Showing posts with label Beatles news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beatles news. Show all posts

Monday, January 26, 2009

Beatles News: McCartney and Nancy Shevell: Thumbs Up on Marriage

A brand new Beatles fact is that Sir Paul McCartney is planning on marrying forty-nine-year-old Nancy Shevell, although no date has been set. Macca and Shevell are now free to marry since Shevell's divorce to millionaire Bruce Blakeman is now finalized. McCartney's children, who objected to their father's union with Heather Mills (especially daughter Stella McCartney), are said to be comfortable with their father's choice.

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Saturday, January 24, 2009

Beatles News: McCartney to Appear on New Cat Stevens CD

Paul McCartney will appear on a forthcoming Cat Stevens album. The track is called "Boots and Sand." Stevens, who now performs under the name of Yusef, has not issued an album of non-religious music in approximately 30 years. The interesting Beatles fact in this story is that the collaboration was allegedly inspired by post 9/11 events, including the time when Stevens was barred from entering the United States because of his religious affiliation.

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Beatles News: Dhani Harrison to Perform in Los Angeles

Dhani Harrison's band, thenewno2, will perform at The Key Club in Los Angeles on February 11, 2009. Harrison and fellow band member Oliver Hecks released the album You Are Here in 2008, which may downloaded from iTunes. A little-known Beatle fact is that the name of Harrison's band derives from a 1960's British TV series called The Prisoner, in which former British secret agents are imprisoned on an island and given numbers. In one episode, there was a "new number two."

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Thursday, January 8, 2009

Beatles News

The Beatles were a dynamic band, and anniversaries of various events in the lives and careers of the Beatles, solo and as a band, continue to make news on TV, radio, in newspapers, and on the Internet.  From television appearances, interviews, and concert tours, the Beatles are still making news.

The Beatles are considered to be the greatest rock band of all time by fans, professional musicians, and celebrities.  The work of the Beatles has influenced most major recording artists since the 1960s, as well as overall trends in music since they appeared as a driving force in rock and roll in 1963. Their music and legacy have also influenced society and popular culture for several decades and will probably continue to do so.  Indeed, it is hard to find a television documentary about the 1960s that does not place the Beatles at the heart of the dynamic changes of that decade.  For these reasons, news surrounding the Beatles has been, and will continue to be, relevant to the billions of people to whom the Beatles meant so much.

The following sites are two of the best for gathering late-breaking news about the Beatles or individual band members. More will be added as sites are reviewed. BeatlesFacts.org also offers regular Beatles news as it becomes available, and links to BeatlesFacts.org news articles may be accessed below the first two links.

Beatles News
I Read the News Today

BEATLES NEWS

January 2, 2009: Apple Corps vs. Apple Computers
January 3, 2009: Olympic Studios to Close in London
January 4, 2009: Michael Jackson Leaves Lennon-McCartney Song Catalog to Macca in His Will
January 14, 2009: McCartney to Appear on The View and Howard Stern on January 14, 2009
January 14, 2009: Cheap Trick to Perform Sgt. Pepper's at Las Vegas Hilton
January 15, 2009: McCartney's Appearances on The View and Howard Stern
January 18, 2009: McCartney into Hope and Obama
January 20, 2009: Forthcoming Movie on Lennon Based on Book by his Half-sister
January 20, 2009: Celebration of the Beatles in Cleveland
January 21, 2009: Things Are "Getting Better" on Inauguration Day
January 22, 2009: BREAKFAST WITH THE BEATLES Now on Facebook
January 22, 2009: Ringo Announces Photo Contest Winner
January 22, 2009: McCartney to Perform at Benefit Concert on April 4, 2009
January 24, 2009: Dhani Harrison to Perform in Los Angeles
January 24, 2009: McCartney to Appear on Cat Stevens New CD
January 26, 2009: McCartney and Nancy Shevell: Thumbs Up on Marriage
January 26, 2009: McCartney to Perform at Grammy Awards
January 26, 2009: A Tribute to George Harrison by Cat Stevens and Klaus Voorman
January 26, 2009: Rooftop Tribute Concert Cancelled
January 27, 2009: James McCartney Planning to Record Album
January 28, 2009: McCartney to Appear on Colbert Report
January 29, 2009: Sean and Julian Lennon to Perform Together
January 30, 2009: Julian Lennon Denies Performance Rumor
January 31, 2009: No 2009 Tour For McCartney
February 2, 2009: Stella McCartney Designing for Charity
February 2, 2009: 3 Saville Row to Be Sold
February 5, 2009: YOU ARE HERE Realesed as a CD
February 6, 2009: Paul McCartney Fireman Radio Channel
February 7, 2009: Breakfast with the Beatles to Celebrate Beatles on Ed Sullivan
February 7, 2009: McCartney and Starr Nominated for Grammys
February 7, 2009: Lennon Historical Fiction Trilogy
February 10, 2009: Paris Hilton Askes Paul McCartney for a Duet
February 11, 2009: Hotel Room Becomes a Shrine
February 14, 2009: McCartney to Headline Hard Rock in Vegas
July 10, 2014: Paul McCartney's Out There Tour, 2013-2014

