Beatles News

On This Day, Jan. 2, 1969 …

The Beatles began rehearsals for what would wind up being their final studio album together, Let It Be.

Rehearsals took place at Twickenham Film Studios and were marred by tension within the band, which was captured on film as cameras were recording the sessions for a documentary.

Let It Be was released in May 1970 along with the documentary of the same name, which featured The Beatles’ unannounced rooftop concert, their last public performance together. The album, which featured such classic Beatles songs as the title track, “Get Back” and “Across the Universe,” went to #1 in the U.S., the U.K. and several other countries.

The footage from the Let It Be documentary was later used by director Peter Jackson for the Emmy Award-winning docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, which was released in 2021.

The original documentary was restored from the original 16mm negative by Jackson’s Park Road Post Production and debuted on Disney+ in 2024.

Source: kshe95.com/ABC News

As the driving creative force behind The Beatles, Paul McCartney and John Lennon's contrasting styles often met in the middle to create magic. About their partnership, Music and Musicians magazine's 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."

All of their work with The Beatles received the joint credit of Lennon-McCartney but the writing was more one-sided at times. Sometimes they would sit together and write and at others, one of John or Paul would go away and write a song, before presenting it to the other for tweaks.

The seminal 1967 album 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' was primarily Paul's brainchild and John spoke about his dislike for it after he left the band. However one track on it is widely seen as one of the best examples of the pair's collaboration and one that John was very proud of.

John wrote much of 'A Day in the Life' in January 1967, inspired by a number of articles he had read in newspapers. He then played Paul the song and Paul added the middle-eight section about his Liverpool upbringing details

George Harrison is sitting in a vast soundstage at Twickenham Film Studios, explaining to Ringo Starr and film director Michael Lindsay-Hogg how a BBC2 sci-fi series called Out Of The Unknown, that he watched the previous evening, has inspired a new song. Harrison is sporting the same black fur coat he wears on the iconic rooftop concert and perched on his knee is John Lennon’s 1965 Epiphone Casino.

It’s mid-morning on Tuesday 7 January, 1969 and the next Beatle to arrive is Paul McCartney. “Good morning,” says the bearded bassman chirpily as he strides across the floor. “Do you wanna hear a song I wrote last night?” Harrison asks him. “It’s just a very short one, called I Me Mine”.

What follows is a beautifully plaintive and sparse rendition with Harrison’s voice sounding particularly pure. “Lovely” exclaims Lyndsey Hogg. McCartney, with hands in pockets, stands beside Harrison and stares down at his fingers on the fretboard, but says nothing. Then John Lennon arrives. Harrison, now standing, runs through the song again but speeds it up. “Run along son, see you later,” jokes Lennon. “We’re a rock and roll band you kn details

Because John Lennon and George Harrison have each been dead for more than five years, they cannot meet the Grammy test for "new recordings."

The Recording Academy made Beatlemaniacs happy on Nov. 8, when The Fab Four’s “Now and Then” was nominated for two awards – record of the year and best rock performance. But only the two living Beatles — Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr — are nominated for those awards. John Lennon, who died in 1980, and George Harrison, who died in 2001, are not.

Because Lennon and Harrison have each been dead for more than five years, they cannot meet the Grammy test for “new recordings” – “material that has been recorded within five years of the release date.” There is precedent for this. Nat “King” Cole was not nominated when daughter Natalie Cole won record of the year and best traditional pop performance in 1992 for their studio-created duet “Unforgettable.” He had died in 1965.

Lennon’s last Grammy nomination was at the 1985 ceremony – best spoken word or non-musical recording for Heart Play (Unfinished Dialogue), a collab with Yoko Ono. The album, which reached No. 94 on the details

In the second half of the 1960s, tensions within The Beatles began to rise. Having enjoyed unparalleled success throughout the decade, the band's recording sessions for their later albums became marked by creative differences and disagreements.

The sessions for 'The White Album', which was released in 1968, saw the fractures emerge as each member of the band wanted to put their stamp on their work. About that period of recording, Paul McCartney said: "There was a lot of friction during that album. We were just about to break up, and that was tense in itself" and John Lennon later added: "The break-up of The Beatles can be heard on that album."

Creative differences and Yoko Ono's presence in the studio have been cited as the primary reasons for the tension. 1969's recording sessions for the 'Let it Be' were also famously tempestuous, but the seeds for the disharmony were sewn the year before.

One song recorded during that period seemed to capture the mood within the band, though its origins were about something different. 'Hey Jude' was recorded in July and August 1968 before its release on August 26 as a non-album single. It was the band's first release on their new Apple label, hitting shelves three mon details

I was pleasantly surprised to see John Lennon in Lincroft on Sunday.

