Tag Archives: the Beatles

Music Monday: March 25, 2024

Posted in Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Blog image for 2024

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Lately I have been drowning myself in John Lennon’s songs from his years with The Beatles. With each album he became more and more eloquent about what was on his mind. And it was deep, beautiful & thought-provoking. Sometimes I think today’s pick from The White Album does not get enough recognition for being the exceptional track it is. And the message it sends is an uplifting one delivered in Lennon’s succinct yet effective manner. What a way to make the listener feel nothing but love and acceptance. Thank you, John.

“The sun is up
The sky is blue
It’s beautiful
And so are you“.

Version 1.0.0

The Fab Four’s extra gift to fans who bought The White Album-individual pictures of the band (L-R): George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Beatles: “Dear Prudence” (1968, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: February 26, 2024

Posted in Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Blog image for 2024

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Yesterday marked the 81st birth anniversary of my favorite Beatle. George Harrison was born February 25, 1943 in Liverpool, England. He was the youngest member of the Fab Four but carried a great deal of melody in his hands as their lead guitarist. The fame & wealth he found with the band did not satisfy his spiritual side, however, so he went searching. That lead him to Hinduism which helped him discover the sitar. That sound is featured on the 1965’s “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” and 1967’s “Within You Without You”.

I am featuring two songs today, both of George’s contributions to 1969’s Abbey Road. The first one is my favorite Beatles song of all time and the second is in honor of the fact that on this winter’s day here in New England, it was a very sunny 55 degrees. I may be jinxing myself by looking forward to the next season when we still have the entire month of March to go before the current one is officially over. My grandmother always cautioned such optimism as next month usually “comes in like a lion”. Whether that happens this year or not, “I say, it’s alright”.

Thank you, George. We miss you. Every. Single. Second.

George Harrison circa 1969

George Harrison in the studio circa 1969. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Beatles: “Something” (1969, written by George Harrison).

The Beatles: “Here Comes The Sun” (1969, written by George Harrison).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: February 5, 2024

Posted in Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Blog image for 2024

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

This week marks 60 glorious years of The Beatles taking America by storm. The band from Liverpool released two albums in the UK in 1963-Please Please Me in March and With The Beatles in November. Building on that momentum, the group then released two records in the United States, Introducing… The Beatles and Meet The Beatles, within two weeks of each other in January 1964. That helped add to the excitement and anticipation of the band’s first trip to America which brought them to New York’s JFK Airport on February 7, 1964.

The-Beatles-Feb 7 1964
The Beatles 2

Top: The Beatles at JFK Airport on February 7, 1964. Bottom: Their first press conference later that day. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Two days later, February 9, 1964, The Fab Four appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” for the first time where they performed a total of five songs to 73 million fans and their parents watching at home. About four seconds into the first track, the world changed into a new color known as John, Paul, George and Ringo. It was-and remains-an extraordinarily beautiful hue.

The band made a total of three appearances on Sullivan’s show that month, but that first show 60 years ago signified the pop culture phenomenon known as Beatlemania. They took the country from the darkness of the Kennedy assassination less than three months earlier and catapulted it into a musical and cultural movement known as The British Invasion.  

Beatles Ed Sullivan 1
Beatles Ed Sullivan 2

Top and bottom: The Beatles first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on Sunday, February 9, 1964. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The band changed our lives, their lives and history during an incredible ride that ended when they broke up in April 1970. But for 6 magical years, we watched those four men teach us all the power of love, music, life and peace. And their songs continue that legacy today. 

Let’s relive the magic of February 9, 1964 with the five songs the Beatles performed that night:

The Beatles: ”All My Loving” (1963, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney). 

The Beatles: ”Till There Was You” (1963, written by Meredith Wilson).

The Beatles: ”She Loves You” (1963, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).

The Beatles: ”I Saw Her Standing There” (1963, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).

