Beatles News
George Harrison had a handful of hit songs after The Beatles broke up, but his best one didn’t hit No. 1. Interestingly, the tune in question was supposed to sound a bit like The Beatles’ “Penny Lane.” George’s best song might have hit No. 1 if he hadn’t made a particular decision. George had three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100: “My Sweet Lord”/”Isn’t It a Pity,” “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth),” and “Got My Mind Set on You.” Those are all good songs, but they aren’t George’s best. The pinnacle of his career was “What Is Life.”
The tune combines George’s rock ‘n’ roll tendencies with his spiritual outlook and producer Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound technique. The lyrics are clever, as they could be interpreted as being about loving a partner or loving God. It’s hard to listen to it without feeling some uplift, whether you are spiritual or not.
During a 2001 interview with Billboard, George discussed the origin of “What Is Love.” “When we were going through all the tapes, I just found this version that was like a rough mix [at Trident Studios in London on August 9, 1970] on which I tried having this piccolo trumpet player like the guy who played on ‘Penny Lane,'” he said. “It wasn’t actually the same bloke but I wanted that sound. So I had an oboe and a piccolo trumpet and I had this part for them all written out but they couldn’t play it the same; they couldn’t do this this kind of ‘hush’ phrase, and they played it very staccato like a classical player. So I must have just recorded them on it, then rough mixed it, and then ditched that.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
The Beatles were set to get back together in the mid-1970s, but drummer Ringo Starr has shared the reason the band said no – despite being offered nearly £41million for one just performance.
Legendary rock group The Beatles had a chance to reunite for a lot of money but turned it down for just one reason. Ringo Starr, the band's drummer, shared the group were offered $50million in 1976 – the equivalent of £200million today – to get back together for a one-off performance.
It seemed a tempting deal for the Fab Four but they eventually turned the offer down. Starr and fellow surviving Beatles member Paul McCartney briefly reunited at the Wings frontman's show in London late last year. But a full Beatles reunion never came to be after their break-up in 1970.
Their final live performance took place from the Abbey Road Studios' rooftop, where new songs like 'Don't Let Me Down' and 'Get Back' were performed. With Starr and McCartney reuniting on stage to play Helter Skelter and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, some fans remembered the massive offer presented to the band in 1976.
While the band's members would go on to work with one another on some of their solo projects, such as when Starr and George Harrison collaborated on the single 'When We Was Fab,' the four never worked together as a unit again.
But that could have changed in 1976 when, Starr says, the group was offered a large sum to get back together. While each of The Beatles' members believed they would reform at some point and play some live shows, their offer of a reunion was prevented due to one strange reason.
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk/Ewan Gleadow
The song is a fixture of Paul's live performances and was in the setlist for last year's 'Got Back' tour
During the break up of The Beatles, Paul McCartney spent a lot of his time at his farm in Campbeltown, Scotland. When John Lennon told his bandmates he wanted a "divorce" from The Beatles in September 1969, a devastated Paul retreated to Scotland to write what became his first solo album - 'McCartney'.
The release of that album in April 1970 confirmed Paul's departure from The Beatles and saw him receive much of the blame for the band coming to an end - as John's 1969 decision to quit had not been made public. After the release of 'McCartney', Paul continued to spend plenty of time at his Scottish farm and he decided to write a song about the quiet life there.
Paul bought the 183-acre site on the Kintyre Peninsula in 1966 and it became a sanctuary for him away from the pressures of fame. He wrote plenty of Beatles songs there, as well as Wings and solo hits.
In 1974, Paul recorded 'Junior's Farm', a song about life on the farm. Taking inspiration from Bob Dylan's 'Maggie's Farm', Paul came up with a character called Junior who had escaped the city for a new rural life.
It represented Paul's happiness to get away from the meetings that surrounded The Beatles' split. In the 2021 book 'The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present', he explained: "It was such a relief to get out of those business meetings with people in suits, who were so serious all the time, and go off to Scotland and be able just to sit around in a T-shirt and corduroys.
Source: Dan Haygarth/liverpoolecho.co.uk
The late former President Jimmy Carter reportedly held the 1971 John Lennon hit "Imagine" as his favorite tune. But its use as a song at his state funeral ceremony has set a firestorm on social media from critics saying it wasn't fit for use in what in a memorial service in a Christian church.
On Thursday, the tune was performed by fellow Georgian Trisha Yearwood and her husband Garth Brooks during Carter's Washington National Cathedral funeral service. One year earlier, Brooks and Yearwood performed it at former first lady Rosalynn Carter’s wake, as well. The country star couple previously worked with Carter on several Habitat for Humanity home projects, according to reports.
