John R. Waters sings the hits of the late Beatle at the Union Square Theatre.

Lennon: Through a Glass Onion, a theatrical tribute to the music of John Lennon, will end its run at the Union Square Theatre on January 11. The show began performances October 3 and opened October 15.

Created and performed by Australian actor/musician John R. Waters and singer/pianist Stewart D'Arrietta, the biographical concert show explores Lennon's life and talent through performances of 31 of his songs. The set list includes Beatles hits like "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "Help," as well as Lennon solo hits like "Mother."

The Beatles top Billboard's Vinyl Albums chart for the fifth time with Long Tall Sally, a Black Friday Record Store Day exclusive. The limited-edition four-song 7" reissue also starts at No. 22 on Top Rock Albums, selling 6,000 copies (all on vinyl) in the week ending Nov. 30, according to Nielsen Music.

On the Billboard 200, the EP launches at No. 195, giving the Fab Four its 59th charting album, and third of 2014. It follows The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 (No. 172, Jan. 4) and The U.S. Albums (No. 48, Feb. 8). The new EP's title track is a cover of Little Richard's 1956 classic "Long Tall Sally" and was originally released in the U.K. by the Beatles in 1964. Paul McCartney sings lead on the title cut, while three more tunes round out the set: John Lennon leads the original track "I Call Your Name" and a cover of Larry Williams' "Slow Down," while Ringo Starr sings a reworking of Carl Perkins' "Matchbox." ("Sally" was covered by another rock band in 1964: The Kinks released a cover of it as their first single.)

Speaking of the Beatles, a remake of one of their iconic songs debuts on Hot Rock Songs. NBC's The Voice contestant Taylor John Williams' cover of "Come Together" starts at No. 11 with 19,000 downloads sold. The Beatles' original peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 45 years ago (Nov. 29, 1969). The song returned to the Hot 100 in 1970 when Ike & Tina Turner covered the track (reaching No. 57) and again thanks to an Aerosmith redux in 1978 (No. 23). This is Williams' second entry on Hot Rock Songs; his version of Tears for Fears' "Mad World" hit No. 18 four weeks ago.

Hunter Davies' new book gathers the original scribblings of the Fab Four that became timeless pop classics. CBS News

Songs with word by The Beatles have never failed to delight their listeners. Now many of those songs are delighting library-goers as well. Mark Phillips takes us browsing:

On a busy road in London sits the British Library, and its collection of about 170,000,000 literary works and historic documents.

Some of them are given pride of place in the Treasures Gallery. Oh, you know, original works of Shakespeare . . . handwritten musical scores by Beethoven . . . the Magna Carta, only the first recorded attempt at constitutional government . . .

And a collection of original lyrics of Beatles songs, scribbled on scraps of paper, or the backs of envelopes, or on a child's card. "Yesterday." "Ticket to Ride." "A Hard Day's Night."

The music seems everlasting. But the lyrics were disposable, throw-aways . . . until Hunter Davies picked them up.

'Well, the Beatles never seemed -- John and Paul, main writers, never seemed to have any paper in the house," Davies said. "They had these massive houses, but they never had stationery or notepads. The songs suddenly came to them, obviously the music, they played the guitar or the piano; but when it came to the words, they were going 'round the house going, 'Gimme some paper. Gimme a scrap.'"

John Lennon and Me

Friday, December 5, 2014

AVALON, CATALINA ISLAND - This weekend the Avalon High School Theater Department will be presenting John Lennon and Me. This powerful theatrical piece is a touching story about friendship, love, life and loss, all through the eyes of teenagers.

The cast in this production is exceptional. The emotion of the show will speak to everyone. These are the types of live performances we encourage everyone to see. This is what theater is about and you won't want to miss it.

There are many events to choose from this weekend and the Theater Department hopes that supporting John Lennon and Me will be one of them.

McCartney, Springsteen, Zeppelin, The Stones, The Who & Clapton reside at the Montgomery Mall as Classic Rock 102.9 ‘MGK presents the 102.9 ‘MGK Classic Rock Art Show & Sale, Friday, Dec. 5 through Wednesday, Dec. 24 .

