Beatles News
Sir George Martin, producer of almost the entire awe-inspiring recorded catalogue of The Beatles and a hugely accomplished writer, arranger and musician with countless other achievements to his name, was born in Highbury, north London, on January 3, 1926.
What follows is a selection of comments from the unabridged version of an extensive interview by this writer with Sir George, who passed away in March 2016, two months after his 90th birthday. An edited account of the meeting, which took place at AIR Studios in London in 1998, appeared in Billboard magazine at the time, when Martin was releasing his final album project, the all-star In My Life album.
This came the year after he had produced Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind 1997,” now recognised as the best-selling single worldwide in recording history and Martin’s 30th UK No.1 single. We hope these quotes give an entertaining insight into one of the most remarkable careers in pop music.
Source: Paul Sexton/sports.yahoo.com
The Beach Boys and the Beatles often supported one another musically, with Paul McCartney sharing a friendship with Brian Wilson. John Lennon even shared his thoughts on “The Little Girl I Once Knew,” calling it a “great arrangement.” Here’s what we know about this Wilson original track.Later added to Spirit of America, this was the last Beach Boys track produced before their critically acclaimed album Pet Sounds. What made “The Little Girl I Once Knew” unique, at the time, was two dramatic periods of near-silence. As a result, this wasn’t a preferred radio track.
According to Vancouver Signature Sounds, “in the mid-’60’s radio stations preferred to avoid dead air time. Consequently, the song was poorly received by radio stations, which may account for its relatively low chart rating among the Beach Boys other singles of the period.”
This track was added to 50 Big Ones: Greatest Hits, earning thousands of Spotify plays. On the music streaming platform, Brian Wilson is credited as the sole songwriter and producer for “The Little Girl I Once Knew.”
Source: Julia Dzurillay/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney named his favorite love songs of all time. His list includes songs by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and The Beatles.
He revealed why he writes love songs so often.
Paul McCartney‘s favorite love songs are primarily by artists who got their start before The Beatles. Some of the songs are by Frank Sinatra. In addition, one of them is a song by The Beatles.
In the 2015 book Conversations With Paul McCartney, Paul was asked to name some of his favorite love songs of all time.
“I’ve always loved ‘Stardust,’ it was one of my all-time favorites, by Hoagy Carmichael,” he said. “A great melody.
“A song that’s become one of my particular favorites is ‘The Very Thought of You,’ which interestingly was written by Ray Noble, a British guy,” Paul continued. “It’s not often that you get these classics that Sinatra and Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett would sing as part of their regular repertoire, written by a British guy. So, well done our team.” Noble was a bandleader known for his recording of “Midnight, the Stars and You” that was featured in The Shining.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney said a song from The White Album was a love song about John Lennon’s mother. He revealed what he thought about John’s mother, Julia Lennon. Paul discussed what he thought of the musicianship on the track.
Paul McCartney felt one track from The Beatles‘ The White Album was a love song to John Lennon’s mother, Julia Lennon. Subsequently, Paul discussed what he thought of Julia. Similarly, John revealed his interpretation of the song in question.
The 2015 book Conversations With Paul McCartney includes a section where Paul is asked about love songs. “There’s a kind of timelessness [to love songs], because people are always falling in love,” he said. “There’s people now who aren’t even dreaming of it, who tomorrow will be in love, and there’s people in school who in five years’ time might be in love.
“There’s people now whose hearts are broken, who might find love,” he added. “So they’re very useful things on a practical level, love songs. But more importantly, they touch you.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
If you’re going to steal, steal from the best.
For most of humanity, this might mean nabbing a lick or two from Paul McCartney’s playbook.
For Paul McCartney, it meant borrowing from Bach – the fifth movement from Suite in E minor for Lute, to be specific.
As he explained during the above 2005 appearance on the Parkinson Show, when he and his buddy, George Harrison, used to sit around teaching themselves basic rock n’ roll chords, their show off move was a bit of semi-classical fingerpicking that Sir Paul modestly claimed to be “not very good at:”Thusly did the chord progressions of Bach’s Bourree in E minor – a piece which “I never knew the title of, which George and I had learned to play at an early age; he better than me actually” – inspire Blackbird:
Source: openculture.com
The relationship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney is legendary. Yet John and Ringo Starr had a strong bond, too. Even though John bossed Ringo around in The Beatles, the two bandmates grew close over the years. Ringo visited John just before his 1980 murder, and the drummer could help but compliment his friend’s mentality.
