"It's simply a children's song with no hidden meanings. Many people have interpreted it to be a war song, that eventually all the world would be living in yellow submarines. That's not the case."
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
"Don't Bother Me"
"Don't Bother Me" is the first song written by George Harrison to appear on an album by The Beatles. It originally appeared on the group's With the Beatles album in the UK, released in 1963, and on their Meet the Beatles! album in the U.S., released in 1964.
History
Harrison wrote the song while sick in bed at a hotel room in Bournemouth, England (where The Beatles were playing some shows during the summer of 1963). Harrison never regarded it highly, stating on one occasion, "'It was a fairly crappy song. I forgot all about it completely once it was on the album." He considered it an exercise in whether he could write a song, later saying, "At least it showed me that all I needed to do was keep on writing and then maybe eventually I would write something good." Harrison receives a writing credit for two earlier songs, "In Spite of All the Danger" (Paul McCartney/Harrison) and "Cry for a Shadow" (Harrison/John Lennon). Both were recorded by The Beatles but neither was released officially by the band until 1995's Anthology 1 compilation (see 1995 in music). Because the former was largely a McCartney composition (Harrison received a credit simply for playing the guitar solo) and the latter was an instrumental pastiche of The Shadows, "Don't Bother Me" is considered Harrison's first song by most (including the author himself).
The sullen mood and desolate lyrics--"So go away, leave me alone, don't bother me"--were unusual for The Beatles at the time but would become characteristic for Harrison. The song mostly stays in a minor key and achieves a thick sound through its double-tracked vocal, reverbed guitars, and busy drumming. The elaborate percussion lends the song a Latin rhythm accentuated by its stop-time structure.
"Don't Bother Me" is one of several songs featured in A Hard's Day's Night, during a scene where The Beatles dance at a nightclub while Paul's grandfather gambles elsewhere. At the end of the film, it is noted as a Lennon/McCartney composition rather than a Harrison composition.
Personnel
* George Harrison — lead guitar, vocal (double-tracked)
* John Lennon — rhythm guitar, tambourine
* Paul McCartney — bass, claves
* Ringo Starr — drums, bongos, loose skinned Arabian bongo
Album: With the Beatles
Released: 22 November 1963
Recorded: 11-12 September 1963
Genre: Rock and roll
Length: 2:29
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Harrison
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
History
Harrison wrote the song while sick in bed at a hotel room in Bournemouth, England (where The Beatles were playing some shows during the summer of 1963). Harrison never regarded it highly, stating on one occasion, "'It was a fairly crappy song. I forgot all about it completely once it was on the album." He considered it an exercise in whether he could write a song, later saying, "At least it showed me that all I needed to do was keep on writing and then maybe eventually I would write something good." Harrison receives a writing credit for two earlier songs, "In Spite of All the Danger" (Paul McCartney/Harrison) and "Cry for a Shadow" (Harrison/John Lennon). Both were recorded by The Beatles but neither was released officially by the band until 1995's Anthology 1 compilation (see 1995 in music). Because the former was largely a McCartney composition (Harrison received a credit simply for playing the guitar solo) and the latter was an instrumental pastiche of The Shadows, "Don't Bother Me" is considered Harrison's first song by most (including the author himself).
The sullen mood and desolate lyrics--"So go away, leave me alone, don't bother me"--were unusual for The Beatles at the time but would become characteristic for Harrison. The song mostly stays in a minor key and achieves a thick sound through its double-tracked vocal, reverbed guitars, and busy drumming. The elaborate percussion lends the song a Latin rhythm accentuated by its stop-time structure.
"Don't Bother Me" is one of several songs featured in A Hard's Day's Night, during a scene where The Beatles dance at a nightclub while Paul's grandfather gambles elsewhere. At the end of the film, it is noted as a Lennon/McCartney composition rather than a Harrison composition.
Personnel
* George Harrison — lead guitar, vocal (double-tracked)
* John Lennon — rhythm guitar, tambourine
* Paul McCartney — bass, claves
* Ringo Starr — drums, bongos, loose skinned Arabian bongo
Album: With the Beatles
Released: 22 November 1963
Recorded: 11-12 September 1963
Genre: Rock and roll
Length: 2:29
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Harrison
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Beatle People: Elliot Mintz
Elliot Mintz (born February 16, 1945) is an internationally recognized media consultant and public relations expert. Popularly known as Paris Hilton's publicist and more recently as Chris Brown's.During his 25 year career he has represented famous people in all aspects of the entertainment world. His clients have included (or currently include) the John Lennon Estate, Bob Dylan, Paris Hilton, Chris Brown, Yoko Ono, Christie Brinkley, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Diana Ross, Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith and dozens of others.
Early life
In 1971 he hosted a Kaiser Broadcast syndicated television show that integrated musical guests with film clips shot in and around Southern California. In 1973 Mr. Mintz was the Entertainment Correspondent for 'Eyewitness News' on KABC television in Los Angeles.
Beginning in 1988 he hosted a weekly syndicated radio series called 'The Lost Lennon Tapes' heard globally each week for almost four years. The hundreds of hours of broadcasts contained previously unreleased tracks, rehearsals, composing tapes, interviews and home recordings of John Lennon who Mr. Mintz met in 1971. He still refers to Yoko Ono as his best friend. He has appeared in two feature documentaries about John and Yoko and written an essay about his relationship with them published in 2005 by Harper Collins in a book entitled Memories of John Lennon.
Career
In addition to entertainers, he consults with CEO's of international companies about media related activities. His corporate clients have included Westwood One Radio, Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino, Bijan Fragrance and Penthouse Magazine. He also consults with record companies as well as motion picture studios. He provides free media advice for charities and causes he supports as well.
Mr. Mintz is referenced in more than 50 books, hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles and appears frequently on national television speaking on behalf of his well known clients. Although he handles all aspects of entertainment and business publicity services including branding, media makeovers, on camera interview preparation, website creation, and national promotions, he is best known for being a spokesman for high profile public figures. He has been referred to in the press as a 'spin doctor' or 'crisis manager'.
Mr. Mintz also makes television appearances to discuss such matters as the 'power and pitfalls of celebrity', the paparazzi, the new media and what he refers to as 'the myths of fame and publicity'. Prior to his career as a media consultant, Elliot Mintz spent ten years as a radio and television talk show host. He interviewed hundreds of guests on radio stations KMLA, KPFK, KLAC, KMET, KPPC, KLOS and KABC in Los Angeles as well as syndicated radio programs for 'Inner-View' and 'Earth News Radio.'
Personal life
In a profile on Mr. Mintz published in The New York Times in August 2006, he expressed a desire to retire, move to a ranch and be around horses.
He currently resides is Beverly Hills, CA.
Wikipedia
Beatles News
- Two Beatles, Two Books (The Daily Advertiser)
- The Beatles and James Blunt Top Decade-End Charts (Exclaim!)
- First Beatles-themed cruise takes to the seas in 2010 (Daily Mail)
- Old Car Heaven offers $30 "Beatles" tickets (The Birmingham News)
- Liverpool's flooded Beatle hotel to re–open for New Year's Eve (Liverpool Daily Post)
- Beatles, Stones tributes to ring in 2010 (Park Record)
Chris Thomas on "Helter Skelter"
"The Beatles had been trying to do 'Helter Skelter' before actually. They were doing it much slower and it didn't quite work out. When we were sequencing the album right at the end, Paul decided that it had to be mixed again. I was listening to running orders with John while Paul was in there remixing the song with Ken Scott as engineer. Ken came in and said, 'Paul's gone to sleep. You've got to come and help me.' And when we did the mix, we faded out and just faded it back up again and sort of left it. Then we said, 'Yeah, it's all right. That goes on.' That's all it was. There was no hidden meaning."
