Beatles Music

Paul McCartney and John Lennon met on Saturday, July 6, 1957 — 12 years after the war, 10 years before they released Sgt Pepper — amid the pageantry of a suburban English garden party in Woolton, Liverpool: brass band, fancy-dress parades, cake stalls and hoopla games. Paul, 15 years old, was over from Allerton, a mile or two across the golf course. He didn’t hang out in Woolton much — it was a posh neighbourhood, a little prissy — but a friend from school, Ivan, lived there, and had suggested they go to the fête. There would be girls, plus Ivan had this local friend, John Lennon, whom Paul might like to meet, or at least see play with his group, the Quarry Men.

At about 4pm, he and Ivan arrived at St Peter’s Church. The noise of Lennon’s group was billowing through humid air from the field next to the church. Paul had seen John around, on the bus, in the chip shop, and he was already fascinated by him. Paul was an intellectually hungry boy who was unconvinced by school and unimpressed by the prospect of an office job. Here was this older lad, nearly 17, a leather-jacketed, sideburned, vulpine rocker who seemed to have already made an irreversible break from workaday life. details

Peet’s Coffee has announced it will no longer charge extra for plant-based milks.

The decision comes just days after Sir Paul McCartney, a longtime advocate for animal welfare, penned an open letter to the East Bay company urging it to eliminate the $1 surcharge for vegan milk.

“We were proud to introduce the first fully plant-based menu item at scale for coffee shops in 2021,” Gordon Bitter, a senior vice president at Peet’s, said in a statement. “Now, we’re excited to take the next step by offering non-dairy options at the same price as all milk-based drinks.”

Starting June 4, beverages with non-dairy options — including oat, almond and pea protein milk — will be offered without an upcharge.

“I am really happy to hear this!” McCartney said in a statement Saturday, March 15.

Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, also celebrated the decision.

“With a little help from our friend Sir Paul McCartney, PETA notched a swift win for animals, the planet, and kind consumers, who shouldn’t be punished for making the ethical and healthy choice to ditch dairy,” she said in a statement.

Source: sfchronicle details

Today in history:

On March 22, 1963, The Beatles’ debut album, “Please Please Me,” was released in the United Kingdom on the Parlophone record label.

After taking the UK by storm in 1963, The Beatles became famous around the world in 1964. They were on a 19-date concert residency in Paris on January 25, 1964 of that year when manager Brian Epstein told them they had achieved their first number one in America when 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' topped the US's Cashbox charts.

The song was number one on the USA's main chart - the Billboard Hot 100 - by February 1 and stayed there for seven weeks. Brian had decided they needed to target international markets from that point on.

As The Beatles had been big hits in Hamburg in their early days, Berlin-based Odeon Records told Brian and producer George Martin that singing in German would allow the band to sell more records in West Germany. So The Beatles were sent into the Pathé Marconi studio in Paris on January 29.

Translations of 'She Loves You' and 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' were given to them. However, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison were not too keen on the idea and wanted to stay in their hotel.

Mr Martin recalled: "I fixed the session for late-morning. Norman Smith, myself, and the translator, a chap named Nicolas, all got to the studio on time, but there was n details

Elvis Presley's relationship with The Beatles was a complex one. The iconic band, known as The Fab Four, were greatly inspired by the King of Rock and Roll during their formative years in the 1950s.

However, when they finally met six decades ago this August, Elvis viewed them as competition, given their thriving music careers compared to his own. By 1970, he was expressing to President Nixon that The Beatles were "un-American" due to their ties with the hippie drug culture. Despite this, Elvis ended up performing several of their hits live during his residency years, including Yesterday and Hey Jude.

The Daily Express had an exclusive chat with David Stanley, Elvis' step-brother, on the very Las Vegas stage where the star performed every show.

During our discussion, the trusted member of the Memphis Mafia and bodyguard revealed that Elvis "loved George Harrison out of all The Beatles."

David disclosed: "He thought George was the most prolific writer. He really liked his writing."

He then proceeded to name Elvis' top four Beatles songs, all written by the Quiet Beatle. George has written quite a few songs for his band, and four of them was written by his supermodel ex-wife Pattie Boyd.

Yoko Ono knows her social status changed after she and her late husband John Lennon met.

In archival footage from the trailer for One to One: John & Yoko, the Japanese multimedia artist and musician, now 92, reflects on how the public’s perception of her changed after she married the Beatles singer.   “I was considered a bitch in this society,” a young Ono says about 40 seconds into the nearly two-minute teaser.

