Beatles News
The Beatles have plenty of hidden gems that were never released to the public. Some of the unreleased recordings include fragments of other songs that were edited out. While writing “The End,” John Lennon and Paul McCartney combined two Beatles songs to create a song that ended the band on a high note.
While “The End” isn’t the final song on Abbey Road, it fittingly was the final song recorded collectively by the four members of The Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney but is credited to the Lennon-McCartney duo. Initially, the song was meant to end Abbey Road, but the final song was later changed to “Her Majesty.”
Each member had a solo in “The End.” McCartney, Lennon, and George Harrison performed three two-bar guitar solos, while Ringo Starr performed a drum solo, despite normally disliking drum solos. In The Beatles Anthology, Starr recalled being against the idea but was inevitably convinced by the other members.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
It took 53 years, but now, at last, The Beatles’ final public performance can be heard – with all the songs complete and uninterrupted. True, a split-screen sequence of the remarkable event on January 30, 1969, was the climax of Peter Jackson’s epic Get Back trilogy. But the film’s fascinating cutaways to the drama unfolding at ground level meant the music on the roof was not always in the foreground. Finally, a new mix by Giles Martin and Sam Okell presents virtually every second from the two reels of tape containing the rooftop session. Listening to this historic audio is a thrilling experience. Although no one knew at the time, this was The Beatles’ last gig. But it’s a perfect live finale – original, humorous and unprecedented: elements that are forever associated with The Beatles.
Source: Kevin Howlett/Yahoo news
In an era when rockstars who had exciting and intimidating names began to emerge, The Beatles kept their real names, except Ringo Starr. Before Starr joined the band, The Beatles temporarily went under different names, with Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison creating their own “showbiz names.”Ringo Starr joined The Beatles in 1962, becoming the band’s permanent drummer. Starr, born Richard Starkey, was the only band member who used a stage name. The nickname came from the drummer wearing many rings, and it began to stick. In a 1992 interview with Club Sandwich, McCartney said Ringo had previously established himself with the name at Butlin’s Holiday Camp, where several other stars started out. “Ringo was the only one who stayed with a stage name, Ringo Starr because he’d been to Butlin’s holiday camp,” McCartney explained. “This was the big difference between Ringo and us – it actually made a difference in a man’s life, in those days, whether or not you’d been to Butlin’s. And this was actually a true claim to fame: having done a complete season at Butlin’s, he was the consummate pro.”
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
Recorded as the B-side of “Get Back” on January 28, 1969, “Don’t Let Me Down” was first heard outside of the recording studio two days later, on January 30, when The Beatles played it a rooftop concert at Apple Studio in Savile Row, London. Written by John Lennon as an expression of his love for Yoko Ono, the song is heartfelt and passionate. As John told Rolling Stone magazine in 1970, “When it gets down to it, when you're drowning, you don't say, ‘I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,’ you just scream.”
Joining The Beatles at Apple Studios for both sides of the single was keyboard player Billy Preston, who gives the track such a beautiful, gentle feel, contrasting brilliantly with the intensity of John’s lead vocal. Billy was credited on the Apple single and it charted in America, but airplay of “Get Back” predominated and propelled the A-side to No.1 on the charts for five weeks. By comparison, “Don’t Let Me Down” got much less exposure. It’s another of those B-side gems that, with the passing of time, people have come to appreciate more.
Source: Richard Havers/Yahoo
Many bands are led by iconic lead singers, such as Freddie Mercury for Queen or Mick Jagger for The Rolling Stones. However, The Beatles were unique because they didn’t have an official leader. While John Lennon and Paul McCartney were responsible for most of The Beatles’ songs, George Harrison and Ringo Starr still made significant contributions. However, McCartney believed he was the “instigator” of The Beatles.
In an interview with The New York Times, McCartney reflected on the passing of George Harrison and the memories he had with the “Somebody” singer. One memory shared was when he hitchhiked with Harrison before The Beatles formed. He later got Lennon to join in during his “hitchhiking burst.”