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Beatles News
- Coming in 2010 on Royal Caribbean: A Beatles-themed cruise (USA Today)
- Flood closes Beatles-themed hotel (BBC News)
- James Blunt And The Beatles Have Biggest Selling Albums Of Decade (AHN)
- McCartney Live Tracks Hit Rock Band (RTT News)
- DVD Review: The Beatles: Rare and Unseen (The Trades)
- The Beatles and pop music's continuum (The Guardian)
- Best Of 2009: By-The-Numbers (Billboard)
- Nowhere Boy (Times Online)
- The Beatles inspire young crossword prodigy (BeatlesNews.com)
John Lennon on "She Said She Said"
"I like this one. I wrote it about an acid trip I was on in Los Angeles. It was only the second trip we'd had. We took it because we'd started hearing things about it and we wanted to know what it was all about. Peter Fonda came over to us and started saying things like, 'I know what it's like to be dead, man' and we didn't really wanna know, but he kept going on and on . . . Anyway, that's where that song came from, and it's a nice song, too."
Monday, December 28, 2009
"Doctor Robert"
"Doctor Robert" is a song by The Beatles originally released on the album Revolver in the UK and on Yesterday and Today in the US. The song was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney helped him finish it. It was recorded in 7 takes on April 17, 1966 with vocals overdubbed April 19.
Credits
* John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar, harmonium
* Paul McCartney – bass guitar, vocal harmony
* George Harrison – lead guitar, maracas, backing vocal
* Ringo Starr – drums
Drug references
The song contains many drug references, including the fact that drug dealers are often called "doctors." The Beatles were often accused of putting drug references in their songs though they claimed that they hadn’t intentionally done so; ironically, the drug references in this song went largely unnoticed. John Lennon has said that Dr. Robert was actually himself, "I was the one who carried all the pills on tour ... in the early days." However, it has been speculated that the real life Doctor Robert is Doctor Robert Freymann, who supplied "generous amounts of amphetamines to people." Another speculation is that it referred to Dr. Charles Roberts, a physician in New York.
Cultural references
* The title of the song was used as a pseudonym by Robert Howard, lead singer with 80s group the Blow Monkeys.
* Doctor Robert and Uncle Albert are referenced in Regina Spektor's song "Edit" from her album Begin to Hope.
* In the video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, the player may access the personnel files in the Santa Monica Medical Clinic. On staff is one Dr. Roberts, whose personnel file says, "No one can succeed like Dr. Roberts." This is a variation on "No one can succeed like Doctor Robert," a lyric from this song.
* The 2007 film Across the Universe features several Beatles songs and also employs several names from lyrics as character names. One character, played by Bono, is named Dr. Robert.
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 17, 19 April 1966
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:15
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Credits
* John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar, harmonium
* Paul McCartney – bass guitar, vocal harmony
* George Harrison – lead guitar, maracas, backing vocal
* Ringo Starr – drums
Drug references
The song contains many drug references, including the fact that drug dealers are often called "doctors." The Beatles were often accused of putting drug references in their songs though they claimed that they hadn’t intentionally done so; ironically, the drug references in this song went largely unnoticed. John Lennon has said that Dr. Robert was actually himself, "I was the one who carried all the pills on tour ... in the early days." However, it has been speculated that the real life Doctor Robert is Doctor Robert Freymann, who supplied "generous amounts of amphetamines to people." Another speculation is that it referred to Dr. Charles Roberts, a physician in New York.
Cultural references
* The title of the song was used as a pseudonym by Robert Howard, lead singer with 80s group the Blow Monkeys.
* Doctor Robert and Uncle Albert are referenced in Regina Spektor's song "Edit" from her album Begin to Hope.
* In the video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, the player may access the personnel files in the Santa Monica Medical Clinic. On staff is one Dr. Roberts, whose personnel file says, "No one can succeed like Dr. Roberts." This is a variation on "No one can succeed like Doctor Robert," a lyric from this song.
* The 2007 film Across the Universe features several Beatles songs and also employs several names from lyrics as character names. One character, played by Bono, is named Dr. Robert.
Album: Revolver
Released: 5 August 1966
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 17, 19 April 1966
Genre: Rock
Length: 2:15
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Beatles News
- Exclusive: Teenage actor Aaron Johnson on playing legendary Beatle (Scottish Daily Record)
- Live Paul McCartney Tracks Coming to “Rock Band” (Rolling Stone)
- 2009 in review: Five acts etched in music history (USA Today)
- World's Greatest Beatles Artist debuts new work in San Diego (BeatlesNews.com)
- Beatles tribute, 'Rain' coming to Portland's Keller theater (kgw.com)
Chris Thomas on "Revolution 9"
"With 'Revolution 9,' the Beatles said, 'We're about to do a sort of collage or montage of a few things.' They went up to the library at EMI and found loads of old tapes. They just nicked anything, like Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, Oxford and Cambridge music tests for A levels. Loads of things. They took everything down there and made copies of the bits they wanted. Sometimes they played them backward. Sometimes they chopped a little bit out. They literally did anything they liked with the bits of tape. Then they assembled some really good-sounding loops. One of the ones they 'bunged' on was this Oxford music exam. A guy was playing the piano and said, 'Number 9,' then he played another bit. Obviously you had to identify the bits that you knew. That's where 'Number 9' came from, and there's no significance in it."
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Beatles News
- The Day a Beatle Came to Town (The Ann Arbor Chronicle)
- Nowhere Boy (The Guardian)
- Beatles tribute at the Square and Compass - tonight (Yeovil Express)
- Yoko cabs hit the streets in January (Village Voice)
Paul McCartney on "Yellow Submarine"
"I knew it would get connotations, but it really was a children's song. I just loved the idea of kids singing it. With 'Yellow Submarine' the whole idea was, 'If someday I came across some kids singing it, that will be it -- so it's got to be very easy.' There isn't a single big word. Kids will understand it easier than adults. 'In the town where I was born/there lived a man who sailed to sea/And he told of his life in the land of submarines.' That's really the beginning of a kid's story. There's some stuff in Greece like icing sugar -- you eat it. It's like a sweet and you drop it into water. It's called submarine; we had it on holiday."
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Beatles News
- Calling All Beatles Fans (NBC San Diego)
- John Lennon's biopic Nowhere Boy released (ITN)
- Musically Speaking: Band “No Issues” remakes classic Beatle tune (Mt. Vernon Register-News)
- Plant your own octopus' garden (News Chief)
"Do You Want to Know a Secret"
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" is a song by The Beatles from the 1963 album Please Please Me, sung by George Harrison.
Composition
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (see Lennon/McCartney), inspired by "I'm Wishing," a tune from Walt Disney’s 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which Lennon's mother, Julia Lennon, would sing to him as a child. The first two lines of the song in Disney's movie ("Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell?") come right after the opening lyrics ("You'll never know how much I really love you... You'll never know how much I really care..."). McCartney said it was a "50-50 collaboration written to order," i.e., for Harrison to sing.
Recording
In 1980, Lennon said that he gave "Do You Want to Know a Secret" to Harrison to sing because "it only had three notes and he wasn't the best singer in the world," but added "he has improved a lot since then." Harrison sang two songs on Please Please Me, this song by Lennon and McCartney and "Chains" by Goffin/King. The Beatles did not record a song composed solely by Harrison until "Don't Bother Me" on With the Beatles.
The song was recorded during a 10-hour session on 11 February 1963 along with 9 other songs for Please Please Me.
Single release
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" was a year later released as a single in the United States on 23 March 1964, reaching the number two spot behind another Beatles song, "Can't Buy Me Love" in Billboard, but reaching #1 for two weeks in the chart published by the Teletheatre Research Institute.
Credits
* John Lennon — rhythm guitar, backing vocal
* Paul McCartney — bass guitar, backing vocal
* George Harrison — lead guitar, lead vocal
* Ringo Starr — drums
The Billy J. Kramer version
The Beatles' version was never released as a single in the United Kingdom, where a cover version by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas (released b/w "I'll Be on My Way", Parlophone R5023, 26 April 1963) reached number two in the Record Retailer chart, and hit number one in the NME chart (used by Radio Luxembourg) and the BBC's Pick of the Pops chart, which were more widely recognized at the time.