The Beatle's portrait adorns a mural on the side of the Exxon Mobil garage at the intersection of Newman Springs Road and Swimming River Road. The words "Imagine Peace" frame Lennon and the art features the guitar and dove icon from the historic Woodstock posters.

Don't get me wrong -- I love the message of peace as much as I love John Lennon. (And I spent countless hours in middle and high school biking down Swimming River Road while listening to Beatles CDs.) The location of the mural and the choice of subject left me scratching my head, though.

READ MORE: History of the Evil Clown of Middletown

What do John Lennon and gas stations and New Jersey have in common?
Why Is There a John Lennon Mural at the Lincroft Exxon?

I'm pretty late to the party when it comes to the John Lennon mural. I grew up in Middletown but moved to the Hudson Valley 10 years ago, so I tend to only come back home for holidays and family events. In the midst of that, I managed to never see cross paths with the mural, which has been on the site for over four years.

When I broached the topic on Threads, I got a big response and informati details

While Paul McCartney has a busy schedule, he said he still has some time to watch his favorite TV shows. McCartney watches television while he works out and to rid himself of any pre-show jitters. He said that one show in particular ranks highly on his list of guilty pleasures.

Paul McCartney said one of his guilty pleasures is a game show. McCartney said that he typically watches television while he works out in the morning. His taste is wide-ranging.

“Well, I like David Attenborough’s shows, and in-depth historical documentary stuff,” he said in a Q&a on his website. “But I also like Strictly.”

“I have lots of guilty pleasures,” he said. “Maybe TV shows more than music. I love Bargain Hunt.”

Bargain Hunt is a British show in which contestants...

Source: Emma McKee/Showbiz Cheat Sheet

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Many classic rock stars contributed to the canon of Christmas music. On the other hand, George Harrison decided to give us a New Year's song.

Many classic rock stars contributed to the canon of Christmas music. On the other hand, George Harrison decided to give us a New Year’s song. His decision to buck a trend worked out artistically. However, the tune isn’t as popular now as it could be for an undeniable reason.
Why George Harrison’s New Year’s song is great and underrated

Christmas music is such a big deal that The Beatles got in on it. They released an original song called “Christmas Time (Is Here Again).”After the band broke up, John Lennon put out “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” Paul McCartney put out “Wonderful Christmastime,” and Ringo Starr released the album I Wanna Be Santa Claus. George never released a solo Christmas song, instead giving us the New Year’s anthem “Ding Dong, Ding Dong.”

While the track celebrates the New Year rather than Christmas, it takes some cues from Christmas music. Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound became a popular Christmas music trope since the producer put out his masterpiece A Christmas details

The Beatles’ catalog is packed to the brim with songs that have stood the test of time and are still beloved to this day. Many of their most popular tracks became hits when they were new, especially in the United Kingdom, the band’s home base. A few of their famous compositions never reached the weekly rankings, for one reason or another, but that doesn’t make them unsuccessful.

One of The Beatles’ most familiar and most-covered songs somehow escaped the U.K. charts for decades. That losing streak—if it can even be called that—is over, as the track debuts on one list across the pond.

“Blackbird” finally becomes a chart hit in the U.K., as of this week. The tune debuts at No. 96 on the Official Singles Downloads ranking, which tracks the bestselling legal downloads in the nation.

The Official Singles Downloads chart is the first list that “Blackbird” has appeared on in the U.K. That may be difficult to believe for many fans of the Fab Four—and the song itself—but it’s true. Despite its legacy and popularity, the title has never sold or streamed well enough in one tracking period to land on any list until now.

The Beatles details

Despite being an American-dominated genre, there has been a fair share of foreign musicians to toil in country music. Ringo Starr, The Rolling Stones, Tommy Emmanuel, and numerous others hail from other countries yet still play the American-founded genre. However, there is one more monstrous name and figure to add to that list, the one and only, John Lennon.

For a vast amount of reasons, this might come as an enormous surprise. But, at the end of the day, Lennon’s fleeting stint in country music proves that above all, he was a pure musician. When one listens to Lennon’s 1974 country single, they might believe there is nothing country about. Though, given its use of steel guitar, American roots lyrics, and the story behind it, it is, without a doubt, John Lennon’s most country-inspired solo song.

The song came as a result of a wild weekend John Lennon and Harry Nilsson spent together in Los Angeles in 1974. In the book All We Are Saying, John Lennon told author David Sheff, “[It was done] just to write a song.” “You know, ‘Seein’ as we’re stuck in this bottle of vodka together, we might as well try and do something,” Lennon added.

Nil details

Paul McCartney‘s long, storied recording career has included forays into just about every style of music you could possibly imagine. On the 1972 single “C Moon,” recorded with the earliest incarnation of his band Wings, he lovingly tackled reggae.

