Beatles News
In his prime, Phil Spector produced timeless tracks and numerous chart-topping pieces… so even if his later years wouldn’t be as bright, since he would spend his last days in prison convicted for murder, Spector was the ‘it guy’ if you were looking for a brilliant producer to help you dominate the charts in the late 60s.
So, it wasn’t long before none other than the Beatles contacted him for a collaboration, and Phil, we might guess, readily accepted the offer. Well, when it comes to British rockers’ history with producers, perhaps, there’s no need to say how lucky they had while working with producer George Martin, whose brilliance led people often call him ‘the fifth Beatle.’
There were even times when the band left Martin to his own devices, giving him their blessings to produce some of their beloved tracks the way he thought would be the best. So, it might be only fair to say that the Fab Four never had any significant problems or trust issues while working with their producers.
The productions of ‘Let It Be,’ however, differed from the rest of their celebrated discography since it had been quite challenging for the band to focus on their music with all the inner conflicts and complex personal relationships. The band was on the edge of falling apart, though they tried their best to keep things together and carry on.
Source: Melisa Karakas/rockcelebrities.net
Some might say the Beatles. Some might say Chuck Berry, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, or Prince. The question of who is the most influential artist of all time is definitely no easy call, as there are many greats, and influence is admittedly an abstract word. However, all of them had their own qualities to contribute to their specific genres and influenced those that came after them. All served to overlap and feed into the music scene and one another.
For me, there’s truth in saying that a band of boys from Liverpool directly influenced most musical and artistic styles. The Beatles’ songwriting, composition, and sound influenced many after them. So it’s settled! The Beatles are the best, and we can move on… Only I must confess. Generally, yes, they seem to have the most significant influence, but they are hardly flawless. The Beatles were very influential in their bubble of time, and their sound still holds up thanks to the handy production work of George Martin and his son, as well as Phil Spector. But this is also a testament to their musical acumen. They are influential while being heavily influenced themselves.
Source: Taylor Green/theboar.org
George Harrison became known as the “dark horse” of The Beatles after surprising many listeners with his solo career. However, this was no surprise to long-time Beatles producer George Martin who had a theory on why Harrison had an easier time transitioning into a solo career than Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
George Harrison contributed plenty to The Beatles with his stellar guitar skills, but he had limited opportunities to write songs that proved his knack for songwriting. Mainly because Paul McCartney and John Lennon took on most of the songwriting duties for the band. They also didn’t collaborate with Harrison, who wrote most of his songs by himself.
In a 1971 interview with Melody Maker, Martin said he had an easier time transitioning to being solo because he learned so much about music production while working alone.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
John Lennon reconnected with one of his closest childhood friends while he was in The Beatles. Though they hadn’t seen each other in years, he made his friend a promise. Not long after, Lennon followed through on his promise, completely changing the course of his friend’s life. Here’s what he did to support his friend, who admitted he was going down the wrong path.
In 1983, Pete Shotton wrote a book about his friendship with Lennon in which he admitted that he couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t know the musician. They met as children and quickly grew close.
“My memories of the two of us go back so far that I barely remember a time when there was no John Lennon in my life,” he wrote, per Billboard.
They went to school together, and Shotton admitted that he likely would have been a much better-behaved student without Lennon’s influence.
“With two of you, it’s a lot easier to stick to what you believe in,” he said in The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. “When you’ve had a bad time, there’s someone to laugh with. It was laughs all the time. We never stopped, all the way through school. It was great.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney said his song “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five” is a love song about the future. Everyone wants a loving relationship to last forever, even to a time we can’t even comprehend.
In his book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul wrote that he was just a kid when he read George Orwell’s 1984. The future described in the book seemed too far that Paul thought he mightn’t live to see it. He felt the same about 2001: A Space Odyssey. “Now they’re well behind us,” Paul wrote.
