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John's mother, Julia Stanley, was one of five sisters, along with Anne, Betty, Harriet, and Mimi all born in Liverpool. Stubborn and headstrong, Julia gave her parents an uphill battle when they disapproved of the hotel bellboy, Alfred Lennon she started seeing at the age of 14.

Then Alfred became a ship's steward, and his life and relationship with Julia survived long absences at sea and the war that followed. In 1938 they secretly married in a register's office because Julia's family still didn't accept him. Then Julia fell pregnant with John.

However, Alfred then sailed out of the picture entirely, and so Julia went back to live in her childhood home under her disapproving father's roof, but it didn't stop the string of romances that followed.

Julia then fell pregnant by a passing Welsh soldier. She gave the little girl up for adoption and then started dating "Bobby" Dykins whom she met while waitressing. During this time, 5-year-old John was being looked after Julia's sister, Mimi, as she basically moved out and into Dykins' arms.

Source: Odette Odendaal/news.amomama.com

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Paul McCartney revealed in a recent interview with British GQ that he hadn't returned to his childhood home in Liverpool until James Corden convinced him to for a "Carpool Karaoke" segment.

The former Beatle appeared on a 2018 episode of Corden's "The Late Late Show," and told GQ that filming with Corden in his former hometown, where he lived for the first 20 years of his life, was "really great."

"I'd never been inside my old house. I hadn't been back since I left it," McCartney explained, adding, "James suggested doing it."

"I was always a little apprehensive about going back. I didn't know if it was going to be nice or whether I would get bad memories or whatever, although I don't really know what I was worried about," the musician continued.

Source: Libby Torres /insider.com

John Lennon’s aunt recalls buying him his first guitar in 1981

John Lennon could be pretty candid when it came to Beatles tracks he didn’t like. But the late star was also very honest about his favourites. During an interview with Playboy in 1980, Lennon revealed which of George Harrison’s tracks he was particularly fond of.

Spotted by Far Out Magazine, Lennon saw Harrison’s Within You Without You as one of his favourite Beatles songs.

On the Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band track, the late Beatle said: “One of George’s best songs.

“One of my favourites of his, too. He’s clear on that song.

“His mind and his music are clear.”

Source: George Simpson/express.co.uk

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Paul McCartney recently got candid about The Beatles' split in an interview with British GQ.

The 78-year-old music legend said the fallout was "pretty hurtful," largely thanks to his decision to sue the band.

"Well, as you can imagine, that was horrendous and it gave me some terrible times," he said. "I drank way too much and did too much of everything."

In 1970, after the four Beatles went their separate ways, McCartney filed a lawsuit to dissolve the band's contracts with its publishing company, Apple Corps, and notorious manager, Allen Klein. McCartney told GQ that his distrust of Klein was the catalyst, twice calling him a "f---ing idiot."

According to McCartney, Klein would have owned the band's music if not for the lawsuit.

Source: msn.com

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Hail, Macca. Sir Paul McCartney is not only GQ’s September cover star, nor – discounting a couple of brash pretenders – merely the king of rock'n'roll, but ultimately the godfather of modern British music. A perennial presence for nigh-on 60 years, McCartney’s output is astounding: 12 Beatles albums, seven with Wings and 17 more solo, plus countless other credits on original songs performed and covered by artists around the world. He’s one half of the most famous musical writing pair ever and has collaborated with everyone from U2 to Nirvana to Kanye West. To put it bluntly, he’s produced a lot of very good music in his life.

Source: Thomas Barrie/gq-magazine.co.uk

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Back in 1971, the beloved music icon Sir Paul McCartney formed the band, Wings, following the break-up of the Beatles in 1970. So today, let's take a walk down memory lane as we examine one of Macca's No.1 hits, 'Silly Love Songs'. Forty-four years ago, back in 1976, McCartney and his musical project, Wings, wrote a self-aware rebuttal to his critics regarding McCartney’s penchant for writing love songs. The resulting hit ‘Silly Love Songs’ was a clap back at the singer's naysayers, including John Lennon, who had once slammed his former bandmate in an interview, saying that all Macca ever wrote anymore were silly love songs. McCartney promptly responded with this gem and went on to top the chart with his 27th overall No.1 hit. So let's revisit Sir Paul McCartney at his groovy, goofy and sentimental best. You can check the light-hearted music video out here below, which also serves as a charming tribute to Linda McCartney, the rockstar's wife.

Source: Brian Polson/meaww.com

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John Lennon and his bandmates started one of the most important bands in history: the Beatles. Sir Paul McCartney and John were the main writers, while George Harrison and Sir Ringo Starr also contributed in many ways. The group split in 1970 but at one point, a reunion may have been on the cards for the band.

Beatles fans are, even to this day, debating whether a Beatles reunion could have happened before John Lennon’s death in 1980.

John was shot outside his home in New York on December 8, 1980, though his legacy in his work with the Beatles has lasted.

However, fans have often wondered whether the band may have got back together at some point, and one fan on a Quora forum has even suggested John wrote a song, signalling his return.

The song (Just Like) Starting Over, released by John on his final album Double Fantasy, speaks of a relationship blossoming and starting again.

