Beatles News

When it comes to The Beatles, it was often Paul McCartney and John Lennon who got the most shine. After that duo, George Harrison was considered the next best artist and songwriter. And then there was Ringo Starr, the comic relief, the peace sign-waving, smiling drummer, who often felt like he was put over on the side on a riser and left to his own devices.

But once the former mop tops split up, music fans got to see more of Ringo as a bandleader, songwriter, recording artist, and performer, and much of what he put out into the world was appreciated on a new level. Here below, we wanted to explore three such songs. A trio of tracks from Starr that have since stood the test of time.

When they were with The Beatles, Ringo and George Harrison were known to write songs together, including the hit “Octopus’s Garden.” But here the two collaborated on this single from Starr’s self-titled 1973 LP Ringo. The Gold-selling track, which the two began writing in France in 1971, is about the value of a photograph and how it can sometimes be the last remaining element from an otherwise cherished relationship. Love is beautiful but is also fleeting. And Ringo sings of this fact on the track, offering,

From uneven songwriting credits to incessant in-fighting, the tense interpersonal dynamics of the Fab Four manifested in plenty of ways, including the future George Harrison hit the Beatles ironically rejected. The song was one of countless Harrison suggestions the band ultimately turned down, opting instead to prioritize the creative songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

However, the charts spoke for themselves. The song would later become a No. 1 U.S. hit for the “Quiet Beatle.” This accolade bested his bandmate, John Lennon, by one chart-topping hit.

Five months before the Beatles would make their Ed Sullivan Show debut, sparking a wave of Beatlemania across the States, a still unknown George Harrison visited his sister in rural Illinois. (A roadside memorial marks the early 1960s occasion, one of several unique tributes built in Harrison’s honor.) While there, Harrison perused a local record shop. He picked up Presenting James Ray, which featured “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You” as the first track.

Harrison immediately took to the song and offered it to his bandmates as a potential cover. As the story goes, his bandmates rejected the idea because details

Alan Parsons reflected on the time working as an engineer for The Beatles, revealing what this experience was really like.

Before making a name as an artist with The Alan Parsons Project, young Alan started his career as an engineer. During the 1960s and the 1970s, he had the chance to work with none other than The Beatles and Pink Floyd, two of the most influential rock bands of all time. The experience was, without a doubt, more than valuable for his career as Alan goes down in rock music history as one of the most important figures.

Of course, if you've worked with The Beatles, it's impossible to avoid questions about the experience. Speaking to Rick Beato in a recent interview, Alan Parsons opened up on the experience, confirming what most of us might have expected.

"It was The Beatles — of course it was historic," Alan said with a laugh when Rick asked about the matter (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). "But no, I was enjoying every minute. And I said, 'Thank you. This is the this is the greatest experience I've ever had.'"

Source: Ultimate Guitar

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The Beatles still stand as one of the most successful musical acts of all time in their home country of the U.K. Despite the fact that the band has only released a handful of tunes in the past half-century since they first split, they remain forces to be reckoned with on the weekly rankings, as fans in England continue to stream and buy everything the group released.

This week, The Beatles are present once again on a number of charts in the U.K. The Fab Four even manage to collect a pair of top 40 wins on the same ranking—at the same time.

On the Official Physical Singles chart–the U.K.’s list of the bestselling individual tunes released on a physical format–The Beatles claim a pair of spots. That’s an impressive showing for a group that many know as one from another era.

The Beatles’ highest-ranking hit on the Official Physical Singles chart this week is “From Us To You - 2 March 1964.” That project–which is actually an EP that features several songs, including the title track “From Us To You”—appears at No. 18 this frame. Last week, it was down at No. 29.

Further down on the same ranking comes another tune from the same bel details

Every Beatles fan — and there are a lot of them, from casual to hardcore — has an opinion on when the Fab Four of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were at their best, from their mainstream pop success to their psychedelic era. Narrowed down from more than 200 recorded songs, we agreed on these top timeless tunes.

Read on for the complete list of our favorites, from best to, well, 50th best.
1. "A Hard Day's Night" (1964, A Hard Day's Night)
The Beatles 'A Hard Day's Night' album cover.

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More than 50 years after this single hit the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, it's still nearly impossible to get any two people to agree on what chord that famous opening clang! actually is. But with one majestic, mysterious Rickenbacker distress call, the Beatles as we first met them on The Ed Sullivan Show four months earlier were gone. They'd grown up. The lads had become unwitting passengers on a speeding locomotive they'd never be able to disembark from, and the song's title hints at that weariness. It's right there in the opening scene of the 1964 film that bears the same name, as John, Paul, George, and Ringo are chased by a mob of scream details

They were the biggest band in the world, but they certainly weren’t above criticism. In fact, you could argue that The Beatles invited more scrutiny than their rock band peers. Because of their track record, much was expected them with each new song and album.

