Beatles News
As an anthem of peace, the song has been sung time and again by different people at various events since its release in 1971.
Pop stars from Elton John and Stevie Wonder to Liza Minnelli and Madonna have sung their own versions of the song.
When people gathered on the streets of Paris after the 2015 terrorist attack, a man played the song on a piano decorated with a symbol of peace.
Bored after self-isolation during Covid-19, 'Wonder Woman' Star Gal Gadot got together a star-studded cast for a sing-along of the masterpiece, while students of Melbourne wrote their own version of this song during the pandemic.
A pre-recorded version of the song was performed at the Tokyo Olympics.
One can’t imagine the greatness of this song written 50 years ago that still resonates with so many and is relevant to today’s times.
Source: Stanley Carvalho/deccanherald.com
George Harrison turned an OBE down in 2000 after Paul McCartney was awarded a knighthood - with his friend claiming it was 'extremely insensitive'
Deciding who gets onto the New Year's Honours List must be a trick process - and often causes tension.
Many people dream of receiving an honour from The Queen, but there have been a number of famous faces over the years who have turned it down.
Perhaps the most controversial of all time involved the Beatles - with one member returning their honour and another declining his because he felt 'insulted'.
All four members of the legendary band, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, were awarded an MBE in 1965.
They were nominated by then Prime Minister Harold Wilson, but controversy erupted due to the honour primarily being bestowed on military veterans and civic leaders at the time.
Source: Kyle O'Sullivan/mirror.co.uk
The Beatles had many idols. They had their own personal influences, but one of their most significant inspirations was a particular Motown singer. The Beatles said he was “God in their eyes” and inspired a couple of their earliest songs and beyond.
If you’ve listened to any of The Beatles’ earlier records, you know that they harmonized excellently. That’s because they learned from the best; Smokey Robinson.
According to Rolling Stone, Paul McCartney once said, “Smokey Robinson was like God in our eyes,” and you can tell they thought that on those early records. “Nowhere was Robinson’s divine presence more felt than on With the Beatles,” Rolling Stone wrote.
With the Beatles features the band’s cover of “You Really Got a Hold on Me” and songs like John Lennon’s “Not a Second Time” and “All I’ve Got to Do,” which John once described as “me trying to do Smokey Robinson.”
Source: cheatsheet.com
On New Year’s Day, 1962, two bands auditioned for Decca Records in London. The company had been scouting for a new act that would appeal to the younger crowd. After hearing both bands, the executives decided on Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, a 1960s beat band whose later hits would include a cover of “Twist and Shout.”
Explaining their decision to the other band’s manager, Brian Epstein, the record executives reasoned that “guitar groups were on the way out.”
While Epstein continued seeking a record label for his Liverpudlian quartet, the band members — John, Paul, George, and Ringo— were themselves dispirited and close to calling it quits.
Source: Pankaj Tripathi/globalcirculate.com
A half-century ago, The Beatles reigned supreme in the heyday of AM radio and rec room hi-fi turntables. Like many youngsters who were another decade or so away from scoring a driver’s license, I lived and breathed in anticipation of hearing the newest release from the 20th century’s greatest musical group.
As a preteen listening to the album “Let It Be” — played ad nauseam in my bedroom in a cookie-cutter American suburb of Seattle, to be a fly on the wall of the studio where the original supergroup fashioned its iconic songs was my unattainable dream. The Beatles were superhuman and as mythical as Superman and Santa Claus.
Source: Bob Smith/bainbridgereview.com
Dick James, the Beatles’ original music publisher, gets an icy reception in a scene in Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary. In that scene (Part 1, around 27:00), you sense a scent of resentment, chilling the humor, killing the vibe. It’s the “suit” in the room, the one who, with Brian Epstein in 1963, had easily convinced Lennon and McCartney to sign over their copyrights to all of their Beatles songs, including ones not yet written.
How the Beatles signed away their publishing – a year before they blasted off globally – was unusual then as now. Neither a straight copyright purchase nor a co-publishing deal, James creatively set up Northern Songs as a copyright holding company that he would own with “the boys.” James and his accountant reportedly ended up with 50%, John and Paul received 20% each, and Epstein took 10%.
Source: Bill Hochberg/forbes.com
George Harrison and Elton John weren’t the closest of friends. They’d collaborated a couple of times, but that’s as far as they went. However, George still felt he needed to warn the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” singer about his excessive drug use. He even gave Elton John a couple of tellings-off.
In the special edition of Rolling Stone, “Remembering George,” Elton John talked about his experiences with George over the years. He also explained that George gave him a couple of talks about his drug habits.
“It’s very hard to put into words,” Elton John said. “He was very forthright, and he actually administered quite a few tellings-off to me about my drug problem.
Source: cheatsheet.com
The Disney+ docu-series The Beatles: Get Back has given fans an intimate look at the Beatles’ creative process. Hours of footage show Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr building the pieces of what would become classic songs. Hearing all of their conversations wasn’t easy, director Peter Jackson said. Jackson spoke at a Zoom press conference for The Beatles: Get Back on Nov. 16. He explained how he used new digital tools to uncover dialogue between band members that was previously buried under music and other noise.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Paul McCartney says family gives his life meaning: “I may be 80, but I feel 25!”
Sir Paul McCartney, who will turn 80 in June, says he still feels like a 25-year-old.
And the former Beatle is in such good spirits that he has no intention of stopping recording, performing live, or writing new songs, which he does with the help of a few drinks.
“Hey, I can’t believe I’m a grandparent!” Macca exclaimed, adding, “I mean, I’m 25 years old actually, I just look older, and I think my birth certificate was falsified.”
I have eight grandchildren, a wonderful wife, and wonderful children, and I believe that is where I should be concentrating my efforts.”
He stated that he composes music “when [he]is in the mood or has some free time.”
“I don’t try to write a song every day,” he explained.
You get an idea, or it’s late at night, and you’ve had a few drinks, and you make terrible demos [sounding like]this old drunken uncle.”
Source: Brinkwire
The Monkees received many comparisons to The Beatles over the years. While The Monkees covered songs by numerous artists, they only recorded a cover of one Paul McCartney song. During an interview, Mike Nesmith discussed what he thought of the cover’s parent album.The final album The Monkees made during the lifetimes of Nesmith and Peter Tork was a Christmas album called Christmas Party. It was The Monkees’ lone Christmas album. During an interview with The Monkees’ YouTube channel, Nesmith revealed his thoughts on Christmas Party. “Dare I say it, I think this Monkees Christmas album is really, really good,” Nesmith opined. “This is a nice piece of work. It’s very odd in The Monkees’ lexicon, but it was a lot of fun to work on.”
Source: cheatsheet.com
