Beatles News
The man George Harrison thought of as a second father--and whom he called “the godfather of world music--Ravi Shankar, has died at age 92.
The renowned sitar player taught George to play the ancient Indian instrument, and thus had a great impact on the Beatles’ music in the latter half of their career—and by extension, the Beatles’ fans and late Sixties culture. But Shankar had started collaborating with Western musicians from the classical and jazz worlds as early as the 1950s.
The copy of “Double Fantasy” John Lennon signed for his killer hours before his death is up for auction.
The record John signed for Mark David Chapman on Decemeber 8, 1980 was found outside the Dakota apartment building in New York City. The album was used as evidence against Chapman, then returned to the man who found it. The album was last up for sale in 2003, when it went on sale for $525,000—or 327,357 pounds.
Chapman was denied parole for a seventh time earlier this year.
 | Former Wings guitarist Henry McCullough is reportedly doing much better after suffering a heart attack in early November. Examiner.com reports that McCullough’s former Wings bandmate, Denny Seiwell, says he has been in contact with the family, and they report that Henry is improving, and there is hope he will recover completely. In the immediate wake of the heart attack, there had been erroneous reports that McCullough had died. McCullough was part of Wings for 18 months starting in 1971, and it’s his guitar solo on “My Love” from the Red Rose Speedway album. |
 | Paul McCartney is set to fulfill a “personal ambition” and appear in the final print edition of British comic, The Dandy. When he learned that the comic would only be available online after the December 12th issue, Paul wrote a letter to the comic’s creators, saying, “The Dandy was a favourite comic of mine when growing up in Liverpool and each week I would look forward to the exploits of Desperate Dan and his other comic book colleagues."
He continued: "In 1963, when asked what my personal ambition was, I replied – to have my picture in The Dandy! I hope it's not too late!" |
 | Ringo Starr’s website reports that he and Dhani Harrsion’s group, thenewno2, are contributing previously-unreleased tracks to a Hurricane Sandy relief effort, focused on the hard-hit community, Red Hook, in Brooklyn, NY. "Songs After Sandy: Friends of Red Hook for Sandy Relief" is being sponsored by the not-for-profit group, Green Ground Zero, which was founded to help communities rebuild after disasters. They also advocate for green restoration which creates a more sustainable environment , to address the root of the problem of global warming. |
 | Unconventional clothing designs by Yoko Ono--given as a wedding gift to John Lennon—have been turned into a menswear line. Says Yoko: I was inspired to create Fashions for Men, amazed at how my man was looking so great. I felt it was a pity if we could not make clothes emphasizing his very sexy bod." The collection of menswear for Opening Ceremony is available the company's U.S. stores in New York, Los Angeles and London now, and its Tokyo flagship store on Dec. 9. The collection includes jersey blazers, suit pants and hoodies, starting at $75. |
 | Paul McCartney will make his fourth appearance as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" in the US on December 15th--the series' Christmas episode. Perhaps he'll be singing his version of "The Christmas Song", from the compilation Holidays Rule. That song is also being released as a single called Christmas Kisses, with 1979's "Wonderful Christmastime" as the flip side. The single is due in independent record stores in the US December 4th. |
Sean Lennon has provided the score for another independent film—this time acting in it, as well. In the quirky superhero romantic comedy, Alter Egos, Sean plays a super-villain called Electric Death. Sean has released the soundtrack to the film on his personal label, Chimera Records, and the songs are also available for download. The album will not be in stores until January 15th.
In a pre-Thanksgiving show at New York's Madison Square Garden, Sean Lennon joined Aerosmith to play "Come Together".
In a new interview with The Independent in the UK, Paul McCartney says that John Lennon's public image as tough and sarcastic is a very incomplete picture of the man.
