Beatles News
John Lennon revealed two books helped inspire “Imagine.”
He did not see the song as a condemnation of all religion.
“Imagine” was a hit in the 1970s and in the 1980s.
In John Lennon‘s 1971 hit “Imagine,” the former Beatle famously asked listeners to imagine a world with “no religion.” Subsequently, John elaborated on the meaning of that lyric. He also revealed what he thought when a church group wanted to change the lyrics of the song.According to the book All We Are Saying; The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, John discussed the origin of “Imagine” in a 1980 interview. “[Activist and comedian] Dick Gregory gave Yoko and me a little kind of prayer book,” John recalled. “It is in the Christian idiom, but you can apply it anywhere. It is the concept of positive prayer. If you want to get a car, get the car keys. Get it? ‘Imagine’ is saying that.”
Source: cheatsheet.com
As awards season in the film and TV industry races to an end, the past weekend was highlighted by some of the last major honors ahead of next weekend’s Academy Awards.
The Producers Guild of America on Saturday was the latest event to honor one of the favorite documentaries of this year’s season, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). Directed by first-time filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the doc about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival picked up the PGA’s “Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures” honor for Joseph Patel, David Dinerstein and Robert Fyvolent.
The other nominees in the category were Summer of Soul‘s fellow Oscar nominees Flee, Ascension and Writing With Fire, as well as The First Wave, In the Same Breath, The Rescue and Simple as Water.
Source: Andrew Jeffrey/realscreen.com
George Harrison had many hilarious run-ins with other celebrities, including one with actor Mel Gibson. Even though George wrote a song for Gibson’s Lethal Weapon 2, the pair didn’t meet until years later.
However, Gibson should have known that the “quiet Beatle” wasn’t so quiet. George knew how to give a witty response in any situation, even if he was meeting a famous actor.
George Harrison during The Beatles induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Mel Gibson at the 1997 Golden Globes.
In Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust: Off the Record with The Beatles, Bowie, Elton & So Much More (per the New York Post), Ken Scott, one of the five main engineers for The Beatles, recalled the time George met Gibson.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Sir Paul McCartney is known for his memorable words — so it makes sense that the last ones he spoke to his late wife were meaningful. The Beatles frontman is one of the most successful composers and performers of all time. And he used his way with language to help ease his wife, Linda McCartney, on her death bed. What did he say?Although early Beatles songs were about Jane Asher, McCartney’s first love, Linda Eastman, captured his adult heart. The American photographer attended a Georgie Fame concert at a London nightclub. She met her future husband there, as the book Paul: 50 Years After the British Invasion explains (via Rolling Stone).
Source: cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney and his wife Linda had one of the most enduring marriages in rock and roll. The couple tied the knot in March of 1969 and caused the ire of fans of The Beatles who wept after learning McCartney was no longer a single man. However, the couple almost didn’t marry the day they were scheduled to become man and wife. Here’s the reason why.
Paul McCartney met photographer Linda Eastman during a Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames concert at London’s Bag O’Nails club in 1967.
Eastman attended the concert with members of the group The Animals.
Source: cheatsheet.com
George Harrison had many friends, but only those closest to him heard his ukulele playing, including actor Michael Caine. George once showed up at Caine’s home and played ukulele late into the night. Caine was surprised but couldn’t possibly kick the ex-Beatle out.
In a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone, Caine said he was close with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Caine said, “I knew all the Beatles, all the Rolling Stones. I knew everybody in the music business and we spent our lives in discotheques. I drank alcohol quite heavily for some time. But I never did any drugs.”
In his documentary My Generation, Paul McCartney told Caine about the moment The Beatles offered The Rolling Stones “I Wanna Be Your Man.”
Source: cheatsheet.com
Although The Beatles wrote and released some of the most popular songs of all time, their final years in a band together were bogged down by arguments and disagreements. The band's 1970 movie Let It Be showcased Paul McCartney and George Harrison becoming quite aggressive with one another during the recording of one track, The Two Of Us. But this led to the composition of a legendary song from Harrison.In 2001, just before Harrison's death, he looked back on the argument he had with McCartney in 1970. He recalled: "At that point in time, Paul couldn’t see beyond himself. He was on a roll, but… in his mind, everything that was going on around him was just there to accompany him. He wasn’t sensitive to stepping on other people’s egos or feelings." (Via Guitar World)
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
Following his time with The Beatles, music legend Paul McCartney founded the band Wings in 1971, which included his wife Linda on keyboard. Paul has spoken out about what it was like taking his family on tour with the band.
Wings went on their first tour in February 1972, and Paul and Linda brought their three daughters with the band on the legendary trip. Known as the Wings University Tour, it was Paul's first tour since The Beatles' 1966 US tour, and involved several impromptu shows at universities across the UK.
On the blog on his website, Paul answered a fan's question: 'What was it like raising a family on tour?'. He responded: 'It was great for us, and I think it was great for them. It meant that we didn’t have to worry about them, because they were right there with us. And we figured if you want to know geography, actually going to all these places was helpful - it was part of their education. So yeah, it was interesting!'.
Source: planetradio.co.uk
Now open! Experience one of the most iconic moments of the 20th Century by stepping inside The Beatles’ January 1969 rehearsals, studio sessions, and legendary Apple Corps rooftop concert, the band’s final live performance.
This groundbreaking exhibition curated by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an immersive complement to Peter Jackson's docuseries, “The Beatles: Get Back.”
Fans will experience The Beatles’ creative journey through the exhibit’s original instruments, clothing, and handwritten lyrics used by The Beatles and seen in the film, including items loaned directly by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the estates of George Harrison and John Lennon. The exhibit will feature high-definition film clips, audio, and custom projections, transporting fans into The Beatles’ vibrant world of January 1969.
Source: rockhall.com
John Lennon‘s Aunt Mimi didn’t exactly like how George Harrison‘s mother, Louise, encouraged The Beatles in their early days. Louise was very supportive of her son from the moment he asked for a guitar. She often cheered him and the group on whenever they performed. Meanwhile, John’s aunt was strict and didn’t want her nephew to waste his life on music.
However, Louise never lost faith in George and continued to be his No. 1 fan until she died in 1970.
When John was very young, his mother Julia sent him to live with her strict sister, Mary “Mimi” Smith, and her husband George. According to Paul McCartney, John was “the posh one,” living in a relatively wealthy neighborhood on Menlove Avenue.
Despite living in a nice home, John’s childhood was far from glamorous. His father abandoned him, and his mother moved on to have a family with another man. She later died in 1958 after being struck by a car.
Source: cheatsheet.com
