Beatles News
Though George Harrison was called “the quiet Beatle,” his influence on the foursome—and 20th-century popular music—was inestimable. As a member of the most famous rock band in history, and as an independent artist, Harrison forged new trails that affected music, pop culture, even fashion and haircuts. The musician, who passed away in 2001, would have turned 78 years old last week. To mark the occasion, Pro-Ject Audio Systems revealed a turntable in his honor.
The commemorative component features a plinth with the pop star’s likeness, embellished with a decidedly psychedelic-retro design. Pro-Ject worked with Bravado, Apple Corps and Studio Number One to create graphics based on the 2014 art-print lithograph designed for the Harrisons by Shepard Fairey—the artist responsible for the iconic Hope poster—and George Harrison’s personal analog recording console, visible underneath the acrylic platter.
Source: Robert Ross/sports.yahoo.com
Bill Frisell is one of my favourite guitarists and I’m a huge John Lennon fan so this album is the best of both worlds. Frisell re-interprets sixteen of Lennon’s compositions (Beatles songs and solo work) joined by four equally remarkable musicians.
Greg Leisz (pedal steel & guitar), Jenny Scheinman (violin), Tony Scherr (bass) and Kenny Wollesen (drums) provide thoughtful textures and colours along with Frisell’s unmistakable guitar playing without ever straying too far from the originals.
In a way, it’s refreshing to hear Lennon’s gorgeous melodies and sublime chord changes without too much improvisation. Frisell, Leisz and Scheinman tangle and weave through lines as in delicate conversation while Scherr and Wollesen keep the pulse of things locked in.
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Across the Universe begins with shimmering harmonics and subtle waves of ambient steel before the arrival of the melody. Scheinman’s violin plays a subtle harmony as Leisz swells from below. The bass is minimalist and the drums purely textural.
Source: David Reed/intelligencer.ca
John Lennon is one of the most acclaimed musicians of all time, however, he felt The Beatles didn’t make a song as great as one of Elvis Presley’s most famous tracks. In addition, Ringo Starr had strong feelings about the Elvis song in question. Here’s a look at how members of the Beatles felt about one of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s most famous songs.
In 1968, John gave an interview to Rolling Stone’s Jonathan Cott. He discussed everything from T. S. Elliot’s The Waste Land to the black power movement to Bob Dylan.
During the interview, Cott said The Beatles were trying to get away from their old records. “But I’d like to make a record like [Richie Barrett’s] ‘Some Other Guy,’” John revealed. “I haven’t done one that satisfies me as much as that satisfied me. Or [Gene Vincent’s] ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ or [Elvis’] ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ or [Little Richard’s] ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ or [Jerry Lee Lewis’] ‘Whole Lot of Shakin’.’ I’m not being modest. I mean we’re still trying it.”
Source: cheatsheet.com
It’s always the quiet ones…
Even in the anarchic annals of rock music, The Beatles’ split in 1970 was a messy affair. Paul McCartney was the first to issue a proper press release that he was “no longer working with the band” yet the four would still record under The Beatles brand to complete the Let It Be sessions. All four were working on solo records: John, Ringo and George Harrison would all contribute to each others’, while McCartney cut his self-titled solo album on home recording equipment at his St John’s Wood home after writing much on retreat in Scotland.
Source: Michael Leonard/guitar.com
John Lennon wrote many of the great songs that Ringo recorded, including “With A Little Help from my Friends” and “Good Night,” recorded with The Beatles. Lennon also wrote “I’m The Greatest,” which Ringo recorded as the opening cut of his 1973 album Ringo. George Harrison played on the track along with Lennon, marking the only time all three Beatles played on a record together since their band broke up.
Ringo Starr, “I’m The Greatest”
“I couldn’t sing it!” said John. “But it was perfect for Ringo. He could sing ‘I’m A Loser’ to the world
but not ‘I’m The Greatest.‘
John Lennon’s original demo of “I’m The Greatest,” 1970
Lennon wrote the song in 1970, soon after The Beatles broke up. Inspired by the line spoken often by Muhammad Ali, he wrote “I’m The Greatest” as a joke. It’s quite like a Randy Newman song, musically and lyrically. But unlike Randy, who would sing songs told by the most untrustworthy narrators without compunction, Lennon felt differently. The man who sang “I’m A Loser” to the world, would not sing “I’m The Greatest.”
