Beatles News
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
Linda eventually died on April 17, 1998 at the McCartney family ranch in Tucson, Arizona. She was surrounded by McCartney and their four children, Mary, Stella, James and Heather.
Shortly thereafter, Linda was cremated and taken back to England. McCartney spread her ashes on the McCartney family farm in Sussex.
A grief-stricken McCartney released a statement where he revealed his final words to his wife. He told Linda on her deathbed: "You’re up on your beautiful Appaloosa stallion. It’s a fine spring day. We’re riding through the woods. The bluebells are all out, and the sky is a clear blue." He added: "I had barely got to the end of the sentence when she closed her eyes and gently slipped away." McCartney continued: "Our family is so close that her passing has left a huge hole in our lives. We will never get over it, but I think we will come to accept it, total heartbreak."
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
George Harrison, who died 21 years ago from cancer, was a huge supporter of the comedy industry. The Beatles star co-founded HandMade Films which produced classics like Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Withnail and I. It’s hardly surprising then, that he struck up a close friendship with comedians like Sir Billy Connolly. The 80-year-old Scot has some amusing and at times revelatory private conversations with the music legend back in the day.Speaking previously with The Adam Buxton Podcast, Billy said he never had a chance to meet John Lennon, but admitted: “I’m friendly with all the other Beatles. I like George Harrison. He’s not my favourite, none of them is my favourite. I treasure my friendship with them. George was a lovely man. I spent a lot of time with him. A lot more than the other ones. I remember we went for Chinese food in the East End of London and a waiter came out and served us.”
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
After The Beatles split in 1970, George Harrison became less conscious of what people thought of his music. He had more confidence in his songs, and consequently, they came across better for him.
In the early days of The Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney appointed themselves the chief songwriters. Neither George nor Ringo Starr ever showed interest. However, that changed.
In 1992, George told Guitar World that he didn’t initially think about writing songs. “To get it straight, if I hadn’t been with John and Paul I probably wouldn’t have thought about writing a song, at least not until much later,” George explained. “They were writing all these songs, many of which I thought were great. Some were just average, but, obviously, a high percentage were quality material. I thought to myself, ‘If they can do it, I’m going to have a go.'”
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a majority of The Beatles’ songs. The two admired each other’s songwriting talents, and they could be envious of one another when one wrote a great track. Lennon revealed one song McCartney wrote that he believes he “should have written.”
The Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo is credited with many of The Beatles’ greatest hits. The two artists collaborated on many iconic songs, including “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Eight Days a Week,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Paperback Writer,” and “Yellow Submarine.” However, the credit could often be misleading as it makes it seem that both contributed equally to the song.
For many songs, Lennon would write the majority of the lyrics and melody, and vice versa for others. Songs like “Yesterday” or “In My Life” featured little contribution from either Lennon or McCartney, despite them being credited as writers. This often led to Lennon and McCartney having to clear up who deserved more credit.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
Taken from George Harrison’s towering All Things Must Pass album, this beautiful song has the distinction of being the first No.1 single in the UK and America by a former Beatle, as well as being the UK’s biggest selling single of 1971. George wrote the song, but did you know that he was not the first to record “My Sweet Lord”? George gave the song to Billy Preston to include on his September 1970 album, Encouraging Words.Billy’s album included many of the musicians that were bound up in George’s musical world during this period, appearing on All Things Must Pass, including Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, and Jim Gordon who soon after formed Derek and the Dominos. Bobby Keys and Jim Price play horns, and on Billy’s version of “My Sweet Lord” it’s the distinctive sounds of the Edwin Hawkins singers that provide the backing vocals.
Source: Richard Havers/yahoo.com
Writing for The Observer newspaper in 1983, the British poet Philip Larkin declared that “when you get to the top, there is nowhere go but down”. Not a confession but rather his take on the Beatles. To Larkin’s mind, they were isolated from their peers, stranded for all eternity at the summit, there to operate in “the rarified atmosphere of hagiolatry” that their talents and the rush of “some unsuspected socio-emotional pressure” had transported them to.
Larkin was looking back over a single fractious decade, one which culminated tragically in murder, but he was on the money. Some 40 years after decades of revision and a succession of legacy projects, the Beatles’ cultural standing is set in amber. Like them or not – there are many who don’t, and many who pretend they don’t – they remain, in the poet’s words, “unreachable, frozen, fabulous”.
Source: popmatters.com
Rock fans are familiar with lineup changes since tensions between band members or creative differences often instigate disputes which result in one side leaving. Numerous bands have changed their lineup throughout the years — some have even changed their frontman. For instance, David Coverdale replaced Ian Gillan in Deep Purple, and Iron Maiden rose to fame when they recruited Bruce Dickinson after Paul Day and Paul Di’Anno’s tenures.
We all know the Beatles as the quartet featuring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. However, before they rose to worldwide fame with Ringo Starr, they worked with Pete Best as their drummer. Known as the fifth Beatle, Best joined the Beatles in 1960 after the band’s invitation. However, Starr replaced him only two years later, as he was dismissed by Brian Epstein, and not the band. As it turns out, John Lennon described this as a cowardly move in later years.
Source: Elif Ozden/rockcelebrities.net
