My husband and I both learned something about the Beatles yesterday at the Body Worlds 2 exhibit in San Jose, CA. When the Beatles started performing together, John & Ringo were only 18 years old. Paul was 16, and George was a tender 15. Imagine if Paul and Georges folks had forbid them to "waste their time playing their guitars all the time" in favor of concentrating on their studies.....
Those Beatle concerts WERE 30 minutes long, though they first got 'good' by playing all night sessions in German clubs. It was the Brian Epstein managed 'fab 4', that put on those structured concerts with the lapel-less suits.
And yes, they couldn't be heard above the screaming girls. It became a thing they couldn't escape, as every teen must have felt it her duty to scream through the whole concert.
They quit touring in '66. and did not perform in the Sgt Pepper costumes.They did have that famous last impromptu concert on the roof of Apple Studios , not long before they broke up, which would have been at the 'Abbey Road' time.
Ringo didn't join them until '62 I think; Pete best was the original drummer. His mom owned the Cavern Club, where they had steady gigs, but there were philosophical differences that led to Pete being replaced. Not trying to downplay your point; yeah, they didn't live in the 'stay in school' society we have today, although I heard that Paul was very close to quitting the Beatles and going to work for his dad for a few pounds more per month had John not threatened to kill him.
I always thought it was a shame that the Sgt. Pepper music never got to be performed live. Had John lived I bet it would've been at some point. But the performance was good. They had a guy play keyboard instruments for the later songs, but other than that, what you saw was what you got. Thankfully, no loud screaming. From the Sgt Pepper era they did The Sgt Pepper song, With a little help from my friends, When I'm 64, A day in the life, the Sgt Pepper song reprise, Penny Lane, Birthday, Something, Here comes the sun, and The End.
Lousie Harrison kept referring to George as her kid brother. If George were alive he's be 64 and she looked like she could have been 70. I don't know how old she is. She got into the US because her husband was a specialist in the mining industry. They were legal aliens. It was just a treat to have her share stuff.
I may be a guy, but the Beatles made a huge impression on me. I was 9 when they arrived and I liked pop music already. My older sister would bring me in her bedroom when I was 5 and she was 17 and she'd let me stand on top of her feet and dance with her. Then in Nov of '63 Kennedy got killed and not quite 5 weeks later on Christmas day the gloomy atmosphere caused by the assassination hadn't yet gone away. Then not quite 7 weeks after that came the beatles.
I hadn't heard of them before. When people started talking about them my initial response was cynicism. Beatles? What? A bunch of bugs? Big deal. But the first time I heard I wanna hold your hand I really liked it. Not much later I wanted to buy and hear anything they did. NOW the gloomy atmosphere was gone.
I remember seeing the movie A hard day's night in the theatre and girls were screaming. I didn't get high until 1970 but knowing the Beatles had done it was definitely influential in my decision to do it. I spent 13 hours in a bus station that year in Sheridan, WYO and was literally shocked that some of those people condemned the Beatles. "That's not MUSIC!!!" Those same people thought MLK was a commie and should have been picked off years ago, but my long term memory cuts off sharply before Feb of 1964. That's how much I was into the Beatles.
Then TWI made us read 'The Marxist Minstrels' which does the same to the Beatles that Dr. John Jeudes does to VPW. That book even accused the Beatles of rape IIRC. I bought it, too. When Lennon got killed I was now the one who shocked people by saying, "yeah serves his punk a$$ right". Not everybody from TWI was like that but all the emotional bonding I'd done with the Beatles was gone by then.
But in the coming years it all boiled down to...hey, I still like Beatles music in my heart of hearts or whatever. It also seems like they weren't as quick to use their celebrity to advance causes as SOME rock stars. I don't have the emotional bond anymore, but I can sure enjoy their music.
My husband and I both learned something about the Beatles yesterday at the Body Worlds 2 exhibit in San Jose, CA. When the Beatles started performing together, John & Ringo were only 18 years old. Paul was 16, and George was a tender 15. Imagine if Paul and Georges folks had forbid them to "waste their time playing their guitars all the time" in favor of concentrating on their studies.....
Actually John's aunt did discourage John. Little did she know..........
