Beatles News
While there is more than a little debate about the validity of the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour (released 11/27/67) as a bonafide long-player, the practical fact of the matter is that the ‘album’ was originally a release cobbled together by the group’s American label, Capitol Records, as a means of maximizing holiday record sales back in late 1967.
As originally issued in the Beatles’ native country on Parlophone Records, Magical Mystery Tour consisted of six cuts split between two extended play records. In the United States, those half-dozen tracks were combined with singles released subsequent to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, plus the magnificent double-A side from the previous February “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever”.
Source: Doug Collette/glidemagazine.com
Before the Beatles were international superstars, John Lennon began his relationship with Cynthia Lennon. After an unexpected pregnancy with his then-girlfriend, John Lennon was “concern[ed]” about having a wife and being in a rock band. Here’s what we learned from the 2005 memoir John.
While attending college, John Lennon began his relationship with his college classmate Cynthia Lennon (then Powell). The two dated for several months, with Cynthia Lennon noting the boys’ first mini-tour — a six-week stint in Germany.
Shortly after the Beatles added Ringo Starr to their lineup, John and Cynthia Lennon got married. This was prompted by an unexpected pregnancy, which John Lenon reacted to positively, according to his then-girlfriend.
“Neither of us planned to have a baby, Cyn, but I love you and I’m not going to leave you now,” Cynthia Lennon recalled in her 2005 memoir, John.
Source: Julia Dzurillay/cheatsheet.com
John Lennon was typically the most outspoken member of The Beatles. He made points his bandmates Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison would not express to the press. Lennon’s most revealing interview was given just before his December 1980 death. There, Lennon shared his opinion that fans “missed the whole point” of The Beatles’ message.
Historically, Lennon was known as the intellectual Beatle and was the most outspoken of the band’s four members. The dark-natured part of his personality often underpinned his humor. He often spoke his mind both unabashedly and in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
Lennon caused significant controversy in 1966 when he declared that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” These words prompted mass burnings of The Beatles’ records in the American Bible Belt. As he further evolved as a public figure, Lennon became an anti-war activist.
Source: Lucille Barilla/cheatsheet.com
The tape of an interview with Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney was left anonymously — but the borrower has nothing to fear. The library says its been "fine-free" for over a year.Good morning, I'm A Martínez. The lost is returned. In the drop box of the San Antonio Public Library, someone left a cassette tape that was checked out 44 years ago. The tape of an interview with Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney was left anonymously. But the borrower has nothing to fear. The library wrote on Facebook they have been fine-free for over a year. So whether it's a day late or four decades late, the library takes back stuff at no charge. Now, does anyone still have a working cassette player they can borrow? It's MORNING EDITION.
Source: NPR
Even before The Beatles was formed, Paul McCartney and John Lennon were longtime collaborators. Once The Beatles began, the duo wrote hundreds of songs as the Lennon-McCartney duo. The first Beatles song the two wrote together was one of their biggest hits, according to McCartney.
In an interview with GQ, McCartney discussed the origins behind many hit songs by The Beatles and his solo career. The British singer-songwriter started discussing how he and Lennon collaborated, sharing that the two could brainstorm in “3-hour sessions.”
“Mostly, we’d start from scratch, but sometimes one of us would just have an idea, like the first couple of lines, and then we’d just sit down and work it,” McCartney explained. “A lot of it was we came in and started talking about what we might want to write about, and then we’d just sit down. They were pretty quick sessions. It was normally about 3 hours. And we’d finish something from beginning to end with the chords and the melody and the words.”
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
Fossilizing a part of his body for the ages, Ringo Starr is selling a limited-edition life-size replica of his hand, starting at $2,000.
In partnership with Julien’s Auctions, the signed hand cast figures are available in bronze for $2,000 and stainless steel for $5,000. Stored in a case with a certificate of authenticity, only 250 of each edition will be made available and feature Starr’s longtime adage “Peace & Love” across the base.
Proceeds from the sale of each hand replica will benefit Starr’s Lotus Foundation, which the former Beatle founded with his wife Barbara. The organization supports charitable endeavors around substance abuse, cancer, cerebral palsy, domestic violence, animal welfare, homelessness, and more.
Source: Tina Benitez-Eves/americansongwriter.com
George Harrison fell in love with rock ‘n’ roll as a young teenager. It was like a shock to his system. Then, all he wanted to do with his life was play music. Thankfully, his parents supported him, and he started playing guitar. He joined The Beatles, and the rest is history.
Into the late 1970s, though, George saw a change come over rock ‘n’ roll. Despite believing most music in the 1980s all sounded the same, George said he thought the genre had lasted through the years.
In Here Comes The Sun: The Spiritual And Musical Journey Of George Harrison, Joshua M. Greene wrote, “The music sent shivers down his spine and fueled a desire to join a band. In those days anybody could put a band together. One kid drummed on a washboard, another plunked a broom-handle bass, a third faked chords on guitar, another blew into a gob iron (which was what they called a harmonica), and they dubbed themselves a band.”
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
By 1974, George Harrison was so entrenched in his spiritual journey that he had no choice but to detach himself from friends who weren’t on a similar path. They weren’t the only ones that George separated himself from. He also distanced himself from his first wife, Pattie Boyd.
A few things catapulted George into spirituality. First, he took LSD, which opened his mind up to God-consciousness. Then, he heard Indian music on the set of The Beatles’ Help! Next, he bought a sitar and discovered Ravi Shankar’s music, which he felt sounded familiar.
In 1965, George met Shankar, who immediately wanted to teach George everything he knew. The most important lesson he taught George was that God is sound and that by playing the right notes, one can connect to God.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
When we look back at The Beatles’ career, it’s only natural that we trace their progress through the groundbreaking albums they made between 1963 and 1969. But that only tells part of the story. The Beatles may have helped shift the focus from singles to long-playing albums, but at the start of their career they were, first and foremost, a band that made phenomenal singles, many of which didn’t actually appear on their albums. With pop music still primarily a singles market in the mid-60s, The Beatles’ singles, then, offer something of a parallel discography: a different lens through which to trace their artistic trajectory.
Source: Paul McGuinness/yahoo.com
Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler covered The Beatles’ “Come Together” for a jukebox musical. He met a major musician while recording the cover. Tyler said he transformed into another rock star while recording “Come Together.”
Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler covered The Beatles‘ “Come Together” for a musical. He said he met a major celebrity while recording the song. In addition, he called the celebrity “beautiful.”In his 2011 book Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir, Tyler discussed appearing in a movie. “The movie was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” he said. “To be involved in anything that was slightly related to The Beatles was a dream come true.” For context, the film is a jukebox musical based on the Fab Four’s songs. Tyler said the movie was like a new Hindenburg at the box office.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
