Beatles News
About 30 seconds into Dick Cavett's 1971 interview with George Harrison, we learn what he thinks of Yoko. Cavett tells George that Yoko sat in the same seat George is sitting in, and George jumps up in mock disgust. The audience claps and laughs. I guess they didn't like her much either. But then Harrison adds, "I saw the show, it was very nice."
He then goes on to promote John and Yoko's Christmas record, so perhaps everyone really loved each other. A bit later George reveals "the group had problems long before Yoko came along. Many problems."
He also says he doesn't remember much about the Beatles days: "It feels like a previous incarnation." Strange, considering the band broke up just a year earlier.
Source: Mark Frauenfelder/boingboing.net
Between February and April of 1968, The Beatles embarked on a transcendental meditation retreat and course with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh, India. During their spiritual respite, the songs of their ninth album, The Beatles (the White Album), started taking form. John Lennon and Paul McCartney would often meet secretly to write in between meditative breaks, while George Harrison, who had been squeezing in typically two or more of his own songs on prior Beatles records, was also becoming a more prolific songwriter—even writing for other artists—as well as a musician, during this time.
Source: americansongwriter.com
Ever since The Beatles made Abbey Road their home in the early ’60s, the iconic studio has become a sacred spot, a holy ground for some of the most groundbreaking recordings of all time. Great English music is cemented into the history of the studio and continues to be coaxed out today. Acts like Radiohead, Pink Floyd, The Zombies, Florence + the Machine, and Oasis have all gone on to deliver career-making recordings while in Westminster.
Below, in no particular order, we’re going through 10 of the best songs recorded at the iconic studio. From The Beatles to Oasis let’s take a trip through the artists that have struck gold at Abbey Road.
1. “Come Together” (The Beatles)
Of course, we have to look at the Beatles’ swan song, Abbey Road. Across the album’s 17 tracks are a number of perennial Beatles hits. With “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” “Here Comes The Sun,” “Carry That Weight, and “Come Together” amongst the tracklist, it almost reads more like a greatest hits album than a singular effort.
The latter track is the one we’ve chosen for this list, although many could be contenders. The opening bass riff of “Come Together” is one of the most recognizable in music history and insatiably groovy.
Source: americansongwriter.com
I arrived at the modest townhouse, opened my suitcase and carefully placed “Revolver” on the turntable – the vinyl had miraculously survived the trip from Boston. I listened to the Harrison written “Collector” in the living room where teenager George once stuck with Paul McCartney and John Lennon as the Quarrymen and then as the Beatles from 1960. legend has it Louise Harrison used to bring some whiskey to the boys when they rehearsed, so I had a drink in her honor while listening to records. Did I have misty eyes? Only the shot of young George on the coat knows for sure.
Source: Judy J. Beasley/apartmentsapart.com
THE BEATLES star George Harrison was forced to step in and make John Lennon change the lyrics of one raunchy song when he realised it would insult a friend of theirs. Lennon later publicly addressed the change, while Harrison claimed its lyrics were "ridiculous".
It was recently announced that The Beatles' seventh album, Revolver, will be getting a reissue in the coming months. Although the record is iconic, one of the band's most popular albums was one that followed: The White Album.
The band's 1968 record was their ninth album and included a collection of incredible tracks mainly written in India while the Fab Four were a Transcendental Meditation course.
One track left George Harrison frustrated, however.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
Last year, The Beatles: Get Back arrived on Disney+ with eight hours of mostly unseen footage of the Fab Four in their 1969 Let It Be sessions. Peter Jackson cleaned up a ton of behind-the-scenes moments of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, who were clearly having the time of their lives.
Almost a year on and McCartney has had a chance to see The Beatles: Get Back and recently gave a Q&A for fans on his official website.
One fan, also called Paul, said: “I just wanted to say thank you. Just like lockdown re-ignited my love of football, Get Back has re-ignited my love of The Beatles. Can I ask what part of the documentary bought the biggest smile to your face? Mine was you and Ringo playing piano together.”
