Beatles News
George Harrison and John Lennon became close in the years they spent with The Beatles. They didn’t start out this way, though. Lennon initially hadn’t wanted Harrison to join the band, believing he looked so young that he damaged the band’s image. Harrison said that after an experience he and Lennon shared, he no longer felt he embarrassed him.
George Harrison said he stopped feeling like he embarrassed John Lennon after they tried LSD
In the mid-1960s, The Beatles began using LSD. Lennon and Harrison were the first to try the drug, and Lennon estimated that he used it 1,000 times.
“I don’t think John had a thousand trips; that’s a slight exaggeration,” Harrison said in The Beatles Anthology. “But there was a period when we took acid a lot — the year we stopped touring, the year of the Monterey Pop Festival, we stayed home all the time,...
Source: imdb.com
What if George Martin and The Beatles had never met? Martin, already established as a producer, would surely have gone on producing records for The Goons, girl singers and symphony orchestras, among others. The Beatles’ native talents would probably have lifted them to the charts at some point, but would there have been a Revolver or a Sgt. Pepper, with all that startling sonic growth from their first recordings? The fateful crossing of paths brought out the best in both Martin and the Fab Four, made their legacies and changed the face of pop music in the 60s. As John Lennon once said of Martin: “He helped us to develop a language.”
Born in 1926, George Martin grew up in north London. After serving in the Royal Navy, he attended the Guildhall School Of Music, studying piano and oboe, and worked in the BBC’s classical music department. In 1955 he began working as a staff producer at EMI Parlophone, and in his first few years he recorded a diverse list of artists, including Matt Monro, the Ron Goodwin Orchestra and Peter Sellers.
“That’s part of my background, the catholic world of music that has no limits, no blinkers,” Martin later said. “I know many musicians in the classical field who believe everything else is rubbish. There are a lot of opera snobs, jazz snobs too. But music really isn’t like that. It’s so diverse and so good, and people should be able to participate in all forms.”
That attitude, along with an extensive musical vocabulary, incredible ears and a sense of playful experimentalism, made Martin the perfect foil for The Beatles, as well as for Cilla Black, Stackridge, America, Jeff Beck, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Cheap Trick, Ultravox and many others he worked with.
Source: Bill DeMain/loudersound.com
August 7, 1980, was a pretty significant day for rock history. Why you might be asking? Well, that was the day John Lennon returned to the spotlight after taking a five-year break. John sent the world into a frenzy by returning to the studio to record what would become his final album, Double Fantasy.
John had stepped away from the music scene to focus on being a dad and enjoy life in New York City with his wife, Yoko Ono. But like most artists of his caliber, he couldn't resist the urge to get back in the studio, so decided it was time!
Double Fantasy wasn’t just any album. It was a love letter to Yoko and a celebration of their life together. The album was a mix of John’s songs and Yoko’s, creating a conversation between them. It is full of themes of love, family, and the joy of starting over. Songs like “(Just Like) Starting Over” and “Watching the Wheels” reflected John’s Happiness and peace after years of uncertainty.
Recording the album was a joyful experience for John. He was working with a new group of musicians, and the atmosphere in the studio was electric. John was full of energy, cracking jokes, and encouraging everyone around him. He was passionate about the music they were creating, and it showed in the final product.
Double Fantasy became a bittersweet farewell from one of the greatest musicians of all time. It wasn’t just an album; it was a reflection of John’s life and love, a final gift to his fans.
Source: Matt Miller/rock95.com
If you were to ask John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison what made the band as great as it was — and it’s a question drummer Ringo Starr would be able to answer from his own experience — the odds are that they would say it was The Beatles in Hamburg..
Among the local places they performed in their native Liverpool was the Jacaranda coffee bar, run by Allan Williams, who would occasionally become their booking agent (in the days before Brian Epstein became their true manager). In August 1960, he informed them that he could book them in Hamburg, if they could secure a drummer, which — in the days before Ringo had joined them — they did in the form of Pete Best.
Source: Women's World
Inspired by his younger years as a clean-cut chap from Liverpool, the name has unfortunately stuck with him for quite some time. Due to his involuntary attachment, McCartney has had a public disdain for the name. Though, in McCartney fashion, he acknowledges it with a tasteful amount of grace and humor.
