Beatles News

A song written by legendary musician Jimmy Page was done so in response to criticism from The Beatles‘ George Harrison.

Led Zeppelin member Page would take on the challenge set by the so-called quiet one of The Beatles. Harrison would be an accidental influence of sorts on one of Led Zeppelin’s best-known songs, Rain Song. Page would tell biographer Brad Tolinski the All Things Must Pass hitmaker had effectively challenged him to write a “ballad” instead of the usual rock and roll work. Harrison had seemed to know of Page from The Yardbirds, being told of Led Zeppelin’s formation by engineer Glyn Johns. Harrison would ask: “Is he the one that was in The Yardbirds?” It may have been an exciting time on the music scene, but it seems a passing comment from Harrison pushed the band into writing one of their very best tracks.

Page would say: “George was talking to Bonzo one evening and said, ‘The problem with you guys is that you never do ballads,’ I said, ‘I’ll give him a ballad,’ and I wrote Rain Song, which appears Houses of the Holy. In fact, you’ll notice I even quote Something in the song’s first two chords.”

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Paul McCartney’s solo career has seen him revisit countless Beatles songs over the years, from early hits such as Love Me Do and Eight Days A Week to late-period classics such as Let It Be and various elements of the medley that closes Abbey Road.

But there are many more Beatles songs that McCartney has never played live as a solo artist, sometimes partly due to his unofficial policy of steering away from songs that were mostly written by his late bandmate John Lennon.

However, audience members at the opening show of his current US tour, at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, California on Friday September 27, got an unexpected surprise when McCartney opened his set with the Fab Four’s 1965 anthem Help! for the first time in 60 years.

McCartney has played a section of the track before, but that was as part of a medley of Lennon songs during Macca’s Flowers In The Dirt tour in 1989 and 1990. The last time Help! was performed in its entirety was by The Beatles themselves on December 12, 1965, at the Capital Theatre in Cardiff, Wales – the same year the song and its parent album of the same name were released.

With a capacity of just over 4500 people, the Santa Barbara B details

The iconic dance hit “Twist and Shout” has been through a few iterations. R&B vocal group The Top Notes originally recorded the song, written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns, in February 1961. After their version failed to chart, the Isley Brothers gave us the rendition we know and love, complete with the instantly recognizable bridge, in 1962. By 1964, the Beatles had gotten ahold of the song, recorded it in one single take, and sent it to #2 on Billboard’s singles chart. On this day in 1986, “Twist and Shout” resurfaced on the charts thanks to a John Hughes classic.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it. However, if you’ve seen the seminal 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, you probably didn’t miss the epic parade scene.

The film centers around the eponymous high school senior, played by Matthew Broderick, who goes to creative and extreme lengths to play hooky from school. Apropos of nothing, he ends up commandeering a float in Chicago’s Von Steuben Day parade, where he lip syncs to “Danke Schoen” and “Twist and Shout.”

Recently, actress Mia Sara, who played Fer details

Beatles fanatics have the chance to see the world as John Lennon did. A pair of his tinted, circular Windsor Glasses are heading for auction at Propstore in October and have been given an upper estimate of £300,000 ($402,000).

Lennon wore the pair of American Optical gilt framed glasses from 1973 to early 1974, a turbulent period of the musician’s life that he would later call his “lost weekend.” He was drinking heavily, partying in public, and on a break from Yoko Ono.

The story of the glasses echoes this rambunctiousness. In 1974, Lennon was watching the Smothers Brothers at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles with his friend and fellow musician Harry Nilsson when the pair began heckling the rock comedy duo. Soon a fight erupted. Before being thrown out, Lennon lost his glasses in the ruckus and they were picked up by the wife of Tommy Smothers. As the story goes, the Smothers brought the glasses to an afterparty at the house of the actor Peter Lawford and the guests spent the rest of the evening donning Lennon’s eyewear.

“Lennon is fondly remembered as a pioneering musician and a strong advocate for peace, and during his career one accessory became his trademark: his details

In his mind, Ringo Starr never stopped being 24. When his second son Jason was fretting about turning 40 in 2007, telling his dad that he felt like he was 27, the world’s most famous drummer was compelled to administer a gentle parental put-down. “I said you can’t be 27, I’m only 24,” he tells me, speaking by video call from his home in Los Angeles. He chuckles.

His actual age is . . . well, Ringo doesn’t really like seeing it in the cold glare of print. Suffice to say he first turned 24 in 1964, the year of the “British Invasion”, when the US fell hard for The Beatles and “I Love Ringo” badges were all the rage. In the book The Beatles Anthology, he described this as the moment when, having been the last to join the group, he felt fully accepted: “Suddenly we were equal.”