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 22 March 1963 (mono album), 26 April 1963 (stereo album)
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 11 February 1963
Genre: Rock and roll
Length: 1:56
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Composition
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (see Lennon/McCartney), inspired by "I'm Wishing," a tune from Walt Disney’s 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which Lennon's mother, Julia Lennon, would sing to him as a child. The first two lines of the song in Disney's movie ("Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell?") come right after the opening lyrics ("You'll never know how much I really love you... You'll never know how much I really care..."). McCartney said it was a "50-50 collaboration written to order," i.e., for Harrison to sing.
Recording
In 1980, Lennon said that he gave "Do You Want to Know a Secret" to Harrison to sing because "it only had three notes and he wasn't the best singer in the world," but added "he has improved a lot since then." Harrison sang two songs on Please Please Me, this song by Lennon and McCartney and "Chains" by Goffin/King. The Beatles did not record a song composed solely by Harrison until "Don't Bother Me" on With the Beatles.
The song was recorded during a 10-hour session on 11 February 1963 along with 9 other songs for Please Please Me.
Single release
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" was a year later released as a single in the United States on 23 March 1964, reaching the number two spot behind another Beatles song, "Can't Buy Me Love" in Billboard, but reaching #1 for two weeks in the chart published by the Teletheatre Research Institute.
Credits
* John Lennon — rhythm guitar, backing vocal
* Paul McCartney — bass guitar, backing vocal
* George Harrison — lead guitar, lead vocal
* Ringo Starr — drums
The Billy J. Kramer version
The Beatles' version was never released as a single in the United Kingdom, where a cover version by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas (released b/w "I'll Be on My Way", Parlophone R5023, 26 April 1963) reached number two in the Record Retailer chart, and hit number one in the NME chart (used by Radio Luxembourg) and the BBC's Pick of the Pops chart, which were more widely recognized at the time.
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 22 March 1963 (mono album), 26 April 1963 (stereo album)
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 11 February 1963
Genre: Rock and roll
Length: 1:56
Label: Parlophone
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
George Harrison's Thoughts on Money
"The Beatles got all the material wealth that we needed, and that was enough to show us that this thing wasn't material. We are all in the physical world, yet what we are striving for isn't physical. We all get so hung up with material things like cars and televisions and houses, yet what they can give you is only there for a little bit and then it's gone."
Friday, December 25, 2009
Beatles News
- Favorite Holiday Moments: Christmas With the Beatles (New York Times)
- Beatles tribute: Let it rain ... (OregonLive.com)
- Christmas Day release for John Lennon film shot in Pinner (This Is Local London)
- Clip Job: The Beatles at Shea -- 20 Minutes of 'Teeny Screamers' (Village Voice)
- Getting by with a little help from his friends (Sydney Morning Herald)
- Paul McCartney bringing tracks to Rock Band for the New Year (Examiner.com)
- John Lennon's Walk Of Fame Star missing (Press Trust of India)
Sean Lennon
Sean Taro Ono Lennon (born 9 October 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.Early life and education
Sean Lennon was born in New York City on 9 October 1975 (his father's 35th birthday). Julian Lennon and Kyoko Chan Cox are his half-siblings. After Sean's birth, John became a house husband, doting on his young son until his murder in 1980. Sean was educated at the exclusive private boarding school Institut Le Rosey in Rolle, Switzerland and earlier at New York's private Ethical Culture Fieldston School and Dalton School. He later attended Columbia University, though only for three semesters before dropping out to focus on his music career.
His debut into the music world came at the age of six, reciting a story on his mother's 1981 album Season of Glass. From childhood into his teen years Sean continued to collaborate with his mother, contributing vocals and receiving production credit on her solo albums It's Alright (I See Rainbows), Starpeace and Onobox. At sixteen Sean co-wrote the song "All I Ever Wanted" with Lenny Kravitz for his 1991 album Mama Said. By 1995 Sean had formed the band IMA (with Sam Koppelman and Timo Ellis) to play alongside his mother on her album Rising. Sean also made appearances in film, featured in the cast of Michael Jackson's 1988 Moonwalker and portraying a teenager experiencing visions of various MC Escher paintings in Sony's 1990 promotional short-film Infinite Escher.
Cibo Matto and Into The Sun
In 1996 Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto were invited by Ono to remix the song "Talking To The Universe" for a Rising remix EP Rising Mixes. They met Sean and invited him to join them on tour as a bass player. This eventually led to Sean contributing to their side-project Butter 08 and to his becoming a member of the group. He continued to play with them on tour, joining them on television and providing bass guitar and vocals on their EP, Super Relax. Through his association with Cibo Matto, Lennon was approached by Adam Yauch (of the Beastie Boys), who expressed an interest in his music and persuaded him to sign a record contract with Grand Royal Records. Regarding Grand Royal, Lennon has said:
I think I found the only label on the planet who doesn't care who my parents are and what my name is. It's a good feeling to know that I wouldn't have gotten the offer if they wouldn't have liked my songs. That's pretty rare in the music business!.
Lennon's solo début Into the Sun, was released in 1998. A music video for "Home", a single from the album, was directed by Spike Jonze and enjoyed extended airplay on MTV. The album was produced by fellow Cibo Matto member Yuka Honda, who Lennon claimed was his inspiration for the album. They struck up a personal relationship as well as a creative one.
He would go on to tour (often backed by Cibo Matto) supporting Into The Sun. During this period he would appear on radio programs such as The Howard Stern Show and KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. He would later recall promoting the album as a bitter experience due to the media focus on his family rather than his own music. In 1999, Sean's EP Half Horse, Half Musician was released featuring new tracks such as "Heart & Lung" and "Happiness" as well as remixes of songs from Into The Sun. Along with Half Horse Half Musician 1999 saw the release of Cibo Matto's second album Stereo Type A. Sean stepped out of his traditional role as the group's bass player, this time playing a much wider range of instruments (such as drums, guitars and synthesizers). Despite being well received Stereo Type A was to be the final Cibo Matto album and the group disbanded.
In 2000 Lennon briefly entered the world of hip hop, contributing vocals to Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Handsome Boy Modeling School and Jurassic 5. In 2001 on national television, Sean performed Beatles classics "This Boy", "Across The Universe" and "Julia" alongside Robert Schwartzman, Rufus Wainwright and Moby for Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music. In the following years Sean faded out of the spotlight. However he collaborated with various bands and artists as a session musician and producer.
Return and Friendly Fire
After the demise of Grand Royal Records in 2001, Sean signed with Capitol Records (whose parent company EMI has released the vast majority of his father's musical output, group and solo), yet no solo material surfaced until February 2006, when "Dead Meat" was released as the first single from his new album, Friendly Fire. A promotional trailer for the CD/DVD package of Friendly Fire was leaked online in early 2006. The trailer featured scenes from the film version of the album, a DVD of music videos comprised into a film. The videos were actually screen tests for Coin Locker Babies, another project on which Lennon is working which became a cinematic counterpart to his new album. The theme of the album is based around love and betrayal and was dedicated to the death of a close friend of his. Friendly Fire was released in October 2006. The night the album was released, Lennon made his first major television appearance in five years, performing "Dead Meat" live on the Late Show with David Letterman. Lennon has since appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Sharon Osbourne Show. When questioned about the eight year gap between solo albums in interviews Lennon expressed that he didn't feel like a solo artist during those years and that he wanted to experience music anonymously without the spotlight on him. Since the release of Friendly Fire, Lennon has been touring extensively around the world and while in France remixed his song "Parachute" in collaboration with French artist -M-. The remix is entitled "L'éclipse" and was featured as a bonus track on the French release of Friendly Fire.