She adds, “Since I met John, I was upgraded into a witch.”  His words could also be heard over clips of their time together.

“I fell in love with an independent, creative genius,” the British rock star confessed. “I started waking up.”

The former couple met in London in 1966, when he happened to stop Lennon by Ono's solo exhibit. Soon after, an affair began, which prompted Lennon to leave his first wife, Cynthia Lennon, whom he shared a 5-year-old son, Julian, with.

They married in 1969 and Lennon and Ono became one of the most polarizing and high-profile couples, even beyond his death in 1980.

Ono’s presence in his life seemingly motivated Lennon to explore new ways of creating music and bring details

Paul McCartney and PETA have joined forces to urge Peet’s Coffee to eliminate its plant milk surcharge.

The Beatles star penned an open letter to Eric Lauterbach, president and CEO of Peet’s Coffee, urging him to eliminate the company’s 80 cent-$1 surcharge for vegan milk.

“It recently came to my attention that Peet’s has an extra charge for plant-based milks as opposed to cow’s milk. I must say this surprised me as I understand that your company is committed to reducing methane emissions and water waste, yet cow’s milk significantly contributes to them,” McCartney wrote in the letter, dated March 3. “I would like to politely request that you consider dropping the upcharge on plant milks, just as Starbucks and Dunkin’ have recently done.”

PETA’s campaign against the coffee chain, headquartered in Emeryville and founded in Berkeley, is set to expand on Monday, March 17, when a Peet’s billboard featuring the punny slogan “For Pete’s sake” is set to go up directly outside of one of the coffee shop’s East Bay locations.  Members of the nonprofit organization, formally known as the People for the Ethical details

You can’t sustain a career like Paul McCartney‘s without versatility. If he had only one trick in his bag, that would have worn thin quickly. With The Beatles, with Wings, or on his own, he has mastered both screaming rock and roll and tender balladry.

Beyond that, there are the occasions when McCartney delves into more antiquated forms of music, some very distinct to his native Great Britain. The 2005 track “English Tea” revels in some details those in his home country could appreciate best.
Modern “English”

When it comes to his post-millennial output, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, released in 2005, just might be the best album McCartney has delivered. And that’s no faint praise, because the quality of his output has remained remarkably consistent in that time, maybe even more so than in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

The album paired him with Nigel Godrich, who came into the experience as one of the hotter producers of that era. Godrich dared to push McCartney, forcing him to rewrite songs even when the former Beatle believed they were already up to snuff.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia

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John Lennon is being honored in a specially minted British coin collection to mark the year the Beatles great and peace advocate would have turned 85, the Royal Mint said Friday.

The coin, which will go on sale on Monday, features a portrait of Lennon that is based on a famous image taken by music industry photographer Bob Gruen in 1974.

It depicts a side profile of Lennon, taken on the roof of his penthouse in New York. Lennon was shot dead by Mark David Chapman in the city on Dec. 8, 1980 at the age of 40.

Lennon’s name appears to the left of the portrait, while the word “Imagine” features on the right side of the design in a reference to his single and album, released in 1971, the year after the Fab Four — Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — effectively went their own way, having left their indelible mark at the heart of the 1960s.

“Arguably one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time, Lennon’s achievements as an artist, activist and advocate for peace continue to live on and will now be forever remembered on a coin,” said Rebecca Morgan, director of commemorative coin at the Royal Mint.

Source: apnews.co details

The Beatles' 1967-1970 compilation reenters the U.K. charts, celebrating its one-hundredth week on ... [+] the Official Albums chart and joining an elite group of their albums.

The Beatles’ catalog is filled with some of the bestselling albums and most popular songs of all time. While a number of the group’s traditional studio full-lengths rank among the most beloved ever, in the decades since the Fab Four broke up, millions of people have focused on buying and streaming compilations from the group. This is an easy way to continually consume the singles that made the outfit globally famous, and these days, when The Beatles land on albums charts around the world, it's usually with one gathering of singles or another.

This frame, in The Beatles’ home country, two compilations appear on the main albums chart as one returns and joins another popular release. The comeback project reaches a special milestone and joins a number of other classics from the band as it hits a special milestone.

The Beatles’ 1967-1970 Returns

1967-1970, a compilation usually just referred to as the Blue Album, bounces back onto a pair of U.K. charts this week. It reenters the Official Albums St details

Though the Beatles are a far cry from Black Sabbath, that doesn’t mean Ozzy Osbourne wasn’t influenced greatly by the Fab Four. In fact, Osbourne has talked about his affinity for the rock greats on a number of occasions. So, when he got the opportunity to step in studio with Paul McCartney, Osbourne was aptly excited. Despite his fervor for a potential collaboration, Macca declined. Find out why below.

