Beatles News

When it comes to legendary producers, George Martin has to be at the top, mostly because he helped invent the role. The classically trained arranger and studio magician shaped The Beatles’ sound while reshaping what a record producer could be. These 10 tracks are a testament to his genius, showing off his ability to turn tape, strings, and sonic experimentation into musical history. Here’s to the man behind the curtain.

“A Day in the Life” – The Beatles
A breathtaking final track for ‘Sgt. Pepper’s,’ Martin orchestrated one of the most audacious climaxes in rock history. That swelling 40-piece orchestra? That thunderous piano chord? That’s George Martin making chaos into beauty.

“All You Need Is Love” – The Beatles
Broadcast live to the world in 1967, Martin turned what could’ve been a chaotic moment into something timeless. He wove in La Marseillaise, Bach, Glenn Miller, and even a Beatles quote—proving love and production both benefit from a little imagination.

“Eleanor Rigby” – The Beatles
No drums. No guitars. Just a haunting string octet arranged by Martin and a tale of loneliness sun details

There is a debate amongst Beatles fans as to which album should be considered the band’s last. It’s like the Star Wars fans and their omnipresent “chronological or release date” debate. Is Let It Be their final album or is it Abbey Road? Whatever camp you fall in, we’d like to take a trip back to 1970 and the release of the frustratingly recorded Let It Be. Learn more below about the album the Beatles gave up on.

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

After the release of “The White Album”, the Beatles took some time off to get their creativity up and running again. They came back together with the expressed goal of making another album. Only the album was painstaking, leading to the band rejecting it twice.

Let It Be was once Get Back. The band originally named this collection of songs after “Get Back”, a driving rock anthem that went No. 1 on the charts in 1969. The project w details

The Beatles’ John Lennon started writing songs about and for Yoko Ono a couple of years after they met in 1966. She was his muse, the object of his affection, and a frequent collaborator during his solo career. Most people know about the heavy-hitters that Lennon wrote about Ono during his time in The Beatles, but there are a few underrated deep cuts from his solo career that not every fan may be aware of. Let’s look at one of his most famous odes to Ono, as well as a few solo deep cuts.

1. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”

A standout track from the 1969 album Abbey Road, “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is one of several odes to Yoko Ono that don’t directly name-drop her. Rather, Lennon wails about his adoration for the woman in question (Ono), referencing how “heavy” she is. For those who weren’t around in the 1960s, that was a slang term for someone with heavy emotional weight and intelligence.
2. “Oh Yoko!”

John Lennon penned this tune about Yoko Ono back in 1971 for his album Imagine. Obviously, this is a song about Ono, but it gets buried under other heavy-hitters on that album, such as the title track and “How details

John Lennon’s “Imagine” is one of the most popular songs of all time. However, popularity typically comes with a price, and Lennon is no stranger to that paradigm. Released in 1971, Lennon’s subversively inspiring song became an anthem for the dreamers, for the rebels, and for really anyone and everyone who had a bone to pick with the systemic issues of society. Though, evidently, that entailed a lot of trouble. A lot of trouble that lasted for quite a long time.

The lyrics of Lennon’s “Imagine” will likely remain relevant for as long as anyone can guess. That is how he designed it, as the themes the lyrics articulate are not specific to a time or place. Rather, they are specific to the human, spiritual, and governmental phenomena that have transpired throughout history. That being so, the contents of the song are timeless and will seemingly always remain relevant.

While John Lennon strives for peace, understanding, and mutuality in the song, he does so in a fairly divisive way. In the song, he denounces religion, government, and personal possession. Thus, it comes as no surprise that people and companies took issue with the song. Though surprisingly, these parties took details

It appears as if another Beatles reunion is in the works, as Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have been revealed as part of the star-studded cast of a 3D CG-animated adaption of a children’s adventure book penned in part by McCartney himself, according to Forbes.

Inspired by 2005’s “High in the Clouds,” written by McCartney, Geoff Dunbar and Philip Ardagh, the film’s roster features a who’s who from the worlds of film, television and music, including: Himesh Patel, Celine Dion, Hannah Waddingham, Idris Elba, Lionel Richie, Jimmy Fallon, Clemence Posey, Pom Klementieff and Alain Chabat.

Described as “a tale about the power of family and freedom of expression through music,” the story follows Wirral, a teenage squirrel, “who embarks on an extraordinary journey to set music free, after accidentally sparking a revolution against Gretsch, the bossy diva-owl who has banned all music from his town,” as reported in Variety.

The film is co-produced by McCartney, who will also be aboard to write and compose several of the film’s original songs, the report said.