Although again establishing himself as a solo artist, Lennon has continued his work as a session musician and producer, lending his talent to the likes of Dopo Yume, Albert Hammond, Jr. (of The Strokes) and model/singer Irina Lazareanu. In October 2007 Sean joined Mark Ronson in the BBC Electric Proms where he sang "Sail on, Sailor", as well as "We Can Work It Out" alongside Daniel Merriweather, and Tawiah. Along with girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Sean premiered the side-project "The Ghost Of A Saber Toothed Tiger" during a live performance at Radio City on Valentines Day, 2008. The duo host their music on MySpace and perform under the aliases of Amatla and Zargifon. Expanding on his musical output even further Sean has stepped into the world of film scores with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead. With the release of new material and subsequent touring Sean launched a website featuring music, videos and a forum for his fans. Various members of the forum have even created a fan-made cover album tentitled Truth Mask Replica. In a YouTube video released for his website (January 2008) Lennon has stated that he is working on a new solo album as well.
Musical influence
Lennon has said that Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys are major influences in his music and he interviewed Wilson on a limited edition CD entitled Words and Music. During the release of Into The Sun, Sean often talked about his admiration for the Brazilian band Os Mutantes. While in Brazil, Sean performed live with Arnaldo Baptista (bass guitar player and vocalist of Os Mutantes) and later designed the artwork for the Os Mutantes album, Tecnicolor (2000). Lennon has stated that The Beastie Boys album Check Your Head was a source of inspiration, with its varied music styles contained in one album.
Discography
Solo
* Into the Sun (1998)
* Half Horse, Half Musician (1999)
* Friendly Fire (2006)
With Cibo Matto
* Super Relax (1997)
* Stereo Type A (1999)
Film scores
* Smile for the Camera (2005)
* Friendly Fire (2006)
* The Stranger[6] (2008)
* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead (2008)
* Tea Fight (2008)
Producer
* Sean Lennon - Half Horse Half Musician (1999)
* Soulfly - Primitive (2000)
* Valentine Original Soundtrack (2001)
* Esthero - Wikked Lil' Grrrls (2005)
* Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire (2006)
* Irina Lazareanu - Some Place Along the Way (2007)
Other contributions
* Marianne Faithfull's album, Easy Come, Easy Go (2008) - "Salvation" (originally by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club)
* Sean co wrote "Son Song" with Max Cavalera on the Soulfly album Primitive.
* Deltron 3030's album, Deltron 3030 (2000) - "Memory Loss"
Filmography
* Moonwalker (1988) - Actor
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 2, Episode 1 - "When She Was Bad" (1997) - musician, Cibo Matto
* Smile for the Camera (2005) - Original Score, Writer
* Friendly Fire (2006) - Actor, Original Score, Writer
* Coin Locker Babies (2008 in production) - Actor, Writer
Bibliography
* Part Asian, 100% Hapa (2006) - Sean is credited with writing the foreword
Wikipedia
Beatles News
- I'll follow the son (The Age)
- Last-minute deal: Buy an Olive 4 or 4 HD, get the Beatles Remastered free (CNET News)
- Paul McCartney Joined Onstage By Pipe Band In London (RTT News)
- Clip Job: Wary, Post-'Jesus' Beatles Meet the NY Press for Shea Show (Village Voice)
- The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Bundle PS3, Xbox 360 under $200 (Punch Jump)
- Book Review: Fab Four FAQ - Everything Left to Know About the Beatles (Blogcritics.org)
Paul McCartney on "Eleanor Rigby"
"Well that started off with sitting down at the piano and getting the first line of the melody, and playing around with words. I think it was 'Miss Daisy Hawkins' originally; then it was her picking up the rice in a church after a wedding. That's how nearly all our songs start, with the first line just suggesting itself from books or newspapers.
"At first I thought it was a young Miss Daisy Hawkins, a bit like 'Annabel Lee,' but no so sexy; but then I saw I'd said she was picking up the rice in church, so she had to be a cleaner. She had missed the wedding, and she was suddenly lonely. In fact, she had missed it all -- she was the spinster type.
"Jane [Asher] was in a play in Bristol then, and I was walking 'round the streets waiting for her to finish. I didn't really like 'Daisy Hawkins' -- I wanted a name that was more real. The thought just came: 'Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice and lives in a dream' -- so there she was. The next thing was Father Mackenzie. It was going to be Father McCartney, but then I thought that was a bit of a hang-up for my dad, being in this lonely song. So we looked through the phone book. That's the beauty of working at random -- it does come up perfectly, much better than if you try to think it with your intellect.
"Anyway, there was Father Mackenzie, and he was just as I had imagined him, lonely, darning his socks. We weren't sure if the song was going to go on. In the next verse we thought of a bin man, an old feller going through dustbins, but it got too involved -- embarrassing. John and I wondered whether to have Eleanor Rigby and him have a thing going, but we couldn't really see how. When I played it to John we decided to finish it.
"That was the point anyway. She didn't make it, she never made it with anyone. She didn't even look as if she was going to."
"At first I thought it was a young Miss Daisy Hawkins, a bit like 'Annabel Lee,' but no so sexy; but then I saw I'd said she was picking up the rice in church, so she had to be a cleaner. She had missed the wedding, and she was suddenly lonely. In fact, she had missed it all -- she was the spinster type.
"Jane [Asher] was in a play in Bristol then, and I was walking 'round the streets waiting for her to finish. I didn't really like 'Daisy Hawkins' -- I wanted a name that was more real. The thought just came: 'Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice and lives in a dream' -- so there she was. The next thing was Father Mackenzie. It was going to be Father McCartney, but then I thought that was a bit of a hang-up for my dad, being in this lonely song. So we looked through the phone book. That's the beauty of working at random -- it does come up perfectly, much better than if you try to think it with your intellect.
"Anyway, there was Father Mackenzie, and he was just as I had imagined him, lonely, darning his socks. We weren't sure if the song was going to go on. In the next verse we thought of a bin man, an old feller going through dustbins, but it got too involved -- embarrassing. John and I wondered whether to have Eleanor Rigby and him have a thing going, but we couldn't really see how. When I played it to John we decided to finish it.
"That was the point anyway. She didn't make it, she never made it with anyone. She didn't even look as if she was going to."
Thursday, December 24, 2009
"Dizzy Miss Lizzie"
"Dizzy Miss Lizzie" is a song composed and sung by Larry Williams in 1958.
The song has been covered many times, including — most famously — by the Beatles on the 1965 Help! album, though the recording was initially intended for the 1965 American Beatles compilation Beatles VI along with the Larry Williams cover "Bad Boy," recorded by the Beatles on the same day. It features loud, rhythmic instrumentation, along with John Lennon's particularly rousing vocals. The song also appeared in a live solo version by Lennon on the Plastic Ono Band's Live Peace in Toronto 1969.
In the United Kingdom, the Beatles' version first appeared on the album Help!, misspelled "Dizzy Miss Lizzy." In North America, it was included on Beatles VI.
The title is playfully misleading, the actual lyric being, "You make me dizzy, Miss Lizzie."
Beatles credits
* John Lennon- vocals, rhythm guitar
* Paul McCartney- bass, electric piano
* George Harrison- lead guitar
* Ringo Starr- drums, cowbell
Single: by Larry Williams
B-side: "Slow Down"
Released: March 1958
Format: 7" single
Genre: Rock 'n' Roll
Label: Specialty 626 (USA), London HLU 8604 (UK)
Writer(s): Larry Williams
Song by The Beatles
Album: Help!
Released: 6 August 1965
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 10 May 1965
Genre: Rock 'n' Roll, Rock
Length: 2:54
Label: Parlophone, Capitol, EMI
Writer: Larry Williams
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
The song has been covered many times, including — most famously — by the Beatles on the 1965 Help! album, though the recording was initially intended for the 1965 American Beatles compilation Beatles VI along with the Larry Williams cover "Bad Boy," recorded by the Beatles on the same day. It features loud, rhythmic instrumentation, along with John Lennon's particularly rousing vocals. The song also appeared in a live solo version by Lennon on the Plastic Ono Band's Live Peace in Toronto 1969.
In the United Kingdom, the Beatles' version first appeared on the album Help!, misspelled "Dizzy Miss Lizzy." In North America, it was included on Beatles VI.
The title is playfully misleading, the actual lyric being, "You make me dizzy, Miss Lizzie."
