Beatles News
George Harrison never wanted to work with one Beatle again but said it 'wasn't personal'
The Beatles officially broke up in 1970 after Paul McCartney announced he was leaving the band and it seems tensions remained between him and George Harrison
When Paul McCartney announced his decision to quit The Beatles, it caused a lot of tension with his former bandmates.
The singer-songwriter, now 82, stepped away from The Beatles in 1970 and the group disbanded, with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr turning their backs on Paul. John aired his frustration at his former friend in songs such as How Do You Sleep?.
Ringo also took aim at Paul with the track Back Off Boogaloo in which he called him a "meathead." As for George, he largely kept his opinions out of the spotlight until a press conference for his 1974 solo tour.
George had fueled rumors of a Beatles reunion when he covered a number of Beatles song in his set. In response, he was asked about the band during the press conference.
Source: themirror.com/Scarlett O'Toole
It’s 1964. The Beatles are the biggest band on Earth, Beatlemania is boiling over, and they’re about to make their movie debut. The soundtrack? An all-original album that opens with the most iconic chord in pop history. A Hard Day’s Night isn’t just a soundtrack—it’s a musical coming-of-age, a Lennon–McCartney songwriting masterclass, and a cultural time capsule all in one. But did you know these five behind-the-scenes nuggets? Prepare to “ooh!” and “yeah yeah yeah!”
1. The Opening Chord Has a Fan Club of Its Own (And a Math Professor Too)
The jarring, jangling, electrifying Fadd9 chord that opens “A Hard Day’s Night” has been analyzed by everyone from musicologists to mathematicians. George Harrison played it on a Rickenbacker 12-string, while George Martin added piano notes, Paul plucked a high bass note, and Ringo chimed in with subtle percussion.
One math professor even used Fourier transforms to break it down—basically turning rock history into rocket science. No chord has ever launched a film, an album, and a frenzy quite like this.
2. Ringo Starr Accidentally Named the Movie, the Album, and the Hit Single
After a particularly grueling day of filming and gigging, Ringo muttered, “It’s been a hard day’s night”—a classic Ringo-ism. Everyone laughed, but the phrase stuck. It became the movie title, the album name, and the chorus to a chart-topping hit that Lennon wrote overnight. That’s right: one tired drummer gave birth to a cultural phenomenon, proving once again that sometimes genius sounds like gibberish at first.
3. “Can’t Buy Me Love” Was Recorded in Paris—And Nearly Had Harmonies
The Beatles were holed up in a luxurious Paris hotel when Paul McCartney wrote “Can’t Buy Me Love.” It was one of the few Beatles songs recorded outside the U.K.—tracked at Pathé Marconi Studios. The first take actually had background harmonies, but the band scrapped them after one listen. The stripped-down version made history as the first single without their signature vocal blend—ironic for a band known for harmony, huh?
Source: thatericalper.com/Eric Alper
The Beatles grew impressively as songwriters in the relatively short time that they recorded together. They generally stayed ahead of the curve when it came to using storytelling techniques that set their songs apart from their peers. One way that they were able to accomplish this was by occasionally springing a bit of a surprise on their listeners with a little twist to the story at the song’s end. Check out the following four examples of unexpected endings to songs by The Beatles to see what we mean.
“Drive My Car” from ‘Rubber Soul’ (1965)
The story goes that Paul McCartney brought an early version of this Rubber Soul opening track to John Lennon. Lennon rejected it on the basis that the lyrics, about diamond rings, sounded trite. Hence, McCartney went back to the drawing board. He came up with a story that works at face value if that’s the way you want to take it. A guy, needing some financial assistance, acts as a driver for a high-toned miss. Late in the song, however, he finds that the woman doesn’t quite have the assets that she promised him. You could also read this song as one giant metaphor about shifting power dynamics in a sexual relationship. In any case, the reversal of fortune at the end of “Drive My Car” adds a little bite to the story.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
The Who has parted ways with its longtime drummer Zak Starkey. PEOPLE can confirm that he has split from the band
Starkey was with the band for 29 years. Zak Starkey is no longer with The Who.
PEOPLE can confirm that the drummer, 59, who is the son of The Beatles drummer Sir Ringo Starr and his first wife Maureen Starkey, has parted ways with the rock band after nearly 29 years.
"I’m very proud of my near 30 years with The Who," Starkey tells PEOPLE in a statement on Wednesday, April 16. "Filling the shoes of my Godfather, 'uncle Keith' has been the biggest honor and I remain their biggest fan. They’ve been like family to me."
He added: "In January, I suffered a serious medical emergency with blood clots in my right bass drum calf. This is now completely healed and does not affect my drumming or running."
"After playing those songs with the band for so many decades, I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night, but what can you do?" Starkey added, appearing to reference a Metro report where Roger Daltrey had repeatedly said he was struggling to hear over the drums during The Who's Royal Albert Hall show last month. "I plan to take some much needed time off with my family, and focus on the release of ‘Domino Bones’ by Mantra Of The Cosmos with Noel Gallagher in May and finishing my autobiography written solely by me. 29 years at any job is a good old run, and I wish them the best."
Source: people.com/Ilana Kaplan
Music icon George Harrison said he was fine with Patti Boyd leaving him for Eric Clapton. It was the Cream guitarist who "had the problem."
The cracks between The Beatles' guitarist and his first wife had been forming for years. They had fallen in love on the set of the Fab Four's A Hard Day's Night, did everything together “as though they were a single entity," had bonded over spirituality throughout the late 1960s, and gotten through The Beatles highly public split.
