Beatles News
In 1971, the state of East Pakistan was in turmoil as it sought independence to become the nation of Bangladesh during the Liberation War. It was a conflict that the world was largely unaware of until George Harrison made it a global talking point.
The former Beatles man learned about the issue over dinner from his close friend, Ravi Shankar, who initially was planning to raise $25,000 dollars to help the Bangladeshi cause. But after getting Harrison on side, his modest plans quickly grew into something rather extraordinary.
Their two very specially curated Concert For Bangladesh shows on August 1st, 1971, would go on and set a precedent for benefit gigs forever. The star-studded day would see the likes of Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Badfinger and Ringo Starr all take to the stage to unite for a cause bigger than themselves.
Source: Joe Taysom/faroutmagazine.co.uk
John Lennon was a singer-songwriter who had a tremendous influence. Certain genres like psychedelic and avant-garde music wouldn’t be the same without him. Surprisingly, his influence also extended to horror novelist Stephen King‘s masterpiece The Shining.
The Shining remains one of King’s most acclaimed books. The book’s title refers to psychic abilities shared by some of its characters. The term was, shockingly, inspired by John’s hit “Instant Karma!”
As a solo artist, John often made unconventional music. “Instant Karma!” is one of his accessible solo songs, which is probably why it became such a big hit. Part of its appeal lies in its catchy refrain of “We all shine on!”
When John wrote that song, there’s a good chance he wasn’t thinking about horror novels. On the other hand, King used to listen to music when he wrote his books. “Instant Karma!” managed to exert a considerable influence on The Shining. The song’s refrain inspired the concept of “shining” which figures so prominently in the novel. In a way, the idea that “Instant Karma!” inspired a horror novel makes sense, as it’s a song with foreboding lyrics.
Source: cheatsheet.com
When I was a kid, I toted my Lloyds transistor radio everywhere, including when I went to bed. It would sit quietly playing on my pillow until I fell asleep and my mom would take it away.
The family’s station of choice was 680 CJOB in Winnipeg. They didn’t play much in the way of music that I liked, but I was hooked on their newscasts, which in those days could stretch 10 minutes or longer. My parents didn’t like me listening to the news before bed — “You have bad dreams!” — but that only made me want to listen more.
I do remember the night CJOB delivered the news that The Beatles had broken up. It was April 10, 1970, and even though I was extremely young, I knew this was important. When mom came into my room at the usual time to put my radio up on the bureau, I asked her, “The Beatles have broken up. Is that a bad thing?”
Source: Alan Cross/rock101.com
In the 1960s, many fans saw the Beatles and the Rolling Stones as rivals. Paul McCartney accused the Stones of copying his band. Likewise, Mick Jagger felt the Beatles copied his band. In the end, though, there didn’t seem to be any bad blood between the two groups.
The Stones showed off the goodwill they had towards the Fab Four in 1967. That was the year the Stones released their psychedelic album, Their Satanic Majesties Request. The album’s memorable cover art features a message for the Beatles hidden in plain sight.
Satanic Majesties is often understood as the Stones’ attempt to equal the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. As such, Satanic Majesties has a psychedelic cover a la Sgt. Pepper’s. Though not as famous as its predecessor, the Satanic Majesties cover has secrets of its own.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Orthodox views of Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles career usually single out Band on the Run from 1973 as the uncontested highpoint. But, as good as that album is, this one might have the edge. It is as dizzyingly varied as its author’s late-period work with his first group, and it’s smattered with experimental, bucolic touches. And, like the two albums that sit either side of it – McCartney (1970), and Wings’s debut Wild Life (1971) – it sometimes suggests a try-out for the home-baked music later pioneered by such talents as the Beta Band and Beck on the occasions he reached for an acoustic guitar.
The album’s lyrics and mood capture the strange, uncertain aftermath of the Beatles and the 60s, and that of a man suddenly adjusting to a new life.
