Soulive — “Eleanor Rigby/I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Unique pairing from the amazing new album Rubber Soulive. Check it out.
Did You Know??
The Beatles recorded their first album, Please Please Me in 1962 in 12 hours and for a cost of $1,000.
43 Years ago today…
The Beatles started recording one of my favorite songs of theirs, “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” at Abbey Road. The lyrics were taken almost verbatim from an 1843 circus poster. A splendid time is guaranteed for all!
“Hey Jude” analyzed
Discuss.
Abbey Road Live to perform a benefit for the GA Theatre in celebration of John Lennon’s 69th
You really must see these guys. They always put on a most fantastic show and it’s for a great cause. Don’t miss their big celebration Friday night at the Classic Center Theatre in Athens! Abbey Road LIVE! with horns an strings and special guests, including Mike Mantione (Five Eight), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), and Vanessa Hay (Pylon)!
All Beatles, all night! Show starts promptly at 8 PM. Proceeds from ticket sales go towards the rebuilding of the Georgia Theatre.
Remember, tickets for Friday night’s show are RESERVED SEATING. So, the sooner you buy your tickets, the better seats you will get. Tickets available at Classic Center Box Office 706-357-4444 or online at here.
The Beatles — “Rain”
Guess what!?!?!? We’re getting more of it today!
The Beatles — “Hey Bulldog”
In honor of the Bulldogs in their big opener tomorrow.
Lennon interview tape from ’70 disusses Beatles break-up
ABC:
Secrets behind the Beatles’ split are about to be laid bare in the pages of rock magazine Rolling Stone, thanks to unearthed interviews with an angry John Lennon.
The Imagine singer sat down with Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner shortly after the Fab Four parted ways and revealed a few home truths about the real reasons behind the split, something the four former Beatles have rarely spoken about.
Wenner released the tapes for celebrated rock journalist Mikal Gilmore’s study on what tore the band apart, which appears in the upcoming issue of the publication.
The 1970 tapes have also been released to Entertainment Tonight, which aired Lennon’s comments on Wednesday. (more…)
Disney and Zemeckis to remake Yellow Submarine
Variety:
Disney and director Robert Zemeckis are negotiating to remake “Yellow Submarine,” the 1968 psychedelic animated film based on the music of The Beatles.
The studio has been quietly brokering a complicated rights deal that would give Zemeckis access to 16 original Beatles songs for a movie he will direct in the performance-capture 3-D digital production format he employed for “A Christmas Carol.” Disney opens that film November 6, with Jim Carrey playing Scrooge as well as the three ghosts who haunt him in the Charles Dickens tale. (more…)
52 years ago today…
John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at The Woolton Church Parish Fete, where The Quarry Men were appearing. As The Quarry Men were setting up for their evening performance, McCartney eager to impress Lennon picked up a guitar and played ‘Twenty Flight Rock’ (Eddie Cochran) and ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ (Gene Vincent). Lennon was impressed, and even more so when McCartney showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars, something they’d been paying someone else to do for them.
Happy Birthday — Paul McCartney
Beatle Paul turns 68(!) today. His songs and influence will be felt in pop music forever, as will his legacy with the Beatles.
Hey Jude:
Blackbird in ’04:
Jerry Garcia — “Dear Prudence”
Jer’ playing the classic off of The White Album. An interesting little tidbit on the song is that it was written for Mia Farrow’s sister, who was also at the ashram to study the Maharishi’s teachings (Transcendental Meditation) in India with The Beatles. Prudence Farrow would seclude herself from the rest of the group for hours, staying in ther room. John Lennon wrote the song in honor of her, from outside of her door.
Beatle George gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
AP:
LOS ANGELES – Hundreds of fans and friends including Paul McCartney have turned out to see a posthumous star for George Harrison unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The late Beatle’s star was unveiled Tuesday in front of the Capitol Records building as McCartney, one of only two surviving members of the band, looked on. McCartney also offered a shout-out to hundreds of raucous fans, thanking them for showing up.
Also present were Harrison’s widow Olivia, his son Dhani, musicians Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne and actor Tom Hanks.
Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001 at age 58.
The Beatles to reissue remastered catalog
Yahoo:
Fresh off a headline-grabbing reunion, The Beatles are set to become the remasters of their own domain, with Apple Corps and EMI Music today announcing plans to release a digitally retooled version of the Fab Four’s catalog.
The worldwide release is set for Sept. 9, not so coincidentally the same day The Beatles: Rock Band video game is slated to come out.
Those who were fans back in the British boys’ heyday will be happy to hear that each album will come ready-made for nostalgia. The CDs will feature the replicated original U.K. album art, expanded booklets with original and new liner notes and rare band photos. For early adopters, CDs will also be embedded for a limited time with a documentary about the album’s production. (more…)
Happy Birthday — George Harrison
“The Quiet One” was born on this date in 1943 in Liverpool. The youngest Beatle would’ve been 66 today, but sadly passed from lung cancer in Nov. of ’01. Here are a couple of clips that celebrate his genius.