McCartney played it light in a lyrical sense with the song, even creating his own lingo with the title phrase. “C Moon” hit the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic, despite having to overcome obstacles caused by “Hi Hi Hi,” the track with which it was paired as a double A-sided single.  In the Key of “C”

When Paul McCartney emerged to make music again following the breakup of The Beatles in 1970, he seemed determined to do so in a relaxed, off-the-cuff fashion, perhaps to temper the expectations of fans and critics. Both his first solo album (McCartney) and his first album with Wings (Wild Life) were somewhat ramshackle affairs, free of excessive fussing when it came to the writing and recording.

McCartney also seemed determined to broaden his horizons in the types of music he was going to make. While he had dabbled lightly in reggae with The Beatles (“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” features hints of details

Richard Starkey, born in Liverpool and known throughout the world as Ringo Starr, is the constant reminder that The Beatles loved each other, respected each other, and worked like dogs to make good music. “Every generation listens to the Beatles. It’s fantastic. The remastering, for me, was great because you can hear the drums, really hear what was played, not so boom, boom, boom… I still love the tracks. There was a lot of energy. We realized ‘we’re working here,’ you know, we’re not partying down while doing the tracks. We did that occasionally, and the track was always shit. But we went in and we did our best,” says Starr, 84, in the room of a luxury London hotel, where he has locked himself away to launch the promotion of his new album, Look Up, which will go on sale on January 10.

Starr’s latest record consists of 11 country songs written mostly by T. Bone Burnett, Bob Dylan’s guitarist during the 1970s, and a composer and producer with several Grammys under his belt. This is not the first album of the genre released by the former Beatles drummer: over 50 years ago he composed and produced the album Beaucoups of Blues.

And anyone who has heard the details

The Beatles’ Abbey Road is one of the bestselling albums that is still present on the Billboard charts. The classic has already sold more than 6.2 million copies in the U.S. alone since its release decades ago, but that doesn’t mean Americans are done with the set.

Abbey Road is on the rise on every ranking it appears on in the U.S. at the moment. The blockbuster climbs on five different tallies, thanks largely to a sizable uptick in purchases—one that is especially notable given not just how long the title has been available, but also how well it’s already sold.

In the past tracking period, Abbey Road was purchased by 7,750 Americans. That sum is up by more than 42% from last frame, according to Luminate. That’s a huge surge for a half-century-old release, regardless of the title or the band behind it.

Total consumption of the album also increased, but not by nearly as much. Including streams and sales of individual tunes featured on its tracklist, Abbey Road moved nearly 11,900 equivalent units last week. That’s a growth of almost 22% from the frame before, when it didn’t quite manage 10,000 units.

Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com

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Dark Horse and its subsequent tour arrived 50 years ago amid a period of conflict and uncertainty for George Harrison.

His first marriage and Apple Records were crumbling. Meanwhile, Harrison had been led away from his spiritual center by the pressures of starting his own label, also called Dark Horse, and mounting the first U.S. tour by any member of the Beatles since their final 1966 jaunt.

A bout of laryngitis and Harrison’s determination to expose American audiences to Ravi Shankar as a co-headliner only made matters worse for some critics. Harrison and a touring band featuring talents like late-period Beatles collaborator Billy Preston, ace sessions drummer Jim Keltner, Tom Scott and Robben Ford bore the brunt of their disappointment.

“George liked people who could play different styles of music,” Robben Ford tells us, in an exclusive Something Else! Sitdown. “He said I did a good job of working with them. I was surprised by that, because I felt out of my depth, honestly, in some ways. It was very intense.”

Released in December 1974, Dark Horse barely cracked the U.S. Top 5, and didn’t even chart in the U.K. – a huge let down after two chart-topping details

The Beatles released “Ticket to Ride” as the first single from their 1965 movie/album Help!, and the song continued their unstoppable run of success. It topped the charts in the U.S., the UK, and several other ports of call.

You might not realize, however, the song could easily have been called “Ticket to Ryde” had John Lennon and Paul McCartney revealed the initial inspiration that got the ball rolling. The song’s lyrics then deviated from that source to depict a tale of heartbreak and woe.
That’s the “Ticket”

For many years, it was assumed John Lennon wrote the bulk of “Ticket to Ride.” Lennon gave thorough interviews both right after The Beatles broke up in 1970 and right before his death in 1980, in which he dissected the provenance of many of the band’s songs. He claimed in both to have penned the song.

But it’s important to remember that Lennon was rifling through those questions rapid-fire, which didn’t leave him a lot of room for nuance. In later years, Paul McCartney stepped forward and suggested that while Lennon might have had the original idea for songs like “Ticket to Ride,” Macca was very much in details