Source: americansongwriter.com
Do a deep dive into the best songs about candy, and suddenly ten titles arrive, yet for some reason, the best by far is excluded—The Beatles, “Savoy Truffle.” A few of the other candy songs are memorable, but none are worthy, really, to touch the hem of this classic by George Harrison and his first band, The Beatles.
After all, almost all of the other candy songs are not really about candy itself, but are using candy as a metaphor for something else altogether. This something else, according to our most current research, is always sex. Even the most innocent of these uses secret codes aimed dually towards older teens focussed full-time on sex, and the younger kids who just love candy.
Even “Sugar Sugar,” written by Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich for The Archies, divulges its secret heart in the first verse: You are my candy, girl, and you got me wanting you…
But “Savoy Truffle” from The White Album is not based on a metaphor, nor any kind of sneaky indirection. It’s about candy, and also the repercussion of such over-indulgence: bad teeth.
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Pulitzer prize-winning Northern Irish poet Paul Muldoon, who has edited Sir Paul McCartney's lyrical memoirs, has likened the book's creative process to The Beatles' legendary afternoon song-writing sessions.
he Co Armagh man and contemporary of the late Seamus Heaney, was enlisted by McCartney to work on his 900-page volume The Lyrics, a 'self-portrait in 154 songs', charting the 78-year-old's career from boyhood to The Beatles.
The book will cover the 'circumstances in which the songs were written, the people and places that inspired them and what (McCartney) thinks of them now'.
Muldoon, a former professor of poetry at Oxford and fan of Sixties pop, met up with the former Beatle many times to discuss the book's content and the writing process.
“Sir Paul and I met regularly over a period of five years for two or three hour sessions in which we talked in a very intensive way about the background to a half dozen songs,” said Muldoon.
Source: Maureen Coleman/ belfasttelegraph.co.uk
The Beatles' Sir Paul McCartney usually steered clear of getting involved in political goings-on. In 1972 he was working hard with his wife, Linda McCartney, on his second band, Paul McCartney and Wings. The group had just released their first album, Wild Life, but when a peaceful demonstration in Ireland ended with 26 people being shot by British soldiers, he felt he had to step up. In a tragic event now called Bloody Sunday the death of 14 people left a lasting effect on The Beatle, who himself has roots in Ireland on his mother’s side.
In an instantaneous and furious response, McCartney wrote a song to speak his mind for him.
At the time the singer was in New York with John Lennon when he saw the news and decided to write Give Ireland Back to the Irish.
McCartney was keen to make his voice heard on this matter and attempted to get his record company, EMI, to release it, but it didn’t go according to plan.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
The life and work of Ringo Starr will be celebrated in a new virtual exhibit at the Grammy Museum this month. The museum, which is currently closed due to the ongoing pandemic, will host archive and new interviews via their streaming service, as well as featuring a digital version of the hugely popular 2013 exhibit, Peace & Love. Peace & Love was the first exhibit to cover the entirety of Ringo's life in music: from the early days of his childhood, through to his rise to fame with the Beatles and his time with the All Starr Band.
Source: genesis-publications.com
And, that John Lennon wrote “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (often thought of as being about the drug LSD, due to the song’s initials) was actually written about the death of a little girl named Lucy who was his son Julian’s friend.
Or, did you know that it was Ed Sullivan himself who noticed the throngs of teenagers waiting for the band at London’s airport when they were returning from playing in Hamburg, Germany in 1963? He then booked the band for their (now) historic appearance in February 1964.
The interesting facts in this book just keep coming.
When Paul introduced “the one and only Billy Shears” in his song “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” he was actually referring to drummer Ringo Starr, whom Paul and John wanted to help promote.
These stories are but a few of those in perhaps the most exhaustive book ever written about history’s greatest band. The book is called All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release.
It’s a fascinating look at the genesis of every Beatles song, ranging from the number of takes it took to record each song to the inspiration behind each lyric. Beyond that, it’s full of behind-the-scenes drama that made the Beatles far more than just history’s greatest selling band.
Source: David R. Altman/mainstreetnews.com
