Beatles News
This week, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr earned a new Billboard chart success together, marking a milestone as neither had previously reached on this particular ranking. The duo debuted a rendition of their iconic song “Let It Be” on a specific chart, signaling the potential for significant accomplishments to come for the track.
Their rendition of "Let It Be" debuts on this week’s Hot Trending Songs chart, entering the list at No. 3. This chart highlights the tracks generating the most conversation on Twitter, offering a snapshot of what is currently resonating with a younger, digitally engaged audience. Despite the chart often being dominated by pop stars and K-pop acts, McCartney and Starr's presence is indicative of the widespread interest in their reimagined version of the song.
Dolly Parton reworked "Let It Be" for her upcoming rock album Rockstar. The track features not only McCartney and Starr but also iconic musicians Mick Fleetwood and Peter Frampton.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
John Lennon wrote a Beatles song that he intended to give to Ringo Starr. A Beatles engineer said this was a shame, as Lennon sang it beautifully.
John Lennon wrote the sweeping lullaby “Good Night” for the White Album, but he didn’t sing the song. Typically, he would sing the songs he wrote, but he passed this one off to Ringo Starr. According to Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, this was a shame. He explained that Lennon sang a beautiful demo of the song. He didn’t find Starr’s version of the song nearly as impressive.
Work on the White Album was, for the most part, a nightmare for everyone involved. Band relations were frosty when they weren’t outright hostile, and everyone in the studio was exhausted and fed up. Therefore, the introduction of Lennon’s “Good Night” came as a pleasant surprise.
“[J]ohn surprised us all with the unveiling of his lush ballad ‘Good Night,'” Emerick wrote in his book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. “Like ‘Across the Universe,’ the song showed his softer side, a stark contrast to the screamer he had belted out just the night before. It ably demonstrated the depth of his abilities as both a songwriter and a performer, which was really quite astonishing.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
The Everly Brothers' producer thought Paul McCartney would be willing to give the band a tune for a very specific reason.
Paul McCartney wrote a hit song by The Everly Brothers. The band’s producer was nervous to talk to Paul. Despite this, he thought Paul would be willing to give a tune to The Everly Brothers for a very specific reason.
Phil and Don Everly are the two members of The Everly Brothers. A 1986 Rolling Stone article explained why Paul gave them a song. After a long hiatus, The Everly Brothers planned to release a comeback album with producer Dave Edmunds. Edmunds knew Paul was a fan of the duo, so he asked the “Silly Love Songs” singer to give The Everly Brothers a tune.
Don said this was no easy task. “Dave said it was the hardest phone call he ever made, because McCartney is always being asked for something,” he revealed. “Paul said if he could come up with anything, he’d give a call. Dave forgot about it, but about six weeks later, the phone rang, and it was McCartney. He said, ‘I think I’ve got one.'” The tune was called “On the Wings of a Nightingale.”
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
With this opening line, John Lennon introduces an intimate auditory canvas of his first quarter-century on our planet. Though he chooses not to specify any Liverpool-based locations or “friends and lovers,” listeners are immediately captivated by Lennon’s subdued vocal tone and the track’s emotive instrumentation. As the song concludes, one senses they’ve embarked on a carefully crafted, two-and-a-half-minute jaunt through Lennon’s formative years.
With a melodic introduction that immediately captures listeners’ attention, “In My Life” represents a transition from the Beatles’ early happy-go-lucky catalog to their later, more reflective songs. Despite its moderate chart success, peaking at No. 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the song’s influence on songwriters of all generations is profound.
Let’s examine what motivated Lennon to write “In My Life” and how the song has impacted pop music.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Matthew Kayser
Yoko Ono once said they were as "close as family". She's not referring to herself and her late husband of course, but rather the dear friendship that John Lennon shared with David Bowie.
Their relationship dates back to 1974 when Bowie had recently ditched his Ziggy Stardust guise and relocated to America.
