Beatles News
Once Ringo Starr took over the drum kit, The Beatles had the right lineup to take over the world. His impressive drum skills allowed the Fab Four to tackle complex rhythms, such as on “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “Come Together,” later in their career. Still, The Beatles had to ditch their first drummer, Pete Best, before bringing Ringo into the fold. Paul McCartney remembered the exact moment and song that proved Ringo was the perfect drummer for The Beatles.
The Beatles famously played several residencies in Hamburg, Germany, but they weren’t the only band from Liverpool entertaining the Germans.
Before he joined the Fab Four, Ringo drummed for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. The band earned a positive reputation in Liverpool and Germany (and had fancy pink suits that helped them score better beds in Hamburg). The two groups knew each other from England, and they played some of the same clubs in Germany in the early 1960s.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison said he initially wrote his 1970 song, “All Things Must Pass,” with a certain tune by The Band in mind. Then, George heard a member of the group singing his title track whenever he listened to it.
In November 1968, The Band invited George to stay with them and Bob Dylan in Woodstock, New York. George explained the experience during a 1987 interview with Musician Magazine’s Timothy White.
“To this day you can play ‘Stage Fright’ and ‘Big Pink,’ and although the technology’s changed, those records come off as beautifully conceived and uniquely sophisticated,” George said of The Band. “They had great tunes, played in a great spirit, and with humor and versatility.
“I knew those guys during that period and I think it was Robbie Robertson who invited me down. He said, ‘You can stay at Albert’s [Grossman, Dylan’s manager]. He’s got the big house.’ I hung out with them and Bob.”
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
Through thick and thin, George Harrison and Eric Clapton remained life-long friends. Nothing and no one came between them, not even the woman they both loved, Pattie Boyd. However, Clapton had one grievance against the former Beatle.
Clapton never forgave George for not taking him to meet reggae star, Bob Marley.
Clapton was with The Yardbirds and George with The Beatles when they first met in the early 1960s. In 1977, George told Mitchell Glazer (per George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters) that he didn’t get to know Clapton during their initial meeting. They later met again during a Lovin’ Spoonful concert. George recognized Clapton, but the guitarist looked lonely.
Source: Hannah Wigandt/cheatsheet.com
Every music band starts their career with high hopes and big goals. However, it is usually not easy to put all the puzzle pieces together on the way to building a massive success story. Still, the Beatles managed to create an epic tale. The band single-mindedly took the right steps to achieve their dream, which didn’t go unnoticed by music lovers from all around the world.
The Fab Four, each possessing raw musical talent, perfectly complemented one another and made it to the top of the music world thanks to their enormous drive and perseverance. Even though they had the money and success to keep going after a certain point, the band never stopped working on new ideas and material.
Source: Bihter Sevinc/rockcelebrities.net
If These Walls Could Sing, the new documentary about London’s Abbey Road Studios that was directed by Paul McCartney‘s daughter Mary, which got its world premiere at Colorado’ Telluride Film Festival in September 3, will soon make its TV debut on Disney+.
The news was revealed at Abbey Road’s official website and a preview clip from the doc was posted along with the announcement featuring Paul sharing recollections about working at the studio.
In the clip, McCartney recalls a time during the late 1970s when his late wife and Mary’s mom, Linda, walked a black pony they owned named Jet into Abbey Road from their nearby London residence. Paul’s memories are accompanied by photos of Linda walking with the pony across the famous zebra crossing outside of the studio.
Source: ABC News/everettpost.com
Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band had only played nine gigs before COVID-19 put the musicians on pause. Now, months later, the group is back on tour with a brand new EP and skills from an unexpected hobby learned while quarantining.
“You play it safe because then you’re keeping other people safe,” Starr told CBS News senior culture correspondent Anthony Mason.
While at home, the 82-year-old former drummer for the Beatles recorded two EP’s, and recently released one of them titled EP3.
But along with creating music during lockdown, Starr said a TikTok video he saw inspired him to delve into spin paint — an art form where paint is poured onto a rotating canvas. He said he’s turned his home gym into an art room and transformed a guest house into a home studio so that he can “splash paint around.”
“I love it,” he said. “That’s the magic of painting, you do something and then, ‘Wow, look what came out of it.'”
Source: sandhillsexpress.com
Nothing good lasts forever, and that includes The Beatles. They had a string of hit albums throughout the 1960s, but personal and artistic differences caused the band to splinter by the end of the decade before they broke up for good in 1970. No one member necessarily caused the band to break up, but Paul McCartney once revealed the public casting him as a villain of the Beatles’ break-up had him believing it was true until he saw one photo of him and John Lennon together.
With hindsight being 20-20, one could trace the threads of the Beatles’ break-up back to their early days. The band had conflict even when they were just four lads looking to build their fan base, such as Paul and George Harrison arguing about car keys for two hours.
By the end of the 1960s, however, each member had solo work in mind, and the Fab Four also had different opinions about how to run their shared business interests. The death of their strong-willed manager Brian Epstein also threw the band into disarray. There was no one cause for why the Beatles broke up; it was a collection of problems that caused their split.
Source: Jason Rossi/cheatsheet.com
In 2016, musical sensations Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr took to social media with tributes to their late producer, who Sir Paul had previously described as a “second father” to him.
Following the highly publicised tributes, fans mistook the man credited with the Beatles’ success for fantasy author George RR Martin.
The internet buzzed with condolences and concern, eventually garnering the attention of the author himself who had to address his living status on his blog in a post titled: “Not Dead Yet”.
Martin shared his appreciation for seeing how many people cared “so deeply about my life and death,” but admitted the “rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated”.
The author shared his condolences for the actual Sir George, noting that although the two had not met he still appreciated the producer's great efforts in creating the Beatles.
Source: Samantha Leathers/express.co.uk
John Lennon co-wrote songs with his partner Yoko Ono. After feeling guilty about wanting to leave the Beatles, he even gave Paul McCartney credit for a song co-authored by Ono. Here’s what we learned from Skywriting by Word of Mouth.
After recording and releasing music for several years, the Beatles officially disbanded in 1970 after a self-interview from Paul McCartney. Later, Lennon commented on his decision to ask for a “divorce.”
Thanks to Skywriting by Word of Mouth, fans learned about Lennon’s experience in the Beatles. Even in 1965, this songwriter was thinking about leaving the group, saying that life “had become a trap. A tape loop.”
“When I finally had the guts to tell the other three that I, quote, wanted a divorce, unquote, they knew it was for real, unlike Ringo and George’s previous threats to leave,” Lennon wrote. “I must say I felt guilty for springing it on them at such short notice.”
Source: Julia Dzurillay/cheatsheet.com
In 1963, George Harrison became the first member of The Beatles to visit America. The band’s visit the following year sparked Beatlemania in the country, but Harrison’s first visit was much more lowkey. His sister had moved to Illinois, and Harrison took a quiet trip to see her. Nobody recognized him, but they did take note of his fashion. A local teacher mentioned that she thought Harrison looked “pitiful” on his trip.
“I’d been to America before, being the experienced Beatle that I was,” Harrison said, per Rolling Stone. “I went to New York and St. Louis in 1963, to look around, and to the countryside in Illinois, where my sister was living at the time.”
Louise’s husband was an engineer at a coal mine, so she moved to Benton, Illinois for his job. Though Beatlemania was already in full swing in Britain, people did not recognize him in the United States. He was able to enjoy a quiet visit without the chaos he had grown accustomed to at home.
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