"John...John...John Winston Lennon!," John's aunt Mimi yelled up from the bottom of the stairs. John was upstairs in his bedroom struggling to learn to play his first guitar. "John, come down...your friend Pete is here." As John came running down the stairs with guitar in hand, Aunt Mimi reminded him "The guitar is alright John, but you'll never earn a living at it!"
They will always and forever be known and remembered for being amazingly talented and diverse! Their music is timeless. It is always difficult to say "this my favorite Bealtle song"; There are to many favorites to choose from. Well this is one of mine! All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
I think it was 'Rubber Soul' (among alot of other things) that inspired 'Pet Sounds'. And it was 'Pet Sounds' that helped spark 'Sgt Peppers'. Paul has stated that he considers 'God Only Knows' from Pet Sounds to be the greatest song ever. That maybe saying too much, but there have times when I see what he means.
Thanks Rainbow-'All you Need is Love" and "I'll Follow the Sun" make any 'Top 10 (or 20) list of my favorite Beatle songs.
I like a lot of Paul's bass lines. He got stuck playing bass because John and George refused, yet he was good. The bass line in the verses of Lucy in the sky with diamonds is cool; it kinda sneaks through the music.
For You ((((Johniam)))))!The Beatles - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds I see that it is (((((Jeaniam's Birthday))))))) tommorrow...start planning her Wonderful Day!
My 14 year old son, Andrew got all hooked on the Beatles last year and his enthusiasm has yet to wane. I very recently acquired a Chevy Blazer with a really high end CD player Gorilla glued into the dash, and it's never a matter of who we're going to listen to, but which album...has has ALL of them.
I've always enjoyed the Beatles with their curvey melody lines, their innovative lyrics, chord changes and their diverse musical sounds, but there are only so many times one can listen to the same stuff over and over for a 45 year period before it starts to become monotonous.
I sure wish somebody would discover some tapes of material never before released....*sigh*.
I have to admit, though...back in '67...or maybe '68, I was in college and working in a photo studio and hung with a very artsy crowd, so when Sgt. Pepper's came out, I was among the first to get one the day they were first released in the record stores. My buddies and I listened to it CONSTANTLY, dissecting each note and lyric with Wierwillian zeal and attention to detail...until Magical Mystery Tour was released, which got the same treatment. When Andrew plays it today, I still enjoy it as much as I did then.
Since we're only about 80 miles from Branson, I'm taking him to that show as now that I read more about it here, I think it's something we'll both enjoy.
I bet you'll both enjoy it Ron! ...and it gives me an excuse to maybe head up that way as well... a nice little drive through the Ozarks might be in the not too distant future....
I listen to my Beatles stuff in spurts... I think that's how I keep from ever getting tired of them... that new "Love" CD with all of the re-mixing and re-mastering of their stuff that was done by George Martin and his son is in my car player and on my ipod... if you haven't got it and you love their music, it's a must... when I first listened to it for some reason it really 'took me back' and then when I listened to the version of 'Strawberry Fields' that's on there for some reason I really got all misty thinking about John and how I wished he hadn't been slain... anyway... the 'new versions' that are on there are really nice...
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nolongerlurking
My husband and I both learned something about the Beatles yesterday at the Body Worlds 2 exhibit in San Jose, CA. When the Beatles started performing together, John & Ringo were only 18 years old. Paul was 16, and George was a tender 15. Imagine if Paul and Georges folks had forbid them to "waste their time playing their guitars all the time" in favor of concentrating on their studies.....
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hiway29
Those Beatle concerts WERE 30 minutes long, though they first got 'good' by playing all night sessions in German clubs. It was the Brian Epstein managed 'fab 4', that put on those structured concerts with the lapel-less suits.
And yes, they couldn't be heard above the screaming girls. It became a thing they couldn't escape, as every teen must have felt it her duty to scream through the whole concert.
They quit touring in '66. and did not perform in the Sgt Pepper costumes.They did have that famous last impromptu concert on the roof of Apple Studios , not long before they broke up, which would have been at the 'Abbey Road' time.
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Eyesopen
That's pretty cool. I was never a big Beatles fan but they were quite the phenomenon werent they?