The perpetual 24-year-old certainly looks trim and fit. There’s no trace of grey in his wavy dark hair and beard. He wears tinted glasses and a necklace with a peace sign symbol. The collar of his denim jacket is upturned in classic rock ’n’ roll style. He speaks from his recording studio in the Beverly Hills house where he and details

Ringo & His All-Starr Band, made up of Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Hamish Stuart, Warren Ham, Buck Johnson and Gregg Bissonette, are set to return to The Venetian Theatre Sept. 26 and 27.

It all started by picking up a phone book and calling his friends.

“What a great idea in 1989 someone mentioned putting a band together,” Starr told Las Vegas Now.

In addition to the performances, Ringo Starr’s original artwork is on display and for sale at Animazing Gallery in the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas.

This is his first art exhibit since 2022, the first show to feature his original paintings and the first time he’s seen the exhibit.

All of his artwork is for sale, with 100% of artist proceeds going to the Lotus Foundation.

Animazing Gallery owner Nick Leone said it’s an honor to partner with Ringo Starr.

For show tickets, artwork information and more visit ringostarr.com.

Source: Jillian Lopez/8newsnow.com

John Lennon's son, Sean Ono Lennon, revealed his father "resented having to be a Beatle" in the end.

The late frontman of the legendary Liverpool group was done with being a part of the "pop machine" in the years that followed the "Yesterday" band's split in 1970. He wanted to focus on being a "radical artist and activist", as inspired by his wife, Yoko Ono.

However, Sean, 49, insists his father, who was shot dead outside his residence at The Dakota in New York City aged 40 in 1980, never lost his love for music.

His son was asked about the period, including the pair of One to One benefit concerts in 1972 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which marked Lennon's only full-length solo concerts in front of a paying audience after leaving The Beatles, and he dispelled the notion that his father had lost his passion for music.

Speaking to Chris Hawkins on BBC Radio 6 Music, he said, "I think there's a bit of a myth about that. I don't feel that he'd fallen out of love with music. I think he'd fallen out of love with a certain kind of fame. I think he'd fallen out of love with having to be a part of a machinery, of a pop machine, you know. I think that was - even though he was always rebellious details

As 1999 was rolling to a close, George Harrison should have been ringing in the new year with his family at his Friar Park Estate in Henley-on-Thames, England.

Instead, the former Beatle was lying in a hospital with 40 stab wounds after an intruder broke into his home on December 30 and left him fighting for his life.

British comedian Eric Idle recalls the incident on the latest episode of the Adam Buxton Podcast. A founding member of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Idle was both Harrison's friend and associate. Harrison appeared in Idles' satirical Beatles take-off All You Need Is Cash and even re-mortgaged his home to help finance Monty Python's 1979 film Life of Brian.

The attacker was Michael Abram, a 34-year-old suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. After breaking in, Abram encountered Harrison, leading to a prolonged fight in which the guitarist suffered a punctured lung and multiple head injuries.

As Idle tells Buxton, the incident shook Harrison to his core. “He was very disturbed,” he says. “I have never, ever seen him more disturbed. It was really shocking, because they fought for 20 minutes.”  Idle adds that he had been attacked “with a butch details

Decades after The Beatles made their debut, they're still impacting the landscape of music as we know it today. A big part of their influence was the final album the group would make together: Abbey Road, which was released on September 26, 1969 — 56 years ago today.

In a post on Facebook, Classic Rock Magazine shared a look back at the iconic album in honor of its anniversary, pointing out that it was Paul McCartney who convinced John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr to join him in the studio one more time so they could record together "like the old days."

"Deep down, everyone involved knew that Abbey Road was the last stand, which explains the nothing-to-lose attitude that pervades the material," Classic Rock's Henry Yates wrote. "Side One of the original vinyl holds most of the big-hitting moments, from the swampy judder of 'Come Together' to Harrison’s untouchable 'Something.'"

Yates continued, "And while 'Here Comes The Sun' is a no-brainer, cherrypicking the medley from Side Two was just as rewarding, with 'Golden Slumbers' and 'Carry That Weight.' standing amongst their most lump-in-throat moments."

Not only was Abbey Road significant because it marked the end of the ba details

A firm favourite topic for Beatles obsessives to kick around during those long-into-the night deliberations is just which of their eleven (we don’t count Magical Mystery Tour or Yellow Submarine, okay!) studio LPs was their singular best.

Whether you’re a Revolver man, an Abbey Road girl or your softest spot is reserved for their 1963 debut Please Please Me (we know there’s a few of you out there), what really isn't a matter of opinion is that on the wider cultural stage, it remains 1967’s Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that is the most synonymous with the Beatles at the peak of their powers.

For many, it remains the greatest album in pop’s storied history. It’s certainly one of the most interesting from a technical and band narrative point of view, being the first of the Beatles' studio-based career.

In fact, it was this vivid cauldron of a record that solidified the very idea of ‘the album’ in popular culture, and underlined its status in devotees as the most crucial component of an artist's canon.

