Beatles News
It was another Monday afternoon in September in Pittsburgh, with the usual industrial smoke scenting the air on a day that had seen drizzle and fog.
At exactly 4:36 p.m. on that day in 1964, the wheels of a Lockheed Electra aircraft traveling from Baltimore hit the runway at Greater Pittsburgh Airport, as the airport was then known. There to greet the passengers were an estimated 4,000 people, hordes of reporters, and two limousines and an escort of six police cruisers.
The Beatles had come to town.
Plenty of concerts in Pittsburgh’s history have gained legendary status, whether it’s a newly-electric Bob Dylan cranking up “Like a Rolling Stone” at the Syria Mosque in 1966, Elvis Presley belting out his hits at a New Year’s Eve show at Civic Arena seven months before he died, or Bob Marley playing his last concert ever at the Stanley Theatre eight months before he died. But perhaps the most legendary of them all is the Beatles’ Sept. 14, 1964, appearance at Civic Arena, the only time the Fab Four played Pittsburgh.
The stop in Pittsburgh 60 years ago was part of a 24-city, 32-concert blitz across North America six months after John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr took the country by storm after their appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Organized in the months after those landmark broadcasts by General Artists Corporation in New York, it took the Beatles to most of the continent’s major cities in a frantic, one-month span, starting Aug. 20, 1964, at the Cow Palace in San Francisco and concluding on Sept. 20, 1964, at the Paramount Theater in New York.
Source: Brad Hundt/observer-reporter.com
The Beatles are the bestselling music group of all time, selling 183 million units and setting the all-time mark for Billboard No. 1 hits. The band rose to popularity in the 1960s and was equally beloved on both sides of the pond, both in their native England and in the United States. The Beatles albums in order show the impressive growth and evolution of the band’s sound as they matured. Listening to the Beatles’ discography is like strolling down memory lane. They had so many hits, and you can enjoy them all when you listen to the 12 Beatles albums that make up their live studio work.
The Beatles were a British rock group made up of four members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They got together in 1960, and their distinctive musical style blended rock ‘n roll, pop, beat and even some classical music. The “Fab Four,” as they were called, released 12 studio albums.
Lennon and McCartney began as songwriting partners, and they started playing with Harrison in the 1950s. Pete Best drummed with them briefly before they settled on Starr. Producer George Martin was sometimes referred to as the fifth Beatle. The group heralded the British invasion of rock music to the United States, including an appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” that set off Beatlemania. But they also sparked controversy with their drug use and embrace of counterculture. Tensions between Lennon and McCartney eventually led to the breakup of the band in 1970.
Source: Toni Fitzgerald/forbes.com
A John Lennon-inspired golf buggy owned by Noel Gallagher of Oasis is expected to sell for between £5,000 and £10,000 at auction.
It joins more than 60 lots being offered by Propstore, an auction house based in Chenies, near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire.
The auction includes a collection of 18 of Noel's guitars, among them a custom Silver Sparkle Gibson Les Paul Florentine he once described as "the best guitar in the world", which is expected to sell for between £200,000 and £400,000. Propstore said the lots were part of an auction due to begin in November. John Lennon's bespoke Rolls-Royce was created in 1967
The golf buggy has a psychedelic paint job is in the same style as Lennon's Rolls-Royce Phantom V limousine.
The vehicle was given to Gallagher in the late 1990s by his then-wife Meg Mathews, and was used to travel around the pair's Buckinghamshire estate.
A tambourine used on stage by Noel's brother Liam is also on offer, along with a number of Noel's handwritten lyrics to Wonderwall, which are estimated to go for between £4,000 and £8,000. There is also a set featuring Supersonic and Live Forever lyrics, with the latter autographed by both brothers and estimated to sell for between £3,000 and £6,000.
Source: Danny Fullbrook & PA Media/bbc.com
George Harrison asked Eric Clapton to contribute a guitar solo to his new Beatles song, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
Clapton initially declined Harrison’s request, saying “nobody ever plays on Beatles records,” but Harrison eventually convinced him to participate, and Clapton recorded the solo that night.
The song appeared on the band’s album The Beatles, also known as The White Album, which was released in November 1968. The track was one of Harrison’s songs on the album. It went on to be an iconic track for him and has often made it on lists of the greatest guitar songs of all time.
Harrison eventually paid Clapton back for his contribution by cowriting and playing guitar on Cream’s “Badge.”
