Beatles News
Paul McCartney and John Lennon were behind many of The Beatles’ hits. Though the pair often worked together and the band didn’t have a clear leader, they vied for a modicum of control over the group. McCartney believed that early in their years as a band, Lennon took a trip with the band’s manager as a way to establish himself as the leader.
In the early 1960s, Epstein was working in the music department of his family’s store when he heard about The Beatles. Curious about the group that so many people had recommended to him, he went to see a live performance. Though the act wasn’t very polished — they ate and drank on stage — he saw their potential.
“I was immediately struck by their music, their beat and their sense of humor on stage,” he said, per Biography. “And even afterward, when I met them, I was struck again by their personal charm and it was there that it all started.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Bob Dylan’s songs have been an important influence on a number of musicians, including The Beatles’ Ringo Starr. All of The Beatles credited Dylan with influencing their music, but Starr took it a step further. His bandmate Paul McCartney told the story of the time Starr spent hours writing a brilliant song. After showing his bandmates, he realized that he had actually copied a Dylan hit. Dylan and The Beatles rose to prominence at roughly the same time, and the band has spoken about how much the American songwriter influenced them. George Harrison was a dedicated fan and would go on to work with Dylan in The Traveling Wilburys. McCartney said that much of his songwriting was influenced by Dylan.
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison enjoyed drum machines, but only when his friend Jim Keltner played them. The former Beatle was never interested in using the latest technology to record his music. The inhuman-sounding drum machines of the 1980s were at the top of his list of instruments he avoided as much as possible.
However, Keltner did something with the instrument, making it sound just a little better to George.
Keltner drummed for George’s fellow Beatle, John Lennon. That’s how the pair met. Later, Keltner added drums to tracks on George’s 1987 album Cloud Nine. Keltner was also an unofficial member of the former Beatle’s supergroup, The Traveling Wilburys.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi believed The Beatles‘ music would improve if they learned his meditation techniques. The guru was almost naively confident, but the group didn’t trust him for long.
The Beatles first heard the Maharishi speak in London. They’d entered a period of self-reflection and wanted to know more about spirituality, so the guru’s words struck a chord with them.
However, they soon learned that the Maharishi was a bit full of himself.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney has plenty of hit songs from his solo career and his time with The Beatles. However, not many of his songs are pop hits that people can dance to. Still, McCartney’s wife, Nancy Shevell, has a track of his she requests every time they go to a club.
Paul McCartney and Kanye West were an odd duo to see dominating the charts in the mid-2010s. In an interview with GQ, McCartney revealed he first met Kanye at the 2008 European MTV awards, where the two bonded over past relationships. In 2014, the former Beatle received a message from his manager that West wanted to collaborate with him.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney said one song from The Beatles‘ The White Album was about his appreciation of nature. He said the tune was partly influenced by his time as a Boy Scout. In addition, Paul thought his life as a Boy Scout would be a prelude to going into the army.
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the meaning of one song from The White Album. “This is what I was writing about in ‘Mother Nature’s Son,’ it was basically a heart-felt song about my child-of-nature leanings,” he said.
Paul discussed his time as a Boy Scout. “I was a Boy Scout and I remembered [Scouting Movement founder Robert] Baden-Powell’s saying ‘People never look up,’ so I would go in the woods and sit in a tree and watch people go by underneath,” he said. “I’d be like a super spy, the Silent Observer, the Sniper. It became apparent to me that what I was doing was practicing to be a soldier.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison started playing slide guitar after seeing what Eric Clapton and other great guitarists were doing on the instrument in the mid-1960s. His interest in the sitar had taken over for a bit, but once he dropped it, he felt out of touch with the guitar. So, George decided to start playing slide to freshen up his sound.
Clapton undoubtedly inspired George. The Beatle was content having the Cream guitarist play his solos, but Clapton loved George’s work just as much. George Harrison and Eric Clapton performing together on a TV program in the 1980s.
The guitarists worked together on many projects over the decades, their first being George’s Beatles song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Most of the time, in their collaborations, George let Clapton take the guitar solos. He told Guitar Player that it never hurt his ego. George knew Clapton did things on the guitar that took him ages to figure out.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/ cheatsheet.com
It's been a busy couple of years for fans of the Beatles. Last week, fans celebrated the 60th anniversary of the release of the British rock band's first single. In June, Paul McCartney — one of two living Beatles — celebrated his 80th birthday in the midst of wrapping up an international tour. At the end of last year, Peter Jackson released a critically acclaimed eight-hour docuseries of never-before-seen footage of the band recording their final album.
A recent YouGov poll finds that three-fourths of Americans (74%) are at least somewhat familiar with the British rock band, and only 9% aren't familiar with them at all. Americans' familiarity with the Beatles differs by age, with people 45 and older being roughly twice as likely as younger adults to have a strong familiarity with their music.
Source: Taylor Orth/today.yougov.com
Brian Epstein, George Martin, Yoko Ono and Murray the K... we rate the possible candidates for The Fifth Beatle?
The Beatles. John, Paul, George and Ringo. The Fab Four.
All four members of The Beatles wrote, played and sang. Individually, all four were magnificent performers and artists and together, they were the ultimate pop machine.
But ever since the 1960s, when the band were still very much together, the title of "The Fifth Beatle" has been bestowed on (or claimed by) a number of individuals.
There have been "Fifth Beatles" who played with the band, either on road or in the studio. "Fifth Beatles" behind the mixing desk or office chair. Even one prominent "Fifth Beatle" in a DJ booth.
So if there really is a Fifth Beatle, who is best deserving of that title? We round up the possible candidates and give them a mark out of ten on our Beatleometer.
Source: Mayer Nissim/goldradiouk.com
It's been a few years since Michael Dorf's annual "The Music Of..." benefit concert has happened because of the pandemic, but it's set to make its return in 2023 with a celebration of the music of Paul McCartney. It happens on March 15 at Carnegie Hall, and the lineup is still to be announced, but VIP packages are on sale now. Proceeds benefit music education programs for underserved youth.
Source: brooklynvegan.com
