Beatles News
The Beatles legend Sir Ringo Starr has announced his first full-length album in six years, which is a country record produced and co-written by T Bone Burnett
Despite having to cancel the remainder of his US tour due to health issues and nearing his 85th birthday, Sir Ringo Starr is not letting anything slow down his creative output. The Beatles drummer has been releasing a few EPs recently, but he's now announced his first full-length album in six years.
Donning a cowboy hat, the Liverpool native is embracing his inner cowboy with Look Up, an album produced and co-written by T Bone Burnett. Set to drop on January 10, 2025, Sir Ringo lends his voice and drumming skills to all 11 tracks, and even co-wrote the closing song Thankful, which features Alison Krauss.
The first single, Time On My Hands, is available now for streaming.
Source: George Simpson/themirror.com
John Lennon won Grammys both as a member of The Beatles and as a solo artist. He collected several prizes during his lifetime, and perhaps even more following his death. The rocker is nominated again this year, as is one of his two children.
Sean Ono Lennon has been nominated for his first Grammy, and he joins his family tradition in the honor. The youngest son of the late musician is up for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, which is awarded to the art directors who produced a physical product that stands out as especially inventive or creative. The musical act that wrote and recorded the work is not necessarily nominated, unless they also played a role in the art direction.
Sean is nominated for the work he did on the recent re-release of his father’s album Mind Games. The set was shared again earlier this year as a deluxe collectible box set that features half a dozen CDs.
Lennon’s youngest son, whom he shared with wife Yoko Ono, is a first-time nominee at the 2025 Grammys. He’s up for the specific category alongside Simon Hilton, and the two will share the award, should they win.
Sean is the second of Lennon’s children, and both have now been nominated for Grammys. Julian, the Beatle’s first child with Cynthia Lennon, enjoyed a short but successful music career shortly after his father’s passing in the early ‘80s. He was once nominated for Best New Artist, an award he lost to Sade.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
From his early days in the Beatles to his work with contemporary artists in the 21st century, Paul McCartney has built his entire career on his incomparable ability to craft songs into a bona fide earworms. Whether a catchy lyrical cadence, a perfectly hummable tune, or something so oddly memorable you can’t help but sing it back to yourself after you hear it, McCartney is certainly a master at writing a hook.
To be clear, we’re not specifically talking about McCartney songs that one could use as a masterclass in songwriting—although there are several of those to choose from. We’re talking about pure, unadulterated hooks that seem to permanently lodge themselves in our brains, regardless of whether the song has the most poignant lyrics or groundbreaking chord progression.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
Here's how the voting process works for the Grammy Awards, which involves Recording Academy members made up of producers, musicians, songwriters and engineers.
The Beatles’ latest and final song, "Now and Then," achieved two Grammy nominations, putting them back in the Grammy spotlight after nearly three decades. Known as the "last Beatles song," "Now and Then" uses original vocals from John Lennon, recorded in 1970 and preserved through artificial intelligence.
This innovative approach allowed Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to add fresh instrumentals and vocals to create a unique track that also includes guitar recordings from the late George Harrison.
The Beatles are nominated in two prominent Grammy categories this year:
Record of the Year: Competing alongside Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Billie Eilish, the Beatles’ nomination signals their enduring influence in music.
Best Rock Performance: Recognized for their distinctive rock sound, "Now and Then" also earned a nomination in this category, bringing together contemporary and classic rock fans.
Source: FOX TV Digital Team/fox5dc.com
The late legendary music producer, songwriter, and composer Quincy Jones established his entire career on sticking to his guns, whether in the studio or in his speech, which is why the phone call between Jones and Paul McCartney following Jones’ scathing comments about the Beatles is somewhat surprising. (But to be fair, it wasn’t necessarily more surprising than what Jones had to say about the Fab Four in the first place.)
While it’s unclear whether the press really fabricated Jones’ comments or he simply wanted to smooth things over with an old pal, his subsequent chat with Macca proved there was no bad blood between the musicians in either case.
The Producer Didn’t Mince His Words About The Fab Four
Highly educated, technically proficient jazz musicians denouncing their more ragtag, rock ‘n’ roll counterparts is certainly nothing new. Miles Davis did it with the Steve Miller Band. Years later, Quincy Jones did the same thing with the Beatles. The producer’s scathing comments about the Fab Four in a 2018 interview with The New Yorker caused quite a stir, and it’s easy to see why. Jones’ hot take was piping hot.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
One notable strength of the Paul McCartney-John Lennon creative collaboration was their ability to push each other and keep the other in check—the latter of which McCartney had to exercise when Lennon proposed they both undergo an alarming medical procedure that some proponents (including Lennon) believed could enhance mental strength and well-being.
Fortunately for both Beatles, McCartney was having none of it. He rejected Lennon’s suggestion and, as he would later explain in a 2018 interview with GQ, his bandmate knew McCartney well enough to know that his decision was final.
In the late 1960s, the New Age movement began touting the supposed benefits of trepanation, an ancient practice of boring a hole into the skull to increase mental strength and overall well-being. Dutch librarian and self-trepanner Hugo Bart Huges helped usher in this alarming medical movement with his 1964 work, “The Mechanism of Brainbloodvolume (‘BBV’),” also known as “Homo Sapiens Correctus.”