Source: John Harris/theguardian.com
If you ever listen to the outtakes and studio chatter from the Beatles’ Let It Be sessions (January 1969), you might catch an interesting exchange between George Harrison and someone else in the studio. In the conversation, Harrison is asked if he wants to hear the new Jimmy Page album.
“Jimmy Page,” Harrison replies. “Is he the one that was in The Yardbirds?” After he learns that, yes, it’s that Jimmy Page, Harrison asks if lunch is ready yet. Clearly, this album by Page, who’d recently played on a chart-topping Beatles cover, sparked little interest in Harrison.
But Harrison and other members of the Fab Four would soon take notice of Page’s group, which he’d named Led Zeppelin (with an assist from Keith Moon). In fact, by the end of ’69, The Beatles would watch as the Zeppelin knocked their band out of the top spot on the Billboard album charts.
Source: cheatsheet.com
I blame the media for the breakup of The Beatles.
Not Yoko. Not Linda. Not Allen Klein. Not heroin. Not money. Not Ringo's desire to write songs. The media.
Anyone with third-grade reading comprehension could scan the chilly “self-interview” press release included with advance copies of Paul McCartney's first solo album, McCartney (released April 20, 1970). It is as plain as day that he never actually says he was quitting the Beatles:
Q: "Is this album a rest away from the Beatles or the start of a solo career?"
McCartney: "Time will tell. Being a solo album means it's 'the start of a solo career' and not being done with the Beatles means it's just a rest. So it's both."
The following day, newspapers all over the world blasted, “Paul Is Quitting The Beatles!”
It’s akin to two schoolboys reluctant to fight until one onlooker, tired of seeing the pair dancing around each other, shoving them to the ground so the fists can start flying. Nice going, fake news. But other significant real news events took place in April 1970:
Source: Serene Dominic/phoenixnewtimes.com
Imagine being in a band as close-knit as The Beatles were between 1962-68. Over that hectic period in the band’s life, the Fab Four went from constant recording and touring to worldwide fame of a kind few musicians ever knew. So they had to stick together whether they wanted to or not.
When John Lennon brought Yoko Ono into the picture, the dynamic changed completely. Looking back years later, the others understood that John was in love and was following his heart. But when Yoko arrived for the first time during the White Album sessions, she upset a delicate balance.
For starters, The Beatles had a rule that wives and girlfriends didn’t hang around during recording sessions. “Their ranks had always been so closed,” engineer Geoff Emerick wrote in Here, There and Everywhere. “It was unthinkable that an outsider could penetrate their inner circle so quickly and so thoroughly.”
Source: cheatsheet.com
Bob Dylan is one of the most acclaimed artists of the 1960s. The Beatles are among his peers. That doesn’t mean he’s always had kind words for the Fab Four.
“Yesterday” and “Michelle” are two of the Beatles’ most popular songs. To this day, they are regularly covered by other artists. Dylan, however, wasn’t a fan.
Bob Dylan in a still used as a promotional image for a film about his life called Eat the Document | BettmannBob Dylan said the Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Michelle’ are for teeny-boppers
“Yesterday” and “Michelle” are fairly simple songs on a compositional level. They aren’t nearly as experimental as other Beatles songs like “Revolution 9” or “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Most Beatles fans would tell you the simplicity and directness of the songs is part of what gives them their emotional power.
Source: entertainment--news.com
Elvis Presley met The Beatles during their 1965 US tour. As Beatlemania kicked up a gear, the Fab Four took time out of their wild schedule to sit down with their idol, the great King of Rock ’n’ Roll at his home, Graceland. In an article titled Ze King and I, John Lennon revealed an incredible fact about Paul McCartney: that he had actually offered the Blue Suede Shoes hitmaker bass guitar tips during their meeting.
Lennon noted how many of the greats wanted to come and meet them when they toured the US in 1965.
He said, however, that they weren’t too bothered about seeing the likes of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra because they didn’t think they “really like[d] us or our music”.
It was different with Presley, though, of whom Lennon was a lifelong fan.
Source: Minnie Wright/express.co.uk