The Beatles: ”I Want To Hold Your Hand” (Performed live on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on Sunday, February 9, 1964. Recorded in 1963, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: November 27, 2023

Posted in Music, Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another triple edition (plus a bonus track) of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Note: This will be the final Music Monday for 2023. Starting December 1st, the Christmas Countdown begins and will end on the last Monday of the year, which is Christmas Day. I would love to hear about some of your favorite holiday songs so please email me or comment below with your top choices. Music Mondays will resume on January 1, 2024. And now to the music.

Happy 60th anniversary to With The Beatles, the band’s second studio album. It was released on November 22, 1963 and included six cover songs. Today’s first feature was The Fab Four’s salute to Motown. I love that one of my favorite bands saluted one of my favorite genres (and theirs, too) with one of my favorite songs. The harmony between the group really shines through on this track.

Exactly five years later came the release of The Beatles, more commonly known by its nickname, The White Album. It was the band’s ninth studio album and the only double record of their career. It was also the first time the band had another famous musician join them in the studio. Eric Clapton played lead guitar on today’s second feature which is one of my all time favorites by George Harrison.

Nearly five years after that, Ringo Starr had the #1 song in the country. The tune hit the top spot on the chart on November 24, 1973 for one week, only two months after it was released. Co-written with his old Beatles chum Harrison, the track was the lead single from Starr’s third solo album-aptly titled Ringo-released the same month. It peaked at the #2 position on the Billboard album chart, but never hit the top spot because another chap from England-Elton John-was in that spot for the last eight weeks of that year with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Starr’s album went on to produce another #1 record two months later when the second single-his cover of “You’re Sixteen”-topped the charts for one week in January 1974. But it was the lead track that took a very sentimental turn for Starr who performed it in tribute to Harrison at “The Concert For George” in 2002. Harrison died 22 years ago on November 29, 2001. But thanks to some recordings he did in the 1990’s with Starr and McCartney together with a pre-recorded assist from Lennon, the world received an early Christmas gift: “the last Beatles song”. The track has a really sweet sentiment and the video takes us on a great walk down memory lane of the four lads from Liverpool we met on a Sunday night one February almost 60 years ago.

With The Beatles
White Album pics
Ringo George 1960 ish
Jeff Kravitz
Ringo

Picture 1: The Beatles’ 1963 album. Picture 2: The four pictures that came inside The White Album (L-R: George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney). Picture 3: Ringo and George in the early days of The Beatles era, circa 1963. Picture 4: George and Ringo circa 1990. Bottom: Ringo’s self-titled 1973 album. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

The Beatles: “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” (1963, written by William Robinson Jr.).

The Beatles: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (1968, written George Harrison).

Ringo Starr: “Photograph” (1973, written by George Harrison and Richard Starkey).

Bonus: The Beatles: “Now And Then” (2023, written by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Richard Starkey).

Stay safe and well.

Music Monday: Oct 9, 2023

Posted in Music, Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Today marks the 83rd birth anniversary for the intelligent and passionate man who was first introduced to the world as a Beatle. John Winston Ono Lennon was born October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. His love of music began young and by the time he was 15, he had formed The Quarrymen. That is how he met Paul McCartney and later, George Harrison.

Out of the ten albums Lennon released separately from The Beatles (an 11th album, Milk and Honey, was released posthumously in 1984), half were with Yoko Ono. But the album turning 50 this year is credited to him only.

It was recorded in the summer of 1973 at the famous Record Plant Studio (where Bruce Springsteen recorded Born To Run) in New York City, the place where Lennon made his home after leaving the United Kingdom. It was released in October 1973 and was his first time as the sole producer, having previously shared that role with Phil Spector. The album went to #9 & the title track went to #18 on the Billboard charts in December 1973. More importantly, the song had the line which became synonymous with one of Lennon’s basic views on life:

“Love is the answer and you know that for sure“.

Sending “limitless undying love” across the universe to the man who gave us so much and who took a big part of our hearts when he left over 40 years ago.

