Julian Lennon, son of John, sang background vocals. Steve Holley, formerly of Paul McCartney's Wings, played drums. Micky Dolenz, formerly of the Prefab Four (aka the Monkees), added vocal harmonies. Mark Hudson, who produced nine albums for Ringo Starr, helmed the project.
No wonder Joey Molland's just-released "Be True to Yourself" sounds like the most Beatlicious album of the year.
"I wasn't expecting to make a record," said singer-guitarist Molland, a true Liverpudlian rock star who has lived in the Twin Cities for more than 35 years. "I am getting old. I'm 73. I can make records in basements, but a full-blown record with a full-blown crew with Mark Hudson producing is something I wasn't really expecting."
On Molland's sixth solo album and first in seven years, there are echoes of John, Paul, George and sometimes even Ringo.
"I had all the same influences: Irving Berlin and Cole Porter all the way to the early rock 'n' roll and the advent of R&B. Chuck Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley & and the Comets," Molland said last week. "I learned to play all that stuff in Liverpool. And I had the Beatles on top of it."
Source:gazettextra.com/John Bream
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum welcomes back local Beatles aficionado, Gary Baker, as he takes us on The Beatles' final journey from the rooftop concert in January 1969, to the release of "Let It Be", and the “official” breakup of the band in the spring of 1970. Join us on Facebook Live at 6 p.m. Nov. 5, to enjoy rare audio and video footage, LPs, 45s, posters, and advertisements as Gary shares the fascinating stories behind the most popular band in history.
Baker is well-known around the Coshocton area as a lover of all things Beatles. He has made multiple trips to both Liverpool and London to explore Beatles’ haunts such as the famous Cavern Club, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, and Abbey Road. For the past two years, he has been a special guest on WTNS-FM with host Mike Bechtol for shows on both the 50th Anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album.
This special night is for everyone: the diehard Beatles fan, students of 1960s counterculture, and young listeners just discovering the music of the most influential band in history.
Source: daily-jeff.com
The Beatles were an English rock band that is responsible for some of the world’s most iconic songs. Tunes like “Hey Jude,” “Let it Be,” “Eleanor Rigby” and “Love Me Do” continue to inspire and delight fans to this day, over fifty years after they were originally released.
Although the Beatles disbanded in 1970, with all the members going on to establish separate careers in the music industry, fans still know and love John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison as members of the Beatles. While people everywhere love the band and what they stand for, the Beatles did make some enemies in their time — most notably, the first lady of the Philippines, who made a shocking move to ban them from the country in 1966, after they refused an exclusive invitation from her office.
Source: cheatsheet.com
detailsPaul McCartney has hinted that he is gearing up to release ‘McCartney III’, completing a trilogy of self-titled albums that he started recording before The Beatles split up.
The music icon released ‘McCartney’ in 1970 before following it a decade later with 1980’s ‘McCartney II’. Both albums were recorded at home and featured additional vocals from his late wife Linda.
McCartney fans have started to receive hints that a third release is on the way after a series of surprise animations began to appear on Spotify.
When users play songs from ‘McCartney’ and ‘McCartney II’ on the Spotify mobile app, they are greeted with an animation of a dice thrown onto the images of the album covers, with three dots facing upwards.
Over on Reddit, McCartney’s fans also claim to have received a bag printed with his name and containing three dice.
Source: Nick Reilly/nme.com
detailsThe Beatles are one of the greatest musical acts of all time, an original boy band that is responsible for crafting some of the world’s most influential songs. Comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, the Beatles remain hugely popular with fans of all ages, even though the group disbanded more than four decades ago.
Rumors have swirled around the Beatles ever since the group first formed, many of them that persist to this day. One of the most enduring rumors is an urban legend that still makes the rounds today, even though George Harrison personally debunked it several decades ago.
In 1957, Lennon joined forces with a young McCartney for the first time. They formed a band, going through several name variations and welcoming a variety of different members before establishing the final lineup, with George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Over the next several years, the group finalized a band name, and as The Beatles, they steadily grew in popularity around their hometown of Liverpool.
Source: cheatsheet.com
A letter written by The Beatles’ manager following the sacking of the band’s original drummer is going under the hammer.
Brian Epstein signed up Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Best – the band’s first drummer – on January 24 1962, after hearing them play. But only months later he fired Best and replaced him with Ringo Starr.
The letter which is up for sale was part of a tranche of communications Epstein sent to “secret Beatle” Joe Flannery, a key figure in the Fab Four’s rise to fame. Flannery, who died last year aged 87, was the band’s booking manager from 1962-63, during the early history of the Fab Four.
On September 8 1962, Epstein wrote to tell him he had released Best from his contract. He had told the Liverpool drummer three weeks earlier that he had to leave the band. The letter has been kept by Flannery’s family and is now being sold by his nephew.
Epstein wrote: “I read from the Mersey Beat (Liverpool music publication) Pete Best has now joined The All Stars.
Source: uk.news.yahoo.com
After The Beatles parted ways in 1970, fans didn’t have to wait long to see how the Fab Four would do as solo artists. In fact, Paul McCartney released his debut solo LP weeks before Let It Be, the final Beatles album, even hit record stores.
That didn’t go over well with McCartney’s bandmates, but they all released their own records before the year ended. Ringo Starr’s Beaucoup of Blues, released September ’70, was the first to follow McCartney. George Harrison came next with the blockbuster All Things Must Pass in November.
While Beatles fans were digesting Harrison’s triple album, John Lennon entered the fray with John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (December ’70). That was a lot for folks to absorb in eight months, and it kept coming with McCartney’s Ram and Lennon’s Imagine (both by September ’71).
It wasn’t only the quantity of material that was remarkable, though. The quality of the records was so high that you might argue that the Beatles’ breakup was a good thing. (Indeed, Lennon did argue that.) But as of ’77 Ringo didn’t believe the Fab Four solo efforts matched the Beatles’ work.
Source: details
Frank Sinatra didn’t cover much from the catalogue of The Beatles, but he did sing two of the band’s most famous songs. The first was “Yesterday,” the Paul McCartney-penned track (credited to Lennon-McCartney) released in 1965.
After the release of Abbey Road (1969), Sinatra picked another winner in “Something,” the George Harrison track that was the Quiet One’s first A-side on a Beatles single. Sinatra loved “Something” so much he called it one of the greatest love songs ever written.
However, Sinatra didn’t realize Harrison wrote it at first, and at least one former Beatle had fun with that. “Frank Sinatra used to introduce ‘Something’ as his favorite Lennon-McCartney song,” McCartney said in Beatles Anthology. “Thanks, Frank.”
A few years after the Beatles’ breakup, John Lennon wrote a song on the Walls and Bridges (1974) album that he thought was perfect for Sinatra to sing. And Lennon pitched the idea to the Chairman of the Board in a 1980 interview.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Though The Beatles split up in 1970, collaborations between the former bandmates not named Paul McCartney continued. When George Harrison’s triple-album All Things Must Pass arrived in November ’70, it featured his old pal Ringo Starr playing drums on several tracks.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Lennon’s solo debut that arrived the following month, also featured Ringo on drums. In the following years, Lennon and Harrison would return the favor to their former bandmate and friend.
As far as the music-buying public could tell, Harrison acted on that impulse first when he produced and played guitar on “It Don’t Come Easy,” Ringo’s debut U.K. single released in April ’71. However, the recording sessions took place the previous year — before The Beatles announced their breakup.
And though the track was credited to Starr, the drummer later acknowledged he co-wrote the song with Harrison. That helped explain the “Hare Krishna” you hear about halfway through “It Don’t Come Easy.”
Source: entertainment--news.com
The Beatles all wrote songs using their emotions and experiences as inspiration. During John Lennon's relationship and subsequent marriage with Yoko Ono, the Beatle was infatuated with her, and frequently used her as his muse. One of the more heartfelt songs he ever wrote for Yoko was Don't Let Me Down.
The song was recorded in 1969 during the Let It Be sessions, and was the B-side to Get Back.
The song is perhaps most famous for featuring in the rooftop gig on Apple Corps' headquarters on January 30, 1969.
While the lyrics talk openly of loving and to be loved, it sounds as if the inspiration of behind it was out of fear more than anything else.
