Beatles News
Janis Joplin was like a fireworks display. Brilliantly explosive, colorful and stunning, bombastic and captivating, a kaleidoscopic wonder burning loud and brightly that ends nearly as soon as it starts. Like far too many others in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, Joplin’s legacy is one of admiration and contemplation.
Age 27 at the time of her tragic death, Joplin released only three albums in her lifetime. A fourth, Pearl, was posthumously released the year after her death.
Joplin’s two albums with Big Brother & The Holding Company, 1967’s self-titled debut and 1968’s Cheap Thrills, immediately established the Port Arthur, Texas native as one of the all-time iconic voices in rock ‘n’ roll. Incorporating influences from pioneering Black musicians like Big Mama Thornton, Bessie Smith and Leadbelly, Joplin’s unparalleled vocal delivery and thrilling stage performances put her in the center of the late-1960s counter-cultural movement.
Released as a solo album, I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! was delivered in 1969 and featured a new backing group, the the Kozmic Blues Band. In 1970, Joplin’s career evolved again as she formed a new supporting group called the Full Tilt Boogie Band. The same year, Joplin toured Canada on the Festival Express train tour with the likes of the Grateful Dead and The Band.
Source: Andy Kahn/Jambase.com
iHeartPodcasts and Pushkin will debut the much anticipated McCartney: A Life In Lyrics podcast. The 12-part series, based on the best-selling book, is hosted by the poet Paul Muldoon, who explains in the first episode, which I was given exclusively for first listen, "We worked together on a book looking at more than 150 of his songs. And we recorded many hours of our conversations. This is McCartney: A Life In Lyrics; a master class, a memoir and an improvised journey with one of the most iconic figures in popular music. Each episode is centered about the writing of a particular song and the circumstances surrounding it."
Episode one, premiering today, focuses on the song "Eleanor Rigby." But before that, McCartney offers some insight into his love of writing. An aspiring poet who was friends with the iconic poet Allen Ginsberg ("Howl"), McCartney exclaims at the outset of the 19-minute episode, "Oh my God, I wanted to become a person who wrote songs. And I wanted to be someone whose life was in music."
Source: Steve Baltin/forbes.com
Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" connects to a Beatles song George Harrison wrote. One of the songs was a much bigger hit than the other.
All roads lead to Rome — and all classic rock roads lead to The Beatles. Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” has a major connection to a song from The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour. One of the songs blew the other out of the water commercially, no pun intended.
During a 1972 interview with Rolling Stone, Simon discussed the origin of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” “Me and Artie [Garfunkel] and [Simon’s wife] Peggy [Harper] were living in this house with a bunch of other people throughout the summer,” he said. “It was a house on Blue Jay Way, the one George Harrison wrote ‘Blue Jay Way’ about.” The two tracks are a study in contrast, as “Blue Jay Way” is a sleepy psychedelic tune, while “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is a forceful power ballad.
“We had this Sony machine and Artie had the piano, and I’d finished working on a song, and we went into the studio,” Simon added. “I had it written on guitar, so we had to transpose the song. I had it written in the key of G, and I think Artie sang it in E. E flat.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/Cheatsheet
John Lennon compared "Give Peace a Chance" to Elvis Costello's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding." A rabbi inspired the former.
Some classic rock stars got credit for things they didn’t do. John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” was inspired by a phrase he didn’t coin. Interestingly, the tune was inspired by a rabbi who was also a folk singer.
Source:Matthew Trzcinski/Cheatsheet
The run-up to Christmas and our Bristol production of The Happiest Days of Your Life seemed to drag on forever. I enjoyed doing the play, lightweight as it was. But my life was changing — Sheila, the RSC — and I wanted to get on with it.
Fortunately, we had a wonderful cast, and in it was a talented and pretty young actress with red hair named Jane Asher. Everyone knew that Jane was dating Paul McCartney, but we were all very circumspect around her and careful never to mention his name. Still, this was 1965, the year of Rubber Soul and the sold-out show at Shea Stadium in New York City. It was hard not to be starstruck by proxy.
One night after a performance, we were all sitting in the Old Duke pub when someone suggested a party game: We would go around the table, and each of us would answer the question, “If you were given a million pounds, what would be the first thing you bought with it?”
Source: Rollingstone.com
Best known to fans as "The Quiet Beatle," George Harrison was never one whom you can accuse of being the least significant member of arguably the greatest rock band of all time. That's because for the most part, he let his instrument do the talking, playing lead guitar parts that perfectly fit the mood of the song, may it be another one of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's many compositions, one of the Beatles' many (mostly early-period) cover tunes, or one of the few songs where his name (or Ringo Starr's) appeared on the songwriting credits. He was also a key part of the band's evolution from radio-friendly pop-rock to psychedelic experimentation, as the sitar parts he brought to some of his compositions added a new dimension to the Fab Four's increasingly eclectic sound in the mid-'60s.
Source: Lorenzo Tanos
English singer-songwriter Adele has been in Las Vegas for a while now set to perform at Caesars Palace till November 4. In a recent performance, the singer shared a hug with fellow English music legend Paul McCartney who was in attendance at her show.
In a video shared by Pop Crave on their X (formerly Twitter) account, Adele can be singing while waving to the people in attendance. She moves ahead and reaches a hand towards Paul who rather takes her in for a hug.
The entire crowd in the audience can be heard hooting for the historical moment as they end their quick meetup with a handshake.
“Adele and Paul McCartney share a hug at her show in Las Vegas,” captioned the video.
There is much in common among the two British singers with both having the most songs awarded with at least one Grammy.
Source: Jahanvi Sharma/hindustantimes.com
George Harrison's mom attended a 1963 Beatles concert. The fans' behavior at the show horrified and embarrassed her. She even told one of them.
George Harrison’s mom, Louise, spent much of her time corresponding with Beatles fans. She answered letters and even received a plaque for her dedication to Beatles fans everywhere. Still, she didn’t agree with all their behavior. In a letter to a fan, Harrison’s mother expressed her disgust with concertgoers.
After watching The Beatles perform at a 1963 concert, Louise Harrison could hardly believe the behavior of some audience members. At this point, The Beatles were exploding in popularity and their fans reacted fervently to their performances.
“Last Wednesday I went to Manchester and I was really disgusted at the way the so-called fans just screamed right through the whole of the Beatles act,” she wrote in a letter to a Beatles fan, per the BBC. “Nobody with any sense would pay and queue for a ticket just to stand on a seat and scream and not hear one sound from the stage.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
Over 200 guests attended The Malibu Library Speaker Series last week that featured composer, producer, and Beatles expert Scott Freiman.
Freiman deconstructed the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The album is known for its unsurpassed adventure in concept, sound, songwriting, cover art and studio technology.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They are known as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form.
In “Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” Freiman looks at “Sgt. Pepper” from multiple angles, exploring the history behind the music. He conducts an educational journey into the creative process of The Beatles performances and recording sessions.
Source: Samantha Bravo/malibutimes.com
Paul McCartney was used to John Lennon's negative comments in the press by the 1970s. In the 1960s, though, he saw them as a threat to The Beatles.
After The Beatles broke up, Paul McCartney got used to reading John Lennon’s negative comments about the band in the press. He attacked their music, his former bandmates’ solo projects, and, often, McCartney’s personality. While the group was still together, though, any negative comments made by Lennon had the potential to hurt them. When McCartney read some of Lennon’s remarks about Apple Records, he lashed out at the journalist who recorded them.
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