The Collaboration with a Legendary Artist Paul McCartney Refused to Accept: “He Said He Couldn’t Improve on the Bassline”

The light in the window is a crack in the sky
A stairway to darkness in the blink of an eye
A levee of tears to learn she’ll never be coming back
The man in the dark will bring another attack
Your momma told you that you’re not supposed to talk to strangers
Look in the mirror, tell me, do you think you life’s in danger, yeah?

The Beatles changed Osbourne’s life. They were a guiding force for him growing up–as they were for many kids in his generation. He used their music as an escape from his immediate surroundings.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper

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John Lennon and Yoko Ono‘s iconic love story will be explored in an intimate new documentary title One to One. The film will be screening exclusively in IMAX on April 11th.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald, One to One centers around Lennon’s only full-length show after leaving the Beatles. He and Ono put on the One to One benefit show at Madison Square Garden on August 30th, 1972. The film explores the 18 months leading up to the show, when the couple shared an apartment in Greenwich Village and found themselves heavily immersed in American television.

As seen in the film’s trailer, Macdonald pulls heavily from archival footage of the couple during this time. Alongside never-before-seen footage, One to One features newly remixed and produced music by the couple’s only son together Sean Ono Lennon.

One to One was first announced last May and premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August. It was also an official selection at Sundance earlier this year.

One to One is not the only new documentary to chronicle the couple’s relationship and politics in the early Seventies. Daytime Revolution was released in October and took a close look at their residency on The Mike Douglas details

It was the first hit for a band containing a number of Liverpool-born musicians.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote the vast majority of The Beatles' songs and were the driving creative force behind the band's success. Their contrasting styles, moods and approaches often met in the middle to create magic.

About their song writing partnership Wilfred Mellors wrote in 1972: "Opposite poles generate electricity: between John and Paul the sparks flew. John's fiery iconoclasm was tempered by Paul's lyrical grace, while Paul's wide-eyed charm was toughened by John's resilience." But John and Paul didn't only write songs for The Beatles during their time in the band.

They famously wrote The Rolling Stones' first hit - 'I Wanna be Your Man' - for them, having first considered it as a song for Ringo Starr to sing, which he later did.

It wasn't the only time they wrote a song which became a band's first hit. Paul had written 'Come And Get It' in 1969 and recorded a solo demo for it during the sessions for the band's penultimate album 'Abbey Road', but it became the breakout hit for Badfinger, who had signed for The Beatles' label Apple in 1968 under the name 'The Iveys'.

Source: liverpoolecho.co. details

Ringo Starr’s Ringo & Friends at The Ryman special, which features highlights from two star-studded concerts the legendary Beatles drummer played in January at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, premiered Monday, March 10, on CBS. The program focuses on Starr’s love of country music, while celebrating the release of his new solo album, the country-inspired Look Up.

Besides the concert performances, the special included some guest appearances via video of stars discussing Ringo and his music. Starr’s Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney and country icon Dolly Parton both revealed that their favorite song Ringo sings is a country classic covered by The Beatles in 1965.

In one pre-recorded segment, McCartney began by explaining that Starr “was the first guy in The Beatles to really turn us on to country music.”

Sir Paul elaborated, “We were kind of very much into rock ‘n’ roll, but he was heavy into country. So, he had a lot of records we didn’t have, and he was a big admirer of some of the country stars at the time, some of whom we’d never heard of, I must admit.”

Source: americansongwriter.com/Matt Friedlander

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Paul McCartney explained how a classic Beatles song came about as he lifted the lid on how Ringo Starr introduced the band to new music. Ringo hosted a concert special on American channel CBS on Monday (March 10) to celebrate his country album 'Look Up', which was released in January.

The show saw Ringo play a number of Beatles classics, including 'With a Little Help From My Friends' and 'Yellow Submarine' as well as new songs from the album. He was joined on stage by a number of stars, such as Sheryl Crow and Jack White.

It also featured a video message from Paul, who spoke about Ringo's long-standing love of country music and the song 'Act Naturally' by Buck Owens, which Ringo sang when The Beatles covered in 1965. 'Act Naturally' follows a narrator who wants to make it big in Hollywood as an actor, which Paul likened to Ringo in the film 'A Hard Day's Night'.

The Walton-born 82-year-old said: "Ringo was the first guy in The Beatles to turn us onto country music. We were very much into rock and roll but he was heavy into country.