“While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at The Concert For Bangladesh:
A clip demonstrating the professor-student relationship with Ravi Shankar and George:
Another Concert For Bangladesh clip with Dylan.
With Patti Boyd and the other Beatles and their mates.
The Beatles — Unreleased “Revolution” Track Surfaces (Take 20)
Loose, trippy and fun could be words that describe this previously unreleased track, recorded at Abbey Road during the White Album sessions (1968).
Popwatch:
According to Mark Lewisohn’s definitive book The Beatles: Recording Sessions, this unheard version was recorded on May 30 and 31, and June 4, 1968. Strangely, John Lennon recorded his vocals while lying flat on his back, hoping it might make his voice sound different. The song starts off very similar to the version that was eventually released, but halfway through it veers off in all sorts of strange directions, adding whooping vocals, tape loops, and other sonic embellishments. It sounded great, as you can hear above, but there was a problem: The band quickly realized “Revolution” had potential as a single, and a 10-minute running time would make that impossible. The solution? They chopped it in half. The first part became “Revolution 1,” while the rest served as the basis for the “Revolution 9,” an experimental noise-fest that has long baffled many fans. Mystery solved! When you listen to this complete 10-minute version, suddenly “Revolution 9″ starts to make a lot more sense. (more…)
42 Years ago today…
The Beatles recorded the orchestral build-up for the middle and end of ‘A Day in the Life’. At the Beatles’ request, the orchestra members arrived in full evening dress along with novelty items. One violinist wore a red clown’s nose, while another a fake gorilla’s paw on his bow hand. Others were wearing funny hats and other assorted novelties. The recording was filmed for a possible ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ television special which was ultimately abandoned.
47 Years ago today…
Ringo Starr played with The Beatles for the first time. The band played a lunch time show at The Cavern Club and in the evening at The Kingsway Club.
Did You Know??
In John Lennon’s 1980 Playboy interview, he confessed that “Good Morning, Good Morning” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was inspired by a 1967 Kellogg’s Corn Flakes commercial. This isn’t it, but here’s a 1960′s Corn Flakes commercial.
The Beatles, iTunes continue “bumpy” talks
ABC:
Negotiations have bogged down between Apple Inc. and The Beatles, according to reports Tuesday.
The BBC said Paul McCartney is still pushing for the band’s music to be available through Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) service.
EMI, the band’s former record label, would have to agree to a deal along with Apple Corps, which was set up by The Beatles to manage their body of work.
In March British media reports said McCartney agreed to make the group’s catalog of songs available on iTunes for about $400 million.
The deal would include payment of royalties to McCartney, Ringo Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison, the newspaper reported.
Some payments might also go to Michael Jackson and to EMI and Sony Corp. because of various ownership agreements linked to some of the songs.
Paul McCartney — “Psychedelic” Beatles track to be released?
From RS:
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Paul McCartney revealed that he is trying to release a Beatles song that some swore didn’t exist. “Carnival of Light” is supposedly a 14-minute improvised psychedelic jam the band recorded in 1967 and was left off of the Anthology releases because it was “too adventurous.” “The time has come for its moment,” said McCartney, who is looking into getting approval from Ringo Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison to release the track. “I like it because it’s like the Beatles free.” McCartney didn’t provide a time frame for the song’s release or whether it would be included on a compilation or exist as a stand-alone song.
The Beatles — The Esher Tapes
In the shadow of their ashram experience and prepping for The White Album, the Esher Tapes catch many of The Beatles songs for said album in their infancy.
1. Cry Baby Cry
2. Child Of Nature
3. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
4. I’m So Tired
5. Yer Blues
6. Everybody’s Got Something To Hide…
7. What’s The New Mary Jane
8. Revolution
9. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
10. Circles
11. Sour Milk Sea
12. Not Guilty
13. Piggies “edited out”
14. Julia
15. Blackbird
16. Rocky Raccoon
17. Back In The USSR
18. Honey Pie “edited out”
19. Mother Natures Son
20. Obla-Di Obla-Da
21. Junk “edited out”
22. Dear Prudence
23. Sexy Sadie
The Beatles — The White Album
Today marks the 40th anniversary of The Beatles’ historic White Album. The White Album is in very close running with several other amazing albums as my favorite of the 1960′s. It may even be my favorite Beatles album, but Abbey Road always gets pissed when I say that. Has an album ever spanned more ground than The White Album? Or a more talked about and controversial album with more storylines? I mean, “Paul Is Dead”, Brian Epstein’s death, the ashram in India and the Maharishi, “Magic” Alex, stereo or mono?, Manson and Helter Skelter, the insane band fighting, Happiness Is A Warm Gun (from a Gun-N-Ammo title), Ringo quits!, Yoko in the studio, the number stamped album cover, Clapton’s guitar solo in While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Bungalow Bill, etc., etc. Perhaps you should throw it on the turntable, or toss in the CD, eight track, tape and listen-with headphones preferably. Really listen. Remember this was 1968! This is The Beatles, man! At their peak!
Here’s a video montage of the White Album sessions:
