Beatles News
In one of his last interviews, John Lennon reminded legions of fans that when it comes to his work with The Beatles—and, by extrapolation, his solo efforts—the music will always be the thing that matters most. Indeed, it will be Lennon and The Beatles’ musical achievements that go down through the centuries. The rest, frankly, is just noise.
With "We All Shine On: John, Yoko & Me," author and publicist Elliot Mintz fashions a heartbreaking portrait of Lennon’s life and times beyond the recording studio. In so doing, he explores the reality behind the effort that it required for artists such as Lennon to find their mettle as musicians. In this sense, Mintz’s memoir is not for the faint of heart. The psychological toll of Lennon’s addictions is palpable, as is the personal toil that was required for him to will yet another album into being. As Mintz’s book makes indelibly clear, the cost that it exacted upon the songwriter’s relationships was considerable.
As a California DJ and television personality in the early 1970s, Mintz found himself in Lennon’s orbit during an era in which rock ‘n’ roll was gingerly feeling its way after the majesty and tumult of the 1960s. Not surprisingly, there is an inherent sadness behind Mintz’s memories regarding Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono—and not merely because of Lennon’s senseless murder in December 1980 at age 40. As "We All Shine On" reveals so powerfully, Lennon struggled for years to define himself under the bright lights of The Beatles’ particular brand of superstardom.
Source: salon.com
Few bands have left a mark on music history quite like Paul McCartney and Wings. After the monumental success of The Beatles, McCartney formed Wings in 1971, embarking on a new chapter filled with unforgettable melodies, groundbreaking hits, and timeless anthems. Blending rock, pop, and a touch of McCartney’s signature soulful ballads, Wings became one of the most successful bands of the 1970s, delivering hit after hit that still resonates with fans today. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or just discovering their magic, this countdown of the top 10 most popular Paul McCartney and Wings songs is sure to remind you why their music continues to inspire generations. From soaring harmonies to irresistible hooks, each track in this list showcases McCartney’s genius for songwriting and his undeniable ability to craft songs that stay with you long after the music stops. So turn up the volume, settle in, and let’s take a thrilling flight through Wings’ most iconic songs—guaranteed to make you feel like you’re hearing them for the first time all over again!
1. “Band on the Run” (1973)
2. “Live and Let Die” (1973)
3. “Jet” (1973)
4. “Maybe I’m Amazed” (1970)
5. “Let Me Roll It” (1973)
6. “Silly Love Songs” (1976)
7. “My Love” (1973)
8. “Listen to What the Man Said” (1975)
9. “Hi, Hi, Hi” (1972)
10. “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” (1971)
Source: Edward Tomlin/singersroom.com
Paul McCartney has rarely taken time off. In fact, well into his 80s, the former Beatle and rock star still tours semi-regularly and knows how to put on one heck of a live show. Surprisingly, though, there was a time when McCartney really didn’t feel like performing live. And we’re not talking about The Beatles’ inevitable retirement from live music, several years before they officially broke up. Rather, we’re talking about a 10-year period from 1979 to 1989 in which McCartney refused to tour.
In a way, we understand where he was coming from. The Beatles’ tours were intense, to say the least. Few live performances from The Beatles’ past are completely audible over all the shrieking. McCartney even openly admitted that he was not a fan of live performances, even with Wings.
“It had been sort of brewing, this distaste for schlepping around and playing in the rain with the danger of electricity killing you,” McCartney once said in an interview. “You kind of just look at yourself and go, ‘Wait a minute, I’m a musician, you know. I’m not a rag doll for children to scream at.’”
When Wings wrapped up their final UK tour in 1979, McCartney ceased to tour as well. So, naturally, when Macca returned to the stage with a massive world tour in 1989, fans were shocked. Happy, but shocked. What changed the former Beatle’s mind?
Source: Em Caselena/americansongwriter.com
Love can move us in mysterious ways. As the saying goes, only fools fall in love. But, what comes first the foolery or the love? In our experience, it’s the latter that sends us into a dizzying tail spin, making us act against our better judgement. Not even famous rock stars are immune to love’s effects. If you need proof of that, revisit the time George Harrison and Eric Clapton had a guitar duel over Pattie Boyd, below.
Harrison and Clapton started their relationship as friends and musical colleagues. That friendship shifted when Clapton began to have eyes for Harrison’s partner, Boyd. His infatuation for her can be felt in the caustic and blushing “Layla.” The eruption of emotion in that track makes it very clear that Clapton was head over heals for Boyd.