John Lennon was always a bit sensitive to that criticism, especially when he believed it was unwarranted or unfair. Occasionally, he came out swinging in interviews to defend himself and the group. That certainly was the case when it came to the “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” a song he penned that the band released in 1969 on their final studio album Abbey Road.

The Beatles did a ton to advance the art of lyric writing in pop and rock music. They were influenced by the early albums of Bob Dylan, an artist who proved the pop form could withstand adult themes and complex, personal writing. Because of their popularity, the Fab Four’s efforts to push their lyrical boundaries in turn influenced just about every other band and artist that competed with them in the ’60s.

John Lennon was responsible for much of this advancement. Songs like “In My Life,” “A Day in the Life,” and “Strawberry F details

When you think of John Lennon from The Beatles, you’re likely to picture him with his circular, wire-rimmed glasses.

But at times, he wore contact lenses, or at least he tried to. They kept pinging out of his eyes.

Why and what Lennon did to help his contacts stick is part history and part vision science.

As I propose in my paper, it also involved smoking a lot of pot.

Lennon didn’t like wearing glasses

Before 1967, Lennon was rarely seen in public wearing glasses. His reluctance to wear them started in childhood when he was found to be shortsighted at about the age of seven.

Nigel Walley was Lennon’s childhood friend and manager of The Quarrymen, the forerunner to The Beatles. Walley told the BBC,"He was as blind as a bat – he had glasses but he would never wear them. He was very vain about that."

In 1980, Lennon told Rolling Stone magazine,"I spent the whole of my childhood with […] me glasses off because glasses were sissy."

Even during extensive touring during Beatlemania (1963–66), Lennon never wore glasses during live performances, unlike his hero Buddy Holly.

Then Lennon tried contacts … ping! Roy Orbison&r details

The music world clamored for a Beatles reunion almost immediately following the group’s official breakup in 1970. When John Lennon died in 1980, that didn’t really slow the reunion fervor all that much, as folks hoped the three living members might once again play together on a live stage.

The Beatles Anthology project in 1995, which included studio recordings done by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr in conjunction with old John Lennon demos, was as close as we’d ever come to witnessing a full-scale Beatles reunion. But eight years before, two of the three remaining members came together on a stage for a good cause, as Harrison and Starr performed together at the Prince’s Trust benefit concert in 1987. It almost didn’t happen, though, simply because of how wary the two men were of raising everyone’s expectations that a more substantial reunion might be in the offing.

In June 1986, a “birthday party” concert for the charity was held at Wembley Stadium, and it featured an all-star assortment of artists, including Paul McCartney. The event was such a success that another benefit concert was scheduled for the following year. In the wake of Live Aid just details

When you’re as prolific of recording artists as the Beatles, some sessions are bound to be less enjoyable than others, like the Beatles songs Ringo Starr said was the “worst track we ever had to record.” The divisive song was a Paul McCartney song he originally wrote for their eponymous ‘White Album.’ However, time constraints pushed it back to Abbey Road.

As difficult as the recording sessions were for Ringo, he could at least take solace in the fact that he wasn’t the only Beatle who felt that way.  Ringo Starr Called This Song “The Worst Track”

“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is the third track off the Beatles’ iconic 1969 record Abbey Road. The jangly, jaunty tune about a hammer-wielding murderer named Maxwell Edison has become one of the most easily recognizable tracks in the Beatles’ discography. Still, that doesn’t mean it was anything close to a hit with a band.

Paul McCartney’s song proved to be rather vexing for the rest of the Fab Four. This included drummer Ringo Starr, who told Rolling Stone in 2008 that the time they spent cutting the song was “the worst session ever. It was the worst track we eve details

When The Beatles started out they were famously recast by manager Brian Epstein as four boys next door, their suits and mop top haircuts quickly varnishing over their raw rock ‘n’ roll roots. As time moved on, however, those roots showed through – sometimes in unexpected ways.

Take ‘Sun King’. A classic moment from the band’s final album ‘Abbey Road’, it was initially called ‘Here Comes The Sun King’ – before having its title shortened, to avoid confusion with George Harrison’s classic ‘Here Comes The Sun’.

Very much a group effort, the root for ‘Sun King’ owes a debt to Fleetwood Mac, then in their blues rock phase. Perhaps the biggest band in the country at the time, The Beatles lifted aspects of the guitar sound on No. 1 single ‘Albatross’ and turned it into their own.

