Beatles News
By the time the public heard "The Long and Winding Road," the Beatles were broken up.
The song first showed up on the Let It Be album, which came out on May 8, 1970, in the U.K.; ten days later, it was released in the U.S. Between those dates, a 45 of "The Long and Winding Road" arrived on May 11. It marked the final single released by the band, which had split up on April 10.
To distraught fans the song sounded like a requiem, a last gasp and a summation of the past seven years. Five decades later, it still sounds like a fitting close of the Beatles' career, a mournful and meditative song about looking back while looking forward. And, true to its title, "The Long and Winding Road" had a complicated history before finally making it on record.
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
The Shining is Stephen King's masterwork of horror, which makes peace-loving John Lennon's influence on the novel all the more shocking. Not only is The Shining one of King's most respected and well-known works, but it's also one of his scariest, and it's hard to imagine how a John Lennon song had such a profound impact on it.
The Shining is one of Stephen King's most respected and well-known works, and it's no secret King is inspired by music. In fact, he often quotes song lyrics as epigraphs at the beginnings of his books. In interviews, King has shared how he listens to music while he writes his books. Although he does this mostly for his own entertainment, sometimes a particular song or lyric will find its way into his work, and in this case, it was a John Lennon song.
Source: Keith Deininger/screenrant.com
Paul McCartney said he learned “everything he knows” from Little Richard in a tribute to the late rock legend posted on social media early morning. Richard, who shared stages with the Beatles early in their career and whose songs the group covered extensively, died of cancer Saturday at the age of 87.
“From ‘Tutti Frutti’ to ‘Long Tall Sally’ to ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ to ‘Lucille’, Little Richard came screaming into my life when I was a teenager,” McCartney wrote. “I owe a lot of what I do to Little Richard and his style; and he knew it. He would say, ‘I taught Paul everything he knows.’ I had to admit he was right.”
The young Beatles performed with Richard at a show during one of their long residencies at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, which is where the group truly learned their craft.
Source: Jem Aswad /msn.com
Through the past decades, there have been countless incidents of unlikely cameo appearances on records, some of which were secret, some were not, but most of which remain unknown to the listening public, even on songs they’ve heard for years. But it’s time for all the secrets to be out. As we began compiling this, it became apparent that there are more of these than we had expected, and some are famous songs.
Some are not famous at all. Not even close.
But all share that ingredient of having someone unexpected on the record. It’s something that happened sometimes purposely, when an artist or a band invites a musician to contribute.
But it also happened, sometimes, simply because the artist’s inclusion had more to do with proximity than purpose, simply the serendipity of unlikely pathways crossing.
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Yesterday, rock and roll lost an original star in Little Richard. And now Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr have shared fond memories of times with one of their biggest influencers. Both surviving members of the Fab Four shared a snap of The Beatles with Little Richard back in the early sixties on their Instagram accounts.
Sir Paul wrote: “From Tutti Frutti to Long Tall Sally to Good Golly, Miss Molly to Lucille, Little Richard came screaming into my life when I was a teenager.
“I owe a lot of what I do to Little Richard and his style, and he knew it.
“He would say, ‘I taught Paul everything he knows’. I had to admit he was right.
“In the early days of The Beatles, we played with Richard in Hamburg and got to know him.”
Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk
It will come as little surprise that the great David Bowie had a vastly eclectic record collection.
The singer, who was long famed for his eclectic styles and complete commitment to his role as an artist, was always quick to point out his contemporaries who challenged him to complete his best work.
Way back in 2003 the Thin White Duke decided to rake through his 2,500 vinyl record collection to pick out some of his favourite numbers while in conversation with Vanity Fair.
In doing so, Bowie managed to name his top 25 records of all time. Among the list, there are shout outs for the likes for Robert Wyatt, John Lee Hooker, Toots & The Maytals, The Fugs and many more. “There is really no way to do a list of my favourite albums with any rationality. I do only have about 2,500 vinyl,” Bowie said a the time of naming his list.
Source: faroutmagazine.co.uk
Given the tragic news that the great Little Richard has passed away, we’re digging the Far Out Magazine archives to find some of our greatest memories.
After already reliving Richard’s masterful 1957 rendition of ‘Lucille’, we’re stepping back to 1975 to remember when The Beatles co-founder John Lennon recorded his very own tribute to the great man himself.
Richard, the iconic and famed American singer, songwriter, and rock musician, has died at the age of 87. The musician’s son, Danny Penniman, confirmed Richard’s death in a statement issued to Rolling Stone. The cause of his death, however, remains unknown at this time.
Richard, a major influential figure in the development of popular music and a figure who pioneered the culture of rock music for seven decades, started life in the music industry in the mid-1950s and didn’t look back. Forging a career like no other, Richard became as well known for his charismatic, flamboyant showmanship while performing his dynamic and often frenetic music. Heavily credited as being a major player in setting the solid foundations for the genre of rock music, Richard is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
Source: faroutmagazine.co.uk
The Beatles final movie, Let It Be, premiered in Britain 50 years ago, and the Fab Four attended neither of the two screenings. The absence of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr at their own movie confirmed rock’s most legendary breakup.
A documentary timed for the anniversary year leaves the split alone, and recalls only the Beatles’ happy years. Peter Jackson’s documentary Get Back is described as showcasing the warmth, camaraderie and humor during the making of the band’s Let It Be album and their final live concert as a group, the iconic rooftop performance on London’s Savile Row. It is due for release in September.
The four were reported to be soulmates in the early years of the band. Fault lines began appearing after the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, in Aug 1967. Infighting, which led to feuding in the press, signaled the possibility of a breakup. It began looking probably with McCartney’s announcement in Apr 10, 1970,
Source: newsahead.com
A LOT OF PEOPLE CALL ME THE ARCHITECT OF ROCK & ROLL. I don’t call myself that, but I believe it’s true. You’ve got to remember, I was already known back in 1951. I was recording for RCA-Victor — if you were black, it was called Camden Records — before Elvis. Then I recorded for Peacock in Houston. Then Specialty Records bought me from Peacock — I think they paid $500 for me — and my first Specialty record, in 1956, was a hit: “Tutti Frutti.” It was a hit worldwide. I felt I had arrived, you know? We started touring everywhere immediately. We traveled in cars. Back in that time, the racism was so heavy, you couldn’t go in the hotels, so most times you slept in your car. You ate in your car. You got to the date, and you dressed in your car. I had a Cadillac. That’s what the star rode in.
Source: Little Richard/rollingstone.com
Lennon gave it to publisher Tom Maschler, who worked with him on his books of stories and sketches in the Sixties.
Mr Maschler kept the unsigned 10ins by 8ins artwork for five decades.
He wrote: “I very much enjoyed working closely with John while he produced the drawings and writings for the critically acclaimed books I published for him In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works.
“John acknowledged the affection and esteem I had for his work by giving me the raw materials for his books when the projects came to a close.
“I think that ‘Lady Flying on a Wire’ is an exceptionally fine example of John’s work.
Source: The Washington Times