In the 1950s, a small Paul more than likely balked at the future Orwell or anyone else described. Barely anyone had enough money to buy a television. Rock ‘n’ roll hadn’t even been invented yet. Futuristic literature and film blew everyone’s mind, not just the curious Paul McCartney.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
Ringo Starr and his friends used to frequent the Playboy Club, but their long nights at the club came to an end in 1974. Starr and Keith Moon had thrown a party there that caused damage. The club ultimately rescinded their memberships for their behavior. In 1974, Starr and his friend Harry Nilsson decided to make a documentary called Harry and Ringo’s Night Out about their nights in Los Angeles clubs. The two friends spent a good deal of time out with musicians like Moon and John Lennon, and they wanted to capture it on film.Starr turned to Pride Records president Michael Viner to co-finance the film, which they budgeted at $1.5 million. They wanted to intersperse footage from nights out with animated scenes. Ultimately, though, they never completed the project or the accompanying album. Viner screened the early footage with hopes of raising enough money to finish the project, but they never were able to do this
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison discussed Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed. The original version of the track was not a hit.
A live version of the track was an international success.
George Harrison discussed his opinion of Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” and the song’s parent album. Subsequently, he discussed his attitude towards music in general. Notably, Paul McCartney explained why he always performs the tune during his live performances.
The book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters features an interview from 1970. He was asked what he thought about Paul’s debut solo album, McCartney. “I thought ‘That Would be Something’ and ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ are great and everything else I think is fair,” he revealed.
George discussed his opinion of the album as a whole. “It’s quite good but a little disappointing,” he added. “But I don’t know — maybe I shouldn’t be disappointed. It’s best not to expect anything and then everything is bonus.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
A new mosaic dedicated to the late Beatle John Lennon will soon be open to the public.
The Salvation Army’s Strawberry Field, based in Woolton, has released pictures of the monument which is inspired by the ‘Imagine’ mosaic in Central Park’s Strawberry Fields in New York.
The city’s replica measures 6.4 metres in diameter - larger than its American cousin - and covers the entire floor of the Strawberry Field bandstand. It is made up of 390,000 tiles.
The mosaic was made from selected marble and pieced together by four expert artists, taking over 15 weeks to make with each piece being laid onto the resin backing by hand.
Liverpool-based father and son tiling company, Eye of the Tiler Ltd, pieced together and installed the mosaic on the floor of the bandstand.
Influenced by ancient Greco-Roman designs, the ‘Imagine’ mosaic in New York is made out of black and white marble by Italian craftsmen and was donated to the city by the Mayor of Naples, Italy in 1984.
The US-based company, Mozaico Art, which specialises in Italian-style mosaics, were commissioned by Orange Amplification on behalf of Strawberry Field to create the Liverpool installation.
Source: Paul McAuley/liverpoolecho.co.uk
Paul McCartney’s photographs will be displayed at London’s National Portrait Gallery in an exhibition Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm from June 28 to October 1. McCartney’s 35mm images document the Beatles’ travels from that era. The exhibition coincides with the June release of a photo book featuring the same work.
“Looking at these photos now, decades after they were taken, I find there’s a sort of innocence about them,” Paul McCartney said in a statement. “Everything was new to us at this point. But I like to think I wouldn’t take them any differently today. They now bring back so many stories, a flood of special memories, which is one of the many reasons I love them all, and know that they will always fire my imagination. The fact that these photographs have been taken by the National Portrait Gallery for their reopening after a lengthy renovation is humbling yet also astonishing—I’m looking forward to seeing them on the walls, 60 years on.”
Source: Evan Minsker/ca.finance.yahoo.com
Whether he meant to or not, Ringo Starr often came across as the most easy-going of The Beatles. That might be why he played on many of the best solo Fab Four songs that featured former bandmates. Yet much of that work came in his 20s and 30s. Ringo found easygoing peace in a spiritual situation once he reached his 50s, and it makes sense it took that long.
He grew up in soccer-obsessed England, spent time living in temperate Monaco, and now resides in Los Angeles’ mild climate. Still, Ringo has a passion for skiing.
The drummer joined his Beatles bandmates and meditated with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India in early 1968. In his book Postcards From the Boys, Ringo said he found a spiritual situation on the slopes decades later:
Ringo found peace on the mountains in middle age, and it all makes sense when you look at his life.Ringo said skiing proved to be a peaceful spiritual situation when he was 50. When you view his life as a whole, it makes sense it took that long.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