“I often think of George because he was my little buddy,” McCartney said. “I was thinking the other day of my hitchhiking bursts. This was before the Beatles. I suddenly was keen on hitchhiking, so I sold this idea to George and then John.”
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles didn’t need Ringo Starr to be a songwriter. Paul McCartney and John Lennon took up those duties early in the band’s career. George Harrison grew his writing skills. Not being relied upon for songs lessened the pressure on the drummer, which Ringo said was a positive of being the fourth Beatle. Still, he attempted to write songs. When you go inside Ringo’s clunky songwriting process, it’s a miracle he ever got any tracks on Beatles albums.
The Beatles needed Ringo to be their drummer to become the Fab Four. His steady timekeeping skills were critical to the band. Ringo’s songwriting? Not so much.
When they weren’t covering songs, John and Paul teamed up to handle a lot of the early songwriting duties for the band. The duo retained that dynamic for much of The Beatles’ career.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
Ringo Starr songs rarely made the cut on Beatles albums (he wrote two Fab Four tunes). His playing almost never received the credit it deserved, either. Ringo’s drumming — subtle and situated perfectly in the song — often made him the most overlooked member of The Beatles, and yet there were very few places in the world where nobody knew Ringo. Though often overlooked for his playing, Ringo’s weirdest drumming happened in the studio when George Harrison briefly quit the band.
Former drummer Pete Best lost interest in The Beatles when they went heavily psychedelic on 1967’s Magical Mystery Tour. Maybe he wasn’t listening to the Fab Four a year earlier.
Revolver was a watershed moment for the band as it moved away from the saccharine pop of their early days. The non-album B-side “Rain” was a big step into the Fab Four’s psychedelic period.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
Badfinger liked January. The Apple Records signings had three UK Top 10 hits, each of which hit the British bestsellers in the first month of the year, for three years straight. On January 29, 1972, they debuted with the third of them, “Day After Day,” marking the second time they had a hit produced by a Beatle.
After having their debut chart entry “Come And Get It” written and produced by Paul McCartney, “Day After Day” (written by the group’s Pete Ham) was produced by George Harrison. He played some of the lead guitar on the track, while Leon Russell added piano; Badfinger had, of course, been part of George’s all-star Concert For Bangla Desh in New York the previous August, in which Russell also took part.
Source: Paul Sexton/yahoo.com
The Beatles often advocated for peace with their music — and equality with their concerts. Here’s what Paul McCartney and the other Beatles said about the American Civil Rights Movement and being “honest about” their activism.
The Beatles sometimes made political statements with their music. “Get Back” acted as anti-immigrant satire and commentary on Britain’s attitude toward immigration. “Revolution,” co-written by Lennon, shared his thoughts on the global turmoil of the late 1960s.
“You say you got a real solution,” the lyrics state. “Well, you know / We’d all love to see the plan / You ask me for a contribution / Well, you know / We’re all doing what we can.”
According to Beatles Interviews, the interviewer mentioned one statement from the Beatles, where they said America was “a lousy country” for calling people who were Black the n-word. The artists stood behind their statements.
“This is it: that if you say anything against, say, the way Civil Rights gets treated over here, then there are bound to be extremist people who’ll think that we’re wrong for saying that colored people are the same as white people, you know,” McCartney said.
Source: Julia Dzurillay/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles have influenced many artists in every genre. While Dolly Parton came from a vastly different background than The Beatles, she was still struck by one of their earliest hits in America that left her “feelin’ all kinds of emotions.”
In the early 1960s, The Beatles became one of the biggest artists in the U.K. “She Loves You” and “Please Please Me” were two early singles that put the band on the map in their native country. In 1963, The Beatles finally began to take over in the U.S. with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
The single was released in the U.S. with “I Saw Her Standing There” as the B-side. Its success in the U.S. marked the beginning of the British Invasion as the track peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first Beatles song to achieve this accomplishment in the U.S. The track gained even more momentum after The Beatles performed it on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