In 1970 Lennon spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about the song, where he vaguely described the feeling behind it.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
detailsBob Eubanks knew at a young age that he wanted to be a radio disc jockey, but he didn’t know that not only would his voice and face would become a legendary, and he would get to know one of the most iconic bands in history, The Beatles.
“Working with The Beatles was a chance of a lifetime and I love sharing those memories and tidbits that people might not know like Ringo Starr spent three years in the hospital as a kid because of his appendix and had tuberculosis,” Eubanks said.
Backstage With the Beatles” tells the unique stories only Bob Eubanks can tell about his Beatle experiences, while tribute band Ticket to Ride performs their songs.
He currently presents a show nationwide entitled “Backstage With the Beatles,” telling the unique stories only Eubanks can tell about his Beatle experiences, while tribute band “Ticket to Ride” performs their songs. There will be a “Concert in the Car” version of this show on Oct. 17 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. True to his game-show roots, Eubanks said there will also be a chance for a guest to play a game to possibly win $100,000.
Source: santaynezvalleystar.com
Noel Gallagher is reportedly set to write a song inspired by his love of John Lennon for a new tribute album.
The Beatles icon is being celebrated by his son, Sean Lennon, who is said to be putting together an album in tribute to his late father.
According to The Sun, Noel is working on the track at London’s Tileyard Studios – with the album set to celebrate Lennon’s 80th birthday.
A source told the publication: “Sean wanted Noel on board because of his love of The Beatles and John and also in recognition of the massive impact he’s had on the UK music scene over the last decades.”
Noel’s love of Lennon has been well documented over the years, with the singer opting to include the chords of ‘Imagine’ at the start of Oasis‘ ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’.
NME has contacted Noel Gallagher’s representatives for comment on the reports.
Source: Nick Reilly/nme.com
detailsWhat was once an empty wall off Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton is now a canvas for a mural of music legend John Lennon.
"Ever since I was young, I've always enjoyed the Beatles, and John Lennon was my favorite Beatle, and it was 40 years ago, almost 40 years ago that he was tragically killed outside the Dakota in New York City," said Frank Dubas, the Lennon Tribute organizer.
Frank Dubas took his love for John Lennon and decided to have a mural painted on the side of one of his buildings. He invited art students, staff, and faculty from Marywood University to come up with original portraits of the rock and roll legend to be used as input for the mural.
Two students were chosen and granted a $500 scholarship.
Freshman Krista Perdomo's rendition of Lennon's face will be the focal point of the mural.
Source: Amanda Eustice /wnep.com
detailsThe Beatles was a foursome who, throughout their time working with each other, had some tricky relationships to work through. Eventually the group split up and each member released their own solo work, to differing levels of success. Lennon-McCartney was a famous songwriting brand - but were they really friends?
The pair fought throughout their time in the band, and the songwriters did disagree a number of times during their careers, including when it came to songwriting credits on their songs.
In time for John’s 80th birthday, however, Sir Paul McCartney spoke about how happy he was to reunite with his friend before his death.
He has told John’s son Sean Ono Lennon on BBC Radio 2: “I always say to people, one of the great things for me was that after all The Beatles rubbish and all the arguing and the business, you know, business differences really ... that even after all of that, I'm so happy that I got it back together with your dad.
Source: Jenny Desborough/express.co.uk
detailsThough The Beatles had gone their separate ways, Ringo Starr seemed to be having a good time in the early ’70s. For Beaucoup of Blues (1970), Ringo flew to Nashville and cut an album with session pros in three days. He had a blast, and the following year he notched his first hit single with “It Don’t Come Easy.”
Meanwhile, Ringo was keeping his film career alive. After appearing in the spaghetti western Blindman (1971), he directed a concert film documenting the meteoric rise of Marc Bolan and his band T. Rex (1972’s Born to Boogie) for Apple’s film division.
Bolan, who clocked 11 top-10 hits (including four No. 1s) in the U.K. between 1970-73, proved to be an inspiration for Ringo in several ways. While hanging out with the dynamic songwriter-performer, Ringo got the idea for “Back Off Boogaloo,” his biggest U.K. hit. But Ringo nearly lost the idea before he could get it down on tape.
Source: cheatsheet.com
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