Harrison and Clapton performed “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” live together several times. In November 2002 Clapton performed the tune at the Concert for George at London’s Royal Albert Hall backed by a band that included Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The concert took place on the one-year anniversary of Harrison’s death.
Source: wdrv.com
George Harrison asked Eric Clapton to contribute a guitar solo to his new Beatles song, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
Clapton initially declined Harrison’s request, saying “nobody ever plays on Beatles records,” but Harrison eventually convinced him to participate, and Clapton recorded the solo that night.
The song appeared on the band’s album The Beatles, also known as The White Album, which was released in November 1968. The track was one of Harrison’s songs on the album. It went on to be an iconic track for him and has often made it on lists of the greatest guitar songs of all time.
Harrison eventually paid Clapton back for his contribution by cowriting and playing guitar on Cream’s “Badge.”
Harrison and Clapton performed “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” live together several times. In November 2002 Clapton performed the tune at the Concert for George at London’s Royal Albert Hall backed by a band that included Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The concert took place on the one-year anniversary of Harrison’s death.
Source: kslx.com
The musicians who would become the Beatles played some of their earliest shows at the Casbah Coffee Club, a music venue in the basement of a Liverpool home. The house was owned by Mona Best, the mother of the band’s one-time drummer, Pete Best, who lived upstairs as a teenager.
Now, Pete and his brother, Roag, are reopening the building as an Airbnb. Guests can stay in Beatles-themed rooms full of the band’s memorabilia.
“The Beatles played here, the Beatles partied here and the Beatles slept here,” Pete, now 82, tells PA Media’s Eleanor Barlow.
Mona bought the building, located in the West Derby area of the city, after winning an unlikely bet, according to the Guardian’s Hannah Al-Othman. At the 1954 Epsom Derby, she pawned all of the jewelry she owned and placed the money on an inexperienced jockey riding a horse named “Never Say Die.” She watched the race with her family, who didn’t know about the bet.
“As the horse was winning and coming past the finishing post, she suddenly jumped up and started screaming: ‘I’ve won the house, I’ve won the house, I’ve won the house!’” Pete tells the Guardian. “It was only then that she told us what she’d done.”
The bet was just one of many shrewd gambles in her life. Another was her decision to transform the house’s cellar into a music venue. When she opened the Casbah Coffee Club in 1959, she also acted as its promoter.
Source: Julia Binswanger/smithsonianmag.com
For almost 50 years, a recording of America at the Hollywood Bowl lay dormant as a lost treasure. But no more.
America – Live From The Hollywood Bowl 1975 has been restored and released via Primary Wave Music; distributed by Sun Records. The record comes out almost exactly 49 years to the day of the performance, which was September 5th, 1975.
The never-before-heard tapes were recently restored and recently mixed and produced from the original master tapes. Previously issued in limited quantities on Record Store Day, the 20-track album is now being released on CD, on a new red vinyl variant, and digitally.
Produced by Jeff Larson, Live From The Hollywood Bowl 1975 captures America at the peak of its performance prowess: The band was tight and spirited, nailing breezy harmony vocals, teardrop slide guitar parts, plaintive piano passages, and intricate folk guitar filigree. Adding to excitement was that America was joined by its producer Sir George Martin, often known as the “fifth Beatle,” who conducted an orchestra behind the band.
The album features live versions of classic tracks such as “Ventura Highway,” “Sister Golden Hair,” “I Need You,” “Lonely People,” and, of course, “A Horse With No Name.” Martin’s contributions are on full display during the orchestral fanfare intro to “A Horse With No Name.” Here, strings and woodwinds sketch one of the song’s signature melodies. Then that unmistakable chord sequence enters, and the Hollywood Bowl audience erupts with instant recognition of the smash single.
Source: usrockermusic.com
Recently I had a couple of items to be framed, so I visited Creative Framing Solutions on Chestnut Street. In my experience, owner Grace Burr has always done immaculate work. While chatting she mentioned that she was planning to have more shows on-site. Her next show coming up was by a photographer I was not familiar with. (Possibly showing my ’60s pop-culture ignorance.)
The exhibition, entitled “The Lost Weekend: The Photography of May Pang,” will provide fans a rare opportunity to see John Lennon in a new light, through the lens of someone who knew him intimately during one of the most creative periods of his life. May Pang’s candid photos will be on display and available to purchase. Pang will attend the exhibit, meeting customers and telling stories behind these amazing limited-edition photographs for sale of John Lennon.
