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John Lennon performs on the keyboard during "One To One", a charity concert to benefit mentally challenged children at Madison Square Garden, Aug. 30, 1972, New York. Greene County native Gary Van Scyoc was in the band that backed Lennon at the concert.

Gary Van Scyoc graduated from Waynesburg High School in 1964, just a few months after the Beatles exploded in America’s consciousness and made being a musician one of the coolest jobs around.

As “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” were blasting out of thousands of transistor radios, Van Scyoc had no way of imagining that in just a handful of years he’d be the one playing bass alongside John Lennon and not Paul McCartney, Lennon’s fellow Beatle and songwriting collaborator.

“It was just so cool to work with John,” Van Scyoc recalled during a recent phone conversation from his home in the Poconos. “He never told me one thing to play, I had total freedom.”

Van Scyoc worked with Lennon and Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, thanks to being a member of the New York band Elephant’s Memory. The group mixed radicalism and “a rough sound,” according to a review that details

McCartney is an incredibly meticulous musician. He oversees every step of the making of his songs, and has done so since the early days of his songwriting partnership with John Lennon. Whenever he felt a movie didn't do their music justice, he wasn't shy to say so. The cast and crew working on the upcoming biopics have a difficult task on their hands, as their biggest inspiration might just be their biggest critic.
Paul McCartney Wasn't Happy With Previous Beatles Biopics

When it comes to having his life portrayed on screen, it makes sense that Paul McCartney would be protective. The Beatles' legacy has certainly exceeded any individual person, but that doesn't mean that the people involved aren't real humans who will be affected by any inaccuracies shown to the world. McCartney doesn't usually seem that concerned with the way he's perceived by the public. He's in his 80s, and for the past 60 years, he's been one of the most recognizable and revered musicians in the world. So, safe to say, he has thick skin.

"One of my annoyances about the film Backbeat is that they’ve actually taken my rock ‘n’ rollness off me," he complained. Not only did they wash him as a musician, but they details

Originally, in the early days when they were yet to dominate the global music scene with record sales of 600 million, the group called themselves The Quarrymen, and even flirted with the name The Silver Beetles for a short while.

Their ultimate choice, The Beatles, was a witty homage to Buddy Holly's The Crickets, with an ingenious play on "beat," that hinted at the band's roots in beat music and the cultural Beat Generation.

But stick to the lore of The Beatles and you'll find John Lennon often spun a fantastical story about the origins of the name, claiming it came to him in an extraordinary vision where a man on a flaming pie declared, "You are Beatles with an A," leaving fans to wonder if it was genuine insight or Lennon's trademark wry humor.

Lennon, who died at the age of 40 in 1980, once reflected on the naming process, revealing, "I was looking for a name like The Crickets that meant two things, and from crickets I got to beetles."

He cleverly altered the spelling to BEA to give it a layered meaning, "And I changed the BEA, because 'beetles' didn't mean two things on its own. When you said it, people thought of crawly things; and when you read it, it was beat music."

Source: irish details

Just under six decades ago, on May 30, 1968, the Beatles went into the studio to begin recording their eponymous “White Album,” a double-album full of career-defining hits but one that did not come without its fair share of regrets from those involved, including producer George Martin and musicians Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. For as creative and inspired as the album was, the dynamics in the studio were fraught at best. The Fab Four was fast approaching the end.

Seemingly just as quickly as they burst onto the scene several years earlier, the Beatles seemed to be departing from their time as one of the greatest, most popular rock bands in the world in a similarly impressive blaze of glory. As for Martin’s regrets? Starr posed an interesting solution that was just as goofy and lighthearted as one might expect from the affable percussionist.
George Martin Regretted This Aspect Of The White Album

The Beatles’ 1968 “White Album” is a massive beast of a record. The double album release featured cuts like “Blackbird,” “Helter Skelter,” “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” “Rocky Raccoon,” and many, many more. While not all 30 tracks wou details

On This Day, May 30, 1964…

The Beatles hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their debut single, “Love Me Do.”

The track, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, had the pair duetting on vocals. The song was recorded three different times, with different drummers. Original drummer Pete Best initially recorded it, and then it was rerecorded with his replacement, Ringo Starr. A third version featured session drummer Andy White, which was featured on The Beatles’ Please Please Me album.

In addition to the U.S., “Love Me Do” topped the chart in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.

Following “Love Me Do,” The Beatles went on to have 20 #1 hits, the last being 1970’s “The Long and Winding Road,” from their album Let It Be.

Source: everettpost.com

George Harrison was the baby of the Beatles. He was the youngest member and, as such, was victim to his bandmates’ “older brother” mentality. He was brought into the mix by Paul McCartney, who subsequently guided the younger musician on his journey to becoming a rock star. Harrison soon grew tired of McCartney’s constant reminders that he was older and more experienced. It led to the fracturing of their relationship and was one of the contributing factors in the Beatles’ breakup. Learn more about this conflict below.
The Main Conflict Within the Beatles, According to George Harrison

There were several conflicts within the Beatles, but the rift between Harrison and McCartney might have been the most consequential. As stated earlier, Harrison was always treated as someone who needed the mentorship of his older bandmates.

McCartney and John Lennon, tended to favor their own artistic decisions over that of the younger Harrison. Though there may have been several things that contributed to this dynamic, Harrison seemed to think it was in large part due to how McCartney and Lennon saw him–even from the earliest days of their career.

“Paul and I went to school toge details

Breakups are messy. Breakups between bandmates who changed the world? That’s songwriting gold. Even after The Beatles went their separate ways, they never truly stopped talking to each other—they just started using guitars and microphones instead of group chats and press statements. Whether it was affection, frustration, or playful jabs (depending on which member you asked), the Fab Four kept their complicated brotherhood alive in lyrics and melody.

Here are 8 songs The Beatles wrote at one another—proof that even when the band broke up, the music kept the conversation going, good and bad. Mostly bad. Until 1980.

1. “Too Many People” – Paul McCartney
From the album: Ram (1971)
Paul was clearly holding a grudge—and a guitar. This track kicks off with veiled digs at John and Yoko, accusing someone of preaching too much and taking liberties. “Too many people going underground,” he sings, with a melodic smirk.

2. “How Do You Sleep?” – John Lennon
From the album: Imagine (1971)
John’s scorched-earth answer to Paul’s subtle shade. With George Harrison on slide guitar (!), John doesn’t hold back: &ldquo details

In terms of legacy-making months, February has always been good to The Beatles. The band’s triumphant 1964 appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" will always resound in the history of popular music, to be sure. Then there’s the group’s first full-length concert at the Washington Coliseum a few days later. And these Fab Februarys have never truly ebbed, with Paul McCartney staging a series of intimate, pop-up concerts in Brooklyn this very week.

Which brings us to the latest Beatles book to hit the shelves. Robert Rodriguez and Jerry Hammack, the authors of "Ribbons of Rust: The Beatles’ Recording History in Context," are undertaking one of the most ambitious new projects in Beatles studies. In a painstaking effort to account for the band’s origins and influences, Rodriguez and Hammack contextualize the bandmates’ lives and work in terms of their historical and sociocultural moment. The book series draws its name, by the way, from the recording tape upon which the group imprinted their masterworks, those “ribbons of rust”—iron oxide bonded to polyethylene terephthalate.

The first volume in the series traces the fertile and transformative era from July 1954 throu details

Recording a song in less than a few days isn’t common, even by today’s standards. Sometimes, multiple takes of multiple vocal and instrumental tracks are just plain necessary in order to produce a good song. Sessions can last for days or even weeks. However, that was not the case for the following four songs, which were recorded in the span of only one single day. Let’s take a look! A few of these songs might shock you.

“Twist And Shout” by The Beatles

It’s crazy to think that a song this good only took a day to record. However, “Twist And Shout” by The Beatles was, indeed, recorded in just a single day. In fact, the whole of Please Please Me, the Fab Four’s debut, was recorded in one single day on February 11, 1963. A few overdubs here and there were added at a later date by George Martin, but otherwise, that whole record launched the biggest music career of the 20th century. And it’s crazy to think that they rushed it.

“Instant Karma” by John Lennon

Source: americansongwriter.com/Em Casalena

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Not everyone believes in ghosts. Many would chalk up a supernatural visit to a bunch of mumbo jumbo. John Lennon would likely include himself in that camp, but his first wife, Cynthia, would claim herself to be a true believer, at least after they moved into their first home together.

Shortly after taking ownership of a historic home in the early 1960s, Cynthia Lennon became aware of a strange presence lurking around the house. Though it wasn’t what ultimately got her out of that home–that can be blamed on Lennon’s infidelity–it proved to be a significant moment in her life. Learn more about the ghost that haunted the Lennons below.

Well, I’d rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man
You better keep your head, little girl
Or I won’t know where I am

Hot off the success of the Ed Sullivan Show, the Lennons bought their first home for £20,000. The home was over 50 years old and in need of a little TLC. Despite the rundown aspects of the home, there was something else that caused Cynthia Lennon to object to the purchase: an unsettling presence.