However, eventually after receiving some love letters and other advances, Boyd couldn't help her attraction to Clapton anymore. Since she and Harrison had been growing apart for awhile, Harrison didn't think it was such a big deal that Boyd wanted to divorce him and begin a relationship with his close friend.
In a 1977 interview, Crawdaddy asked Harrison about his thoughts on Boyd being the inspiration of Clapton's hit song Layla while he was still married to her: "I remember him saying he was dedicating Layla to some mystery woman. Did you know what was happening?"
Source: themirror.com/Hannah Furnell
George Harrison might have had the moniker of the “Quiet Beatle,” but that doesn’t mean he didn’t speak up whenever he felt it was necessary, including turning rants into songs. Although Harrison’s songwriting contributions to the Beatles paled in comparison to John Lennon and Paul McCartney (much to Harrison’s chagrin), a handful of Harrison rants did make their way into the Fab Four catalogue.
Other emotional songs, many of which were directed at his former bandmates and business associates, came later in Harrison’s solo career, unhindered by commandeering co-workers.
“Taxman”
George Harrison might not have had as many songwriting credits to his Beatles legacy as John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but their 1966 album Revolver opened with one of his more fiery songs: “Taxman.” As Harrison recalled in Anthology, “I had discovered I was paying a huge amount of money to the taxman. You are so happy that you’ve finally started earning money. Then you find out about tax. In those days, we paid 19 shillings and sixpence out of every pound, and with supertax and surtax and tax-tax, it was ridiculous.”
Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis
“Anyone who is one of the best in his field, as [Bob] Dylan is, is bound to influence people,” John Lennon told Melody Maker in 1965. Lennon had revealed one of his biggest influences who helped shift his songwriting style and the Beatles’ sound. By 1964, Bob Dylan‘s influence on the Beatles was evident as they began transitioning from pop songs to more introspective songwriting. Traces of Dylan were drawn on Beatles for Sale and Help! and even earlier on the A Hard Day’s Night track “I Should Have Known Better,” which Lennon directly linked to Dylan.
Originally, “A Hard Day’s Night” was also more in the vein of Dylan before it became more of a Beatles pop song. “But later we Beatle-fied it before we recorded it,” Lennon added.
As the band continued pivoting on Rubber Soul, along with more experimentation with instrumentation and in their storytelling, which continued on through the more psychedelic tones of Revolver and Abbey Road, Dylan’s influence was still apparent.
“That’s me in my Dylan period again,” Lennon proudly said when discussing the band’s “I’m a Loser” from Beatles for Sale and Help! track “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.” He continued, “I am like a chameleon, influenced by whatever is going on.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Tina Benitez-Eves
Traditional songwriting rules would dictate that the best compositions stay cohesive from start to finish, but Paul McCartney has been breaking that rule for decades, masterfully turning multiple songs into one in a way that still feels connected and exciting. His threading together of separate musical ideas was sometimes obvious, clearly delineating point A to B to C. Other times, McCartney created medleys so smooth that it’s easy to forget how many standalone ideas came together to form the track.
americansongwriter.coOf all the songwriting masterclasses McCartney has offered through his music, his ability to hodge-podge incredible rock and pop tracks together is impeccable. These are some of his best.
“Band on the Run”
One of the greatest examples of Paul McCartney mashing multiple songs into one track is “Band on the Run.” The 1973 title track to Wings’ third studio album features three distinct sections. It opens with a synth-heavy R&B groove, transitions into a more straightforward rock ‘n’ roll middle section, before finally ending with a jangly, country rock feel reminiscent of the Eagles.
The connecting thread between each section is the lyrics, which describe feelings of oppression by and escape from laborious music business dealings and run-ins with the law over marijuana possession. McCartney said the track (and overall album) marked Wings settling into their own sound. “It had echoes [of the Beatles], maybe inevitably because it was me. But we had established our own style.”
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
The Traveling Wilburys weren’t supposed to exist. But when George Harrison needed a B-side in 1988, what began as a one-off jam between friends became one of the most delightful curveballs in rock history. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 arrived that October, sounding like it had been playing on your record player for decades—even if you had never heard it before. Let’s dig into five little-known facts about this Grammy-winning, triple-platinum classic that united Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, and Harrison under one roof and five pseudonyms.
George Harrison didn’t plan a supergroup—he planned a barbecue. The magic started in Bob Dylan’s garage in Malibu. Harrison had rounded up Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison to help him record a quick B-side. Needing a studio, he called Dylan. Needing his guitar, he swung by Tom Petty’s house and invited him, too. What was meant to be a throwaway track, “Handle with Care,” was so good that Warner Bros. refused to let it be buried. So they turned one song into ten, and a backyard hangout into rock and roll alchemy.
Source: Eric Alper/thatericalper.com
The Beatles had an immense impact on rock ‘n’ roll in a general sense, but some of the most signature sounds of the mid-20th century can be traced back to specific songs by the Fab Four—the 1970s, for example, have “And Your Bird Can Sing” to thank for one of the most popular guitar techniques of the era. Amid other album cuts like “Eleanor Rigby” and “Yellow Submarine,” it’s difficult to distinguish the Revolver B-side as one of the more well-known hits from the record.
Nevertheless, the rock world continued to hear elements of “And Your Bird Can Sing” for years after the Beatles finally called it quits. Even more interestingly, the rock subgenre that would use this Fab Four technique was one far removed from the Liverpool band: southern rock.
Source: Melanie Davis/american songwriter.com