Beatles credits
* John Lennon- vocals, rhythm guitar
* Paul McCartney- bass, electric piano
* George Harrison- lead guitar
* Ringo Starr- drums, cowbell
Single: by Larry Williams
B-side: "Slow Down"
Released: March 1958
Format: 7" single
Genre: Rock 'n' Roll
Label: Specialty 626 (USA), London HLU 8604 (UK)
Writer(s): Larry Williams
Song by The Beatles
Album: Help!
Released: 6 August 1965
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 10 May 1965
Genre: Rock 'n' Roll, Rock
Length: 2:54
Label: Parlophone, Capitol, EMI
Writer: Larry Williams
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Chris Thomas on "Happiness Is a Warm Gun"
"I remember doing the backing track for 'Happiness Is a Warm Gun,' which took a long time. I remember they did over 100 takes of it, all the way through to two or three in the morning. Then they came back the next day and went all the way through again. But that wasn't unusual for them. I think George Martin had found an advertisement in a magazine that said 'Happiness is a warm gun,' because we were talking about it at the time. When the White Album was started, it was just when Robert Kennedy was shot. George Martin mentioned the ad to John, and shortly after the song came along."
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Beatles News
- Nowhere Beatles (National)
- Paul McCartney joined onstage by pipe band in London (NME.com)
- Lennon's solo Walk of Fame star joins Harrison's (CBC.ca)
- Beatles Tribute Tour sets sail (Tampa Bay Newspapers)
John Lennon on "Girl"
"This was about a dream girl. When Paul and I wrote lyrics in the old days we used to laugh about it like the Tin Pan Alley people would. And it was only later on that we tried to match the lyrics to the tune. I like this one. It was one of my best."
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
"Dig It"
"Dig It" is a song by The Beatles featured on their album Let It Be. The song is credited to Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey and is one of only a few songs to be credited to all of the Beatles; the others are "Flying" from Magical Mystery Tour, "Suzy Parker" from the Let It Be film, "12-Bar Original" from Anthology 2 and the Beatles' version of "Free as a Bird." This song and the 39-second "Maggie Mae" appear on the Let It Be album, but are not included on the Let It Be... Naked album, instead being replaced with "Don't Let Me Down." Glyn Johns' May 1969 version of the album, then titled Get Back, had a 3:59 excerpt of "Dig It," which was later reduced to the much shorter version in the final album.
Recording
Several versions were recorded during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions, on 24, 26, 27, 28, and 29 January 1969, at Apple Studio. The 49-second version on the album is an extract taken from the 26 January version, which was a 12-minute jam that evolved from a loose "Like a Rolling Stone" jam. A segment of the jam session, clocking in at 4:30, appears in the documentary film Let It Be. The participants in that session are John Lennon on vocals and George Harrison on guitar, Paul McCartney on piano, Ringo Starr on drums, and Billy Preston at the organ; also participating in the jam, but not heard on the released version, was Linda Eastman's six-year-old daughter Heather.
In the early part of the jam, Lennon sings the main lyric with interjections from Harrison, while Heather adds wordless vocals. As the performance winds down, Lennon exhorts the others to continue. Paul adds a baritone backup vocal of "dig it up, dig it up, dig it up" and variations, and Lennon begins to repeat "Like a rolling stone," then goes into the "famous persons" part (mentioning "the FBI," "the CIA," "the BBC," "B.B. King," "Doris Day," and "Matt Busby").
The excerpt on the Let It Be album fades in on Lennon's second "Like a rolling stone" and concludes with Lennon speaking in a falsetto: "That was 'Can You Dig It?' by Georgie Wood, and now we'd like to do 'Hark, The Angels Come.'" The second sentence of that line is cut off in Let It Be's film recording of the jam session. ("Wee Georgie Wood" was a 4'9" music-hall performer and child star.) The interjection actually comes from the first version, recorded on the 24th. This version was much different, described by Beatles bootleg scholars Doug Sulpy and Ray Schweighardt as "sounding like a cross between the traditional 'Sailor's Hornpipe' and a slowed down rendition of Neal Hefti's 'Batman,' as played on slide guitar." An excerpt from this version can be heard on the "Fly on the Wall" bonus disc to Let It Be… Naked.
A live acoustic version appears on John Lennon's 31st Birthday Party bootleg. The bootleg, which is included on the Complete Lost Lennon Tapes, has guest appearances by Phil Spector and Ringo Starr. The song also incorporates "Twist and Shout," "Louie Louie," and a stronger influence of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone."
Credits
* John Lennon — lead vocal, 6 string bass
* Paul McCartney — piano, vocal
* George Harrison — guitar, vocal
* Ringo Starr — drums
* Billy Preston — organ
* George Martin — percussion
Album: Let It Be
Released: 8 May 1970
Recorded: Apple Studios, 26 January 1969
Genre: Rock
Length: 0:49
Label: Apple, EMI
Writer: Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Recording
Several versions were recorded during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions, on 24, 26, 27, 28, and 29 January 1969, at Apple Studio. The 49-second version on the album is an extract taken from the 26 January version, which was a 12-minute jam that evolved from a loose "Like a Rolling Stone" jam. A segment of the jam session, clocking in at 4:30, appears in the documentary film Let It Be. The participants in that session are John Lennon on vocals and George Harrison on guitar, Paul McCartney on piano, Ringo Starr on drums, and Billy Preston at the organ; also participating in the jam, but not heard on the released version, was Linda Eastman's six-year-old daughter Heather.
In the early part of the jam, Lennon sings the main lyric with interjections from Harrison, while Heather adds wordless vocals. As the performance winds down, Lennon exhorts the others to continue. Paul adds a baritone backup vocal of "dig it up, dig it up, dig it up" and variations, and Lennon begins to repeat "Like a rolling stone," then goes into the "famous persons" part (mentioning "the FBI," "the CIA," "the BBC," "B.B. King," "Doris Day," and "Matt Busby").
The excerpt on the Let It Be album fades in on Lennon's second "Like a rolling stone" and concludes with Lennon speaking in a falsetto: "That was 'Can You Dig It?' by Georgie Wood, and now we'd like to do 'Hark, The Angels Come.'" The second sentence of that line is cut off in Let It Be's film recording of the jam session. ("Wee Georgie Wood" was a 4'9" music-hall performer and child star.) The interjection actually comes from the first version, recorded on the 24th. This version was much different, described by Beatles bootleg scholars Doug Sulpy and Ray Schweighardt as "sounding like a cross between the traditional 'Sailor's Hornpipe' and a slowed down rendition of Neal Hefti's 'Batman,' as played on slide guitar." An excerpt from this version can be heard on the "Fly on the Wall" bonus disc to Let It Be… Naked.
A live acoustic version appears on John Lennon's 31st Birthday Party bootleg. The bootleg, which is included on the Complete Lost Lennon Tapes, has guest appearances by Phil Spector and Ringo Starr. The song also incorporates "Twist and Shout," "Louie Louie," and a stronger influence of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone."
Credits
* John Lennon — lead vocal, 6 string bass
* Paul McCartney — piano, vocal
* George Harrison — guitar, vocal
* Ringo Starr — drums
* Billy Preston — organ
* George Martin — percussion
Album: Let It Be
Released: 8 May 1970
Recorded: Apple Studios, 26 January 1969
Genre: Rock
Length: 0:49
Label: Apple, EMI
Writer: Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Beatles News
- Stars eager to see former Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney at his O2 Arena gig (Monsters and Critics.com)
- EXCLUSIVE!: John Lennon Walk of Fame missing star mystery solved -- and it's good news (Examiner.com)
- John Lennon plays truant (The Sun)
- Casting announced for Beatles play Backbeat at Glasgow Citizens (Stage)
- 2009: The year in music (guardian.co.uk)
Chris Thomas on "Birthday"
"I said to Paul one Monday, after things had been going quite well, 'The Girl Can't Help It is on TV Wednesday night and I've never seen it.' He said, 'Really? Oh, great. Maybe we should go and see it. We can all go around to my place and watch it.' He came that Wednesday for the song, which was actually 'Birthday.' Everybody rolled up at about 5:00 p.m. I think we got the backing track down by about half past eight, when it was time to whiz around to watch the film. We watched the film, came back, did the vocal on 'Birthday,' and finished it off. We did the whole thing in 12 hours, plus watching the telly."