Paul McCartney’s Least Favorite Nickname
In numerous interviews, McCartney has openly explained his dislike for the name. In a 1989 Daily News Interview, McCartney stated, “I’m not comfortable with being ‘The Cute Beatle.’ I’ve never really thought I was ‘cute,’ though I guess some people think so. Maybe there were a few moments of cute, mostly in the early days.”
It's widely agreed that The Beatles were the most influential, and to many, simply the best, rock band of all time. However, what tends to be overlooked is the fact that they were also one of the most daring rock bands, especially when you realize how much they changed both musically and visually from 1964 through 1970. Also, how they started out as a pop band, and ended up taking on a variety of styles and utilizing an increasing amount of experimentation.
In the 2020 book, "John Winston Ono Lennon," Beatles expert Brian Kehew, who was the co-author of the exhaustive "Recording The Beatles" book, discussed the member of the band who was undoubtedly the most daring when it came to experimental music, John Lennon, and when and how he came to embrace that side of his artistry.
"The experimentalism is a thread that has certainly been around for a few decades in the underground," Kehew said. "And those were not pop-y records. I don't know if he expected lots of people to buy 'Life with the Lions,' as much as he just wanted to do it. And in a way – because he was such an aggressive, pushy, 'I know what's good' person – he put it out, expecting people would listen to it and maybe be offended...like how an album cover offends people. They knew how to do that, too."
Source: Ultimate Guitar
Spoon-bending performer and self-proclaimed mystic Uri Geller has told the BBC he is the buyer of a pair of glasses given by John Lennon to a man from Surrey. The iconic blue-tinted round sold for £40,000 in an auction on Wednesday held at Farleigh Golf Club, in Surrey.
Mr Geller, who plans to display the glasses prominently in his museum in Tel Aviv, Israel, said he was "elated" with his purchase.
He said: "John Lennon and I were very good friends while we were living in New York in the 1970s." The glasses were given by the former Beatle to a man from Surrey as a birthday present more than 55 years ago.
Catherine Southon Auctions said the singer gifted them to their seller - identified only as Michael - at Abbey Road Studios in 1968.
On putting in the highest bid, Mr Geller said: "I knew I had to buy these glasses whatever. I would have gone up to £500,000.
"Glasses are a passage into our soul, into our psyche." He said he had a “really close” friendship with John Lennon, “because we had an amazing connection”. The showman, now in his 70s, added: "John changed my life as that's where I learned about spirituality.
"He believed in UFOs and I believed in UFOs and he was fascinated by my alien collection.
"He gave me an alien egg."
Source: Stuart Maisner/bbc.com
Sir Paul McCartney confirmed Thursday that he was hacked by the British press, but doesn't have details. He said police will brief him when he returns to London.
McCartney held a wide-ranging press conference via satellite from Cincinnati in conjunction with his upcoming Showtime doc, "The Love You Make," about the benefit concert he put on after 9/11. But McCartney didn't bat off questions about his storied career, talking about how "Yesterday" and "Let it Be" came to him in dreams, the fact that he's about to marry his second NYC woman, why he was wearing a collarless jacket and how he loves ESPN and shopping networks. "Where do you think I got this jacket?" he said.
He also said that he's doing more Beatles songs than ever. "I try to give the audiences what they want," he said. Too bad he couldn't give Minnesotans what we want: A McCartney concert at Target Field. A proposed concert there fell through earlier this summer.
You can get more of his quips and reflections at my twitter site: @nealjustin
The Showtime special airs Sept. 10.
Source: nealjustin/startribune.com
THE Beatles, who rose to prominence in the 1960s captured the entire world with their brand of music.
By far, The Beatles have influenced generations through their music and connected people from across the globe through their massive hits.
But were all four members of The Beatles able to read or write sheet music? Ever wondered if they weren’t able to do so?
Is this true?
THE Beatles, who rose to prominence in the 1960s captured the entire world with their brand of music.
By far, The Beatles have influenced generations through their music and connected people from across the globe through their massive hits.
But were all four members of The Beatles able to read or write sheet music? Ever wondered if they weren’t able to do so?
Is this true?
Verdict:
TRUE
The Beatles, who are John Lennon (the late), Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, could not read music.
In a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine, John Lennon was quoted saying: "None of us could read music, none of us could write it.
"But as pure musicians, as inspired humans to make the noise, they (Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr) are as good as anybody," said Lennon.
