Beatles News
The Beatles’ final song “Now and Then” is nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year and Ringo Starr is hoping they win.
“I’d love to win a Grammy,” Ringo tells Music Week. “That’s the business I’m in – and the track is good. The last track ever by the boys.”
The song used vocals John Lennon recorded on a demo in the late ’70s, along with guitar the late George Harrison recorded in the mid-’90s, and new recordings from Paul McCartney and Ringo.
Ringo says it was McCartney who decided to revisit the track, using new AI technology to clean up Lennon and Harrison’s contributions, and says “he did a great job.”
“He put the strings on and the lead guitar that gave the track its emotion,” Ringo says. “It worked out really great and let’s hope for a Grammy. We’ll see; a lot of people are up for Grammys.”
But just because AI worked for them doesn’t mean Ringo is totally embracing it.
“We’re all a bit afraid of it, because it can steal you,” he said. “Anyone who knows how to use it can steal you. If they just play any five of my songs into the computer, AI gets all of it and knows my every vocal move. They can have me sing anything and it will sound like me, because it’s taken from my personality.”
“But the good side is the way we used it on ‘Now And Then.’ God knows where it’s going to go,” he added. “We’re all worrying about it, but nobody’s really stolen anything yet.”
Source: ktlo.com
The Beatles’ John Lennon was never one for mincing his words in speech or music, and the Let It Be track that many speculate was a “dig” at Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is certainly no exception. The song came on the heels of a longstanding relationship between the bands that oscillated between friendly and contentious, depending on the day (and band member).
As two of the hottest bands coming out of the U.K. in the 1960s, the Fab Four and the Stones became fodder for stories about a rivalry between the two bands. Lennon’s comments in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone gave these stories even more weight.
John Lennon Criticized Mick Jagger For Copying The Beatles
During his 1971 Rolling Stone interview, John Lennon described his early relationship with the Rolling Stones as incredibly positive. “We were very close to the Stones. I don’t know how close the others were, but I spent a lot of time with Brian and Mick. I admire them, you know.” Still, relationships are wont to change, and Lennon’s relationship with Stones frontman Mick Jagger did, too.
A few questions later in the interview, Lennon said he hardly saw Jagger anymore. “I think Mick got jealous,” the ex-Beatle mused. “I was always very respectful about Mick and the Stones. But he said a lot of tarty things about the Beatles, which I am hurt by. I can knock the Beatles, but don’t let Mick Jagger knock them.”
Lennon then pointed out specific albums and songs he felt like the Stones lifted from the Beatles. He argued that Their Satanic Majesties Request was a ripoff of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which the bands released within six months of each other. “We Love You” by the Stones, Lennon said, was basically the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love,” and so on.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
George Martin was an incredibly important figure in The Beatles’ career. The Fab Four’s talent was enough to catapult them to fame, but Martin’s influence, control, and decision-making as the band’s producer and mentor helped them dominate the 1960s. Let’s look at just a few reasons why George Martin deserves his title as the “fifth Beatle”!
1. He Believed In Them From The Beginning
Being a talented musician might be enough to get famous. However, plenty of artists through the years have rivaled the talent of their contemporaries, only to fail to thrive in the music industry. For all we know, this could have happened to The Beatles.
Without George Martin to play the role of the fifth Beatle and invite the band to work at EMI Studios, who knows if anyone would have picked them up? Martin’s decision to believe in the band and sign them to a record contract before even meeting them was a huge deal. Clearly, Martin knew how to identify groundbreaking talent with ease.
2. He Fired Pete Best
Firing a band member is no easy thing to do. And fortunately for The Beatles, George Martin wasn’t exactly afraid of getting his hands dirty. By the time the band was ready to take off, it had become clear that Pete Best was not the right fit as the band’s drummer. None of the remaining three Beatles wanted to break the news to him, so they had their producer do it for them.
“The basic thing was that I didn’t like his drumming, it wasn’t solid and he didn’t bind the group together,” said Martin back in the 1970s.
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
Elton John and John Lennon shared a whirlwind friendship that included helping the former Beatle and his partner, Yoko Ono, reconcile.
In his new documentary, "Elton John: Never Too Late," available now on Disney+, John states he was the "catalyst" for Lennon and Ono’s reconciliation in the mid-1970s.
The musicians first met on the set of a commercial shoot through a mutual friend, Tony King, in 1973.
"I was obviously very intimidated and very excited," the "Tiny Dancer" singer-songwriter said, adding, "It was like I’d met someone I’d known my whole life."
They began spending time together, with John recalling, "We just hung out and had a great time. We just laughed and laughed and laughed. We did a lot of drugs."
"This man was in The Beatles, and he still wanted to make music, he still wanted to be politically involved, he still has a purpose in his life, and I love people like that. I love people who think about tomorrow rather than yesterday," he explained.
In an old interview clip shown during the documentary, Lennon said, "Elton and I are very close."
Source: Elizabeth Stanton/foxnews.com
John Lennon's sons Sean Ono Lennon and Julian Lennon recently spent some time together in a sentimental place.
On Saturday, Dec. 14, Julian, 61 — whom the late Beatles star welcomed with ex-wife Cynthia Lennon — shared three new photos on Instagram of himself and Sean, 49, hanging out at The Dakota, the New York City apartment building that was once home to their famous father.
He captioned the post: “A Goodnight kiss for my brother, after spending the evening with him, having a lil dinner & chatting the night away, at The Dakota. Something we rarely get to do…Thankful."