Ringo left his London apartment for a sprawling suburban estate while The Beatles were still active. John lived less than a mile away. Yet the drummer still held the lease and let his former abode become a playground for his famous friends.
Jimi Hendrix lived there. Paul recorded some experimental works there. And John and Yoko Ono stripped naked and shot their Two Virgins album cover in Ringo’s former digs.
John became Ringo’s neighbor when the drummer vacated central London. Later, the drummer moved into his former bandmate’s mansion — and burned some of John’s possessions that were left behind. Ringo roomed with John in California for a period in the mid-1970s. When Ringo visited John just before his murder in late 1980, he was blown away by his mindset, which led to him giving him the ultimate compliment.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
In 1960, The Beatles began playing a series of shows in Hamburg, Germany, but authorities ended their run when they discovered George Harrison was underage. They deported Harrison and, almost immediately after, sent Paul McCartney and drummer Pete Best packing. Soon, John Lennon and guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe followed. Harrison didn’t realize this, though. He was so embarrassed to have been sent home that he didn’t speak to his bandmates for several weeks. In August of 1960, The Beatles arrived in Hamburg to play a residency at several different clubs in the city. Per the LA Times, their contract stipulated that they would play six nights a week, adding up to 30 hours a week. Each of them received the equivalent of $51 a week for their performances. Their stint in Hamburg allowed them to grow as musicians. “They were never again as free as they were in Hamburg,” musician and Beatles tour guide Stefanie Hempel said. “As John Lennon said, ‘We could try anything and the audience liked it, as long as it was really loud.'”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney said a song from The White Album was a love song about John Lennon’s mother. He revealed what he thought about John’s mother, Julia Lennon. Paul discussed what he thought of the musicianship on the track.
Paul McCartney felt one track from The Beatles‘ The White Album was a love song to John Lennon’s mother, Julia Lennon. Subsequently, Paul discussed what he thought of Julia. Similarly, John revealed his interpretation of the song in question.
The 2015 book Conversations With Paul McCartney includes a section where Paul is asked about love songs. “There’s a kind of timelessness [to love songs], because people are always falling in love,” he said. “There’s people now who aren’t even dreaming of it, who tomorrow will be in love, and there’s people in school who in five years’ time might be in love.
“There’s people now whose hearts are broken, who might find love,” he added. “So they’re very useful things on a practical level, love songs. But more importantly, they touch you.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
John Lennon was raised by his Aunt Mimi, and, by many accounts, the pair had a complicated relationship. Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia, witnessed their dynamic. She noted one experience in particular when Lennon bought her a new coat. His aunt was so upset that she began throwing things at the couple. Cynthia shared the way this impacted Lennon. A black and white picture of John Lennon wearing sunglasses and playing guitar.
Lennon was born in 1940 to his mother, Julia, and father, Alfred. His parents eventually ended their relationship, and after his Aunt Mimi complained to Social Services about Julia twice, Julia gave her custody of Lennon. According to his bandmates, Lennon’s life with Mimi was more “posh” than the rest of The Beatles’ upbringings.
“He was in Menlove Avenue and I was off an avenue called Madison Avenue,” McCartney told Lennon’s son Sean in a BBC Radio 2 broadcast called John Lennon at 80 (via Express). “Compared to the rest of us in The Beatles, he was the posh one.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney discussed John Lennon’s “Imagine” and John’s post-Beatles work. Paul discussed whether John had writer’s block during the final five years of his life. Artists ranging from David Bowie to Avril Lavigne covered “Imagine.”
Paul McCartney revealed his opinion on John Lennon‘s “Imagine.” Subsequently, he revealed John had no interest in writing other songs like “Imagine.” Notably, the tune is referenced in a memorial to John’s activism.
John released the covers album Rock ‘n’ Roll in 1975 and his final album, Double Fantasy, in 1980. During a 2002 interview with Hot Press, the interviewer asked Paul if John had a difficult time writing songs between 1975 and 1980 because he didn’t have Paul as a writing partner anymore.
“It could be,” Paul replied. “It was great to write together ‘cos it just made it easy. Y’know I’d say a line, he’d say a line. He’d say one of his songs, I’d suggest an idea for it. I’d say, ‘It’s getting better all the time,’ he’d say, ‘It couldn’t get no worse.'” This is a reference to The Beatles’ “Getting Better” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