Social media lit up later Thursday, calling into question the performance of the song, given its lyrical rejection of religion.
"Imagine there's no heaven / It's easy if you try / No Hell below us / Above us, only sky," the first line goes.
On X, several observers, including top conservative figures, questioned the use of the song, while others differed.
"Having Joe Biden lecture us about what a strong Christian Jimmy Carter was before the crowd sits through ‘Imagine’ with the lyrics ‘Imagine there's no heaven /It's easy if you try’ makes me question the authenticity of the assertion," said commentator Erick Erickson, who also served on the Macon City Council in Carter’s home state.
"Imagine there is no heaven -- Sung for someone who is a devout Southern Baptist," one X user added.
"I don’t think Jimmy would appreciate the ‘no religion’ part," another said.
Self-described "Trumpocrat" Steve Carlson, a perennial Minnesota Democratic candidate now running for governor in 2026, wrote that it is an "insult" to have "Imagine" played at Carter’s funeral.
Source: foxnews.com/Charles Creitz
Don Bradman, the greatest cricketer of all time, was once asked if he reckoned he could have maintained his batting average of 99.94 against the fearsome West Indian bowling attack of the time. Oh no, he said. Not a chance. He’d probably be hitting in the 50s, like the very best batsmen of the time. But then again, he added, he was in his late 60s so it was unrealistic to expect better.
That’s the position Paul McCartney occupies in the world of pop. No, at 82 years old he is not going to make a new Revolver or Abbey Road. And no, he can’t do the Little Richard scream like he used to 60 years ago. But he is still, as they say in sport, the Goat. The undisputed champion of the world. One of the four men who invented the concept of the guitar band as we now know it, writer of dozens of the best-loved songs in the world.
Consider this: McCartney played for the best part of three hours on the last night of his Got Back tour, and these were among the songs he either wrote or had a large part in writing that he did not play: ‘Yesterday’, ‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘The Night Before’, ‘Paperback Writer’, ‘Michelle’, ‘We Can Work it Out’, ‘Penny Lane’, ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’, ‘Hello, Goodbye’, ‘She’s Leaving Home’, ‘A Day in the Life’, ‘The Fool on the Hill’, ‘Back in the USSR’, ‘Birthday’, ‘Why Don’t We Do it in the Road?’, ‘The Long and Winding Road’. Clearly, for almost any other artist those songs alone would be a greatest hits set of astonishing magnitude. That’s how far ahead of the game McCartney has been.
Source: spectator.co.uk/Michael Hann
John Lennon and Paul McCartney had one of the most prolific and influential songwriting partnerships of modern musical history, but it didn’t come without its pitfalls. As the duo—along with George Harrison and Ringo Starr—progressed further in their tenure as the Beatles, differences in approach, style, and preference began to arise. By Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, virtually everyone had some sort of grievance about another, whether on a musical or personal level.
Although there are many ways to illustrate the differences between Lennon and McCartney, one of the most succinct examples is “Lovely Rita,” the third track on the B-side of Sgt. Pepper’s.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Musical Differences, Put Plainly
Even before learning who wrote the Sgt. Pepper’s B-side, anyone vaguely familiar with the Beatles’ repertoire could likely guess that Paul McCartney was the man behind “Lovely Rita.” From its character-driven narrative to its fantastical expansion of reality, everything about the song screams “McCartney.” Lovely Rita, meter maid, nothing can come between us, McCartney croons in his love song to a parking meter attendant.
According to McCartney in The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, he came up with the idea for “Lovely Rita” paradoxically. “Nobody liked parking attendants or meter maids, as they were known in that benighted era. So, to write a song about being in love with a meter maid—someone nobody else liked—was amusing in itself,” McCartney recalled. “I was thinking it should be a hate song. But then I thought it would be better to love her.”
Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis
After Beatlemania swept the globe, many of the members’ children found the rampant popularity affected their own upbringings.
The Beatles was founded in 1960 by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Both before and after the group’s disbandment eight years later, the musicians each became fathers.
“I’ve always just tried to give my kids a bit of guidance if they seem to need it — but that was mainly when they were younger. Now that they are older, they’re guiding me,” McCartney, a father of five, said in a January 2023 interview on his website. “They don’t need so much guidance these days but if there’s ever a problem, I’m very happy to be the guy they come to.”