The last time McCartney and Starr worked together was on 2023’s “Now an details

It wasn’t often The Beatles took formal votes on decisions, as most things were discussed and agreed upon as a group. But in 1969, during a recording session that should have been routine, Paul McCartney found himself on the receiving end of something that hadn’t happened before: all three of his bandmates siding against him, and the issue was Allen Klein.

After the death of manager Brian Epstein, the band was left with a gap in leadership. Soon, John Lennon was quickly won over by Klein’s pitch, and George Harrison and Ringo Starr agreed.

But McCartney remained unconvinced. He wanted the band to be represented by Lee Eastman, his future father-in-law and a respected entertainment lawyer.   The moment came when Klein turned up at Apple and asked the band to sign his contract on the spot. He said he had a board meeting the following morning and Paul asked to wait until Monday.

“I said, ‘Well I’m not going to [sign it now]. I demand at least the weekend. I’ll look at it, and on Monday. This is supposed to be a recording session, after all,’” McCartney later recalled in All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words.

But the other details

Barry Keoghan is preparing to play Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes’ Beatles biopics, but he’s not quite ready to show off his drumming skills.

In an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Wednesday night, Keoghan shared that he’s finally met the music legend face to face. “I met him at his house and he played the drums for me,” he said, adding: “He asked me to play, but I wasn’t playing the drums for Ringo.”

The “Saltburn” actor reminded Kimmel that Starr was in fact the one to leak his casting to the press back in November. “He let the news out,” Keoghan said. “He was like, ‘Barry is somewhere doing drums. I think he should stop and not do anymore.'”

Keoghan said meeting Starr was “one of those moments when you’re just in awe” and he “just froze.”

“When I was talking to him, I couldn’t look at him. I was nervous,” Keoghan said. “But he’s like, ‘You can look at me.’ And again, you’re playing Ringo Starr. My job is to observe and take in the mannerisms and study.”

Keoghan will be playing Starr across four separate Beat details

Unless you’re a Beatles aficionado (and/or saw Peter Jackson’s revealing documentary miniseries, The Beatles: Get Back), you would never be able to pick up on the deep tensions between John Lennon and Paul McCartney that were reaching a fever pitch during the Let It Be and Abbey Road sessions, which would make up the two final Beatles albums. On either record, from a surface-level vantage point, the band was as cohesive and creative as ever.

But dig a little deeper, and the fractures breaking the Fab Four apart become more apparent. The band’s reactions and recollections in later interviews shone a light on the dissonance that was slowly increasing in volume as they barrelled toward their final goodbye as one of the world’s most pervasive and influential rock bands.

Two songs on Let It Be, the final album the band released despite starting its sessions prior to Abbey Road, highlight the mounting conflict between the band’s primary songwriters.
John Lennon Had Harsh Words For These Beatles Songs Off Their Final Album

Generally speaking, the songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney is what made the Beatles so prolific and unique. When their relationship b details

Had The Beatles been able to successfully fulfill the vision they originally conceived for the album that was released over a half-century ago as Let It Be, we might not have seen that LP as we now know it.

Fresh off the recording and release of The White Album (a/k/a The Beatles) in late 1968, the foursome reconvened early in the new year to work together in a more straightforward fashion than on that double set and Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band of 1967.

Notwithstanding the production of a feature length film (or the idea of a live performance bandied about at various points), the emphasis was on simplicity, the goal to capture the quartet as they played and sang together, without much, if any, subsequent elaboration via overdubbing or effects.

Hindsight of fifty-five years suggests the Beatles would most likely have achieved this goal with the astute guidance of manager Brian Epstein and/or long-time studio producer George Martin. But the former had passed suddenly in August of 1967, leaving the group essentially rudderless, while the latter had been shunted aside during the recording sessions of the previous year, an oversight that unfortunately continued here in favor of then-young details

The Beatles were at the peak of their powers in 1967. The album 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' had been released that May and spent 27 weeks at the top of the British charts, defining the 'summer of love' and changing popular music forever.

During that summer, the band had signed up for a huge television event. Conceived by the BBC, 'Our World' was the first ever live multi-satellite, global television event and it would include the band playing at EMI Studios on Abbey Road in London during its broadcast on June 25.    ‌The Beatles would represent Britain and they needed to write a new track for the show. After signing a contract in May, they had a month to prepare, but left it late. 

Recording engineer Geoff Emerick recalled in the book 'The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions': "I don’t know if they had prepared any ideas but they left it very late to write the song. John said, ‘Oh God, is it that close? I suppose we’d better write something.’"

