Beatles News
Paul McCartney is a living testimonial to the virtues of being a vegetarian. The 76-year-old remains as vital as ever, with Freshen Up world tour dates scheduled into next year, and a new album titled Egypt Station. It's been five years since McCartney's last album of new songs, but he's no slacker. The record is nearly an hour long, not including several bonus tracks available in different formats. It's all prime Macca, with stylistic shifts and well-crafted songs to carry you along. Ever mindful of honoring the legacy of The Beatles, Sir Paul explained the record's title and concept on his website: "I liked the words 'Egypt Station.' It reminded me of the 'album' albums we used to make...'Egypt Station' starts off at the station on the first song, and then each song is like a different station. So it gave us some idea to base all the songs around that. I think of it as a dream location that the music emanates from."
Source: Mark Simmet/iowapublicradio.org
Giles Martin says his father, producer George Martin, would wince whenever a fan would say that the “White Album” was their favorite Beatles’ record.
The late George Martin would recall how tough it was to make the sprawling double album, titled “The Beatles” but given its familiar nickname because of the all-white cover. His son is in charge of a 50th anniversary repackaging that is due out Nov. 9.
“He liked things to be organized, and the ‘White Album’ wasn’t organized,” Giles Martin said recently.
The Beatles worked through the summer of 1968, often in exhausting all-night sessions. As evidence of the time spent, the new package includes the 102nd take of “Not Guilty,” a Harrison song that wasn’t even included among the 30 cuts of the original album.
Source: snopes.com
David Bedford’s fascinating non-fiction book “Finding The Fourth Beatle” tells an unfamiliar chapter of the Beatles’ story
Everybody knows The Beatles and its main members, the Fab Four. But most people are unaware that from 1956 to 1970 the band had 23 different drummers including Colin Hanton, Pete Best, Jimmie Nicol, and others whose names readers will likely be unfamiliar with. This new book tells the story of the men who could have joined The Beatles, but didn’t. Readers learn about The Beatles’ crises, changes of musical direction, getting a record deal, and finding the drummer who would put the beat in The Beatles: Ringo Starr, the Fourth Beatle.
“Finding The Fourth Beatle” by David Bedford is packed with fascinatng detail. The author provides expert analyses of the drummers by other drummers. He explains why Brian Epstein didn’t sign the Beatles’ first contract, why The Beatles failed the Decca audition and reveals whether The Beatles were under contract at Parlophone in June 62. Other questions answered in this non-fiction book include: Who was asked to replace Pete Best before Ringo? Why didn’t Brian Epstein sack Pete Best? And: Why did Ringo become the Fourth Beatle and inspire generations of drummers? A must-read for any Beatles fan!
Source: David Bedford/cbs8.com
Long before any of us spun the Road Apples record or even heard of the other lady Madonna, the Beatles helped redefine how we consumed music for a time: obsessively, album-by-album, and with a sure and confidently marketed alteration of the musicians’ images, complete with reliable press conferences and legendary stunts.
Few if any bands have ever been under such a sharp-focused microscope — only world war historians bother to go into such detail of who shot what bullet into what wall, which piece of obscure gear was taped together to win the day.
Looking back at it all now — Paul McCartney having now been musically active for 60-plus years (his career is practically a senior citizen) — this live flipping through 40 songs if you count the Foxy Lady cover can actually be a little bit jarring to watch, a playlist on shuffle when one Wings song might make you wish we were sticking around just there for a little longer.
Source: Greg Southam /edmontonjournal.com
How is it that we enter the 51st season of 60 Minutes and are only now profiling the most successful musician and composer in popular music history? Maybe it's because it's nearly impossible to try and find something new or surprising to talk to Sir Paul McCartney about. How do you jostle a new memory from a Beatle who, over the decades, may be the most written about person on the planet?
Well, as the Beatles' "White Album" is about to turn 50 years old, we decided to go for it. Mr. McCartney was funny and reflective as we used rare photos and film to walk him through some very personal Beatles stories, and wondered who, at the age of 76, he is still trying to impress. But let's start with a bit of a revelation, the man who has sold an estimated billion records and may be rock and roll's best bass player can't write or read music.
Source: cbsnews.com
There are few musicians who can claim the kind of rollercoaster career that Paul McCartney has had.
He’s been lauded as a genius for his work with The Beatles, dismissed as a lightweight during portions of his Wings phase and solo career, and in a 60-odd year career has released some of the most durable and tuneful pop music ever recorded. McCartney has turned his hand to experimental music, electronica, and classical, and continues to influence other musicians well into his mid-70s, including a large number of Edmonton musicians spanning age and genres.
Source: edmontonjournal.com
In the aftermath of The Beatles’ break-up, and still in the first bloom of his love affair with Yoko Ono, John Lennon threw himself into a new life. The couple moved to Tittenhurst Park, a 26-room Georgian mansion in Berkshire, and in the summer of 1971 Lennon started his second solo album, Imagine, having installed a state-of-the-art recording studio in the grounds.
The couple’s everyday existence quickly came to resemble a never-ending art project, as Lennon recorded with producer Phil Spector and Beatles colleagues George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and the couple embarked on an accompanying film.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
The Beatles have announced they will release a suite of lavishly presented The White Album packages to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Released November 22nd 1968, The Beatles (soon to be better known as The White Album) was that year's most anticipated music event with millions of double LPs shipped to record stores worldwide.
Entering the British chart at number one and remaining there for eight of the 22 weeks it was listed, The White Album also debuted at number one on the U.S. chart, holding the top spot for nine weeks of its initial 65 week chart run.
Source: Will Lavin/joe.co.uk
When three teenage girls decided they wanted to see the Beatles at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia in August 1966, few understood what their true intentions were.
Much of the miracle remains indelibly etched in her mind: the friends; the scheme; the date; the venue; the room; the band. A dream come true that seems like yesterday. Other memories are not so vivid. The passing of more than a half-century can often cast a translucence over details once assumed unforgettable.
Christine Nesteruk Gerber says the four greatest events in her 69 years of life were getting married, having children, getting grandchildren, and meeting the Beatles.
She’s not certain of the order.
Source: Phil Gianficaro/burlingtoncountytimes.com
In times of trouble and grief, there is one song that millions of people turn to for inspiration and solace: John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘Imagine’.
Leading musicians often reach for the song in moments of need. When Stevie Wonder was told of the death of Senator John McCain in August 2018, during a concert in Atlanta, he broke into a beautiful version of Lennon’s masterpiece, released as a single on 11 October 1971. Though the song was banned from radio in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Neil Young recognised its potency, singing it at a memorial concert, America: Tribute To Heroes. Coldplay performed a version after the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015. Following discord around North Korea in 2018, ‘Imagine’ was the natural choice for a group of Korean musicians to perform at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
Source: Martin Chilton/udiscovermusic.com