“The pop revolution was driven by 45s - an LP ‘the prize’ for success and even then comprising two hits and a lot of fill details

While the Fab Four were responsible for some of the best albums in history, the Empty Glass songwriter was left unmoved by one of The Beatles‘ biggest releases. A trick in the studio, where the vocals were coming out of one side of the stereo and the backing track from the other, would define The Beatles’ sound. It would feature on some of their biggest tracks, but it did little for Townshend, who called it “flippin’ lousy.” He and The Who bass guitarist John Entwistle had been listening to an album by The Beatles shortly before Townshend gave an interview. The interview was seemingly given around the time of Rubber Soul‘s release, an album which changed the future for The Beatles.

An interviewer asked The Who guitarist: “But wouldn’t you say The Beatles and people like that have a certain musical quality?” Townshend replied: “Ooh, that’s a tough question. Actually, this afternoon, John [Entwistle] and I were listening to a stereo LP of The Beatles — in which the voices come out of the one side and the backing track comes out of the other.

“When you actually hear the backing tracks of The Beatles without their voices, they’re fli details

As of now, it’s hard to theorize when the relevance of The Beatles will fade. It’s quite trivial to assume when that will be, as there is truly no way to know. Though, as of now, this will not happen anytime soon. However, in terms of a few of their songs, that has already seemingly begun to happen.

“Hey Jude”, “Let It Be”, “Twist And Shout”, and “Get Back” are just a few of The Beatles’ songs that will always stay popular so long as The Beatles stay popular. Although that is not the case for these three Beatles songs, because as time has passed, so has the popularity of these tracks.
“Rocky Raccoon”

Released in 1968 on The Beatles’ self-titled album, better known as The White Album, “Rocky Raccoon” is one of the few songs in which The Beatles dabble in country music. One might argue that sonically speaking, it is one of the more unique tracks released by the Fab Four.

Uniqueness doesn’t lead to longevity, and that is the case for this phenomenal Beatles track. While steadfast and staunch Beatles fans certainly know this song. It seems fans who merely dabble in The Beatles don’t, which is incr details

Even if the rest of the world was none the wiser in early fall of 1969, The Beatles were well aware that their band was on the outs—a disintegration that would come that much more swiftly and divisively, thanks to a controversial John Lennon single he released in October of that year.

The subject matter of Lennon’s single was certainly sensitive. But it was nothing that The Beatles hadn’t covered already in songs like “Happiness is a Warm Gun”. Interestingly, Lennon’s actions following the release of his Plastic Ono Band track drummed up more drama than anything else.

Lennon’s response? “They’re so stupid about drugs.”

Whispers of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s worsening h***** addiction had already made their way into The Beatles discography by the late 1960s. “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” and “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” from the band’s 1968 eponymous “White Album” both touched on Lennon’s substance abuse. But “Cold Turkey” did more than touch—it prodded, pushed, and screamed the entire experience out onto vinyl. It’s a brash, intense, fr details

When it was over, George Harrison rarely got too sentimental about his time with The Beatles. But he also didn’t shy away from commenting on it in his songs, even if he did so ever so subtly at times.

“The Light That Has Lighted The World” stands out as one of the most moving songs from Harrison’s 1973 album Living In The Material World. It reflects his feelings on how people viewed the changes that he underwent upon entering the world of fortune and fame.
Heading for the “Light”

Because All Things Must Pass was such a powerhouse of an album, the LPs that followed it in the George Harrison catalog sometimes didn’t get the respect they deserved. This is especially true about Living In The Material World. It’s a far more muted record than its predecessor. But it’s no less compelling.

Harrison included “The Light That Has Lighted The World” on that album. He had originally written it as part of a series of songs that he intended for Cilla Black. Black was a recording star in Great Britain who came from the same environs as The Beatles, which led to a long association between the acts.

Since he had earmarked the song “When T details

A new documentary produced by Martin Scorsese will celebrate Beatlemania's diamond jubilee. Beatles '64, which will debut on Disney+ on Nov. 29, will feature new interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the Beatlemaniacs who followed them, paired with footage of the band's first U.S. concert and Ed Sullivan Show appearance. All of the archival footage has been restored in 4K, and the audio for the live footage was demixed by WingNut Films and remixed by Giles Martin, who was the music supervisor for Peter Jackson's Get Back docuseries.

Filmmaker David Tedeschi, who co-directed a doc on the New York Dolls' David Johansen and was nominated for Emmys recognizing docs he worked on about George Harrison and Bob Dylan, directed the picture. It includes footage by documentarians Albert and David Maysles and traces the group's heroes' welcome at New York's JFK airport on Feb. 7, 1964, and the crowds that followed them. On Feb. 9, they performed three songs on The Ed Sullivan Sh details