The song they wrote was 'All You Need Is Love'. Mainly John Lennon's work, it had a simple message. About that, manager Brian Epstein said: "It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the worl details

Yoko Ono has long been associated with The Beatles through her marriage to and creative collaboration with John Lennon. Even decades later, there are still people who believe she was solely responsible for breaking up the Fab Four. This theory completely ignores the group’s own interpersonal problems at the very least, but at its worst, it paints Ono in a negative light that she didn’t deserve.

Lennon once called Ono “the world’s most famous unknown artist.” He added that “everyone knows her name but no one knows what she actually does,” according to a post from online gallery Arthive. This remains true to this day, despite Ono’s far-reaching and prolific influence.

Overall, she’s more known for being married to a Beatle than for her own artistic endeavors. These, as a whole, are varied and many. It could be argued that, for the uninitiated, her legacy has been boiled down to being John Lennon’s wife. However, Yoko Ono is far more influential in the music and art worlds than just that.  Yoko Ono Did Not Exist in a John Lennon Vacuum

Yoko Ono has always been avant-garde. Her entire art and music career has been about pushing boundaries of wh details

It has taken fans over six decades to actually realize how The Beatles ended up being called what they are today and it turns out the name has a dual meaning too
 
The Beatles were initally called The Beetles and The Silver Beatles.  Founded in 1960, everyone now knows The Beatles as The Beatles, but they initially had several other names until John Lennon had his say.

The story behind The Beatles' naming has gone down many routes before, and this is believed to be because of the band’s famously mischievous nature. Throughout their time together, they offered a mix of stories about the origin of the name, including accounts of dreams involving flaming pies, floating buns, and mysterious men visiting them on flying carpets.

These bold explanations are likely because they found the real, much more straightforward origin of the name was not as 'out-there' enough for their standards.
Looking back to where it all began in 1960, the band, then just a trio consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, was still undecided on a band name, though they had recently performed as Johnny and the Moondogs.

Lennon’s friend from art school, Stuart Sutcliffe, joined t details

Many artists have covered the 1969 Beatles classic “Come Together” over the years, for better or worse.

John Lennon originally wrote “Come Together” as a song for Timothy Leary’s 1969 campaign for governor of California against incumbent Ronald Reagan. Leary didn’t end up using the song or winning his bid for office. When the Beatles began recording their album “Abbey Road,” Lennon started singing “Come Together” in the studio and fleshed out the rest of the lyrics.

Em Casalena, a music writer for American Songwriter, admitted that those lyrics are pretty nonsensical, and Beatles fans have been trying to parse through them for years to find meaning. Still, Casalena said, the song became a hit and inspired countless musicians to cover it.

Joe Cocker, the late rock and blues singer, was recently posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in part for his covers of Beatles hits. Paul McCartney even wrote a letter of support about Cocker to push for his induction.

Source: wbaa.org/Ashley Locke, Peter O'Dowd

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Is it getting "Hot In Heree" or is a "Cruel Summer" approaching?

With the sunshine season just around the corner, there's no better time to blast a bright, feel-good track to match the mood.

Now's the perfect time to kick back and listen to sunshine tracks on repeat with one legendary hit, hailed as the ultimate summer song, at the top of your playlist.

Whether you enjoy "Walking On Sunshine" or basking in a "Summer Breeze" that makes you feel fine, there's one song that's so synonymous with summer that you can't help but crack the windows and turn the volume up every time it's played.

Not only is this timeless tune the best summer song ever written, but it single-handedly cures long, cold, lonely winters and returns the smiles to the faces!

According to a list compiled by TimeOut, the best summer song of all time is The Beatles classic, "Here Comes The Sun."

Other songs that made the list include "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter, "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers, "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" by Roy Ayers, and "Summertime Sadness" by Lana Del Rey to round out the top five.

Here's what TimeOut had to say about the best summer song of all time:

"We know, this isn’ details

EXCLUSIVE: The director of Borrowed Time: Lennon's Last Decade refused to feature one key thing in the film.

John Lennon's final ten years are forensically examined in director Alan G. Parker's new documetary Borrowed Time: Lennon's Last Decade. With contributions from musicians, journalists, and close friends of John the film promises to set the record straight on the truth behind many famous Lennon moments, including when Yoko Ono first came on the scene. However, one thing that doesn't get a mention is the name of the man who murdered the former Beatle on December 8, 1980. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk in advance of the movie's release on May 2, Alan explained his reasoning.

“There's two things we had right from the get go. Number one was…if anybody mentions his name, they're not going in the movie. His name is not mentioned in the movie, because my belief is that part of the reason that killing took place was for a bit of the fame to rub off on the man himself," he said.

"He won't be getting any of it (fame) from me, because I won't put his name anywhere. The plan was, if any interviewees mentioned him we'd suddenly say 'sorry, camera off, there's your money, goodbye!'"