Yes, it seems the Lennons were victims of a haunted house trope. John Lennon was details

John Lennon and Paul McCartney stood as an unparalleled song-writing duo, crafting the bulk of The Beatles' hits with their work jointly credited under Lennon-McCartney, regardless of individual or collaborative efforts.

Reflecting on their writing dynamics, Wilfred Mellers penned 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."

However, as the late 1960s rolled around, their relationship started to deteriorate. The band experienced growing tensions, impacting the recording sessions for iconic albums such as 'The White Album,' 'Let It Be,' and 'Abbey Road.'

Disputes over creative differences and Yoko Ono's presence in the studio exacerbated the rift, leading John and Paul to part ways. Following their final recording session for 'The End' from 'Abbey Road' in August 1969, John informed the group that he intended to leave, likening it to asking for a 'divorce' from The Beatles.

Subsequently, a distressed Paul withdrew to his home to create his initial solo work, 'McCartney'. With the release of this album in April 1970, Paul made his d details

From fired to retired.

Drummer Zak Starkey posted a statement on Instagram Monday clearing up the circumstances surrounding his latest exit from The Who.

Starkey, 59, claimed that bandmate Roger Daltrey told him he wasn’t “fired” from the group for a second time, but rather “retired” and free to work on his own projects.

“NOISE&CONFUSION!!!! I had a great phone chat with Roger at the end of last week which truly confused both of us!!!” Starkey wrote.

“Rog said I hadn’t been ‘fired’…I had been ‘retired’ to work on my own projects,” Starkey shared. “I explained to Rog that I have just spent nearly 8 weeks at my studio in Jamaica completing these projects, that my group Mantra Of The Cosmos was releasing one single at the beginning of June and after that had run its course ( usually 5/6 weeks ) I was completely available for the foreseeable future….Rog said ‘Oh!’ and we kind of left it there.”

Starkey insisted that he and Daltrey, 81, are “on good terms and great friends as we have always been.”

“Gotta love these guys,” the musician add details

Ringo Starr had one regret ftom The Beatles.  Ringo Starr’s career as one of the members of The Beatles is impressive, but that doesn’t mean the music star doesn’t have regrets about his career.

The band, which broke up in 1974, consisted of Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison. Over the years, much has been made of what the various band members thought about their time together, including much about Harrison, who walked out of the band and refused to perform with another member again, and even penned a track that was aimed towards McCartney and Lennon before his death.

However, despite some of the drama, Starr had a different view.  This was something he revealed when he shared his biggest regret when it came to the group’s split. While the band did split up in 1974, and never had any official reunions, they did sometimes join forces.

This was until all hopes were dashed when Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman in 1980.  Any chance of a partial reunion was further dashed when Harrison died from lung cancer in 2001.

The fact that he couldn’t have a proper reunion with his bandmates before their deaths was reportedly something th details

Barry Keoghan has revealed he was so nervous meeting Ringo Starr that he couldn't look him in the eye as he prepares to play him in the upcoming Beatles biopic.

Gladiator II hunk Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon, Barry will star as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison in the films about The Fab Four.

And to prepare for the role they have all been attending a 'Beatles Bootcamp' for the past 16 weeks, with Barry, 32, learning drumming and even meeting Ringo himself.

Speaking at the Fastnet Film Festival in Ireland this week Barry said of the encounter with the icon, 84,: 'I sat opposite him and I could not look at him because I was nervous and his wife Barbara was there and she said, 'You can look at him.'

'Every time I looked at him I saw myself in his glasses. I said to him: 'I am not coming here to quiz you. I am coming to find out what made you and how the contrast was going back to Liverpool after Beatlemania.'

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Barry Keoghan has revealed he was so nervous meeti details

George Harrison's career-spanning compilation album, Let It Roll: Songs By George Harrison, is getting its first-ever vinyl release on July 11th via Dark Horse Records.

The 19-track album includes a number of George's biggest singles as well as live solo recordings of three Beatles songs - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun" - from the Grammy-winning album The Concert for Bangladesh.

The album, originally released in 2009, includes four solo songs by the late former Beatles guitarist that topped the Billboard Hot 100: "My Sweet Lord," "Isn't It A Pity," "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" and "Got My Mind Set On You."

Let It Roll: Songs By George Harrison Tracklist:

Side A

1. Got My Mind Set on You

2. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)

3. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)

4. My Sweet Lord

5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Live from Madison Square Garden, New York, U.S.A, 1971)

Side B

1. All Things Must Pass

2. Any Road

3. This Is Love

4. All Those Years Ago

5. Marwa Blues

Source: rttnews.com

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