Knowing that the star was nearby, Lennon reached out to meet him in a New York hotel room, though David was "petrified" about meeting his hero according to long-time producer Tony Visconti.
Despite his immediate nerves, the pair swiftly bonded by drawing outrageous caricatures of one another, and solidified their long-lasting friendship.
Source: Thomas Curtis-Horsfall/goldradiouk.com
John Lennon is one of the most talked-about musicians in history. And yet, decades after his passing and following dozens of films, books and more, it seems there is still more to discover about the star. A new documentary about the former Beatle has now been acquired and is coming to fans this fall that will shed light on a rarely-discussed chapter of his personal life.
The Lost Weekend: A Love Story is a documentary that centers around Lennon’s one-time love, May Pang. In the film, she apparently talks about her short-lived affair with the rocker. At the time, she was only 23, and was actually his assistant. The film is told through her lens and seemingly connects those feelings to his work post-Beatles.
Pang and Lennon were romantically connected for only a year and a half, but the love seems to have had a real impact on the rock musician. Anything connected to Lennon, or any Beatle, for that matter, is sure to grab eyeballs, as interest in the band and its members remains incredibly high, even though they’ve been broken up for decades. Pang reportedly helped Lennon creatively and also in his personal life, as she assisted him in connecting with his son Julian.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
During recording sessions for The Beatles’ White Album, the band’s behavior was so terrible that audio engineer Geoff Emerick quit. He had worked with The Beatles on multiple albums but concluded he could no longer take their fights. When he told the band he was leaving, they were clearly guilty. Emerick said The Beatles’ behavior reminded him of school children.
During sessions for the White Album, The Beatles bickered, rolled their eyes at each other’s music, and worked long, arduous hours. After witnessing a shouting match between Paul McCartney and producer George Martin, Emerick decided he’d had enough. Martin and studio manager Alan Stagge begged him to stay for another week while they found a replacement, but he refused.
“At the conclusion of my meeting with Stagge, only one task remained, and that was to tell the band,” Emerick wrote in his book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. “In the thirty minutes or so since I’d stormed out, they had been waiting quietly at the bottom of the steps of Studio Two to find out what had transpired.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
During sessions for the White Album, The Beatles bickered, rolled their eyes at each other’s music, and worked long, arduous hours. After witnessing a shouting match between Paul McCartney and producer George Martin, Emerick decided he’d had enough. Martin and studio manager Alan Stagge begged him to stay for another week while they found a replacement, but he refused.
“At the conclusion of my meeting with Stagge, only one task remained, and that was to tell the band,” Emerick wrote in his book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. “In the thirty minutes or so since I’d stormed out, they had been waiting quietly at the bottom of the steps of Studio Two to find out what had transpired.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
During sessions for the White Album, The Beatles bickered, rolled their eyes at each other’s music, and worked long, arduous hours. After witnessing a shouting match between Paul McCartney and producer George Martin, Emerick decided he’d had enough. Martin and studio manager Alan Stagge begged him to stay for another week while they found a replacement, but he refused.
“At the conclusion of my meeting with Stagge, only one task remained, and that was to tell the band,” Emerick wrote in his book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. “In the thirty minutes or so since I’d stormed out, they had been waiting quietly at the bottom of the steps of Studio Two to find out what had transpired.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
During sessions for the White Album, The Beatles bickered, rolled their eyes at each other’s music, and worked long, arduous hours. After witnessing a shouting match between Paul McCartney and producer George Martin, Emerick decided he’d had enough. Martin and studio manager Alan Stagge begged him to stay for another week while they found a replacement, but he refused.
“At the conclusion of my meeting with Stagge, only one task remained, and that was to tell the band,” Emerick wrote in his book Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. “In the thirty minutes or so since I’d stormed out, they had been waiting quietly at the bottom of the steps of Studio Two to find out what had transpired.”
Source: Emma McKee/cheatsheet.com
