Beatles News
Elvis Presley became both famous and infamous — and John Lennon wasn’t always a fan. He and the other Beatles went out of their way not to mimic Presley in a very specific way. In addition, John felt Mick Jagger replicated one of Presley’s mannerisms that he couldn’t stand.
John opened up about so much in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, where he discussed everyone from Judy Collins to Bob Dylan to Chairman Mao Zedong. He made some surprising comments about Presley and how he moved. Presley was known for swiveling his hips — an act which many people felt was too sexual back in the 1950s.
Initially, the Beatles had some interesting stage antics of their own. “When we were younger, we used to move, we used to jump around and do all the things they’re doing now, like going on stage with toilet seats and sh*tting and p*ssing.” However, the Beatles deliberately wouldn’t movie like Presley.
Source: cheatsheet.com
In 1960, John Lennon's art school friend Stu Sutcliffe coined the Beatles' name (originally, as Beatals) in tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. By 1961, Lennon had grown tired of explaining the roots of the group's name, with its manifold permutations. In a humorous story for Mersey Beat, he famously claimed that the word had come to him "in a vision—a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them, 'from this day on you are Beatles with an A.'"
For his tenth solo album, Paul McCartney drew his title from Lennon's whimsical story, honoring his fallen mate and christening his most sentimental post-Beatles release in the same breath. This month, "Flaming Pie" enjoys deluxe treatment as the latest installment in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, complete with a host of unreleased demos, bonus tracks, and outtakes.
Source: Kenneth Womack/salon.com
Of his relationship with Yoko Ono, John Lennon once said: "If you love somebody, you can't be with them enough. There's no such thing. You don't want to be apart."
From the outside the two artists certainly seemed inseparable. For many, their love story is synonymous with images entwined around one another, most famously on the cover of Rolling Stone.
Behind the photos, Lennon and Ono's bond was not one without incident or controversy.
The relationship began when they were both married with children, and Ono was widely perceived to have been a factor in The Beatles breaking up. They also separated during their marriage, with Lennon starting an affair that Ono admitted to having encouraged.
Here, 9Honey looks at some of the key moments of Lennon and Ono's relationship before it was cut cruelly short with the former Beatle's murder in 1980.
Source: Kahla Preston/msn.com
Twin Cities songwriter and Music in Minnesota editor Erik Ritland releases a new article every Friday. Ranging from fun lists to serious music commentary, they are a companion to his podcast, Erik Ritland isn’t so Bad.
The Beatles are perhaps the most revered band in pop/rock history. Since their later material is so revered, it’s hard to imagine just how impactful their earliest songs and albums were.
There was plenty of other great music released in the early ‘60s, but singles like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” were explosive. There was nothing like their music. Some would say that there still isn’t, although their early material is now obscured by everything that was influenced by it.
Below are 10 essential Beatles songs from the first half of their career, showing their arc from Hamburg-hardened pop/rock band into a more sophisticated sound. Find a playlist featuring each of these songs here.
Source: Erik Ritland/musicinminnesota.com
One summer day in 1968, Paul McCartney recorded “Blackbird” while John Lennon looped tape for “Revolution 9” in another studio. Though these tracks sound about as similar as Sting and Stravinsky, they ended up on the same album—the Beatles’ self-titled double album (aka the “White Album”).
McCartney’s unusual fingerpick-and-strum technique gives “Blackbird” its distinctive sound. Try strumming across the strings with just your index finger and you’ll get a sense of McCartney’s feel. Unlike a strum that uses your whole arm, these mini-strums are all done with your hand in the same place: your index finger moves from the base knuckle joining your finger to your hand.
Look at the first measure of “Blackbird” and see that McCartney grabs each note of the tenth intervals on the beat with his thumb and middle finger, filling in the upbeats with index-finger plucks. In measure 2, he slides all the way up to the tenth and 12th frets, grabs two strings again with his thumb and index finger, and does a quick index-finger strum—down and up—on the second half of beat 1.
Source: acousticguitar.com
Earlier this month, Sir Ringo Starr celebrated his 80th birthday with his fans. The Beatles drummer streamed a Big Birthday Show on his official YouTube channel, which included footage of him and his friends performing in recent years. And included was the latest Beatles reunion, when Sir Ringo performed with Sir Paul McCartney at one of the latter’s solo concerts in Los Angeles last year.
The footage of the two surviving Beatles performing Helter Skelter together at Dodger Stadium last summer featured at the end of Sir Ringo’s charity birthday show.
But now it’s no longer available on his YouTube channel.
However, for fans who missed The Beatles reunion and the rest of the show, Sir Ringo has made it available again for one week only on an exclusive platform.
The 80-year-old wrote on his Instagram: “I want to thank @CEEKVR for supporting my charity & birthday broadcast – RINGO’S BIG BIRTHDAY SHOW.”
Source: thewashingtontime.com
I know it’s hard to believe, but according to Nielson, the Beatles were the biggest-selling rock band during the first half of 2020. No one, other than perhaps the Beatles themselves, would have predicted their monumental success in 1962 when a catastrophic mistake nearly broke up the band.
Fortunately, “Quitting” Wasn’t In The Beatles’ Songbook
“Listening to the tapes, I can understand why we failed the Decca audition. We weren't that good…” Paul McCartney
The words “failure” and “The Beatles” seldom appear in the same sentence. However, much like a nascent startup, the Beatles’ early career was comprised of a series of failures, culminating in their unsuccessful audition with the leading record company of their era, Decca Records - a misstep that nearly caused the band to call it quits.
Entrepreneurs can draw several startup lessons from the way the Beatles dealt with Decca’s devastating rejection.
Source: John Greathouse/forbes.com
Paul McCartney is one of pop's fountainheads, one of the defining figures in the development of the artform.
A songwriter with no shortage of magic in the vaults, he recently decided to turn his sights to 1997 album 'Flaming Pie'.
Paul McCartney's tenth solo album, it was an international success, a record that ranks amongst the highest echelons of his storied discography.
Later this month a lavish re-issue hits the shelves, featuring rarities and unheard gems galore.
We've obtained this early, raw version of album cut 'Somedays' and it's a gorgeous listen, little more than guitar and that instantly recognisable voice.
A beautifully affecting piece of music, this is the original recording, before George Martin developing the finished song's distinctive arrangement.
You can download it on Paul McCartney's official website HERE and check it out below.
Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com
John Lennon sometimes made provocative comments that got the Beatles in trouble, however, he once made an innocent comment about food that made things very difficult for the Fab Four. At first, fans started sending the Beatles bags of candy. Things got progressively worse from there — and may have contributed to the band retiring from touring.According to the book Ringo: With a Little Help, John and George Harrison once told a magazine they liked Jelly Babies – a soft British candy. These remarks appeared harmless enough. According to The Guardian, some fans responded to them by sending boxes of Jelly Babies to the band.
Source: cheatsheet.com
The Beatles are heralded as the greatest band of all time, and since the 1960s the band has influenced generations of music. While there is no doubting The Beatles’ impact, discourse still surrounds the band when it comes to defining the group.
Some consider The Beatles to be the first true boy band, and other fans fight hard against that label due to the stigma that boy band members are not as talented as other music artists.
The Beatles
The problem with defining a boy band and categorizing The Beatles is that there is no clear definition of a boy band. At best, the term is loosely defined as a group of young male singers whose fan base is primarily made up of young women. So why the negative stigma surrounding the term? Over the years, the term has become associated with music acts that do not write their own music or play instruments.
Source: cheatsheet.com