Clapton eventually won Boyd and the two rockers worked out their differences. Though Harrison and Clapton remained friends until the Beatle’s death, there were moments when their relationship was strained. Boyd once talked about the time the musicians let their love get the best of them.
Source: Alex Hopper/americansongwriter.com
Diehard Beatles fans know the “fifth” Beatle George Martin all too well. More chill fans may not be in the loop. For the uninformed, Martin was the main producer behind the vast majority of the Fab Four’s music. He was with the band when they were nobodies and stayed with them until the end. He was pretty vocal about how much he loved the majority of The Beatles’ music. However, there were a few tracks here and there that he didn’t love. Let’s look at four Beatles songs that George Martin said he wasn’t a fan of!
1. “Within You Without You”
This George Harrison-penned 1967 track from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is a pretty great song, but it wasn’t George Martin’s favorite. It wasn’t Harrison’s favorite, either. Harrison admitted that his “heart was still in India” upon returning from a trip there, and he was struggling to come up with inspired music. That much is, unfortunately, evident in “Within You Without You”. Martin described it as a “rather dreary song” that was a bit hamfisted with the Indian classical inspirations from Harrison.
Source: Em Casalena/American Songwriter
The pressure on Paul McCartney to deliver some kind of statement in song summing up his feelings about John Lennon’s death must have been immense. How easily he could have misjudged the task and come up with something Lennon himself likely would have criticized as sappy.
McCartney managed to sidestep all of that by taking an honest look at his relationship with his ex-partner in the 1982 song “Here Today.” In so doing, he ended up delivering perhaps the most touching tribute of all to Lennon.
How could a songwriter possibly address a situation as tragic as the sudden, senseless death of John Lennon? Many did, and some did so quite admirably. (Elton John/Bernie Taupin, Paul Simon, and another Beatle, George Harrison, come to mind.) But expecting Paul McCartney to do it was another story.
Of course, McCartney is one of the finest songwriters of any era, so his skill was never the question. But because the whole world knew him as one half of the greatest writing team of all time—with Lennon being the other half—it was never going to be easy to put all that into words. And the public also knew well the two men weren’t always on the best of terms, especially after The Beatles broke up.
Source: Jim Beviglia/americansongwriter.com
This week, Ringo Starr announced his return to country music with a brand-new album, Look Up, produced by T Bone Burnett. Following the release of his latest single, "Time on My Hands," Starr has shared several teasers on social media, including images from the album art photoshoot.
In a true meeting of Genesis authors, the concept for the album was born at the Sunset Marquis book launch for Olivia Harrison's Came the Lightening: Twenty Poems for George, where Starr met Burnett. There, they discussed their shared love of country music and agreed to collaborate on the project.
"I thought Ringo was deserving of a serious album... Occasionally, you catch a glimpse of what somebody can mean now who had an illustrious past, and something that doesn't have to do with the charts and all that stuff, but just has to do with the timelessness of who they are." - T Bone Burnett
Featuring the talents of Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Larkin Poe, Lucius, and Alison Krauss, these artists are said to bring fresh and exciting energy to the eleven tracks, making substantial contributions to the album's overall sound.
Now shipping worldwide, below you can learn more about the new signed prints in Ringo Starr's Photograph Portfolio 2024, also available and shipping now is Olivia Harrison's Came the Lightening. Lastly, shipping in January 2025 is Buddy Holly: Words of Love in which T Bone Burnett was recently announced as a new contributor.
Source: genesis-publications.com
Luther Vandross’ Cover of The Beatles’ “Michelle” Released: “Another Classic Song Has Been Lutherized!”
The release coincides with the documentary 'Luther: Never Too Much,' which opens in select cities on Nov. 1. The 'Never Too Much: Greatest Hits' album is out on Dec. 13.
Luther Vandross passed away in 2005, but unreleased music from the R&B icon was made available Friday — a cover of The Beatles’ ‘60s hit “Michelle.”
Vandross’ close friend and vocal collaborator, Fonzi Thornton, discovered the tape following the singer’s death when he visited his family to look through his music archives, unseen videos, cassette tapes, personal effects, stage costumes and more. He then moved the archives to a room in his apartment for safekeeping.
