We know Paul McCartney can do it all when it comes to songwriting and performing, but “Granny” songs? That was the derisive term used by John Lennon to describe McCartney’s occasional fondness for material that borrowed heavily from music of the pre-rock era.

Lennon meant it as an insult (especially when using it in interviews following The Beatles’ breakup). But we actually quite like some of these tracks, especially these five.

“When I’m Sixty-Four” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

The whole idea behind Sgt. Pepper’s, which was largely McCartney’s, was the four men should imagine that they were a different band than The Beatles, opening the doors to material they might not have otherwise even considered. McCartney then jumped through that door with “When I’m Sixty-Four,” a throwback to American vaudeville or British music hall songs. What’s interesting is Macca wrote this when he was still a teenager, showing that even at a young age, he harbored a deep respect for musical eras that had come before him. And he did those genres great justice with this charming track.

Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com

Read More<<<

The estate of former Beatles star John Lennon has appointed a UK music licensing company to collect royalties on all sound recordings where the late singer or his widowed wife Yoko Ono are listed as a performer.

Music licensing company Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) will collect neighbouring rights royalties for the estate when music from the pair is played in public venues including shops, bars, or aired on commercial radio or TV.

Lennon died in 1980 in New York after he was shot by Mark David Chapman. 

The John Lennon estate said in a statement: “PPL has shown they are the leaders in advocating for neighbouring rights globally.

“We have the utmost respect for the team and look forward to working with them.”

PPL analysed radio and TV airplay data from the 21st century to compile a list of most played Lennon recordings – which saw Woman take the top spot.

Source: Ellie Iorizzo/standard.co.uk

Read More>>>

Ringo Starr said some things about The Beatles' "Love Me Do" that are just plain wrong. His comments don't make sense in light of his career.

Sometimes, classic rock stars don’t understand their own work. Ringo Starr said some things about The Beatles’ “Love Me Do” that are just plain wrong. His comments don’t make sense in light of The Beatles’ career or Ringo’s career as a solo artist.

Ringo Starr said The Beatles’ ‘Love Me Do’ is his defining song.  During a 2023 interview with Vulture, Ringo was asked to name the defining song of his career. “Because it was the first song, my answer is ‘Love Me Do,'” he said. “We were on vinyl. We made a record.

“Even though when I got to the studio, George Martin had a session guy for the drums, Andy White, but I played on it anyway,” the “Photograph” singer added. “He played it, I played it — he’s on the album, I think, and I’m on the single, so go figure. We were just blessed that George Martin took a chance on us because many record labels sent us down. But the fun was the fact that we were still touring. And only the BBC was playing the song. It would say, ‘Oh, at 3:14 p.m., this song will be on the BBC.’ So we’d all pull over and think, ‘Wow, we’re on the radio.’ I mean, it was a really big moment. It was magic because we were on this piece of vinyl all to ourselves.”

Ringo opined that the Fab Four made many fabulous tracks after “Love Me Do.” However, that tune would always be important to him because it was his first. He seemed proud that The Beatles wrote many songs without being able to read music.

Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com

Read More<<<

While George Harrison could be critical of The Beatles, he still thought their music sounded good — as long as it wasn’t produced in the United States. For the most part, he explained, The Beatles had control over their creative output. They were able to put what they wanted on their albums, in the order they thought was best. This changed when publishers in the United States got ahold of their records.

George Harrison did not like the way U.S. publishers made The Beatles’ music sound

According to Harrison, many of The Beatles’ records did not meet the standards the band set for themselves. When their label in the United States began releasing their music, they went against the band’s wishes for how to present their albums. While it didn’t bother him much in the years after the band broke up, it once stung.

Source: imdb.com

Read More>>>

The Fab Four were the biggest band of the 1960s, if not the entirety of the 20th century. They pushed through their career as a band for seven years (give or take) before ultimately calling it quits (officially) in 1974, though the band was done with long before that year. Many would say that The Beatles had gone through their breakup by 1970.

So, what caused The Beatles to break up? Surely the Fab Four could have enjoyed another few decades of fame, considering their insanely massive popularity. Lesser bands have lasted longer. What happened?

Well, it’s complicated.  Live performances for The Beatles were very different from live performances for other bands. Beatlemania was a certified global phenomenon. Though, by 1965, the band started to see it as more of a pandemic.

George Harrison was allegedly the first to want to stop touring, but Paul McCartney was dead-set on maintaining an ongoing tour schedule. Eventually, the other two were sick of it too, and McCartney couldn’t help but agree: Live performances were exhausting and had become, at times, straight-up dangerous. After their 1966 tour of the US, they decided to retire from touring for good.

Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com

Read More<<<

It’s natural to get excited when your favorite artist puts out a new album, but on occasion that excitement turns to disappointment when the album isn’t as great as you’d hoped it would be.

Rolling Stone is examining that very subject with its just-released list of the 50 most disappointing albums of all time.

The mag notes that albums on the list aren’t necessarily bad, but were considered disappointing when they came out. Also, some disappointing albums are only disappointing because of the artist who released them, with the mag noting they could be “seen as a masterpiece if almost anyone else” recorded them.

Topping the list is John Lennon’s 1972 release, Some Time in New York City, calling the protest songs on the album “half-a****, at best,” and noting they “seemed dated almost instantly.”

The mag adds, “Some Time in New York City is as disposable as the newspapers on the cover,” referring to the album’s artwork, which featured a fake newspaper front page.

Coming in at #2 is The Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request, followed by Bob Dylan’s Self Portrait at #3, David Bowie’s Tonight at #4 and Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy at #5.

Source: mikeeves@wxhc.com/wxhc.com

Read More>>>