Beatles News
It was a big commercial hit for the band. As The Beatles' primary songwriters, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were responsible for the majority of the band's hits. The two brought contrasting approaches to their music, often meeting in the middle to create magic.
About their partnership, Music and Musicians magazine's Wilfred Mellors wrote in 1972: "Opposite poles generate electricity: between John and Paul the sparks flew. John's fiery iconoclasm was tempered by Paul's lyrical grace, while Paul's wide-eyed charm was toughened by John's resilience."
In the early days they would write together in Paul's childhood home on Forthlin Road in Allerton. But as they grew older and artistic differences emerged, they often would write independently before presenting their compositions to each other for finishing touches.
Regardless of how the songs were written, all of them composed by John and Paul during their time in The Beatles received the joint credit of Lennon-McCartney. This occasionally led to disagreements as to who was the primary creative force, as was the case on 'Eleanor Rigby', which the ECHO recently looked at.
This was also the case - but in a light-hearted manner - with the song that shared a double A-side single with 'Eleanor Rigby'. 'Yellow Submarine' was released alongside it, with the single hitting record store shelves on August 5, 1966.
Written as a children's song by John and Paul, it was sung by Ringo Starr. Both 'Eleanor Rigby' and 'Yellow Submarine' were departures from what had come before from The Beatles - in their own very different ways.
The idea for the track came to Paul while on holiday in Greece, where he enjoyed an iced dessert that was yellow or red, and was known in the area as a submarine. John also had the idea of living in a submarine during an acid trip.
The psychedelic idea became an almost nursery rhyme style song, sung by Ringo. It performed very well commercially.
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk/Dan Haygarth
Paul McCartney and John Lennon had a strong bond that was born out of much pain, so it makes sense why the late singer confided so much in Paul and vice versa. Beloved Beatles members Paul McCartney and John Lennon were more than bandmates, they were like brothers.
Paul and John both experiencing the pain of losing their moms at a young age helped form their bond which blossomed from grief. Seldom can understand the heartbreak of losing a parent, and fate brought the two icons together, leading them to create the legendary Beatles. John and Paul were so close that they knew each other in ways no one else did. The two were so in tune with each other that they understood each other’s mindsets.
John found solace in Paul as he was able to tell him things he wouldn’t be able to tell anybody else. For Paul, there was one conversation he had with John where he felt the late singer wasn’t behaving like himself as he unexpectedly revealed to Paul his deepest and darkest fears. Paul and John bonded over losing their mother at a young age
Despite John achieving success and fame, John still had the same fears as anyone else even when seemingly having the picture-perfect life. While he’s praised for being a one-of-a-kind songwriter, and often revered for being a music icon, John was still very worried about what his legacy would be and how people would remember him after his death.
Source: themirror.com/Angelica Cheyenne
Give credit to The Beatles for rarely falling in with the rest of the crowd when it came to their approach to writing their songs. When they embarked on their solo careers, the four members of the band continued to blaze their own trails.
On Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1975 song “Treat Her Gently – Lonely Old People,” the former Beatle wrote a tender ode to those getting on in years. It wasn’t the typical topic you’d expect from a popular rock band, but it proved to be just the right sendoff to Wings’ 1975 album Venus and Mars. A Sweet “Treat”
By 1975, the rough start Wings underwent when Paul McCartney first brought them into existence four years earlier was long forgotten. They had ascended to elite status among international rock bands, forging their own identity and escaping the shadow of Paul McCartney’s former group, a little band called The Beatles.
McCartney had provided much of that momentum when he rallied with an outstanding set of songs on the 1973 album Band on the Run. Wings recorded that album as a trio (Paul, wife Linda, and Denny Laine) after a pair of defections from the group right before sessions began.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
When they were in The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were massively successful. According to Harrison, though, they didn’t walk away from the band with as much money as they should have. He said that their company, Apple Corps, employed too many “gangsters.” George Harrison said The Beatles lost millions
After The Beatles broke up, they became embroiled in a lawsuit. McCartney had never trusted their new manager, Allen Klein, and sued the band in order to take control of their catalog from him. Harrison said that as they dealt with this, others were profiting off of their music unfairly.
“Dreadful. I mean, all the money that we ever made from Beatles records and from Beatle films or any source, it all came into this company, Apple, which had been pilfered by all these famous gangsters,” he said, per Far Out Magazine. “It was a mess, and Paul was suing us three because we had this guy managing us, and it was just a mess.”
He said he found himself in a precarious legal and financial situation.
“I had my own song publishing, you know, it was in New York, which was an illegal company, you know, ’cause this guy had set me in New York, and it meant that I either was breaching some company laws or if I didn’t own the company he owned all my copyrights, and I was in a mess,” he said. “So when Denis (O’Brien) came along, it was like, you know it, it allowed me to breathe again, and he salvaged all the pieces that he could and organized me.”
Source: cheatsheet.com/Emma McKee
Nobody does The Beatles like The Beatles themselves. However, quite a few musicians through the years have put out their renditions of famous Beatles tunes. And some of those covers might just rival the original tunes by the Fab Four themselves. Let’s look at a few Beatles covers that are (arguably!) better than the originals.
1. “With A Little Help From My Friends” by Joe Cocker
A shoo-in for any list of Beatles covers that are better than the originals, you just can’t beat Joe Cocker’s incredibly beautiful 1969 version of “With A Little Help From My Friends”.
Cocker’s voice is on another level on this cover. You just cannot beat that soulful, powerful vocal track. He belted out the lyrics like his life depended on it. The original Beatles version is fantastic, but even fans have to admit that Cocker outdid the Fab Four on this one.