“I found two cassettes labeled ‘Michelle’ in his handwriting — [I had] no idea what it was [and then I] played it! I realized it was a beautiful rendition of the Beatles classic that had been vocally and musically Lutherized,” Thornton tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I played Luther’s version for Jeff James, A&R at Sony and Dave Gottlieb, manager of the Vandross Estate, and we agreed it was such a find. We decided to save it until the right time — which is now.
Source: Mesfin Fekadu/hollywoodreporter.com
The album was signed at Liverpool's Adelphi Hotel in 1965. A rare album signed by The Beatles almost 60 years ago has fetched £10,000 at auction.
The 1965 LP Help! is thought to be one of fewer than 100 albums signed by all four members still in circulation. It was sold by Annie Newby, from Durham, whose late husband owned the record for more than a quarter of a century.
She said she felt it was important the record found "a loving home". Anderson & Garland Auction Annie Newby with the signed record of Help! by The BeatlesAnderson & Garland Auction. Annie Newby remembers how much joy the album gave her late husband
It was originally bought by music enthusiast Bob Todd in September 1989, who passed it on to his friend, Max Newby, before he died.
Mr Newby owned the record until his death in 2016, and it has been in his wife's possession since. She said she recently decided "it's time to pass this special piece of music history on to another fan who will appreciate it as much as Max and Bob did".
Mrs Newby said: "The signed album brought Max and Bob immense joy. I still remember the day Bob bought it, he was so excited to show it to Max.
"He brought it straight to our house and they spent hours talking about The Beatles, their history, and what it must have been like at The Cavern Club in the early 1960s.
"They stayed up until two in the morning, just staring at the album and feeling where the pen had indented the album."
Anderson & Garland Auction The signed record, a letter from the original owner, and an invoice of sale.Anderson & Garland Auction
The autographs were sold with a letter of provenance and sale history. A letter from the item's original owner, Jeff Conner, confirm it was signed by the band at Liverpool's Adelphi Hotel in 1965. It states their close friend Paddy Delaine - former doorman of The Cavern Club - introduced the "shy" Mr Conner to The Fab Four.
"I was very shy in asking George for his signature, as he was in deep conversation with someone but as he put pen to cover he completed one of my dreams at the time, to obtain The Beatles autographs," the letter continued.
"John and Ringo signed above themselves, Paul and George below." The Beatles performed in Liverpool for the last time in December 1965, at the Liverpool Empire Theatre.
Source: Luke Jarmyn/bbc.com
It’s been one of the more enduring celebrity death hoaxes, long before social media.
But on October 24 1969, two Life magazine reporters found Paul McCartney to reveal he hadn’t actually died in a car crash.
Benjamin Jackson looks back at how the rumour gained traction in 1969 and what breadcrumbs The Beatles left to tell the world “Paul is dead”.
Legend has it that on October 24 1969, Life magazine reporters Dorothy "Dot" Jenkins and Timothy Harper visited a farm in Scotland to interview former Beatle Paul McCartney.
That sounds run-of-the-mill, with McCartney at this point in time married to the late Linda McCartney and wanting to have a quieter family life with his two children. But it would be during this interview, that was subsequently published on November 7 1969, that Paul addressed a rumour that had blown up that year.
"Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated. However, if I were dead, I'm sure I'd be the last to know."
It would spell an end to the long standing suggestion that Sir Paul McCartney had died supposedly of a car accident back in 1966, and that the McCartney that was with the band between the releases from Revolver to Abbey Road was a replacement.
Those album releases didn’t stave off the rumours and in fact became breadcrumbs with many who believed in the death hoax pointing to hidden messages and meanings throughout the height of the “Paul is dead” craze.
Ahead of McCartney’s Get Back tour, set to take place at Manchester’s Co-op Live on December 14 and 15, and then London’s The O2 on December 18 and 19, let’s find out (those of us of a much younger age) how the rumours began and, of course, what “clues” were hidden by the Beatles to let us know that Paul was, in fact, dead.
How did the “Paul is dead” rumour begin in the first place?
Even in 2024, it would appear Sir Paul McCartney cannot dodge the "Paul is dead" hoaxes.Even in 2024, it would appear Sir Paul McCartney cannot dodge the "Paul is dead" hoaxes. There had always been rumours about either McCartney’s demise or him going solo dating back to 1966, when media outlets called then Beatles press officer, Tony Barrow, to enquire whether the musician was experiencing ill health or if he had in fact died.
Source: Benjamin Jackson/yorkshirepost.co.uk
