Beatles News
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
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr had worked closely together for years by the time The Beatles broke up. Even when tempers flared as the band was breaking up, McCartney didn’t necessarily want to have a falling out with Starr. The Beatles’ drummer came by McCartney’s house to deliver a message from the rest of the band. Though McCartney wanted to keep things friendly, he kicked his former bandmate out of his house for the first time ever.In 1970, McCartney sued The Beatles to dissolve their contractual relationship. He didn’t trust the band’s manager, Allen Klein, and wanted to make sure the band members had control over their own work. The lawsuit made the band’s inner turmoil public, and the other three members complained about McCartney in interviews and their songs.
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison was known as the quiet member of The Beatles. Still, when he spoke, he never minced words and tended to tell the truth, such as admitting working with John Lennon on the Imagine sessions was nerve-wracking. When George once assessed his songwriting skills, he was honest but also completely wrong.
George appeared on The Dick Cavett Show in November 1971. It came a few months after his trendsetting Concert for Bangladesh event and a few weeks before the album from the concert hit shelves.
Cavett asked George several questions during their wide-ranging interview, including some about The Beatles and George’s drug use. The former Beatle answered honestly, and he did the same when Cavett asked about songwriting (via YouTube):
Source: Jason Rossi/
cheatsheet.com
As diaries go, it’s something of a scorcher. ‘Does your silence mean be gone?’ reads one urgent telegram contained within it — the sender, one heartbroken Eric Clapton.
And there can be few young women who will have excitedly scribbled in their journals: ‘George Harrison asked me out!!!!’ — date, March 6, 1964.
Yet these messages are but a mere fraction of the passion and turmoil contained in a uniquely gripping new book from Sixties model and icon Pattie Boyd.
While it’s mainly an anthology of images from her remarkable life — from portfolio shots to photos she has taken herself over the years in her secondary career as an acclaimed photographer — it is her accompanying contemporaneous diary entries and scribbled reminiscences which leap out most vividly.
Source: Kathryn Knight/dailymail.co.uk
During the Let It Be sessions at Twickenham Film Studios in January 1969, The Beatles were strumming along coming up with new songs. Paul McCartney’s composing of Get Back was captured on film as was George Harrison showing off his new track All Things Must Pass, which ended up being the title song on his debut solo album. Yet, there was another of the Quiet Beatle’s iconic releases that John Lennon and Paul McCartney also turned down.
Harrison first heard the track during a visit to his sister in the US back in 1963. This was a full five months before The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Entering a record shop in rural Illinois, he bought a number of albums including a 1962 one by James Ray. Included on the vinyl was the song Got My Mind Set On You, which was originally written and composed by Rudy Clark.
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
October 11, 1971. "Imagine" was recorded by Lennon with producer Phil Spector in a single session at his country estate, Tittenhurst Park. While Lennon constructed the song, "Imagine" was heavily influenced by Yoko Ono's book of poetry, 'Grapefruit.' . Ono was recognized as co-writer of the song in 2017. The song's radical vision of idealism and peace immediately struck a chord with a world disillusioned with war. Released just over a year after the break-up of the Beatles, "Imagine" became a massive success, easily the most successful song of Lennon's solo career.
Source: roanoke.com
George Harrison brought spirituality to pop music with his 1970 song, “My Sweet Lord.”
He began his spiritual journey after his musical guru, Ravi Shankar, gave him spiritual texts and taught him that God is sound. Suddenly, George would’ve been glad to throw away his marriage and his famous band to learn more from Shankar.
However, George didn’t leave The Beatles or his wife. Instead, he incorporated religious themes into his songs like “Within You Without You” and “Long Long Long.” For the album cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, George added images of revered gurus from the Hindu faith as “clues to the spiritual aspect” of him.
However, George truly showed the world his spirituality in “My Sweet Lord.” He had no idea fans would accept the song and even thank him for it.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
John Lennon has little to be embarrassed about in his music career. However, the British artist reflected on a song with The Beatles that he was “bitterly ashamed of.” His shame didn’t come from the song itself but from his own performance, which he believes could have been better.
One day in Abbey Road Studios, The Beatles had been recording for over 12 hours. According to Slate.com, producer George Martin wanted one more track to send the album, Please Please Me, out with a bang. The Beatles decided to do a cover of 1962’s “Twist and Shout” by the Isley Brothers, a song that requires a lot of screaming. The group was already exhausted after a long day of recording but elected to go for it.
The band summoned the strength they had left and delivered a recording that reportedly “stunned the listening technicians” and brought energy to the band. The Beatles tried to do a second take, but John Lennon discovered he had nothing left in him, and the session stopped there. Still, the group ended up being satisfied with the results of the first take.
Source: Ross Tanenbaum/cheatsheet.com
