Beatles News
Steven Soderbergh is out to the town with an untitled feature doc, centered on the final interview of John Lennon, multiple sources tell Deadline.
This is the first doc in many years for Soderbergh, who released And Everything Is Going Fine — on the life of multi-hyphenate artist Spalding Gray — through Sundance Selects in 2010. We’re told Soderbergh is in production now, and the search for a distributor is on, with the film to be completed by end of year.
EPs on the project include Soderbergh, Michael Sugar and David Hillman of Sugar23, and Nancy Saslow and David Hudson of Mishpookah Entertainment Group.
Lennon’s final in-depth interview took place alongside wife and creative collaborator Yoko Ono on the fateful day of December 8, 1980 — the only radio interview granted around the release of their album, Double Fantasy. That afternoon, the pair met a team of three from RKO Radio at their Dakota apartment. The conversation was extraordinary and wide-ranging, reflecting the duo’s open and reflective moods. John had just turned 40 and emerged from a five-year hiatus from the music industry to care for his son, Sean. The future seemed limitless.
Source: deadline.com/Matt Grobar
The Beatles are well-known for their iconic hits including Eleanor Rigby and Hey Jude.
However, they also had moments in which they broke away from pop music conventions. Paul McCartney pointed to one obscure B-side, You Know My Name (Look Up The Number), as a prime example of this unconventional approach.
Created over numerous sessions from 1967 to 1969, You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) marked a departure from the band's typical output. Dubbed "insane" by Paul, the song is recognized for its surrealistic humor. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) was first worked on in May 1967, but was set aside for close to two years.
When The Beatles resumed work on the song in 1969, they opted for radical change. Turning their backs on their signature style, the musicians created a mix of musical interludes and spoken word sections.
Even by the unusual standards of the late Beatles, the song broke away from conventional structures. It takes listeners on a ride through genres like lounge jazz, ska, cabaret and even includes comedic voice-overs from Paul and John Lennon.
Reflecting on the song years later, Paul remarked, "People are only just discovering the B-sides of Beatles singles. They're only just discovering things like You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)."
Source: irishstar.com/Maria Leticia Gomes
Balancing work and family life can prove difficult for folks in just about any occupation. Now imagine trying to do it when you’re a famous rock star, facing constant travel and professional obligations to sustain your career. The Beatles’ own Macca always seemed to handle those pressures with grace. Understandably, his kids would occasionally find their way into the songs he wrote. “Waterfalls”, a song Paul McCartney released in 1980, gives out some charming fatherly advice in the lyrics.
When Paul McCartney started making the album that would become McCartney II, he did it in part because he needed a break from Wings. The band he started in the aftermath of The Beatles’ breakup had undergone many lineup changes and had come to a bit of a creative crossroads at the end of the decade.
As a result, McCartney wanted to switch things up with a solo album that wasn’t afraid to get a little experimental. He initially planned that the album would have nothing but freshly-written material. But he knew enough not to be so rigid about those guidelines.
After writing a bunch of new songs, McCartney decided to go against his earlier edict. He dusted off a song that he had worked on with Wings. The dreamy ballad, entitled “Waterfalls”, featured a chorus that seemed like one attached to a love song.
When you dig deeper into the lyrics, however, you’ll find several lines in the verses of “Waterfalls” that seem like parental advice. As McCartney explained in the book The Lyrics: 1956 To The Present, his kids were at ages where such words were warranted:
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
Despite their famously tumultuous breakup, the Beatles‘ music was more or less a group effort. They all wrote songs–some more than others, but nevertheless. They collaborated in the studio, working to make their tracks as rich as they could be. So when a member was absent from the recording process, there was a very specific circumstance behind it. Find out why individual Beatles members refused to record the three songs, below.