755083_7201426_3c458c-20181207-john-lennon-playing-guitar_updates
s-l500
john-lennon-studio-recording

Top: John Lennon during his Beatles days circa 1965. Middle: His 1973 album. Bottom: Lennon in the studio in 1980. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

John Lennon: “Mind Games” (1973, written by John Lennon).

Stay safe and well.

Music Monday: September 25, 2023

Posted in Music, Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another triple edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Three big songs (plus a bonus one) are celebrating milestones in 2023.

The first is from my favorite Beatle, George Harrison. It is from his fourth solo album, Living in the Material World, which was released 50 years ago in May 1973. The following month, the first single reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week. Both the song and album feature Gary Wright on organ. He had his own hits in the 1970’s with “Dream Weaver” (used spectacularly in the 1992 movie, “Wayne’s World”) and “Love Is Alive“. Both songs reached the #2 spot in the country in 1976. Wright died earlier this month on September 4, 2023 at the age of 80.

Bonus: 55 years ago on September 28, 1968 The Beatles had the #1 song in the country. The track stayed in that position for nine consecutive weeks. Name that tune!

George circa 1969
Beatles__Hey_Jude__promo_clip

Top: George Harrison circa 1969. Bottom: The Beatles perform on a TV show in 1968. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

In October 1973 Gladys Knight & the Pips released their 11th studio album, Imagination. One of the singles from it reached the #1 spot on 10/27/73 for two consecutive weeks. It was the group’s only top selling song but it quickly became their signature tune. It has stood the test of time, reaching iconic status and forever cemented in pop culture with shows like “Will & Grace (2001)“, “30 Rock (2008)” (which featured her majesty Gladys Knight herself appearing at the end of the song), “House (2010)” and “Modern Family (2013)” having characters perform the exemplary track.

Gladys

Gladys Knight & The Pips in the 1970’s (L-R): Edward Patten, Merald “Bubba” Knight, Gladys Knight and William Guest. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

In August 1978, Boston followed up their massive record breaking debut album (it spent a whopping 138 weeks on Billboard’s 200 chart) with their second studio release. It may not have been as successful as their first but the follow up did go on to sell over seven million copies. The record’s title track peaked at #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 on October 4, 1978 while the album reached the #1 spot in the country for two weeks a month earlier, a feat the first album did not achieve (it peaked at #4 in December 1976). Back in the day and now 45 years later, it is clear Boston avoided the “sophomore slump”.

Boston_1977

Boston circa 1977 (L-R): Barry Goudreau, Tom Scholz, John Thomas “Sib” Hashian, Brad Delp and Fran Sheehan (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

George Harrison: “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” (1973, written by George Harrison).

Bonus: The Beatles: “Hey Jude” (As performed on David Frost’s “Frost On Sunday” show in September 1968. Released the same year, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).

Gladys Knight & The Pips: “Midnight Train To Georgia” (1973, written by Jim Weatherly).

Boston: “Don’t Look Back” (1978, written by Tom Scholz).

Stay safe and well.

Music Monday: April 10, 2023

Posted in Music, Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Today marks a very dark event in music history. On this day 53 years ago-April 10, 1970-The Beatles broke up. Their popularity detonated like a bomb only six years earlier when they reenvisioned Sunday nights with their first appearance “The Ed Sullivan Show“. The country was still reeling from President John F. Kennedy’s assasination less than three months earlier. The Fab Four propelled not only America but the world forward with their sound, sparking a musical revolution and a British Invasion while redefining music for the rest of our lives.

The turbulence of the 1960’s and the band’s enormous life altering fame turned a group of four young souls into four grown men who got married, became fathers and went searching for more. They experimented with drugs, different cultures and ancient mysticism while longing for peace from the war in Asia and the one in America over civil rights.

Each album by The Beatles was a testament to their experiences, their growth & all that was happening around them. From Rubber Soul to Revolver to Sgt. Peppers to The White Album to Abbey Road to Let It Be, the group was a force that could not be denied. And the most common themes of love and peace in their songs ( “Love Is All You Need“, “Come Together“, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make“) are even more powerful and sought after now as they were over five decades ago.