The paper, which Huges presented in scroll form, claimed that humans’ bipedal nature prevented adequate blood flow in and out of the brain. Trepanation, Huges argued, reversed gravity’s effects on blood flow to the brain, resulting in greater mental well-being and a “permanent high.” Huges performed this questionable medical practice on himself in 1965 using a foot-operated electric dentist drill and what we have to assume was an overwhelmingly strong stomach.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
Recently, Ringo Starr acknowledged that Taylor Swift was this generation’s version of The Beatles. Outside of their musical styles, this is a completely reasonable comparison given that Swift’s monetary and cultural success is very reminiscent of The Beatles at their height. However, it takes one to know one, and Ringo Starr is no stranger to international superstardom. Which, he believes The Beatles partially acquired with their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
The Beatles Ed Sullivan Show is one of the most culturally impactful moments in all of history. Not only was it the official start of the first British invasion, but it was also the moment The Beatles became The Beatles. Frankly, it’s difficult to put into words how much of a roaring impact the performance had on the world. However, Ringo Starr can tell you how much of an impact it had on the four lads from Liverpool.
Like most bands or musicians, notoriety is the goal. Now, how one goes about getting it is entirely on a case-by-case basis. Well, for The Beatles, they knew their next big move that would get them one step closer to their goal was to go to the United States. Easier said than done, but they managed to achieve this goal by getting a premium spot on one of the US’ most popular television shows.
In an interview with Modern Drummer, Starr opened up with the publication about the effects of the show and how it was one of the most monumental moves of their career. “As an act, which we were, the Palladium or the Ed Sullivan Show because they were definite moves in a career,” shared Starr.
Source: Peter Burditt/americansongwriter.com
Seth Rogovoy argues in Within You Without You that the Beatle behind what is now the band’s most streamed song and who wrote what Frank Sinatra called ‘the greatest love song of the past 50 years’ deserves to step out of Lennon and McCartney’s shadow
George Harrison didn’t live long enough to witness the streaming era. He died in 2001, aged 58, seven years before Spotify was launched. He wasn’t to know that it was he, rather than Lennon and McCartney, who penned the most popular Beatles songs on the streaming services. Here Comes the Sun is — by a long way — their most streamed song globally.
In all, Harrison solely wrote 22 Beatles songs and is responsible for what many believe to be the best post-Beatles album, 1970’s mammoth All Things Must Pass. And yet, Harrison is often seen as a lightweight when compared to his illustrious bandmates. For many, the so-called ‘Quiet Beatle’ comes third in that band’s pecking order.
Source: John Meagher/independent.ie
Surprisingly, one of the Beatles' most iconic songs is not often played by Paul McCartney on his Got Back Tour.
During McCartney's November 5, 2024, show in Costa Rica, he played “I Saw Her Standing There” in the second slot of the encore. Typically, this slot in the setlist has been held down by other Beatles songs like “Day Tripper” and “Birthday.” The Wings song “Hi, Hi, Hi” has also been played in that slot during the 2024 run of shows.
While “I Saw Her Standing There” is one of the Beatles' most popular songs, McCartney rarely plays it these days. The last time he played it was December 13, 2023, in Brazil. The song made four total appearances throughout the 2023 tour.
Previously, its only appearance during the Got Back Tour came in 2022 at the Glastonbury Festival. McCartney performed it with the Foo Fighters' lead singer, Dave Grohl.
It is unclear why the song is no longer a staple of his shows. Regardless, he gave the Costa Rica crowd a nice treat in the encore of his latest show.
“I Saw Her Standing There” is the opening track of the Beatles' debut album, Please Please Please, and is credited to Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The song was released as a B-side to the single “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by Capitol Records.
The Beatles' version is the definitive take on the song. However, Tiffany previously recorded a cover of the song and released it in 1988.
Source: Andrew Korpan/clutchpoints.com
While the Beatles often collaborated with one another, there are several songs that didn’t require that all four members get into the studio. Find four such songs, below.
4 Beatles Songs That Don’t Feature Every Member
1. “Yesterday”
As fans of the Beatles could probably guess, “Yesterday” is essentially a solo Paul McCartney pursuit. This tender ballad sees Macca strum a simple melody on a guitar while his smooth vocals croon about the sting of regret. It is a precursor to McCartney’s solo career, which has more than proven that he can be a one man band if he chooses to be.
Yesterday
All my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
2. “Within You Without You”
George Harrison borrowed the talents of a group of Indian musicians for “Within You Without You.” Harrison called upon his Hare Krishna roots for this experimental track about perspective. Once again, this track made it very clear that the individual members of the Beatles could survive on their own if need be.
Try to realise it’s all within yourself
No one else can make you change
And to see you’re really only very small
And life flows on within you and without you
3. “Revolution 9”
Lennon, Harrison, and Ringo Starr swapped McCartney for Yoko Ono in “Revolution 9.” McCartney was out of the country at the time of this song’s recording. When he got back into the fold, he was reportedly disappointed in the end result. Nevertheless, the track went ahead and has become a Beatles classic.
Source: Alex Hopper/americansongwriter.com