"Boys" Lyrics
by Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell
As Released by the Shirelles (1960)
I been told when a boy kiss a girl
She takes a trip around the world
Yeah-yeah
Hey-hey
Hey-hey
Hey!
Please say you do
Mama says, when you kiss my lips
I'll get a thrill through my fingertips
Yeah-yeah (Shot-shoo-bop, shot-shot-shoo-bop)
Hey-hey (Shot-shoo-bop, shot-shot-shoo-bop)
Hey-hey (Shot-shoo-bop, shot-shot-shoo-bop)
Hey! (Shot-shoo-bop, shot-shot-shoo-bop)
Please say you do (Shot-shoo-bop, bop)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Don't ya know I mean boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Don't ya know I mean boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Hey, what a bundle of joy!
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Don't ya know I mean boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Don't ya know I mean boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Hey, what a bundle of joy!
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Ya know I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys,
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Yeah, what a bundle...
As Released by the Beatles (1963)
I been told when a boy kiss a girl,
Take a trip around the world,
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop) yeah, she say ya do. (Bop shuop)
My girl says when I kiss her lips,
Gets a thrill through her fingertips,
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop) yeah, she say ya do. (Bop shuop)
Well, I talk about boys,
Don't ya know I need boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
Aaahhh, boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
What a bundle of joy! (Alright, George!)
My girl says when I kiss her lips,
Gets a thrill through her fingertips,
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop) yeah, she say ya do. (Bop shuop)
Well, I talk about boys,
Don't ya know I need boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
Aaahhh, boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
What a bundle of joy!
As Released by the Shirelles (1960)
I been told when a boy kiss a girl
She takes a trip around the world
Yeah-yeah
Hey-hey
Hey-hey
Hey!
Please say you do
Mama says, when you kiss my lips
I'll get a thrill through my fingertips
Yeah-yeah (Shot-shoo-bop, shot-shot-shoo-bop)
Hey-hey (Shot-shoo-bop, shot-shot-shoo-bop)
Hey-hey (Shot-shoo-bop, shot-shot-shoo-bop)
Hey! (Shot-shoo-bop, shot-shot-shoo-bop)
Please say you do (Shot-shoo-bop, bop)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Don't ya know I mean boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Don't ya know I mean boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Hey, what a bundle of joy!
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Don't ya know I mean boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Don't ya know I mean boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Hey, what a bundle of joy!
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Ya know I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Well, I'm talkin' 'bout boys,
(Yeah-yeah, boys)
Yeah, what a bundle...
As Released by the Beatles (1963)
I been told when a boy kiss a girl,
Take a trip around the world,
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop) yeah, she say ya do. (Bop shuop)
My girl says when I kiss her lips,
Gets a thrill through her fingertips,
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop) yeah, she say ya do. (Bop shuop)
Well, I talk about boys,
Don't ya know I need boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
Aaahhh, boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
What a bundle of joy! (Alright, George!)
My girl says when I kiss her lips,
Gets a thrill through her fingertips,
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop) yeah, she say ya do. (Bop shuop)
Well, I talk about boys,
Don't ya know I need boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
Aaahhh, boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
What a bundle of joy!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Beatles News
- Hark the Heroes, Rock Bands, Sing (Winnipeg Free Press)
- 'Yellow Submarine' artist to appear at Beatles' 'Love' store in Las Vegas through the holidays (Examiner.com)
- Fab Beatles at the Barn (This Is The Westcountry)
- Nowhere Boy star David Morrissey on his role in John Lennon movie (Liverpool Echo)
- Rubber Soul released for The Beatles: Rock Band (miPRO)
"Chains" Lyrics
by Gerry Goffin and Carole King
As Released by the Cookies (1962)
Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see-ee-ee-ee
Whoa, oh, it's chains of lo-o-ove
Got a hold on me, yeah
Chains, well, I can't break away from these chains
I can't run around 'cause I'm not free-ee-ee-ee
Whoa, oh, these chains of lo-o-ove
Won't let me be, yeah
Now, believe me when I tell you "I think you're fine"
I'd like to love you but, darling, I'm imprisoned by these
Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see-ee-ee-ee
Whoa, oh, it's chains of lo-o-ove
Got a hold on me, yeah
I wanna tell you, pretty baby, "your lips look sweet"
I'd like to kiss them but I can't break away from all of these
Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see-ee-ee-ee
Whoa, oh, it's chains of lo-o-ove
Got a hold on me, yeah
Chains, chains of lo-o-o-ove
Chains of lo-o-o-ove
As Released by the Beatles (1963)
Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see
Whoa, oh, these chains of love got a hold on me, yeah
Chains, well I can't break away from these chains
Can't run around, 'cause I'm not free
Whoa, oh, these chains of love won't let me be, yeah
I wanna tell you, pretty baby
I think you're fine
I'd like to love you
But darlin', I'm imprisoned by these chains
My baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see
Oh, oh, these chains of love got a hold on me
Please believe me when I tell you
Your lips are sweet
I'd like to kiss them
But I can't break away from all of these chains
My baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see
Whoa, oh, these chains of love got a hold on me, yeah
Chains, chains of love
Chains of love
Chains of love
As Released by the Cookies (1962)
Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see-ee-ee-ee
Whoa, oh, it's chains of lo-o-ove
Got a hold on me, yeah
Chains, well, I can't break away from these chains
I can't run around 'cause I'm not free-ee-ee-ee
Whoa, oh, these chains of lo-o-ove
Won't let me be, yeah
Now, believe me when I tell you "I think you're fine"
I'd like to love you but, darling, I'm imprisoned by these
Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see-ee-ee-ee
Whoa, oh, it's chains of lo-o-ove
Got a hold on me, yeah
I wanna tell you, pretty baby, "your lips look sweet"
I'd like to kiss them but I can't break away from all of these
Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see-ee-ee-ee
Whoa, oh, it's chains of lo-o-ove
Got a hold on me, yeah
Chains, chains of lo-o-o-ove
Chains of lo-o-o-ove
As Released by the Beatles (1963)
Chains, my baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see
Whoa, oh, these chains of love got a hold on me, yeah
Chains, well I can't break away from these chains
Can't run around, 'cause I'm not free
Whoa, oh, these chains of love won't let me be, yeah
I wanna tell you, pretty baby
I think you're fine
I'd like to love you
But darlin', I'm imprisoned by these chains
My baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see
Oh, oh, these chains of love got a hold on me
Please believe me when I tell you
Your lips are sweet
I'd like to kiss them
But I can't break away from all of these chains
My baby's got me locked up in chains
And they ain't the kind that you can see
Whoa, oh, these chains of love got a hold on me, yeah
Chains, chains of love
Chains of love
Chains of love
John Lennon on "In My Life"
"I wrote that in Kenwood. I used to write upstairs where I had about ten Brunell tape recorders all linked up. I still have them. I'd mastered them over the period of a year or two -- I could never make a rock and roll record but I could make some far out stuff on it. I wrote it upstairs, that was one where I wrote the lyrics first and then sang it. That was usually the case with things like 'In My Life' and 'Universe' and some of the ones that stand out a bit."
Sunday, December 20, 2009
"Dig a Pony"
"Dig a Pony" is a song by The Beatles, originally released on their 1970 album Let It Be, and later re-released on Let It Be... Naked in 2003. "Dig a Pony" was the second to last song played on the concert on the rooftop of Apple Studios in Savile Row, London on January 30, 1969.
Composition
John Lennon was the song's composer and singer but the song was credited to Lennon/McCartney. Lennon would later comment that he thought the song was "a piece of garbage," though he has shown similar scorn for many of his songs. It was written for his soon-to-be wife Yoko Ono, and featured a multitude of strange, seemingly nonsense phrases which were strung together, culminating in the chorus "All I want is you," aimed at Yoko.