The exhibit coincides with the recent digital release of the film documentary about John Lennon and May Pang called “The Lost Weekend: A Love Story,” available on many streaming platforms (Amazon Prime, AppleTV, YouTube, Vudu) and produced by Briarcliff Entertainment.
Photographer May Pang knew John Lennon intimately. Pang was Lennon’s lover during the infamous “Lost Weekend” which lasted 18 months during late 1973 through 1975. During this highly creative time for Lennon, Pang took candid photos of Lennon in a comfortable, relaxed environment. A collection of these private photographs will be on display and available for purchase at Creative Framing Solutions, 410 Chestnut Street, Manchester, NH., on Tue-Wed, October 1-2. Admission to the exhibit is free to the public. All works are available to purchase.
During the Lost Weekend, with May’s help, Lennon had his most artistically and commercially productive period post-Beatles—with the albums “Mind Games,”,”Walls and Bridges,” which included his only #1 Hit Single “Whatever Gets You Through the Night,” “Rock and Roll” and collaboration with Rock legends Elton John, David Bowie, Harry Nilsson, Mick Jagger, and Ringo among others. Also, on that album Pang can be heard on the song “#9 Dream” where she whispers John’s name in the song. Another song on the album, “Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox),” was written about Pang.
Source: manchester.inklink.news
With any artistic pursuit, the artist runs the risk of regretting their choices as time passes and their craft develops. Even the Beatles looked back on some of their earliest offerings and cringed. John Lennon was embarrassed by one song in particular. Find out why Lennon regretted writing “It’s Only Love,” below.
I get high when I see you go by
My oh, my
When you sigh, my, my inside just flies
Butterflies
Why am I so shy?
When I’m beside you
It’s safe to say that the lyrics to “It’s Only Love” are somewhat simplistic. That’s not always a bad thing. Some of the best songs–even the best Beatles songs–center around simple sentiments. Lennon, however, found them to be too juvenile. As he looked back on this track later in his career, he found it to be an embarrassing moment on his otherwise pretty stellar track record.
“It’s the most embarrassing song I ever wrote,” Lennon once said of this track. “Everything rhymed. Disgusting lyrics. Even then I was so ashamed of the lyrics, I could hardly sing them. That was one song I really wished I’d never written.”
It’s only love, and that is all
Why should I feel the way I do
It’s only love, and that is all
But it’s so hard
Loving you
Lennon’s hatred of this song didn’t stop there. Elsewhere he took ownership of the song and slighted it at the same time.
Source: Alex Hopper/americansongwriter.com
Getting to meet and stand in line with your childhood musical idols must be one of the cooler parts of becoming a famous musician, but this perk comes with a price. Sometimes, those idols don’t feel the same about you, as was the case for a famed Britpop band and former Beatle, Paul McCartney.
The Beatles’ influence on rock ‘n’ roll is a globally undeniable phenomenon, but their legacy is perhaps most strongly felt in their native U.K., where bands like Black Sabbath, Queen, and Oasis followed in the Fab Four’s footsteps.
Unfortunately for that last band, though, they found themselves on Paul McCartney’s bad side sometime in the late 1990s.
Paul McCartney Called This British Band “Derivative”.
By the time Oasis became famous, the Beatles were a long-lost relic of decades past. The surviving three members, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, were all busy pursuing their professional and personal passions. But when the Britpop band from Manchester tried to claim they were “bigger than the Beatles” in a 1996 interview with MTV, the lads from Liverpool took note.
In a documentary detailing Oasis’ divisive rise to stardom, Harrison and McCartney offered their two cents. “The music lacks depth,” the Quiet Beatle argued, “and the singer, Liam [Gallagher], is a pain. The rest of the band don’t need him.” McCartney agreed, adding, “They’re derivative, and they think too much of themselves. They mean nothing to me” (via Express).
The ex-Beatles were certainly no strangers to controversial interviews—their own bandmate, John Lennon, had received tremendous criticism for claiming their band was “bigger than Jesus.” So, one could certainly argue that McCartney should’ve known Gallagher was stirring the pot because he could. However, that hindsight also gave McCartney a unique perspective on Gallagher’s comments that, in a way, turned out to be correct.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
