Beatles News
It was the first number one hit by a solo Beatle, and had a long and complicated history following its 1970 release
“Every time I put the radio on, it’s ‘Oh my Lord’,” said John Lennon after his band-mate George Harrison scored the first number one hit by any solo Beatle. “I’m beginning to think there must be a God.”
Along with its parent album, All Things Must Pass, “My Sweet Lord” cemented the reputation of “the quiet one” as a great songwriter overshadowed by Lennon and McCartney.
George Harrison was inspired to write a multi-faith devotional song in 1969 after hearing the Edwin Hawkins Singers’ gospel hit “Oh Happy Day”. Billy Preston, a Beatles collaborator, was first to record “My Sweet Lord” (he also sings an intense version with Aretha Franklin’s backing band on King Curtis’s Live at Fillmore West album). But it was quickly eclipsed by Harrison’s own version, released in November 1970, bolstered by Phil Spector’s lavish production and an all-star cast of Preston, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Badfinger.
Source: Jon Dennis/ig.ft.com
The Beatles wanted to make a film of Lord Of The Rings in 1969. Here's why it would've been rubbish.
Imagine if there’d been a Beatles film in which a mystical evil cult chased the Fab Four through a variety of exotic landscapes to steal a ring with magical powers which has inadvertently fallen into their hands. Well guess what, there was one – it was called Help!, and it was hardly Citizen Kane. So why on earth, when United Artists acquired the film rights for JRR Tolkein’s magnum opus for $250,000 in 1969, would The Beatles want to star in it, as Louis Theroux reminded Twitter today? As Tolkein himself anticipated, in deciding not to grant the Fabs permission to film his story, it would’ve been a disaster, and here’s why.
Source: Mark Beaumont /nme.com
A former children's home in Liverpool that became the inspiration for the Beatles' 1967 hit "Strawberry Fields Forever" will open to the public. First, the facility has to undergo renovations; it will eventually serve as a tourist attraction and support center for youth with learning disabilities.
As a child, John Lennon would hop the wall at Strawberry Field to play with the kids who lived there, and listen to the Salvation Army band. The site, which once included an old Victorian house donated to the charity in 1936, has remained empty since the children's home closed in 2005. On hand for the Salvation Army's groundbreaking at the new site were John Lennon's sister, Julia Baird, who helped bury a time capsule there. Judy Martin, the widow of Beatles producer George Martin, also attended.
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
The countdown is on until Let It Be opens in Cardiff in three weeks, when fans will be able to see the new show in the UK and Ireland for the very first time.
Let It Be: A Celebration Of The Music Of The Beatles has firmly established itself as a successful West End and international touring show.
The smash-hit stage show has been updated to feature a brand new Let It Be Part II - which has never been seen before in the UK - and returns to stages across the UK and Ireland for a new national tour starting in Summer 2018.
The new second half is set a decade after The Beatles went their separate ways. It gives fans a rare glimpse of how the Fab Four could have performed together once again. The concert that never was.
Source: broadwayworld.com
The Beatles are the most influential rock band of all time, full stop. Whether it's the most the most mainstream music to the most left-field metal, nearly every rock-related artist is inspired by the John, Paul, George and Ringo. For instance: when the Fab Four released “Twist and Shout,” it was the blueprint for what would become hard rock. With John Lennon utilizing a harsh vocal style, Ringo Starr annihilating his drum kit and the entire band roaring through the cut at what was then a lightning-fast pace, the Beatles conjured a kind of energy never seen or heard before.
Going from a cheesy pop-rock band to progressive giants, the Beatles brought experimental music to the masses with Rubber Soul and Revolver. The latter was especially artistic with tracks like “Eleanor Rigby,” “Yellow Submarine” and “Tomorrow Never Knows” expanding the borders of popular music.
Source: loudwire.com
There's often been discord over which of the Beatles wrote which song — that may not be the case for much longer with the Glickman algorithm.
Researchers teamed up to develop an algorithm that would determine what member wrote The Beatles' songs between 1962 to 1966.
The algorithm divided songs into data sets and attributes qualities to John Lennon or Paul McCartney.
It turns out that McCartney actually "misremembers" writing "In My Life", according to the data.
The probability that 'In My Life' was written by McCartney is .018."
"Which basically means it's pretty convincingly a Lennon song."
Source: businessinsider.com
To commemorate 60 years of the Billboard Hot 100, Off The Charts revisits each year since it was established to spotlight songs and artists that didn’t make the cut, yet still made a significant impact. Years are chosen randomly and—to make it even harder on ourselves—rules for inclusion are that neither the songs nor albums they hail from can have landed on the Billboard 200. Selections are hotly debated by our staff, then listed in order of release. The Year: 1964 -
Billboard Hot 100’s Top 20 Songs Of 1964
1. The Beatles, “I Want To Hold Your Hand”
2. The Beatles, “She Loves You”
3. Louis Armstrong, “Hello, Dolly!”
4. Roy Orbison, “Oh, Pretty Woman”
5. The Beach Boys, “I Get Around”
6. Dean Martin, “Everybody Loves Somebody”
7. Mary Wells, “My Guy”
8. Gale Garnett, “We’ll Sing In The Sunshine”
9. J. Frank Wilson & The Cavaliers, “Last Kiss”
10. The Supremes, “Where Did Our Love Go
Source: The A.V. Club/music.avclub.com
In Many Years From Now, Barry Miles’ 1997 biography of Paul McCartney, the Beatle recalled writing the melody for a set of John Lennon lyrics that eventually became “In My Life,” the immortal meditation on memory that Lennon sang on Rubber Soul.
Now, a pair of academics claims that statistical analysis proves there is less than a one in 50 chance of McCartney having written the music to the song.
“As I recall, he didn’t have a tune to it,” McCartney told Miles. “I said, ‘Well, you haven’t got a tune, let me just go and work on it.’ And I went down to the half-landing, where John had a mellotron, and I sat there and put together a tune. … I recall writing the whole melody. And it actually does sound very like me, if you analyze it.”
Source: ultimateclassicrock.com
"The walrus" may have been Paul, but Paul was not, and seemingly never will be, dead.
The immortal (he's 76) and incomparable Paul McCartney recently took a solo stroll across the famous Abbey Road intersection, forever associated with the cover of the 1969 Beatles album "Abbey Road." And while doing so, the former Beatle explained once and for all that there was no hidden message behind going barefoot the first time. Instead, CNN reported McCartney claims it was hot that day, and he kicked off his sandals. Why walking on the hot road in bare feet was more comfortable than having shoes on is unclear, meaning McCartney has replaced one Beatles riddle with another.
Source: The Lowell SunUpdated/lowellsun.com
He was the fifth Beatle, but you’d never know it. He was a Knight of the British Empire, but you probably didn’t know that either. He was Sir George Martin and he worked on over 400 recordings by artists from the Beatles to Celine Dion.
Join Tom Engelmann to enjoy the recordings of this under-appreciated producer and arranger on another edition of “Unsung Heroes, Influential but Overlooked Masters of Modern Music." Tune in on your radio or online, Monday, July 30 at 8 p.m. on Montana Public Radio.
Source: Tom Engelmann