He added at the time, “You’re just there to help, and I suppose, have fun with — we do have a lot of fun. Now they’re older, we can have a drink together.”
However, it hasn’t all been rosy memories for the kids. Julian, the eldest son of the late Lennon, told The Guardian in January 2025 that he and his mother had “nothing to do with the Beatles” after John left. (Julian is the son of John and first wife Cynthia. John also shares son Sean with second wife Yoko Ono.)
Source: Miranda Siwak/aol.com
As previously reported, two members of Cheap Trick, guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos were invited by producer Jack Douglas to play on the John Lennon album that ultimately turned out to be the last one issued during the former Beatle's lifetime: 1980's "Double Fantasy."
Ultimately, their contributions to the song "I'm Losing You" did not make the original album but were issued years later as part of the 1998 box set, "John Lennon Anthology."
But during an interview with Booked on Rock, the author of the Cheap Trick book, "American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond," Ross Warner, discussed that at least Nielsen was paid an extremely high compliment by Lennon during the sessions.
"John had said something to the effect of, 'I wish I'd had this guy on 'Cold Turkey,'" Warner said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). "'Cause Eric Clapton, A. was addicted to heroin, and B. didn't really deliver the solo."
Originally released as a single in 1969, "Cold Turkey" did in fact feature Clapton on lead guitar, in addition to Lennon on vocals and guitar, Klaus Voormann on bass, and none other than Ringo Starr on drums.
It also remains one of Lennon's most raw and rocking songs: from both a lyrical and performance standpoint. As a result, it was also a favorite of Cheap Trick's, according to Warner. "'Cold Turkey' is like one of Cheap Trick's earliest covers. They loved that. It's 100% like what their sound was kind of founded on: crunchy and subversive. Robin [Zander], before they started writing their own songs, could do a perfect imitation of almost anybody."
"It was funny because the story about why they didn't appear on the album was that John apparently had said something like, 'This sounds too much like 'Cold Turkey,'' Warner continued. "Had Cheap Trick known that or had Bun and Rick known that — that would have been the ultimate compliment, right? I mean, that's exactly everything they would have wanted to hear."
Source: Ultimate Guitar
One Paul McCartney song is a disjointed mess about water and food and freedom. Here is how the track in question compares to Paul's other post-Beatles hits.
One Paul McCartney song is a disjointed mess about water and food and freedom. It’s not surprising that the “Say Say Say” singer wrote an oddball song. What’s surprising is that the track reached No. 1 in the United States. Here is how the track in question compares to Paul’s other post-Beatles hits.
1 Paul McCartney song won’t make sense no matter how many times you hear it
If you look at the list of Paul’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, you’ll see an interesting mix of songs. Some are perfectly normal, easy-listening songs, like “My Love” and “Ebony and Ivory.” Other tunes on the list are a tad experimental, such as “Band on the Run” and “Coming Up.” However, only one of the tracks on the list is bizarre on every level: “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.”
Firstly, the song is lyrically incoherent. It starts as an apologetic ballad addressed to someone called Uncle Albert. Who is Uncle Albert — and what was the narrator supposed to do for him? We’re never told.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
George Harrison‘s comeback to the top of the music world was one of the great Beatles-related stories of the late 1980s. After years of seeming reluctance toward sustaining a music career, he rallied with the one-two punch of a hit solo record and the formation of the Traveling Wilburys.
“Cloud 9,” the opening title track (although the LP was spelled Cloud Nine) to his mega-successful 1987 album, could be interpreted as someone reaching out to a lover. But in reality, Harrison was addressing everyone in the audience who found inspiration in his music over the years.
If you didn’t know any better, you would have been forgiven for thinking his official name was “The Reclusive George Harrison” since that was how much of the world referred to him circa 1985 or so. At that time, the former Beatle didn’t seem to harbor all that much interest in trying to make his way back to pop stardom.
Ever since the first flush of activity in the early ’70s that came following The Beatles’ breakup, including a couple of very successful albums and even a tour, Harrison had largely shied away from the spotlight as much as possible. While he still sporadically made records, he didn’t do much at all to promote them. And then there was a five-year gap between Gone Troppo in 1982 and Cloud Nine in 1987.
Little did the outside world know, however, that Harrison was girding his loins for a return to the public eye, enlisting ELO’s Jeff Lynne to produce Cloud Nine. While his taste for promoting his music came and went, he never lost his love of making it. In fact, as quoted in the Timothy White book George Harrison: Reconsidered, the act of creating art for public consumption was at the heart of the lyric for “Cloud 9”:
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