"So, he had a lot of records we didn’t have and he was a big admirer of some of the country stars of the time. So of whom we’d never heard of, I must admit details

In the later years of his career, John Lennon stopped wearing rose-tinted glasses when it came to the Beatles' songs — in particular, his own.

He continued to hold a warm spot for some of the group's' earliest tunes, like "All My Loving," and for a number of those from their later era, including "Strawberry Fields Forever," "In My Life" and "Hey Jude."

But he viewed many others with a critic's unsparing eye. His most withering condemnations were saved for songs that were stamped out in cookie-cutter form or peeled off as nonsensical filler. "It's Only Love" is an example of the former, a Help! track he called “abysmal”, while the latter includes Abbey Road's "Mean Mr. Mustard," a bit of light-hearted fluff he denounced as “a piece of garbage.”

And then there's the song Lennon called his “least favorite.” It appeared on the group's 1965 album Rubber Soul, which may seem odd, given that record's status as the group's first conceptual work, in which every song received its own well-considered musical arrangement.

Source: guitarplayer.com/Phil Weller

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A set of Beatles autographs from a 1963 concert in Hull could earn up to £1,500 at auction.

The Fab Four's signatures were collected by Scunthorpe teenager Jeff Scarr, who attended their gig at the old ABC Cinema on 24 November 1963.  The then 16-year-old went to the stage door and spotted the band taking a break between performances.

After handing his autograph book to a roadie, it was given back to him signed by John, Paul, George and Ringo.  More than 60 years later, Mr Scarr described the concert as "absolutely crazy".

"As soon as The Beatles came on stage everybody stood up and then what seemed like thousands of girls started screaming," he said.

"They never stopped. I did not hear a single song The Beatles sang. It was complete madness."  The autograph book lay forgotten in a drawer until Mr Scarr's wife read an article on Beatles memorabilia.

The Beatles performed in Hull as part of their November 1963 tour.  Auctioneer Paul Potter said the page with the band's signatures had been removed from the book and would be sold as a separate lot in the auction in Scunthorpe on Thursday.

Source: bbc.com

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Paul McCartney may be a much-loved figure in British music, but the family favourite also has a raunchy side. After all, when The Beatles were playing tiny clubs in Hamburg it was Macca who took the mic for those Little Richard numbers, shrieking to his heart’s delight.

So when the mid 60s brought a tit-for-tit war of distortion between top tier British groups, there was only ever going to be one winner. Reading an interview with The Who’s Pete Townshend about the band’s single ‘I Can See For Miles’, Paul McCartney’s eyes were drawn to a quote saying the 45 was their loudest and most extreme record yet – so he decided to top it.

Entering Abbey Road once more, he began sketching out ideas for ‘Helter Skelter’ – arguably one of the first true rock or metal records, it was born out of friendly competition.

Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com

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After The Beatles broke up, John Lennon and Paul McCartney's relationship disintegrated completely.

The years-long pop battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar concluded with something of a TKO when the latter performed the massive diss track 'Not Like Us' at the Super Bowl in 2025.

But the warring rappers are far from the first friends and collaborators whose relationship devolved into a back-and-forth of insult in songs.

Paul McCartney opens up about his last ever conversation with John Lennon.  When John Lennon and Paul McCartney reconciled and nearly reformed The Beatles.

Over half a century earlier, John Lennon and Paul McCartney exchanged a series of barbs at one another in their music.

And while Drake and Kendrick were pally before things went south, that was nothing like the closeness of Lennon and McCartney, who met as teenagers on July 6, 1957 and formed what became arguably the greatest songwriting partnership in history.

Even before The Beatles broke up, things had turned sour between John and Paul, and after the split was made official, things went public. Below we look at each of the diss tracks in

Source: goldradio.com/Mayer Nissim

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Decades after their split, The Beatles’ classic compilations remain U.K. favorites as 1967-1970 ... [+] returns to the charts, joining 1962-1966 on key rankings. Portrait of British pop group The Beatles (L-R) Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943 - 2001), Ringo Starr and John Lennon (1940 - 1980) at the BBC Television Studios in London before the start of their world tour, June 17, 1966.  

The Beatles remain one of the most successful and beloved bands in history, and that will likely always be the case. Decades after breaking up, the band’s music is still finding new life on the charts – a statement which may also ring true for the rest of time.

This week, one of the group’s most popular compilations returns to a pair of rankings in the U.K. as listeners across the country continue to revisit the band’s biggest hits. As 1967-1970 makes a notable comeback, it joins its longtime companion, 1962-1966, on the lists.