The Classic Rock Art Show features artwork created by rock stars, Famous rock photographs, album artwork, gold records, concert posters, animation art and more.

The show is at the Montgomery Mall, 230 Montgomery Mall in North Wales. Beatles animator Ron Campbell will be on hand on Friday, Dec. 12 through Sunday, Dec. 14. He will be exhibiting his original Beatles cartoon art as well as painting new works at the show. In addition to his Beatles past, Campbell has been involved with some of the most beloved cartoons including, Scooby Doo, Krazy Kat, George of the Jungle, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, the Smurfs, Goof Troop, Rugrats, Winnie the Pooh, Ed, Edd & Eddy and dozens more.

As the 34th anniversary of John Lennon's death approaches on December 8, his former Beatles band mate Sir Paul McCartney has branded his murderer Mark David Chapman "the jerk of jerks".

The 72-year-old admitted the Beatles had an 'acrimonious' relationship at times but the death of one of his closest friends left him reeling.

"There was acrimony in The Beatles. But when he got killed we were friends. We used to call each other up and swap bread recipes," he revealed on The Jonathan Ross Show, airing on Saturday night on ITV.

"I was at home when he died. I got a phone call. It was so horrific. I could not take it in that he was gone. It was a very big shock. I was so sad that I was not going to see him again."

Blasting Chapman, he added: "And the guy who did it was the jerk of jerks. He was not politically motivated."

The musician also spoke of his wife Nancy Shevell, whom he married in 2011. 

We miss you

Spouse: Olivia Trinidad Arias (m. 1978–2001),

Pattie Boyd (m. 1966–1977)

As you head off for the holidays don’t forget to bring a small notepad. You never know when inspiration will strike.

John Lennon found his inspiration for “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” while riding in his Rolls-Royce. He grabbed a few pages from an address book that belonged to his driver to write down the lyric that popped into his head. This is just one of many stories in Hunter Davies’ new book, The Beatles Lyrics. Davies, the only authorized Beatles biographer, has access to more than 100 draft manuscripts of Beatles songs and he tells the story behind each one.

The book also teaches us something about creativity. You’re more likely to come up with your best ideas when your out of the office, which is why I recommend that people brainstorm and storyboard their PowerPoint presentations before they open up the software. To me a great presentation or speech is like a song; it has a hook, a catchy title, memorable lines, and an infectious story. If musicians don’t write their best lyrics while sitting in front of a piano wishing for the words to come,  why do think that your best business stories will come to you while you’re staring at a blank PowerPoint slide?

Last week marked 36 years since the release of the Beatles' 'White Album', a record dogged by rumours of containing subliminal messages that, when played backwards, seemed to suggest Paul McCartney was dead. The cult of myths surrounding the Fab Four goes far beyond 'Paul Is Dead' conspiracy theories, however. Here's that and 14 other strange, suspicious tales about the Beatles blown op

Unused photos from The Beatles' 'Abbey Road' photoshoot have sold at auction for £180,000 at Bloomsbury Auctions in London.

The shots were taken on August 8, 1969 by photographer Iain Macmillan, who had only 10 minutes to complete the entire shoot. Six photos were taken in all, including the photo that eventually made the final cut, as well as a scenery shot of the Abbey Road sign.

"This set of photographs has triggered a brilliant reaction from the market," said Sarah Wheeler of Bloomsbury Auctions. "It has been a pleasure to share them with the public at our sale rooms, even for a short time, and a delight to see them attain such a worthy price today."

Edward Dimsdale, Senior Lecturer of Photographic Theory at London College of Communcation, UAL, added: "Encapsulating a significant cultural moment, it is an image that launched a notorious conspiracy theory, and that clearly still provides a touchstone for fans. The opportunity to see the image in close relation to the only other frames originally shot by the photographer is undoubtedly instructive. By judgment or serendipity (or more likely a bit of both), Macmillan was able to seize upon an instant that continues to have the power to resonate, 45 years on."

The sale was made over the phone to an overseas buyer. The collection was originally given a sales estimate of between £50,000–£70,000.

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