McCartney, who turned 80 this year, replied: “There were quite a few smiles: me and John goofing around on ‘Two of Us’ acting like ventriloquists and singing through our teeth; me and John goofing around on ‘Bathroom Window’ where we start ringing Tuesday - “Hello Tuesday!” - that was nice. But the one that immediately comes to mind is John dancing - just seeing him dancing. It’s very cute, and he was actually a really good mover!”
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
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A 1958 Gibson Les Paul guitar that George Harrison purchased specifically to help secure the return of his prized 1957 Les Paul guitar, known as “Lucy,” after it had been stolen, is going up for bid as part of an auction scheduled for September 24.
Harrison was gifted “Lucy” by his friend Eric Clapton in 1967 and used it frequently during the last years of The Beatles. The guitar was stolen from George’s Beverly Hills home in 1973 and eventually purchased by a Los Angeles guitar shop, which in turn sold it to a Mexican musician named Michael Ochoa.
After Ochoa returned home with “Lucy,” Harrison tracked down the instrument. After some negotiating, George agreed to trade a sought-after 1958 Les Paul with a sunburst finish and a Fender Precision bass for his beloved guitar. Harrison purchased the ’58 Les Paul, now nicknamed the “Ransom” guitar, from Norman Harris, of L.A.’s Norman’s Rare Guitars shop.
Source: wdrv.com
George Harrison became spiritual after hitting a wall in the mid-1960s. Nothing impressed him, and he’d become disenchanted with fame. Taking LSD had opened a door to God-consciousness, but the Beatle didn’t know what to do next. Thankfully, he met his musical guru, Ravi Shankar, who taught him sitar and Hinduism.
George became more and more spiritual with every meditation and chanting session. Although, those weren’t the only techniques he used to remain close to God. Shankar taught him that “God is sound,” so every time he played a note, he communicated with his maker. George even got a direct experience with God through gardening.
As George traveled on his spiritual path, he ensured his family’s spiritual aim remained true. He didn’t want them to get lost along the way.In the mid-1960s, George had become disenchanted with many things, including fame. Being a Beatle had essentially extinguished the light inside him. He was bored but had recently taken LSD with John Lennon too. The hallucinogen had opened a door to an unknown place.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles‘ “When I’m Sixty-Four” appeared on a classic album. Subsequently, John Lennon was asked what he planned to do at age 64. In addition, John explained why he would never have written a song like “When I’m Sixty-Four.”
The book Lennon Remembers contains an article from 1970. In it, John was asked what he expected to do in the next three months. “I’d like to just vanish a bit,” he said. It wore me out, New York. I love it.
“I’m just sort of fascinated by it, like a f****** monster,” he added. “Doing the films was a nice way of meeting a lot of people. I think we’ve both said and done enough for a few months, especially with this article.”
Subsequently, John was asked about his plans for the next few years. “Oh, no, I couldn’t think of the next few years; it’s abysmal thinking of how many years there are to go, millions of them,” he said. “I just play it by the week. I don’t think much ahead of a week.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
John Lennon's Aug. 30, 1972, headlining benefit performance at Madison Square Garden would ultimately turn out to be the final full-length concert of his life.
The show arrived amid a tumultuous time. Lennon had come under harsh scrutiny from President Richard Nixon due largely to his outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War, as well as his support for various liberal causes. Nixon believed the former Beatles legend was hurting American youth and decided to use a 1968 marijuana-related arrest in the U.K. as his excuse to have Lennon deported.
Adding to the stress, Lennon’s most recent album, Some Time in New York City, wasn’t matching the sales numbers he’d previously enjoyed with the Beatles or even his earlier solo efforts. Lead single “Woman is the N----- of the World” had caused a stir, and for the first time in his career, Lennon’s star seemed to have lost some of its shine.
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
