Beatles News
George Harrison, former Beatle, and solo artist, was nothing if not idealistic. For an example of this, look no further than his 1973 song “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth),” a song that was also a success, hitting No. 1 in the U.S.
The sound, which plays as if it was born on an island vacation, is driven by acoustic guitars, nostalgic guitars, and Harrison’s loving voice. In the song, Harrison expresses his desire for a loving, peaceful life. What else could be better?
Let’s dive into the song’s meaning and history below.
The song opens with Harrison wishing for an existence seemingly outside of the human form. He sings, Give me love, give me love, give me peace on earth / Give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth.
Give me hope
Help me cope with this heavy load
Trying to touch and reach you with
Heart and soul
Source: Jacob Uitti/americansongwriter.com
The Beatles, a band that needs no introduction, has left an indelible mark on the world of music. With numerous albums under their belt, the Fab Four have shaped the sound of modern music and continue to be a source of inspiration for musicians today.
From the early days of rock and roll with Please, Please Me to the experimental sounds of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, there is a Beatles album for every mood and milestone. It’s no wonder their music continues to captivate audiences more than half a century after their debut.
So with great excitement, let’s dive into the list of 10 of the best Beatles albums of all time and see which ones have earned the honor of being considered a top Beatles masterpiece.
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Source: hellomusictheory.com
Paul McCartney said he added violent lyrics to The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).” He explained the “bird” in the song.
John Lennon’s memories of the song contradicted Paul’s.
The Beatles‘ “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” has one of the most unusual titles of any 1960s song. Years later, Paul McCartney explained the meaning of the title. In addition, he said he added a violent element to the track’s lyrics.
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the relationship between the man and the woman in “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).” “So she makes him sleep in the bath and then finally in the last verse, I had this idea to set [the the woman’s home] on fire as revenge, so we did it very tongue in cheek,” he recalled.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison had moved quickly from his multiplatinum rock debut to a massive relief project for genocide-torn Bangladesh. Two years passed before he entered the studio again to record Living in the Material World.
He'd spent the period just before struggling mightily with his faith in humanity, as obstacle after obstacle got in the way while Harrison tried to get badly needed benefit funds to those in crisis. He'd had issues with walking the straight and narrow, swinging wildly between the kind of devotion that earned Harrison the nickname "His Lectureship" and the typical rock-star debauchery associated with the '70s.
All of it went into the new sessions, which relied on songs written in 1971-72 – save for "Try Some, Buy Some" the sadly appropriate song Harrison wrote for Ronnie Spector during the All Things Must Pass era. He also cleaved away some of producer Phil Spector's legendary excesses, relying on a smaller, consistent group of sidemen that included Gary Wright, Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voormann and Jim Keltner.
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
Hey Jude is a famous song by The Beatles, and you’ve probably sung along to this track more than once in your life, but do you know what it’s about? We’re going to tell you the meaning behind Hey Jude by The Beatles, so continue reading to find out all of the interesting facts about it.
The song Hey Jude is one of the most beloved The Beatles tracks, and it was written by Paul McCartney during the summer of 1968. At the time, John Lennon had just separated from his wife, Cynthia, because he was having an affair with none other than Yoko Ono.
Lennon and Cynthia had a five-year-old son, Julian, and McCartney was driving out to see the kid, and on his way out to see him, he began writing this song. McCartney was having trouble with the fact that because they were getting divorced, Cynthia would no longer be a part of the picture, given she had been with Lennon and in that inner circle before the group became famous.
Source: Florence Howard/musicgrotto.com
Paul McCartney looked for John Lennon’s approval after he wrote The Beatles’ “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Paul said John knew the song was good. It became a massive hit.
Paul McCartney revealed the circumstances under which he wrote The Beatles’ “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Subsequently, he compared penning the song to having sex. That comparison makes perfect sense.In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed writing “Can’t Buy Me Love.” “I have a recollection of walking ’round St. John’s Wood with that in my mind so I might have written it at home and finished it up on the way to the studio, finally polished it in the studio, maybe just taken John aside for a second and checked it with him, ‘What d’you think?'” he said. “‘Like it.’ ‘Good. Let’s do it!'”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles’ “Help!” was written specifically for the film of the same name. John Lennon was the primary writer of “Help!” but Paul McCartney said he made changes to it. The tune became a hit twice in the United Kingdom
Many notable people worked together to come up with the title of The Beatles‘ Help!, the Fab Four’s second feature film. Subsequently, Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote a title song for the movie. Paul revealed his contribution to the song.
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed how the title of The Beatles’ film Help! came about. “I seem to remember [director] Dick Lester, [the band’s manager] Brian Epstein, [producer] Walter Shenson, and ourselves sitting around, maybe [actor] Victor Spinetti was there, and thinking, ‘What are we going to call this one?'” Paul recalled. “Somehow Help! came out. I didn’t suggest it; John might have suggested it or Dick Lester. It was one of them.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
Everyone has their favorite album by The Beatles, even the four members themselves. However, they also disagreed with each other on the quality of each album, and producer George Martin had his own opinions as well. George Martin disagreed with John Lennon on one Beatles album, which Lennon considers his favorite, while Martin found it a “disappointment.”
1968’s The White Album was a drastic shift from 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Instead of being a cohesive concept album, The White Album is more like a compilation album featuring songs written by each member of The Beatles individually. In an interview with Penthouse, Lennon said Paul McCartney didn’t love the album because it was so individualized. However, Lennon considers it his favorite because it has the best music.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
John Lennon’s first marriage to Cynthia Lennon lasted from 1962 to 1968. It ended quickly after she caught him cheating on her with his next wife, Yoko Ono. Even before that, their marriage still had problems, and one Beatles song written by John Lennon featured subliminal messages that their marriage was in trouble.
“Good Morning, Good Morning” debuted on 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. While the album featured The Beatles being more experimental and surreal, John Lennon’s personal life still found life within his lyrics. Lennon got divorced one year after this song debuted, and his marital troubles were infused with his music.
In Barry Miles’ biography Many Years From Now, Paul McCartney said Lennon felt “trapped” in his relationship with Cynthia. He was bored with his life and found inspiration from a soap opera he watched called Meet the Wife.
“This is largely John’s song,” McCartney shared. “John was feeling trapped in suburbia and was going through some problems with Cynthia. It was about his boring life at the time, there’s reference in the lyrics to ‘nothing to do’ and ‘meet the wife;’ there was an afternoon TV soap called Meet the Wife that John watched, he was that bored, but I think he was also starting to get alarm bells and so ‘Good morning, good morning.’”
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
Linda McCartney is most famously known as the first wife of The Beatles' Paul McCartney, and in a way, that's kind of sad. Before marrying, she had the kind of career that most people can only dream of, and as a photographer for rock's elite, she got up close and personal with groups like the Rolling Stones and the Who. She was so well-known in the photography and rock world that when rumors started circulating that she — originally Linda Eastman — was related to the famous Eastman-Kodak operation, everyone just kind of accepted it because that seemed to track. (She's not: Further rumor has it that she started the story herself.)
Source: DB Kelly/grunge.com