Thank you John, Paul, George and Ringo. You gave us so much. But we owe you even more.

“I look at the world
And I notice it’s turning
While my guitar gently weeps

With every mistake
We must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps“.

Beatles 1964

Beatles Hey Jude photo shoot

Top: The Beatles in 1964. Bottom: The Beatles in 1969. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Beatles: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (1968, written by George Harrison).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: March 13, 2023

Posted in Music, Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

James Vernon Taylor turned 75 yesterday. Born March 12, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts he was one of the first artists signed to The Beatles label, Apple Records. He recorded his self-titled debut album in London in 1968 but it was his second album released in 1970, Sweet Baby James, that would put him on the map. He followed that up with Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, which contained the 1971 #1 hit written by Carol King, “You’ve Got A Friend”.

Five decades later, Taylor remains a beloved upper statesman in music after his reign as one of the first definitive singer-songwriters of the 1970’s. His list of honors and awards are vast and his songs have been beloved by multiple generations and audiences for over 50 years.

Happy birthday, JT.

“Now the first of December was covered with snow
So was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston
Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frostin’
With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go”.

JT 1970

James Taylor circa 1970 (top) and in 2022 (bottom). (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

James Taylor: “Sweet Baby James” (1970, written by James Taylor).

Stay safe and well.

Music Monday: February 27, 2023

Posted in Music, Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Saturday marked the 80th birth anniversary for George Harrison. The Quiet Beatle was born born February 25, 1943 in the London city he & his fellow Beatles would make famous, Liverpool. He was the first from the group to have a solo #1 song (“My Sweet Lord” in December 1970-January 1971) and the first artist to host a benefit concert to raise money & bring awareness to a cause he believed in (The Concert For Bangladesh held on August 1, 1971). And as if his years with The Beatles and his solo work were not enough, in 1988 he became a Traveling Wilbury with four other musical superstars: Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.

The year 2001 was already horrible due to 9/11, but unimaginably it became even worse two months later when we lost Harrison to cancer at age 58 on November 29, 2001. It was a terrible blow to music and to me personally as George was always my favorite Beatle. His song, “Something”, is my favorite by the band despite the preponderance of Lennon and McCartney tunes.

Today’s track is the one that started my own music collection. It was released 50 years ago in May 1973 and it was the first single-yes, a 45-I ever bought for myself. It was Harrison’s second #1 single, hitting the top spot for one week on June 30, 1973. It also dethroned Paul McCartney & Wings’s song, “My Love” from the #1 spot after four conseciutive weeks.

Happy birthday, George. You are missed. Every. Single. Day.

“Give me hope
Help me cope with this heavy load
Trying to touch and reach you with
Heart and soul“.

Beatles Mag Mystery Tour era

George 1970

Traveling Wilburys

Top: The Beatles circa 1967 (L-R: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon). Middle: Harrison circa 1970. Bottom: The Traveling Wilburys circa 1988 (L-R: Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Harrison and Tom Petty). (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

George Harrison: “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” (1973, written by George Harrison).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: February 6, 2023

Posted in Music, Music Monday by

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

February 7, 1964: The Beatles arrive in America for the first time. It changes their world.

February 9, 1964: The group appears on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. It changes our world.

January 30, 1969: The band holds an impromptu concert on the roof of Apple studios.

April 10, 1970: The Fab Four officially break up.

The six years between the first and last date might as well have been 60 years. In basically half a decade, The Beatles changed everything: music, culture, history, their own lives-past, present & future-and the lives of those around them. Thank you John, Paul, George & Ringo, for everything.

Beatles 1964

Beatles Hey Jude photo shoot

Top: The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on February 9, 1964. Bottom: The Beatles in 1969. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Beatles: “I Saw Her Standing There” (1963, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).

Stay safe & well.