Source: forbes.com/Hugh McIntyre

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John Lennon’s death in 1980 absolutely shook the world. Not only was it the passing of one of the world’s finest musicians, but it was also the death of an activist, a spokesperson, and the voice of a generation. That being so, the masses mourned his loss, and musicians did the same, both through song and ceremony.

Some musicians who paid homage to their fallen friends went the extra mile by writing and releasing a full-fledged single. As a matter of fact, several of these singles found quite a bit of success. Sadly, the context that supported that success was incredibly melancholic. With all that in mind, here are three songs that pay homage to the generational voice, John Lennon.

“Roll on John” by Bob Dylan

Released by Bob Dylan in 2013, his single “Roll On John” is a lengthy tribute featured on his album, House of The Risin’ Sun. Dylan’s single is a total of seven minutes long and poetically captures the cradle to crib story of John Lennon.

By name-dropping Liverpool, The Beatles’ former name, The Quarry Men, and other facts personal to John Lennon, Dylan truly tries to define the undefinable figure in his lines. Even if he doesn&rsqu details

Elvis Presley had a mixed relationship with The Beatles. The Fab Four were heavily influenced by the King of Rock and Roll during their 1950s upbringing. And by the time the five men finally met 60 years ago this August, The King saw them as his rivals whose music careers were in a much better place than his own. By 1970, he was telling President Nixon that the Beatles were “un-American” due to their association with hippy drug culture. And yet Elvis would end up covering a number of their hits live during his residency years from Yesterday to Hey Jude.

Daily Express spoke exclusively with the King’s step-brother David Stanley, who we interviewed on that very Las Vegas stage where the star performed every show. During our conversation, the Memphis Mafia confidant and bodyguard shared that, of all the Beatles, Elvis “loved George Harrison.” Davis shared: “He thought George was the most prolific writer. He really liked his writing.” He then listed off Elvis’ four favourite Beatles songs all penned by the Quiet Beatle.

This is the only Beatles song on the list Elvis regularly covered live, including at his 1973 concert movie Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite. Penned by details

The Beatles are one of the most iconic bands of all time, but not every song that Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote was a classic - and they admitted some were just 'work'.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a number of hits for The Beatles, but not every song turned out so well.

After retiring from touring in 1966, the band could devote more time to honing their albums in the studio, but their early years were a whirlwind. Their record label, Parlophone, was eager to capitalize on their skyrocketing popularity by releasing a steady stream of music.

As a result, Paul and John weren't always happy with every track they wrote. Paul admitted that some songs were simply churned out just for work and ended up as "filler on albums," some of which he can't even remember much of.

Speaking about their 1963 track Hold Me Tight, he confessed, "I can't remember much about that one. Certain songs were just 'work' songs, you haven't got much memory of them. That's one of them."

Source: themirror.com/Dan Haygarth

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Instead of taking pictures with fans, Paul McCartney has confirmed he does something far nicer.

The Beatles and Wings legend confirmed he rarely poses for photos with people who may bump into him on the street, instead preferring a chat and a handshake. Part of McCartney’s reasoning behind the lack of photos is that his adaptation to being one of the most famous musicians in the world needs some distance between fans and his private life. McCartney also confirmed he does not do autographs either, finding the experience a “bit strange”. In an interview with Reader’s Digest, McCartney confirmed his distaste for selfies with fans.

He said: “What you’ve usually got is a ropey photo with a poor backdrop and me looking a bit miserable. Let’s chat, let’s exchange stories.” McCartney went on to explain his distaste for photos in a separate interview, where the legendary songwriter said being “recognised” was still a weird experience.

Source: cultfollowing.co.uk/Ewan Gleadow

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In 1997, George Harrison agreed to make a rare TV appearance, dropping by VH1 along with his longtime friend and collaborator, Ravi Shankar, and his wife to help promote Shankar's latest release, Chants of India, which the former Beatle had produced and played on.

Shankar was the only one set to perform music on the show that day. However, thanks to a mixture of kismet and a persistent host, it turned into a mini George Harrison concert, marking the final time the music legend would perform in front of an audience.

At the time, the former Beatle had largely moved away from the limelight. His last full-fledged U.S. tour concluded more than two decades before, in 1974. By this point in his career he was more comfortable behind the scenes, producing music and the occasional film, rather than performing.

However, as a favor to Shankar — whom Harrison and the Beatles had met through George's deep interest in Eastern music and philosophy — he was happy to make an exception. Harrison had been supportive of Shankar for years, helping him reach a new audience with his music and launching the groundbreaking Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 after the sitar master alerted him to that country's humanitarian details