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johniam
Ringo didn't join them until '62 I think; Pete best was the original drummer. His mom owned the Cavern Club, where they had steady gigs, but there were philosophical differences that led to Pete being replaced. Not trying to downplay your point; yeah, they didn't live in the 'stay in school' society we have today, although I heard that Paul was very close to quitting the Beatles and going to work for his dad for a few pounds more per month had John not threatened to kill him.
I always thought it was a shame that the Sgt. Pepper music never got to be performed live. Had John lived I bet it would've been at some point. But the performance was good. They had a guy play keyboard instruments for the later songs, but other than that, what you saw was what you got. Thankfully, no loud screaming. From the Sgt Pepper era they did The Sgt Pepper song, With a little help from my friends, When I'm 64, A day in the life, the Sgt Pepper song reprise, Penny Lane, Birthday, Something, Here comes the sun, and The End.
Lousie Harrison kept referring to George as her kid brother. If George were alive he's be 64 and she looked like she could have been 70. I don't know how old she is. She got into the US because her husband was a specialist in the mining industry. They were legal aliens. It was just a treat to have her share stuff.
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johniam
I may be a guy, but the Beatles made a huge impression on me. I was 9 when they arrived and I liked pop music already. My older sister would bring me in her bedroom when I was 5 and she was 17 and she'd let me stand on top of her feet and dance with her. Then in Nov of '63 Kennedy got killed and not quite 5 weeks later on Christmas day the gloomy atmosphere caused by the assassination hadn't yet gone away. Then not quite 7 weeks after that came the beatles.
I hadn't heard of them before. When people started talking about them my initial response was cynicism. Beatles? What? A bunch of bugs? Big deal. But the first time I heard I wanna hold your hand I really liked it. Not much later I wanted to buy and hear anything they did. NOW the gloomy atmosphere was gone.
I remember seeing the movie A hard day's night in the theatre and girls were screaming. I didn't get high until 1970 but knowing the Beatles had done it was definitely influential in my decision to do it. I spent 13 hours in a bus station that year in Sheridan, WYO and was literally shocked that some of those people condemned the Beatles. "That's not MUSIC!!!" Those same people thought MLK was a commie and should have been picked off years ago, but my long term memory cuts off sharply before Feb of 1964. That's how much I was into the Beatles.
Then TWI made us read 'The Marxist Minstrels' which does the same to the Beatles that Dr. John Jeudes does to VPW. That book even accused the Beatles of rape IIRC. I bought it, too. When Lennon got killed I was now the one who shocked people by saying, "yeah serves his punk a$$ right". Not everybody from TWI was like that but all the emotional bonding I'd done with the Beatles was gone by then.
But in the coming years it all boiled down to...hey, I still like Beatles music in my heart of hearts or whatever. It also seems like they weren't as quick to use their celebrity to advance causes as SOME rock stars. I don't have the emotional bond anymore, but I can sure enjoy their music.
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ex70sHouston
I like the early Beatles music.
The later stuff just turns me off. When I hear them sing Chrisna I turn the channel fast.
I got an XM radio for Christmas last year and have started listing to the old Hippi stuff. Dear OLD Hank doesn't get played near as much.
Crazy thing is I don't remember all the drug stuff in the music as I do today. Was I deaf or just plain dumb? Be kind on your answeres.
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waysider
I was in the 8th grade when they hit the scene.
There was a record store about 3 miles away that had those little booths where you could listen to music before you bought it.
Three or four of us make the trek there, on foot, in the snow, one evening to hear this new sensation.
When we got there, the store was already closed.
They had a big promotional display in the front window, complete with "Beatle Boots".
They actually revolutionized the music industry in two distinct ways.
First, they wrote their own music(after they became established) which was not typical at that time.
Second, they released entire LP's rather than 45's(Though they also released 45's as well.)
Those two things had a very profound influence on how the industry developed.
Ed Sullivan began to feature up and coming artists on his Sunday night show.
The Dave Clarke Five were their biggest "rivals".
When The Stones played The Sullivan Show, they had to change the words to Let's Spend The Night Together to Let's Spend Some Time Together. HaHaHaHa!
The Doors were told they had to rework lyrics, also.
Morrison told Sullivan to "stick it".
They refused to perform. It didn't hurt them in the least.
Best Fab 4 album?----- Rubber Soul---hands down!!