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Monday, January 5, 2009

The Lost Chord of "A Hard Day's Night": Different Theories


There has been an ongoing debate for many years as to the name of the "lost" chord used to open "A Hard Day's Night." Recently, Professor Jason Brown of Dalhousie University advanced the theory that the "secret sauce {of the note] includes five piano notes apparently played by producer George Martin." Well, maybe.

For years, George Martin, a classically trained musician, claimed he had no idea what the note might be. He is indeed credited with playing the piano on the track (and also played an electric organ since George could not play the lead interlude fast enough), but even if there is a "piano backing" to the note, the electric guitar clearly carries the day and is most prominent in the overall sound effect.

I have believed for years that the mystery is easily solved. The note appears to be a D7 suspended. A D7 is made, but the third finger on the first string (high E) slides from the second fret to the third, creating a very mild dissonance. Played on an electric guitar, it sounds exactly like the opening note for the song (especially if one takes into account that George would have played it on his Rickenbacker 360 12-string).

The song was recorded on April 16, 1964 at Abbey Road and released as a single in the UK and USA on July 10 and July 13, 1964 respectively. Film director Richard Lester insisted to Lennon that they use another "Ringo-ism" as the title for the movie and the song, a malapropism (a hard day's night") that Lennon had already used in his book In His Own Write. Lennon agreed and delivered the song the following day. He said Paul only sang on some parts because he (Lennon) couldn't reach the notes.

Pic: Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0

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Sunday, January 4, 2009

Michael Jackson Leaves Lennon-McCartney Song Catalog to Macca in His Will

One of Paul's biggest regrets is that he let Michael Jackson outbid him in 1985 for the rights to Lennon-McCartney songs. The other Beatles were not happy either since the songs were licensed to various businesses (eg., "Revolution" was used by a shoe company in a TV commercial.) British news sources say that Jackson has left the entire Lennon-McCartney songbook to Macca in his will. Will that satisfy Macca and Beatles fans? It's anyone's guess. Jackson may be with us for many years to come, although there are numerous reports that the pop singer is in poor health.

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Saturday, January 3, 2009

Olympic Studios to Close in London

London's Olympic Studios was the site where the Beatles recorded "All You Need Is Love" and "Baby You're a Rich man." The recording facility is scheduled for closure in 2009. The owner, EMI, said that the studios were no longer profitable and that the company would rather forcus its money and energy on Abbey Road Studios.

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January 3, 1964: "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand"

On January 3rd, Jack Paar showed a performance of "She Love You," originally performed at Bournemouth, England in November, 1963, on The Jack Paar Show. This was technically the first time American audiences could see the Beatles on American TV, although Paar's show aired late at night.

That same day, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" reached the number one spot on Australian music charts.

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