was the title track for the band's second film and accompanying album. John began writing the song in spring 1965, after the title for the band's forthcoming film was changed.
According to John's friend Stanley Parkes, he: "came in from the studio one night. 'God,' he said, 'they've changed the title of the film: it's going to be called 'Help!' now. So I've had to write a new song with the title called 'Help!'."
Source: Dan Haygarth/liverpoolecho.co.uk
Paul McCartney Asks Rock Hall of Fame to Induct Joe Cocker: ‘He Would Be Extremely Happy’ to ‘Find Himself Where He Deserves to Be’
Paul McCartney is petitioning for late English blues-rock singer Joe Cocker to be inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame this year.
In a letter dated Feb. 25, and addressed to “rock and rollers,” McCartney described Cocker, who died in 2014 at age 70, as a “great man and a fine singer” with a unique style. “He sang one of our songs, ‘With A Little Help From My Friends,’ a version produced by Denny Cordell, which was very imaginative,” McCartney wrote.
Indeed, the Sheffield-born singer’s 1968 interpretation of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” put a electric spin on the classic, as memorably parodied by John Belushi on “Saturday Night Live.”
Source:variety.com/Thania Garcia
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band’s tireless Peace and Love tour is returning to the Strip.
It’s an unofficial title, but it Starr’s enduring message. His band is back at The Venetian Theatre from Sept. 17, 19, 20, 24, 26 and 27 . All shows are at 8:30 p.m., and tickets are on sale 10 a.m. Friday Pacific time at Ticketmaster.com.
Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart, Buck Johnson and Gregg Bissonette make up the current All Starrs. The band most recently played The Venetian for three dates in May.
Starr has released his first country album, “Look Up.” He played the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Jan. 14-15, to air as “Ringo & Friends Play the Ryman” at 8 p.m. Pacific/Eastern on Monday and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Starr’s superstar friends in that special include Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Mickey Guyton, Emmylou Harris, Sarah Jarosz, Jamey Johnson, Brenda Lee, Larkin Poe, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, The War And Treaty and Jack White.
Starr assembled his band in 1989 and has toured consistently since, frequently switching up the roster. His shows at The Venetian have usually lasted up to 2½ hours, with Starr’s band playing their own selections along with Ringo’s songs with the Beatles and his solo hits.
Source: reviewjournal.com/John Katsilometes
An “extremely rare” vinyl album by The Beatles, gifted by George and Pattie Harrison to a friend, has sold for £10,000.
The self-titled record, commonly known as the White Album because of its plain white sleeve, was sold on Monday by Tracks Auctions music memorabilia auctioneers.
A photo of the item on the auction house’s website shows the name of the band embossed onto the record sleeve along with the serial number 0000012.
The item is described on the web page as an “extremely rare low numbered stereo vinyl pressing of The Beatles White Album”.
“Very few copies of the album with this low a number have surfaced to the market,” the description adds. The lot details include a letter from the vendor which describes how they became friends with Harrison, the band’s lead guitarist, and his then-partner.
The note reads: “In the sixties I was a fashion photographer in London.
“I’d known Pattie Boyd for some time and I was at her mews flat just off Hyde Park Corner one evening in 1964.
“The phone rang, I answered it, and it was George Harrison calling from the USA where The Beatles were touring.
“When he got back we met and became friends.
“Over the course of the next few years we saw quite a lot of each other at restaurants, clubs like Tramp and Crazy E, my flat in London, their house in Esher, later on Friar Park.”
Source: pa.media
English singer, songwriter and guitarist John Lennon (1940-1980), English singer, songwriter and bassist Paul McCartney, English musician, singer and drummer Ringo Starr and English musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist George Harrison (1943-2001) of the Beatles attend a press party at the home of manager Brian Epstein supporting the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, May 19, 1967, in London, United Kingdom.
It’s not unusual to see The Beatles on the music charts in the United Kingdom. In fact, it’s fairly commonplace, as the beloved rock band is still so popular to this day, decades after the musicians broke up, that millions of people buy and stream the group’s most successful releases in great enough numbers to keep the rockers on at least a handful of tallies.
What is interesting to watch every week is which one of The Beatles’ albums manages to hold on. Despite the fact that the group hasn’t released a new album or even a compilation in years, the Fab Four regularly trades one project for another on the charts in the country where it all began. Sometimes there’s a reason for the switch, and in other instances, it seems much more random.
The Beatles’s 1962-1966 (The Red Album) Returns
This time around, 1962-1966 is The Beatles’ album of choice in the U.K. The compilation of the singles released by the band during those early years—which is usually just referred to as The Red Album—reappears on a pair of tallies. As it does, it replaces another popular effort from the same act.
Source: forbes.com/Hugh McIntyre
George Harrison's mother said he was very focused on making money in The Beatles. He didn't predict he'd make all that much, though.
In both The Beatles and his solo career, George Harrison raked in more money than most people can imagine making. He didn’t initially think this would be the case, though. In the early years of The Beatles, just as Beatlemania was kicking off in earnest, Harrison predicted that the band wouldn’t be able to become millionaires. Here’s why.
George Harrison didn’t think The Beatles would be able to make much money
In 1964, The Beatles were beginning to see immense success. They were popular enough that one interviewer asked Harrison if he was a millionaire. He quickly denied this.
“It’s so hard to become a millionaire,” he said in a 1964 interview with the BBC, per American Songwriter. “Maybe if we were just a solo act, then whoever it was, you’d probably be a millionaire. But with four, you know, it’s hard.”
Source: cheatsheet.com/Emma McKee