McCartney on the other hand was quoted as saying, "Because I don’t read music, I didn’t know what the melody that went with it was."
He explained his music limitations in an interview in the latest iHeart Podcast series titled; McCartney: A Life In Lyrics, The Beatles’ where he explained the root of the song Golden Slumbers. "I always look in a piano bench seat because people always have sheet music in there – they always used to, definitely," McCartney was quoted in the podcast interview.
"Now, sometimes they can be empty, but I always look to see. This time it was either in the piano seat or it might have been up on the music stand, it was this song "Golden Slumbers."
THE Beatles, who rose to prominence in the 1960s captured the entire world with their brand of music.
By far, The Beatles have influenced generations through their music and connected people from across the globe through their massive hits.
But were all four members of The Beatles able to read or write sheet music? Ever wondered if they weren’t able to do so?
Is this true?
Verdict:
TRUE
The Beatles, who are John Lennon (the late), Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, could not read music.
In a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine, John Lennon was quoted saying: "None of us could read music, none of us could write it.
"But as pure musicians, as inspired humans to make the noise, they (Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr) are as good as anybody," said Lennon.
McCartney on the other hand was quoted as saying, "Because I don’t read music, I didn’t know what the melody that went with it was."
He explained his music limitations in an interview in the latest iHeart Podcast series titled; McCartney: A Life In Lyrics, The Beatles’ where he explained the root of the song Golden Slumbers.
"I always look in a piano bench seat because people always have sheet music in there – they always used to, definitely," McCartney was quoted in the podcast interview.
"Now, sometimes they can be empty, but I always look to see. This time it was either in the piano seat or it might have been up on the music stand, it was this song "Golden Slumbers."
THE Beatles, who rose to prominence in the 1960s captured the entire world with their brand of music.
By far, The Beatles have influenced generations through their music and connected people from across the globe through their massive hits.
But were all four members of The Beatles able to read or write sheet music? Ever wondered if they weren’t able to do so?
Is this true?
Verdict:
TRUE
The Beatles, who are John Lennon (the late), Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, could not read music.
In a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine, John Lennon was quoted saying: "None of us could read music, none of us could write it.
"But as pure musicians, as inspired humans to make the noise, they (Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr) are as good as anybody," said Lennon.
McCartney on the other hand was quoted as saying, "Because I don’t read music, I didn’t know what the melody that went with it was."
He explained his music limitations in an interview in the latest iHeart Podcast series titled; McCartney: A Life In Lyrics, The Beatles’ where he explained the root of the song Golden Slumbers.
"I always look in a piano bench seat because people always have sheet music in there – they always used to, definitely," McCartney was quoted in the podcast interview.
"Now, sometimes they can be empty, but I always look to see. This time it was either in the piano seat or it might have been up on the music stand, it was this song "Golden Slumbers."
In a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine, John Lennon was quoted saying: "None of us could read music, none of us could write it.
Source: CECILIA VICTOR/thestar.com.my
Houston has a wealth of arts organizations, offering performances of everything from avant garde theatre to classical music to multiple genres of dance. Even the most art-obsessed Houstonians may feel overwhelmed at deciding which performances to attend, especially if they're on a budget.
Thankfully, a popular program helps newbie arts lovers and longtime patrons alike. Houston Theater Week 2024 offers buy-one-get-one-free deals for more than 250 performing arts programs for the upcoming 2024-2025 arts season. Sponsored by the Houston First Corporation, the event, which runs from August 12 to 18, is a chance for Houstonians to explore performances by 22 professional performing arts organizations.
“Houston’s annual Theater Week is making a difference for both patrons and our arts organizations," Theater District Houtson's Hillary Hart said in a statement. "Not only does the revenue generated through ticket sales keep artists and other creative professionals working, it strengthens our already vibrant theater scene and exposes new audiences to a range of cultural performances by some of the best talent in the world at a discount."
Among the organizations participating this year are 4th Wall Theatre Co., Alley Theatre, Apollo Chamber Players, Chamber Music Houston, DaCamera, Dirt Dogs Theatre Co., Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony, Jazz Houston, Kinetic Ensemble, Main Street Theater, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Performing Arts Houston, Rec Room Arts, ROCO, Stages, the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, TUTS, and more.
Source: Jef Rouner/houston.culturemap.com