Recording
The song was one of the songs on the Let It Be album that was recorded at the famous Rooftop Concert. It begins with a false start, with Ringo Starr yelling "hold it!" to halt the other band members because he was holding a cigarette and had only one drum stick in his hand. On the Anthology 3 version of this song, the first verse and the end of the song start off with Paul McCartney singing "All I want is..."
Credits
* John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
* Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass
* George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar
* Ringo Starr – drums
Cover versions
The American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers covered this song as an introduction to "I Could Die For You" while touring to support their 2002 album "By the Way." Yellow Matter Custard also covered the song in their 2003 tour. St. Vincent covered this song for a Black Cab Session in October 2007, as well as several times throughout her 2007 tour. It has also been covered by Laibach on their album Let It Be, which is a complete re-working of the Beatles album Let It Be. Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio frequently covered the song on his 2005 tour with his band, 70 Volt Parade. Finally, American bassist Chris Lightcap recorded an instrumental version of the song in 2002 on his album Bigmouth.
Album: Let It Be
Released: 8 May 1970
Recorded: 30 January 1969 (rooftop concert)
Genre: Rock
Length: 3:52
Label: Apple, EMI
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Composition
John Lennon was the song's composer and singer but the song was credited to Lennon/McCartney. Lennon would later comment that he thought the song was "a piece of garbage," though he has shown similar scorn for many of his songs. It was written for his soon-to-be wife Yoko Ono, and featured a multitude of strange, seemingly nonsense phrases which were strung together, culminating in the chorus "All I want is you," aimed at Yoko.
Recording
The song was one of the songs on the Let It Be album that was recorded at the famous Rooftop Concert. It begins with a false start, with Ringo Starr yelling "hold it!" to halt the other band members because he was holding a cigarette and had only one drum stick in his hand. On the Anthology 3 version of this song, the first verse and the end of the song start off with Paul McCartney singing "All I want is..."
Credits
* John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
* Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass
* George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar
* Ringo Starr – drums
Cover versions
The American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers covered this song as an introduction to "I Could Die For You" while touring to support their 2002 album "By the Way." Yellow Matter Custard also covered the song in their 2003 tour. St. Vincent covered this song for a Black Cab Session in October 2007, as well as several times throughout her 2007 tour. It has also been covered by Laibach on their album Let It Be, which is a complete re-working of the Beatles album Let It Be. Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio frequently covered the song on his 2005 tour with his band, 70 Volt Parade. Finally, American bassist Chris Lightcap recorded an instrumental version of the song in 2002 on his album Bigmouth.
Album: Let It Be
Released: 8 May 1970
Recorded: 30 January 1969 (rooftop concert)
Genre: Rock
Length: 3:52
Label: Apple, EMI
Writer: Lennon/McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Wikipedia
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon (born 8 April 1963), known universally as Julian Lennon, and by some fans as Jude, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and first son of Beatle John Lennon and the only child of Lennon's first wife Cynthia Lennon. His godfather was Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. His father's nickname for him was "JCJ," and he was named after John Lennon's late mother, Julia. He has a half-brother, Sean Lennon. Julian is said to be the inspiration for the songs Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Hey Jude.Early childhood
Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. For a brief time John Lennon concealed the fact he was married and had a child, in keeping with the conventional wisdom of the era that female teenage fans would not be as enamoured of married male pop stars. However, when the British media discovered that Lennon was a married father, it did not affect his popularity with fans.
Julian Lennon attended the set of The Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour, and made his musical debut at age 11 on his father's album Walls and Bridges playing drums on "Ya-Ya".
Julian Lennon's parents divorced when he was five. He had almost no contact with his father after the divorce, and only began to rebuild a relationship with him in the late 1970s, at the instigation of Lennon's then girlfriend May Pang. His father's murder in 1980 (when Julian was 17) came just when the two were beginning to grow closer. He and his half-brother Sean Lennon (John's child with Yoko Ono) have a renewed relationship, spending time together on Sean's tour in 2007.
As a child, Julian directly inspired the title of one of his father's most famous songs, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", whose lyrics describe a picture Julian drew, a watercolour painting of a girl (a classmate named Lucy) surrounded by stars. Later, Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" as a way of consoling him because of his parents' divorce. "Hey Jude" was meant to be "Hey Jules", but McCartney changed the name because he thought "Jude" was an easier name to sing.
Julian said of his father, "I've never really wanted to know the truth about how dad was with me. There was some very negative stuff talked about me ... like when he said I'd come out of a whiskey bottle on a Saturday night. Stuff like that. You think, where's the love in that? Paul and I used to hang about quite a bit ... more than Dad and I did. We had a great friendship going and there seems to be far more pictures of me and Paul playing together at that age than there are pictures of me and my dad."
Career
Julian Lennon has had an inconsistent career as a musical artist. He enjoyed immediate success with his debut 1984 album Valotte with two top-10 singles in "Too Late for Goodbyes" and "Valotte." His second album, 1986's The Secret Value of Daydreaming was panned by critics, but reached #32 on the Billboard 200, and produced the single "Stick Around", which was his first #1 single on the U.S. Album Rock Tracks chart. Lennon never reached the same level of success in the U.S. post-Valotte, but he hit #5 in Australia with the 1989 single "Now You're In Heaven", which also gave him his second #1 hit on the Album Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. Two years later, "Saltwater" reached #6 in the UK and topped the Australian singles charts for four weeks. After 1991, Lennon left the music business for several years. He took interests in cooking, sailing, and sculpting during his leave from the music industry.
Lennon's debut album Valotte was produced by Phil Ramone, who also produced albums for artist Billy Joel. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1985, and produced two top ten hits, the title track "Valotte", and "Too Late For Goodbyes". Lennon promoted Valotte with music videos for the two hits made by legendary movie director Sam Peckinpah and producer Martin Lewis. Lennon's first-ever tour in the spring of 1985 was documented as part of the film Stand By Me: A Portrait Of Julian Lennon — a film profile started by Peckinpah but directed by producer Martin Lewis after Peckinpah's death. The song "Valotte" has remained a staple on adult contemporary radio stations since its release.
McCartney and his late wife Linda visited him in 1974 to take photographs of him for John Lennon. When Julian released Valotte, Paul sent him a telegram wishing him good luck. In 1984, the two met up backstage at the New York studios of the TV show Friday Night Videos. In 1991, George Harrison and Dennis Tarczynski played on Lennon's album Help Yourself but were not directly credited. He also recorded the song "Because", which was made famous by The Dave Clark Five, in England for Clark's 1986 musical, Time (The single is out-of-print).
After he began his performing career there was occasionally unfounded media speculation that Lennon would undertake performances with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. However, in the Beatles Anthology series in 1996, the three surviving Beatles confirmed that there was never an idea of using Julian Lennon as part of a Beatles reunion, with McCartney saying "why would we want to subject him to all of this?" Lennon has been seen in several films including The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1996, but shot in 1968), Cannes Man (1996), Imagine: John Lennon (1988), Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987) and had a cameo in Leaving Las Vegas (1995) as a bartender. Julian provided the voice for the title role in the animated David Copperfield (1993).
In 2002, Lennon recorded a version of the Beatles' classic "When I'm Sixty-Four," a song from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band primarily written and sung by McCartney (although as was customary on all Beatles compositions of either author, John Lennon was credited as co-writer), for an Allstate Insurance commercial. Lennon's performance of the song was reminiscent of McCartney's vaudevillian delivery on the original.
Julian Lennon is also the producer of the documentary called WhaleDreamers about an aboriginal tribe and its special relationship to the whales. It also touches on many environmental issues. This film has received many awards and was shown at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
He has also ventured into Internet businesses including MyStore.com with Bebo founder Michael Birch.
His 6th album, Everything Changes, is complete and will be released in 2009.
Discography
Albums
* Valotte (1984) # 20 U.K, #17 U.S.Platinum
* The Secret Value of Daydreaming (1986) #32 U.S.Gold
* Mr. Jordan (1989) #87 U.S.
