Beatles News
George Harrison claimed the rock press tried to “kill” Bob Dylan. The former Beatle knew what it felt like to have the press eat you alive. However, he defended his friend as much as he could.
From the start, Dylan amazed George with everything he did. Whether Dylan sang folk, rock, or country, George loved it all. Other fans weren’t as open-minded.
George attended Dylan’s performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall in May 1965. Dylan walked on stage with an electric guitar.
In Here Comes The Sun: The Spiritual And Musical Journey Of George Harrison, Joshua M. Greene wrote that the move prompted boos from fans “who viewed the switch from acoustic as a betrayal of his folk purity.”
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison blamed his complexion and weight on his vegetarianism. The Beatle became vegetarian once he started practicing Hinduism in the 1960s.
In the mid-1960s, George hit a wall. Fame wasn’t impressing him. He wanted something more in life. Thankfully, a few important things happened next. He took LSD, which opened his mind to God-consciousness. He heard sitars on the set of The Beatles’ Help! and couldn’t stop hearing their sound. It all led him to his musical guru, legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar.
Shankar taught him sitar and that God is sound. They traveled to India, and George read about ancient gurus at the bottom of the Himalayan mountains. Suddenly, George embarked on a spiritual journey. All he cared about was connecting and communicating with God.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
Abbey Road is considered one of The Beatles’ best albums. However, the image attached to the album might be even more iconic. The Beatles never could’ve imagined how iconic the cover for Abbey Road would become as the cover came together in just 15 minutes. Little did they know they were creating a legendary image.
Many wonder whether Abbey Road is a real place. The short answer is yes. The location where the cover was taken is right outside of Abbey Road studios, where The Beatles spent most of their career recording songs. According to Radiox.com, the crossway is located at “the southern-most point of Abbey Road, at the junction with Grove End Road, in the St John’s Wood area of North West London.”
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
John Lennon said a song from The Beatles‘ The White Album was about his lack of secrets. During another interview, he said the song was about hiding his true self. Notably, The White Album performed very differently in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono includes an interview from 1980. In it, Yoko discussed her relationship to the world. “Everything is public,” she said. “Whatever you’re doing, even if you cough or sneeze or something, is going to affect the world.
“Even things you think you are doing in private,” she continued. “We’re all sharing the whole world together. There is no reason why you can’t do these things publicly. On the contrary, you have to do it publicly.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney said one of The Beatles’ songs was the predecessor of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Paul also compared the song to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” The tune in question was the B-side to one of the band’s biggest singles.
John Lennon‘s “Imagine” is one of the former Beatle’s most famous songs. Paul McCartney said one of The Beatles’ songs was the predecessor to “Imagine.” In addition, he compared the track to the work of a famous children’s author.The Beatles’ song “I’ll Get You” features the line “Imagine I’m in love with you.” In his 2021 book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul discussed the tune. “The word and idea of ‘imagine’ is something John would repurpose in his own song ‘Imagine,'” he said.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney has written many songs with personal meanings, often based on an emotional topic. However, the former Beatle claims he can perform most of his songs live without getting emotional. Still, there is one song that makes Paul McCartney tear up now and then. Many of McCartney’s songs are based on sensitive topics. Several of his songs express mourning for people he’s lost. “Let it Be” is about his mother, and “Maybe I’m Amazed” is about his wife, Linda. In an interview with Esquire, McCartney says he doesn’t typically get emotional while performing these songs because he knows it’s about something different for many audience members.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
Ringo Starr moved from Liverpool to London once The Beatles made it big. The capital city was the heart of the English music scene. The Fab Four practically lived at Abbey Road Studios — except when Ringo and George Harrison collaborated on a long-lost song. He later upgraded to a house outside the city, but Ringo’s apartment in London was like a playground for several famous artists.
Before he entered one hall of fame without the other Beatles, Ringo grew up in a working-class section of Liverpool. Once he committed himself to playing drums, it didn’t take him long to find success.
His first professional band — Rory Storm & the Hurricanes — played in and around Liverpool and Hamburg, Germany. (Their pink suits helped them get better rooms in Germany than The Beatles).
Ringo continued to live with his mother and stepfather in his childhood home even after The Beatles started to gain popularity. Still, he couldn’t remain at home forever.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison was marching confidently on his own personal comeback trail in 1987 when he entered the Billboard charts on October 24, after a five-year absence, with the infectious rocker that became his third and final solo No.1 in America. “Got My Mind Set On You” also proved to be the final US singles chart-topper to date by any former Beatle.
The new chart entry was his first since “Wake Up My Love” had edged up to the middle of the Billboard Hot 100 towards the end of 1982. George had not had a major hit in the US since his moving John Lennon tribute “All Those Years Ago,” a song that also featured Paul and Linda McCartney and Ringo Starr and spent two weeks at No.2 in 1981. “Got My Mind Set On You” is, despite sounding like a Harrison song, a much-loved obscurity from the early 1960s.
Source: Paul Sexton/yahoo.com
George Harrison and Eric Clapton first crossed paths when their bands, The Beatles and The Yardbirds, were on the same bill in the early 1960s. The guitarists crossed paths again at a Lovin’ Spoonful concert. George thought Clapton looked lonely, but that’s just how he was; a lone wolf.
Clapton had already become a blues missionary and was confident in his own guitar playing, so George didn’t intimidate him. The Beatle wasn’t scared of the lone wolf either. They recognized they were each others’ equals and started a life-long friendship.
Initially, Clapton was suspicious of The Beatles. It was like they were one person; it was a strange phenomenon he couldn’t figure out. However, he realized that each member had their own talents, especially George.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison said there was a misconception about who was the most successful Beatle. When the press and the fans saw one of the Fab Four releasing music and being present in the public eye, they thought they were the most successful Beatle. However, being present didn’t constitute success. George never pursued a solo career. However, after The Beatles split, he had a stockpile of songs he’d hoarded throughout his time in the band. He’d only got about two songs on each album. George had to release the songs, or else he couldn’t move forward with his life. So, he unleashed a triple album, All Things Must Pass, which had a track called “My Sweet Lord,” the first No. 1 single by an ex-Beatle.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