George Harrison commented in 1987: “At the time, ‘Albatross’ (by Fleetwood Mac) was out, with all the reverb on guitar. So we said, ‘Let’s be Fleetwood Mac doing ‘Albatross’, just to get going.’ It never really sounded like Fleetwood Mac… but that was the point of origin.&rdqu details

Of all the songs that the BBC banned during the heyday of The Beatles, this particular ban is the most understandable. At the very least, it’s understandable in the context of the 1960s and what was considered taboo at the time.

This particular song that the BBC banned was “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” from The Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” is one of the Fab Four’s most recognizable songs of their career. It was also one of their most thinly veiled references to the psychedelic drug LSD. The title of the song spells out “LSD”. The lyrics also make poetic connections to the substance, too.  The BBC Ban of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” by The Beatles Was Understandable at the Time

“Picture yourself in a boat on a river / With tangerine trees and marmalade skies / Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly / A girl with kaleidoscope eyes” are just a few of many obvious references in the song.

Mentioning a psychedelic drug in a song wouldn’t make most people blush nowadays. Still, the BBC was pretty strict about banning such songs in the 1960 details

The iconic British comedy musical film, “A Hard Day’s Night,” was released on this day in history, Aug. 11, 1964, and starred the Beatles in their first feature movie. The movie was released during the height of Beatlemania as well as the British Invasion, and “A Hard Day’s Night” is widely considered a classic, according to Britannica.com. It will mark its 60th anniversary in 2024.

The rock ‘n’ roll musical boasts catchy and classic Beatles tunes, including "Can’t Buy Me Love," "I Should Have Known Better," and the namesake "A Hard Day’s Night."

John Lennon wrote the song "A Hard Day's Night"; it credited to Lennon-McCartney and released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964, according to the Beatles' official website.

Source: Erica Lamberg/yahoo.com

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Cynthia Lennon and Yoko Ono didn't get along. Here's why Cynthia was unhappy with Ono after John Lennon's death.

Immediately after John Lennon’s death, Cynthia Lennon reluctantly let her son, Julian, visit Yoko Ono in New York. Julian was still a teenager, and Cynthia didn’t want him to travel alone. Still, she allowed him to do what he felt was necessary. While Julian enjoyed spending time with his younger brother, Sean, Cynthia felt that Ono treated him callously.  Cynthia Lennon said Yoko Ono overlooked Julian Lennon after John Lennon died

When Julian arrived at the Dakota, Lennon and Ono’s building in New York, he found the apartment empty. Fred Seamen, Lennon’s personal assistant, took this opportunity to warn Julian about the visit.

“‘[Ono] will do anything to keep you in your place,’ he said. ‘Sean is the only person who matters to her. There’s simply no place for you in her world,’” Cynthia wrote in her book John. “Fred’s message was pretty brutal but it was proven absolutely true over the next weeks and months.”

Still, Ono was vulnerable with Julian when she saw him, admitting she didn’t know details

The Beatles were the greatest band of the 20th century. Their solo careers were each quite lucrative in their own right, even if most Beatles fans wouldn’t say they matched the power of their former band’s career. These six albums specifically were some of the best solo projects to come from each of the former Beatles members. Though, please keep in mind that this list is not tiered nor in order of greatness; each one of these Beatles solo projects is special for different reasons!
1. ‘All Things Must Pass’ by George Harrison

Many consider George Harrison to be the most underrated Beatle. After listening to his debut solo album, we’re inclined to agree. All This Must Pass is an incredible creative achievement from Harrison, and many would say it was his very best solo release. All he needed was to step away from the shadow of Paul McCartney and John Lennon to really shine on his own as a songwriter.
2. ‘Plastic Ono Band’ by John Lennon

The 1970 record Plastic Ono Band was a seething solo release from John Lennon. This whole album takes the listener on a journey of Lennon’s self-confrontations as he battles his inner demons, dreams, and preconceived notion details

John Lennon (1940–1980) was a British musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as a founding member of The Beatles. Born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, Lennon was a pivotal figure in the evolution of popular music and culture.

With The Beatles, Lennon, along with Paul McCartney, co-wrote many of the band’s most famous songs, including “Imagine,” “Help!,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” and “All You Need Is Love.” His songwriting, vocal style, and innovative approach contributed significantly to the band’s success and influence.

After The Beatles disbanded in 1970, Lennon pursued a solo career, producing acclaimed albums such as *Imagine* (1971) and *Double Fantasy* (1980). His solo work often reflected his political activism, personal introspection, and desire for peace.

Lennon’s life was tragically cut short when he was assassinated on December 8, 1980, in New York City. Despite his untimely death, his legacy endures through his music, his contributions to the cultural landscape, and his messages of peace and love.

1. Imagine
2. Woman
3. Jealous Guy
4. Instant Karma!
5. Watching the Wheel details