IMO
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Tom Strange
Love 'Rubber Soul'... but then there's not really a Beatles album I don't like.
It was 'Rubber Soul' that inspired/drove Brian Wilson on 'Pet Sounds' wasn't it?
Or was it the other way around?
I know that McCartney has said many times that a lot of the stuff he and John did was inspired by/in answer to something that Brian Wilson had done.
And visa versa.
Anyway... love the Bee-at-lees.. always have been a Beatles guy...
When I talk to the young people about them and their influence they can't believe that all of that happened within about a 5 year window.
It will never happen again.
We were lucky.
And now our 'conversation' has inspired the ad at the top of the page to be "Across the Universe" (the film)!!
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polar bear
A few years back my teenage son who was about 15 or so came up to me all excited and asked if I had ever heard of the beatles. What a laugh.
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WhiteDove
Actually John's aunt did discourage John. Little did she know..........
"John...John...John Winston Lennon!," John's aunt Mimi yelled up from the bottom of the stairs. John was upstairs in his bedroom struggling to learn to play his first guitar. "John, come down...your friend Pete is here." As John came running down the stairs with guitar in hand, Aunt Mimi reminded him "The guitar is alright John, but you'll never earn a living at it!"
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RainbowsGirl
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RainbowsGirl
Another Favorite of mine: The Beatles - I'll Follow the sunThey hit every media profoundly...even cartoons!
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hiway29
I think it was 'Rubber Soul' (among alot of other things) that inspired 'Pet Sounds'. And it was 'Pet Sounds' that helped spark 'Sgt Peppers'. Paul has stated that he considers 'God Only Knows' from Pet Sounds to be the greatest song ever. That maybe saying too much, but there have times when I see what he means.
Thanks Rainbow-'All you Need is Love" and "I'll Follow the Sun" make any 'Top 10 (or 20) list of my favorite Beatle songs.
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johniam
I like a lot of Paul's bass lines. He got stuck playing bass because John and George refused, yet he was good. The bass line in the verses of Lucy in the sky with diamonds is cool; it kinda sneaks through the music.
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RainbowsGirl
For You ((((Johniam)))))!The Beatles - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
I see that it is (((((Jeaniam's Birthday))))))) tommorrow...start planning her Wonderful Day!
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Ron G.
My 14 year old son, Andrew got all hooked on the Beatles last year and his enthusiasm has yet to wane. I very recently acquired a Chevy Blazer with a really high end CD player Gorilla glued into the dash, and it's never a matter of who we're going to listen to, but which album...has has ALL of them.
I've always enjoyed the Beatles with their curvey melody lines, their innovative lyrics, chord changes and their diverse musical sounds, but there are only so many times one can listen to the same stuff over and over for a 45 year period before it starts to become monotonous.
I sure wish somebody would discover some tapes of material never before released....*sigh*.
I have to admit, though...back in '67...or maybe '68, I was in college and working in a photo studio and hung with a very artsy crowd, so when Sgt. Pepper's came out, I was among the first to get one the day they were first released in the record stores. My buddies and I listened to it CONSTANTLY, dissecting each note and lyric with Wierwillian zeal and attention to detail...until Magical Mystery Tour was released, which got the same treatment. When Andrew plays it today, I still enjoy it as much as I did then.
Since we're only about 80 miles from Branson, I'm taking him to that show as now that I read more about it here, I think it's something we'll both enjoy.
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Tom Strange
I bet you'll both enjoy it Ron! ...and it gives me an excuse to maybe head up that way as well... a nice little drive through the Ozarks might be in the not too distant future....
I listen to my Beatles stuff in spurts... I think that's how I keep from ever getting tired of them... that new "Love" CD with all of the re-mixing and re-mastering of their stuff that was done by George Martin and his son is in my car player and on my ipod... if you haven't got it and you love their music, it's a must... when I first listened to it for some reason it really 'took me back' and then when I listened to the version of 'Strawberry Fields' that's on there for some reason I really got all misty thinking about John and how I wished he hadn't been slain... anyway... the 'new versions' that are on there are really nice...
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hiway29
I agree, Tom. I usually cringe at re-mixings and such, but that 'Love' cd really works, though certainly not taking the place of the originals.
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