In one photo, Julian can be seen kissing his brother on the cheek, while another shows Sean — whose mother is John's widow Yoko Ono — preparing to eat a bowl of noodles as he sits in a kitchen surrounded by take-out food boxes. The final photo depicts a set of wooden doors, presumably at The Dakota.
John and Ono, 91, moved into The Dakota in 1973. According to The New York Times, the couple at one point owned five units in the Upper West Side apartment complex, which was not only their primary residence but also used as their guest home, a storage space and a studio for Ono. The living space and studio alone had a combined square footage of nearly 6,000 square feet, per the outlet.
Tragically, John was shot and killed in front of the residence in December 1980. He was 40 years old.
Prior to his death, John posed with his two sons for a memorable photo taken at The Dakota during the holiday season in December 1977.
Source: Gil Macias/people.com
There are stories behind many of the songs that Paul McCartney wrote for The Beatles in their heyday. Some songs lack any story whatsoever, but a few tracks were inspired by real-life events and experiences. Let’s take a look at just four examples! These songs are worth revisiting anyway.
1. “When I’m Sixty-Four”
“When I’m Sixty-Four” from the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was one of the very first songs that Paul McCartney ever wrote as a teenager. It’s a testament to his songwriting talent, but there’s also a darker theme lurking in the background of this music hall classic.
“When I’m Sixty-Four” is all about aging and mortality, and there are two different rumored stories that inspired this song: One being that McCartney’s father turned 64 the year he revisited “When I’m Sixty-Four” for the 1967 album, the other being that 64 was widely believed to be the life expectancy of British people at the time McCartney wrote it.
2. “Got To Get You Into My Life”
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
In just eight years together as a band, The Beatles recorded thirteen studio albums - including seven from 1963 to 1966. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison were prolific in the early days, delivering record after record to their legions of fans.
However, they slowed down somewhat in the second half of the 1960s as their sound evolved. They stopped performing live in 1966 and that year's album 'Revolver' saw The Beatles move further away from their early style, using more studio technology and innovating with a new approach.
The following year the band released their eighth studio album, 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' - amid the 'summer of love'. It is arguably their most iconic work, capturing the counterculture movement, with Peter Blake and Jann Haworth's cover art one of the Fab Four's defining images.
Source: Dan Haygarth/liverpoolecho.co.uk
For all of their promise, the Beatles' journey as solo acts was dotted with potholes.
George Harrison came roaring into the '70s, quickly releasing two chart-topping post-breakup albums and three Top singles – topped by the No. 1 smash "My Sweet Lord." Ringo Starr struck platinum with 1973's Ringo and reeled off four straight Top 10 songs, including a pair of No. 1 hits.
Meanwhile, former bandmate Paul McCartney was already experiencing the kind of ups (1971's Ram) and downs (Wild Life, also from 1971) that would define his career away from the Beatles. Similarly, John Lennon followed up his biggest-selling solo LP (1971's Imagine) with one of his most poorly received albums.
McCartney would ultimately outsell them all, while Starr suffered the most dramatic solo career setbacks. Lennon's and then Harrison's careers were cut short when they died too early.
At one point, Starr was actually without a label after being dropped by RCA following a string of duds in the late '70s. But he ended up becoming the most productive of all of his former bandmates, regularly issuing albums and EPs after the turn of the century.
When they were together, the Beatles seemed to metronomically release one creative triumph after another. The same couldn't always be said of their solo records, even the hits. As you'll see in the following list of 25 Worst Beatles Solo Albums, each of them stumbled (sometimes badly) without the friction and spark that defined their former group's successes.
Source: Nick DeRiso/ultimateclassicrock.com
On November 8, 2024, the Beatles were once again making history in the music industry. For the first time since 1997, the band was shortlisted for the Grammys, bringing their lifetime nomination count to 25 (seven of which they've won). However, that wasn't the only reason the group was making headlines.
Hailed as 'the last Beatles song,' 2023's "Now and Then" was nominated in both Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance award categories, but more importantly, it was the first AI-assisted song to receive a Grammy nomination.
To purists, this was sacrilege, with AI's bubbling influence on the music industry viewed as a growing stain by many.
However, to the remaining members of the Beatles, AI allowed them to see out the final chapter of a decades-long journey to honor the memory of their friend and bandmate, John Lennon.
In a short documentary released alongside the track, Sir Paul McCartney ponders the ethical dilemma out loud, "Is it something we shouldn't do?"
"Let's say I had the chance to ask John, 'Hey John, would you like us to finish this last song of yours?' I'm telling you. I know the answer would've been 'Yeah!' He would've loved that."
It's easy to paint AI as a threat to the future of music. However, despite its controversy, "Now and Then" hints at the potential for a harmonious path forward for AI and artists.
Source:Yahoo
Fans of The Beatles were out in full force for Record Store Day Black Friday.
Billboard reports that the Fab Four’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand”/”I Saw Her Standing There” 7-inch vinyl was the top-selling single on Record Store Day Black Friday, while the 3-inch vinyl release of “All My Loving” came in at #5.
Stevie Nicks also had one of the bestselling singles, with the white-colored 7-inch vinyl of her latest single, “The Lighthouse,” landing at #3 behind Pearl Jam's "Waiting for Stevie (Live)"/"Wreckage (Live)" vinyl.
U2 was also a big draw at independent record stores, with the How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb black and red colored vinyl the sixth-bestselling album on Record Store Day. Van Halen’s Live in Dallas 1981 on red colored double vinyl was #8, the Ramones’ Greatest Hits on red colored vinyl was #9 and the Grateful Dead’s four-vinyl LP set, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT 5/5/77, was #10.
Source: Jill Lances/rock107.com