* Help Yourself (1991)
* Photograph Smile (1998) #70 Japan
* VH-1 Behind the Music - Julian Lennon (2001)
* Everything Changes - Release Date TBD (2009) - Go to Julian's MySpace profile for details.
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK | |||
| 1984 | "Valotte" | #9 | - | #6 | #55 | Valotte |
| 1985 | "Too Late For Goodbyes" | #5 | - | #11 | #6 | Valotte |
| 1985 | "Say You're Wrong" | #21 | - | #18 | #75 | Valotte |
| 1985 | "Because" | - | - | - | #40 | Dave Clark's Time Soundtrack |
| 1985 | "Jesse" | #54 | - | #24 | - | Valotte |
| 1986 | "Stick Around" | #32 | - | #1 | #86 | The Secret Value Of Daydreaming |
| 1989 | "Now You're in Heaven" | #93 | #27 | #1 | #59 | Mr. Jordan |
| 1991 | "Saltwater" | - | - | - | #6 | Help Yourself |
| 1991 | "Help Yourself" | - | - | - | #53 | Help Yourself |
| 1992 | "Get A Life" | - | - | - | #56 | Help Yourself |
| 1995 | "Cole's Song" | - | - | - | - | Mr. Holland's Opus Soundtrack |
| 1998 | "Day After Day" | - | - | - | #66 | Photograph Smile |
| 1998 | "I Don't Wanna Know" | - | - | - | | Photograph Smile |
Other releases
* Dave Clark's Time: Original Soundtrack (1986)
Films
Producer:
* WhaleDreamers (2008)
Wikipedia
"Anna (Go to Him)" Lyrics
by Arthur Alexander
As Released by Arthur Alexander (1962)
Anna
You come and ask me, girl
To set you free, girl
You say he loves you more than me
Well, I will set you free
Go with him (Anna)
Go with him (Anna)
But Anna
Girl, before you go now
I want you to know now
I still love you so
But if he loves you more
Go with him
All of my life
I've been searchin' for a girl
To love me like I love you
Oh, now
But every girl I've ever had
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad
What am I, what am I supposed to do?
Oh
Anna
Just one more thing, girl
Give back my ring to me
And darlin' you'll be free
To go with him
All of my life
I've been searchin' for a girl, now
To love me like I love you
Oh, but let me tell ya, now
Every girl I've ever had
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad
What am I, what am I supposed to do?
Oh
Anna
Just one more thing, girl
You give back my ring to me
And darlin' you'll be free
To go with him (Anna)
Go with a-him, Anna (Anna)
Go with him (Anna)
A-you can go with him girl
As Released by the Beatles (1963)
Anna
You come and ask me, girl
To set you free, girl
You say he loves you more than me
So I will set you free
Go with him (Anna)
Go with him (Anna)
Anna
Girl, before you go now
I want you to know now
That I still love you so
But if he loves you more
Go with him
All of my life
I've been searchin' for a girl
To love me like I love you
Oh, now
But every girl I've ever had
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad
What am I, what am I supposed to do
Oh
Anna
Just one more thing, girl
You give back your ring to me
And I will set you free
Go with him
All of my life
I've been searchin' for a girl
To love me like I love you
But let me tell you now
But every girl I've ever had
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad
What am I, what am I supposed to do
Oh
Anna
Just one more thing, girl
You give back your ring to me
And I will set you free
Go with him (Anna)
Go with him (Anna)
You can go with him, girl (Anna)
Go with him
As Released by Arthur Alexander (1962)
Anna
You come and ask me, girl
To set you free, girl
You say he loves you more than me
Well, I will set you free
Go with him (Anna)
Go with him (Anna)
But Anna
Girl, before you go now
I want you to know now
I still love you so
But if he loves you more
Go with him
All of my life
I've been searchin' for a girl
To love me like I love you
Oh, now
But every girl I've ever had
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad
What am I, what am I supposed to do?
Oh
Anna
Just one more thing, girl
Give back my ring to me
And darlin' you'll be free
To go with him
All of my life
I've been searchin' for a girl, now
To love me like I love you
Oh, but let me tell ya, now
Every girl I've ever had
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad
What am I, what am I supposed to do?
Oh
Anna
Just one more thing, girl
You give back my ring to me
And darlin' you'll be free
To go with him (Anna)
Go with a-him, Anna (Anna)
Go with him (Anna)
A-you can go with him girl
As Released by the Beatles (1963)
Anna
You come and ask me, girl
To set you free, girl
You say he loves you more than me
So I will set you free
Go with him (Anna)
Go with him (Anna)
Anna
Girl, before you go now
I want you to know now
That I still love you so
But if he loves you more
Go with him
All of my life
I've been searchin' for a girl
To love me like I love you
Oh, now
But every girl I've ever had
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad
What am I, what am I supposed to do
Oh
Anna
Just one more thing, girl
You give back your ring to me
And I will set you free
Go with him
All of my life
I've been searchin' for a girl
To love me like I love you
But let me tell you now
But every girl I've ever had
Breaks my heart and leaves me sad
What am I, what am I supposed to do
Oh
Anna
Just one more thing, girl
You give back your ring to me
And I will set you free
Go with him (Anna)
Go with him (Anna)
You can go with him, girl (Anna)
Go with him
Beatles News
- Great Hits in the Battles and the Beatles (New York Times)
- Maureen Cleave: Did I break up The Beatles? (Daily Mail)
- Roles cast in Beatles stage show Backbeat (BBC News)
- The Cute One: Paul McCartney (New York Times)
- How the Beatles brushed away repression (guardian.co.uk)
- McCartney wants to play long run of shows in London (Ireland Online)
- More Character, Design and Story Details For Robert Zemeckis' Yellow Submarine (/FILM)
- Snapshots: Spot in German city is shrine for Beatles fans (Reading Eagle)
- The Beatles: Christmas Pack (Times Online)
- John Lennon's lover superior (Times Online)
George Harrison's Thoughts on God
"We've all got the same goal whether we realise it or not. We're all striving for something which is called God. For a reunion, complete. Everybody has realised at some time or other that no matter how happy they are, there's still always the unhappiness that comes with it."Everyone is a potential Jesus Christ, really. We are all trying to get to where Jesus Christ got. And we're going to be on this world until we get there. We're all different people and we are all doing different things in life, but that doesn't matter because the whole point of life is to harmonise with everything, every aspect in creation. That means down to not killing the flies, eating the meat, killing people or chopping the trees down.
". . . Everybody is potentially divine. It's just a matter of self-realisation before it will all happen. The hippies are a good idea--love, flowers and that is great--but when you see the other half of it, it's like anything. I love all these people too, those who are honest and trying to find a bit of truth and to straighten out the untruths. I'm with them one hundred percent but when I see the bad side of it, I'm not so happy."
Saturday, December 19, 2009
"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" Lyrics
by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
As Released by the Beatles (1965)
Here I stand head in hand
Turn my face to the wall.
If she's gone I can't go on
Feeling two-foot small.
Everywhere people stare
Each and every day.
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say.
Hey! you've got to hide your love away.
Hey! you've got to hide your love away.
How can I even try
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in.
How could she say to me
Love will find a way?
Gather round all you clowns
Let me hear you say.
Hey! you've got to hide your love away.
Hey! you've got to hide your love away.
As Released by the Beatles (1965)
Here I stand head in hand
Turn my face to the wall.
If she's gone I can't go on
Feeling two-foot small.
Everywhere people stare
Each and every day.
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say.
Hey! you've got to hide your love away.
Hey! you've got to hide your love away.
How can I even try
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I'm in.
How could she say to me
Love will find a way?
Gather round all you clowns
Let me hear you say.
Hey! you've got to hide your love away.
Hey! you've got to hide your love away.
Ringo Starr on "What Goes On"
"I used to wish that I could write songs like the others--and I've tried, but I just can't. I can get the words all right, but whenever I think of a tune and sing it to the others they always say, 'Yeah, it sounds like such-a-thing,' and when they point it out, I see what they mean. But I did get a part credit as a composer on one -- it was called 'What Goes On.'"
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