McCartney’s momentary absence in the studio was the result of a row with John Lennon. McCartney was infamously controlling in the studio–at least according to the opinion of his bandmates. He had a very specific vision for the Beatles songs he penned, leading to lengthy, nitpicking studio sessions. However, he took his hands off the wheel with one song in particular: “She Said She Said.” According to McCartney, this is the only Beatles track he had zero to do with.
“I’m not sure, but I think it was one of the only Beatle records I never played on.” McCartney once said. “I think we’d had a barney or something and I said, ‘Oh, fu** you!’ and they said, ‘Well, we’ll do it.’ I think George played bass.”
Ringo Starr is generally considered the level-headed one of the group. He was amiable and didn’t suffer the same alienation from his bandmates the way other members did post-breakup. However, he did get fussy while recording his most famous Beatles song, “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
By Starr’s recollection, the original opening line for this track was What would you do if I sang out of tune / Would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me? If that line had stuck, Starr would’ve likely been the victim of many a heckler. Though the band wasn’t sure they would tour again, the prospect of endless tomatoes to the face was enough to put Starr off the song.
“I said, ‘There’s not a chance in hell am I going to sing this line,’” Starr once said. “Because we still had lots of really deep memories of the kids throwing jelly beans and toys on stage; and I thought that if we ever did get out there again, I was not going to be bombarded with tomatoes.”
Source: americansongwriter.com/Alex Hopper
The Beatles stars John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney wrote a host of hits together, but the pair disagreed over how much input they both had over one popular hit. John Lennon was said to be left “insulted” by a request from Sir Paul McCartney as the pair wrote one of The Beatles biggest hits.
Paul is said to have penned the first verse to the incredibly popular Eleanor Rigby before putting it on the back burner. However, at a dinner party hosted by John and his then wife Cynthia, Paul is understood to have played the song for friends of the band, and asked for suggestions on how to finish it.
According to the book John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs, businessman Pete Shotton, a friend of John, suggested that the Eleanor character could die in the third verse, leaving Father Mackenzie, the priest in the lyrics, to conduct her funeral.
He claims John dismissed the idea out of hand, saying: “I don’t think you understand what we’re trying to get at, Pete.”
According to author Ian Leslie, John gave a similar, albeit slightly different account to how Eleanor Rigby was written, including a moment he was left feeling “insulted” by fellow songwriter Paul. He claimed the band were with assistant Mal Evans and Neil Aspinall at the time.
In a 1980 retelling of the incident, he said: “By that time, he [Paul] didn’t want to ask for my help, and we were sitting around with Mal Evans and Neil Aspinall so he said to us, ‘Hey you guys, finish up the lyrics’. Now, I was there with Mal, a telephone installer who was our road manager, and Neil, who was a student accountant, and I was insulted and hurt he had thrown it out in the air.”
Source: themirror.com/Matt Jackson
It’s all love between the Lennon brothers. Sean Ono Lennon reposted a message on his Instagram Stories Monday that seemingly shut down rumors of tension between Sean, 49, and his half-brother Julian Lennon, 62.
The message, shared by the fan account “ceoofjohnlennon,” read, “Here, we do not accept comparisons and erroneous creations of fights about two people that John Lennon loved the most: his children :).”
Julian was born in 1963 to John and Cynthia Lennon. The former couple divorced five years later. Cynthia died in 2015 at age 75.
Meanwhile, Sean’s mom is John’s second wife, Yoko Ono. John and Yoko, 92, were married until the Beatles legend’s death in 1980.
The brothers are both musicians like their dad. Julian has released seven studio albums, while Sean has been in several bands including his parents’ group, Plastic Ono Band.
Source: nypost.com/Eric Todisco
Many factors go into what it takes to write a fantastic song. One underrated aspect of it all: timing. When is the perfect time to sit down and create, relative to the events that might have inspired the song you’re planning to write? One day in 1965, Paul McCartney needed to immediately get something off his chest following a romantic argument. He quickly spewed forth with the bulk of “We Can Work It Out”, one of The Beatles’ most beloved singles.