2. “Got To Get You Into My Life” by Earth, Wind And Fire
Revolver was the album that really showed evidence of The Beatles’ experimentation with psychedelic drugs. It yielded spacey songs like “Got To Get You Into My Life”, after all. It’s only natural that a funky, psychedelic band like Earth, Wind And Fire would find some inspiration from that very album and song.
EWF’s version of “Got To Get You Into My Life” is glittery, bluesy, and jazzy. The original was enough to get people moving, but EWF’s cover of the song really got people moving.
3. “Yesterday” by Marvin Gaye
The original “Yesterday” can’t be beat. However, that hasn’t stopped hundreds if not thousands of musicians from covering it themselves. Few of those imitations can hold a candle to the original, but Marvin Gaye’s version of “Yesterday” comes very close.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Em Casalena
A harrowing new documentary sheds light on the painful abduction of Yoko Ono's daughter by her father and the years she and John Lennon spent trying to track her down.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the film One To One: John & Yoko reveals the tumultuous and costly saga that haunted Lennon and Ono for decades – and which still haunts the Beatles icon's aging widow. John lennon yoko ono fight find missing daughter new documentary harrowing kidnapping case.Lennon and Ono were fiercely committed to each other.
The film chronicles Yoko's relentless pursuit to reunite with her daughter, Kyoko, whom her first husband, Anthony Cox, abducted in 1971, resulting in a staggering $2 million spent on the chase. In a poignant reflection from a 2003 interview, Ono expressed the deep pain of loss, stating: "Losing my daughter was a very serious pain. There was always some empty space in my heart."
RadarOnline.com can now reveal details of the tug-of-love that stretched over decades. Ono married Cox in the summer of 1963 and welcomed Kyoko into the world just two months later.
As she navigated the delicate balance of motherhood and her artistic endeavors, the couple's relationship evolved into a creative partnership.
Source: radaronline.com/Matthew Acton
Paul McCartney’s photo exhibit is set to hit another city.
Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm will debut at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Canada in February 2026.
Eyes of the Storm features more than 250 photographs taken by McCartney between 1963 and 1964, giving fans insight into his point of view during the height of Beatlemania.
The exhibit debuted in June 2023 at London’s National Portrait Gallery and has since been shown at Virginia’s Chrysler Museum, New York’s Brooklyn Museum, the Portland Art Museum and the Knowledge Capitol Event Lab in Osaka, Japan. It is next set to open at The de Young museum, part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, on March 1.
In addition, select photos will be on display at the Gagosian Beverly Hills art gallery from April 25 to June 21, with McCartney and the gallery offering up small, signed editions of prints for sale. A portion of the proceeds from those sales are being donated to aid recovery and relief efforts in Southern California.
Source: kslx.com
Enjoy the UK's leading live music tribute to George Harrison, performing his best-loved hits from The Beatles, his solo career, and The Traveling Wilburys. Not to be missed! Here comes the perfect tribute to a Beatles legend! Enjoy the UK's leading live music tribute to George Harrison, performing his best-loved hits from The Beatles, his solo career and The Traveling Wilburys. After the Liverpudlian four-piece called time on Beatlemania, George Harrison enjoyed a successful solo career, releasing 12 studio albums, including Living In The Material World, Cloud Nine, Brainwashed and the classic triple album All Things Must Pass. He also formed the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.
During this show, these talented musicians perform some of Georges best-known tracks, including My Sweet Lord, Here Comes The Sun, Something, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Got My Mind Set On You, All Things Must Pass, Handle With Care, Taxman, Give Me Love, What Is Life, If I Needed Someone and many more!
Source: list.co.uk
The Beatles took on a lot of collaborations through the years, both in the studio and on the road. Dozens of session musicians and roadies worked with them, some of which were quite famous. Let’s look at just a few examples! You might just be surprised to see a few of these names.
1. Billy Preston
This wouldn’t be a list of Beatles collaborations without mentioning the incomparable Billy Preston. He was one of several people to earn the label “The Fifth Beatle”, and for good reason.
He’s the only musician to earn a co-credit on a Beatles album, and he helped keep the band from deteriorating beyond control during the Let It Be sessions. A strong musician on his own, Preston deserves so much more love for his contributions to the Fab Four and music as a whole.
2. Donovan
Did you know that folk singer/songwriter Donovan once worked with the Fab Four? A bit of an unsung hero of Beatles collaborations, this British folk icon contributed vocals to the famed Beatles track “Yellow Submarine”.
3. Mal Evans
Mal Evans was The Beatles’ road manager for a time. Outside of being one of the most famous roadies ever, he also contributed quite a bit to The Beatles’ recorded works. He contributed a harmonica track to “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” and drum and vocals to “Yellow Submarine”. He also took on less conventional instruments and tools for sound effects, such as the alarm clock in “A Day In The Life” and a shovel digging gravel for “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)”.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Em Casalena
A new documentary, “Borrowed Time: Lennon’s Last Decade,” features intimate, unseen interviews with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Paul McCartney. Through old footage and personal conversations, this film follows the music legend’s journey after the Beatles broke up.
After 1970, the musician focused on fighting for social justice while making solo music. He jumped into activism by joining thousands at the Vietnam Moratorium March in Washington back in 1969.
His strong stance against war came through in both songs and protests. “Give Peace a Chance” became an anthem for those wanting peace. With his wife, he held protests from their bed and spent money on huge billboards declaring “War Is Over (If You Want It)” across 12 cities.
Moving on from the Beatles pushed his songwriting in new directions. His song “Imagine” connected with peace lovers worldwide, becoming a lasting symbol of hope.
Through interviews with his close friends, this film shows Lennon’s final chapter. Musicians who played with him and journalists who followed his career share stories about his artistic changes during the 70s.
While we don’t know the release date yet, this documentary aims to show his journey from band member to solo activist for change.
Source: wmmr.com/Erika Beasley
