Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
16 Dec 2016 Leave a comment
in Did You Ever Realize, General Posts Tags: chuck berry, come together, the beatles, you can't catch me
18 May 2016 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: george martin, the beatles
(via The New York Times Music)
March 9, 2016
When we hear a great recording, we tend to think of the music as having sprung fully developed from the imagination of the musician or band that cut the tracks. But that ignores the role of the producer, who translates the musician’s vision into the sound we experience.
The contributions that George Martin, who died Tuesday at 90, made to the Beatles’ recorded catalog were crucial, and although he was the first to say that most of the credit belongs to the band, many of the group’s greatest songs owe their sound and character to his inspired behind-the-scenes work. Here are a few of his most telling musical fingerprints:
15 Apr 2016 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: the beatles, the white album
(via mental_floss) by Roger Cormier
“The White Album”—its official title is the decidedly simple The Beatles—was released on November 22, 1968 to an eager audience. Released almost 18 months after the seminal Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, the 30-song collection captured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr indulging in a variety of musical styles. While the songwriting was evolving, and most of the songs were composed while attending a Transcendental Meditation course, the relationships between the four continued to dissolve during the recording; The Beatles officially broke up in April 1970. Here are some facts about one of the most polarizing, enigmatic records ever made.
Mike Love was a fellow attendee of the Maharishi’s course in Rishikesh, India. He recalled McCartney and his acoustic guitar at breakfast one morning playing what would become the first song on the ‘White Album.” Love suggested putting something in the song about “all the girls around Russia.” McCartney listened.
Starr never felt like more of an outsider within the band than during the recording of the album, and told his bandmates so. He borrowed actor Peter Sellers’ yacht and went to Sardinia. Because he wasn’t around, McCartney played the drums on “Back In The USSR” and “Dear Prudence.” Eventually the group sent him a telegram that said he was the best rock ‘n’ roll drummer in the world, that they all loved him, and asked if he would please return. When he came back, he was greeted with the words “Welcome Back, Ringo” spelled out in flowers on his drum kit.
Read more: http://mentalfloss.com/article/71221/17-colorful-facts-about-beatles-white-album
12 Mar 2016 1 Comment
in General Posts Tags: george martin, the beatles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MnuNvzyfI4
(via CultureSonar)
It was a slow song, in the style of a plaintive Roy Orbison ballad. The band started to record it; but the producer wasn’t feeling it. He advised the band to pick up the tempo, and to add a hooky instrumental bit at the beginning.
Fortunately, the band listened to the grownup in the room.
John Lennon grabbed his harmonica. Ringo kicked up the tempo. “Please Please Me,” The Beatles’ first #1 single (in the UK) was born – and a bond between the band and George Martin was forged.
What would have happened if the lads insisted on doing it their way?
Read more: http://culturesonar.com/10-hours-that-changed-everything/
04 Jan 2016 2 Comments
in General Posts Tags: michael jackson, paul mccartney, the beatles
via Celebrity Net Worth
by Brian Warner
In 1982 Michael Jackson flew to England to record the song “Say, Say, Say” with former Beatle Paul McCartney at the famous Abbey Road studio. This was the second musical collaboration between Paul and Michael, the first being 1981’s “The Girl is Mine” which was featured on Jackson’s smash hit album “Thriller”. While working on “Say, Say, Say”, Paul invited Michael to stay with him and his wife Linda at their home in suburban London. One fateful night, after the three finished dinner, Paul took out a thick leather bookl and laid it out on the dining room table. This particular book listed every song and publishing right that Paul had acquired over the last 10 years. He made it clear to Michael that owning publishing rights was the only way to make really big money in the music industry. Paul further bragged that in the last year alone, he had earned approximately $40 million off his music catalogue.
“Every time someone records one of these songs, I get paid. Every time someone plays these songs on the radio, or in live performances, I get paid.”
Paul also clarified that none of those earnings came from Beatles songs because amazingly, he did not own them. Ironically, this free advice would come back to bite Paul in the butt two years later when Michael purchased the entire Beatles catalogue for $47.5 million. Paul felt appropriately back stabbed and his relationship with Michael was damaged forever. But how on earth did Paul McCartney and John Lennon lose ownership of The Beatles catalogue in the first place??!!
Every Moment Has A Song 