For much of the time when The Beatles were at their most popular, Paul McCartney was involved in a romantic relationship with British actress Jane Asher. This relationship endured its share of ups and downs. Check out the volatility of the songs about love that McCartney wrote during that stretch.
Some, such as “Here, There And Everywhere”, clearly came from periods where the young couple’s future seemed infinite. And others, like “You Won’t See Me”, showed simmering tension coming to the surface.
“We Can Work It Out” by The Beatles sort of splits the middle between those two extremes. While McCartney wrote it after an argument, he takes a hopeful tone that they can rectify the situation quickly. John Lennon wrote the bridge, which is a little bit more pessimistic (as Lennon tended to be). But it also pushes for reconciliation.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Jim Beviglia
A band as culturally influential as The Beatles was bound to attract its share of wild theories, urban legends, and even bizarre-but-true stories. Formed in Liverpool in 1960 and made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, The Beatles are often regarded as the most eminent band of all time.
Their music evolved dramatically over the decade following their formation – from catchy pop hits like I Want to Hold Your Hand to groundbreaking albums such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album – and their cultural position changed along with their sound.
As psychedelia, mysticism, and countercultural movements swept the UK and US, The Beatles’ reputation became somewhat edgier and more shrouded in intrigue. As a result, rumours swirled around the band, some of which have persisted and become part of legend.
Here are five of the craziest theories – and an honest estimation of whether there’s any truth to them.
The original drummer in The Beatles was fired for being better-looking than Paul McCartney. It’s long been believed that Pete was cut from the band for being ‘too good looking’. The Beatles’ original drummer, Pete Best, was sacked in 1962, a month before the Beatles became the biggest phenomenon in the world.
Ever since, there have been rumours that Ringo Starr replaced Pete because of concerns that Pete was too much better looking than Paul, and would therefore take away from his draw as lead singer.
Source: metro.co.uk/Brooke Ivey Johnson
We should be prepared for a journey through time and space when viewing the documentary "One to One: John and Yoko: A Year of Love & Transformation." Superbly directed by Oscar winning filmmaker Kevin MacDonald, along with Sam R. Williams, this extraordinary documentary places us back in 1972.
John and Yoko settled in a small apartment in the West Village, where an extraordinary array of musicians/artists, following in the paths of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and others in West Village bistros. If you haven't already done so, see "A Complete Unknown. In fact, you might find it even more engaging if you check it out again.)
This era enhanced our entry into a period of history wherein the "forces" for peace were in the process of dislodging the powers that wanted to continue making war.Hence, the amplification (throughout society) of Lennon's song, "All we are saying is give Peace a Chance."
"One to One" is focused on a benefit concert that John and Yoko organized for special youngsters at Willow Brook, in nearby upstate New York. The exceptional audio mastering/editing was done by their son, Sean Ono Lennon.
Iconic figures of the time, such as Beat poet Allen Ginsberg (author of "Howl") and Yippee co-founder Jerry Rubin (author of "Do It!") make appearances in the film's dizzying pastiche of prominent figures of previous eras. As you're likely to guess, they were both friends with John and Yoko.
Source: ithaca.com/David Burak
Sir Paul McCartney "insulted" John Lennon with one request.
John Lennon reportedly felt "insulted" by a suggestion from bandmate Sir Paul McCartney during the creation of one of The Beatles' greatest tracks. Paul is understood to have written the first verse of the incredibly popular Eleanor Rigby before putting the song on the back burner.
However, at a dinner party hosted by John and his ex-wife Cynthia, Paul is said to have played his version of the song for friends, asking for suggestions how to finish it. According to the book John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs, businessman Pete Shotton, a friend of John, suggested that the Eleanor character could die in the third verse, leaving Father Mackenzie, the priest in the lyrics, to conduct her funeral, reports the Mirror US.
Source: express.co.uk/Matt Jackson