Source: Jenny Desborough/express.co.uk

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Residents of Southern Illinois, especially those of the original Beatles-loving Baby Boomer generation, are well aware of the fact that George Harrison visited Benton in September of 1963. The first Beatle to come to America, George traveled across the pond to visit his sister Louise, who had recently purchased a home at 113 McCann St. in Benton with her husband, Gordon Caldwell, who had found work as a mining engineer in Franklin County.

Louise, the eldest of the Harrison children — George being the youngest — promoted her brother’s band on the radio waves of Southern Illinois and to anyone who would listen on the street. When George visited just four months before the Beatles’ big debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, he and the Beatles were still unknown in the United States and he was able to enjoy a carefree excursion in the region, playing on stage with a local band, purchasing a Rickenbacker guitar in Mount Vernon, visiting Garden of the Gods in the Shawnee National Forest, and hitting up the local root beer stand and drive-in movie theater. In 2017, a mural was even constructed near the Benton exit on Interstate 57 commemorating George’s visit in early fall of 1963.

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John Lennon and Paul McCartney had an incredible writing partnership during The Beatles years. But did you know they once finishing writing and recording one of their many No 1 hits in just a single day? The track in question is The Ballad of John and Yoko.

According to Far Out Magazine, Lennon and McCartney managed the feat while George Harrison and Ringo Starr were away.

John said in 1969: “It doesn’t mean anything.

“It just so happened that there were only two of us there.

“George was abroad and Ringo was on the film and he couldn’t come that night.”

Source: express.co.uk

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The co-lead vocalist and bassist of The Beatles, Paul McCartney has made the last call to his fans to take part in the ‘Great Day Fan Video‘ project which will premier in McCartney’s YouTube channel.

Paul McCartney has announced the chance to star in a special video to his followers on  Twitter. He asked his fans to submit a video of themselves having fun with the people they love. The videos, which fans show that they are having a great day, will be collected and edited for a fan video.

On the announcement made for the project on McCartney’s website, it was stated that they expect his fans to share their favorite moments at home from the past couple of months. The videos may range from water fights in the garden to lockdown crafts with the kids. There is no limit to the content.

Source: Dilara Onen/ metalheadzone.com

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In 1964, a persistent hurricane-stricken Jacksonville, Florida crowd gathered excitedly to watch The Beatles step foot on stage. Little did they know just how close the concert was to being canceled. The U.S. was in the full throws of segregation and a civil rights movement. It was a time when, as historian Dr. Kitty Oliver remembers,
“public accommodations were separate, inequities were rampant, and opportunities were stifled.” She goes on to recount, “As tensions accelerated, our churches warned us not to get involved in civil rights activities for fear of reprisal against our parents.” It was also peak Beatlemania and a 16-year-old Oliver couldn’t help but be drawn to a wider world and perspective.

“Still, some of us risked rebellion,” Oliver admits. “At night, for fun, I listened to the ‘White radio station.’ That’s where I was introduced to The Beatles. They were rebels, flaunting their difference in the way they looked and sounded, and I was a fan from the start.” This is also where she heard that The Beatles were coming to town and would be at the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Fueled by determination and the growing tide details

An in-depth look at The Beatles’ final year is the subject of a new book from author Ken McNab, a lifelong fan of the band. And In The End: The Last Days of The Beatles, according to an announcement from its publisher, Thomas Dunne Books, is “a detailed account of the breakup featuring the perspectives of all four band members.” The book arrives Aug. 18.

“In a month-by-month chronology,” the announcement continues, McNab “reconstructs the events of 1969 when The Beatles reached new highs of creativity and new lows of their internal strife. In the midst of this rancor, however, emerged the glorious disharmony of Let It Be and the ragged genius of Abbey Road.”

[2020 was expected to be host to another round of 50th anniversary Beatles celebrations. The pandemic, however, has altered many of those plans. Peter Jackson’s documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, compiled from 55 hours of unseen footage and 140 hours of mostly unheard audio recordings taken during the original Let It Be film and album sessions, has been moved to Aug. 27, 2021. It was originally scheduled for Sept. 4 of this year.]

Source: Best Classic Bands Staff/bestclassicbands.com

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A Columbia grad student, new to the city, lost his lease. So he organized the perfect send-off.

On an otherwise quiet pandemic Sunday, the unmistakable songs of the Beatles started blaring from the roof of a building on the Upper West Side. The band was belting out faithful renditions from the 1969 rooftop concert in London — “Get Back,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” “I’ve Got a Feeling” — and people stepped out onto their balconies and fire escapes to listen.

When the band finished, and Upper West Siders shut their windows and headed back into their apartments, a 28-year-old Columbia University physics grad student named Ben Markham stood on the roof savoring the moment with a joint and beer.

“I was worried the cops might come,” he said. “If John was watching, I hope he liked it.”

Source: Alex Vadukul/nytimes.com

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Plenty of artists have toxic fans but few call them out in their own music. John Lennon was one of the few. In a single song, he attacked Christianity, the Hare Krishna movement, and the delusional fans who came to his door.

John Lennon | Harry Benson/Express/Getty ImagesWhen John Lennon equated the Beatlemania with religion

During his solo career, John dealt with a lot of his frustrations through song. Sometimes he discussed his dissatisfaction with the world in an accessible way, like in “Imagine.” Other times he went for the jugular.

In “I Found Out,” John attacks religion, telling people they shouldn’t look to Jesus Christ or Hare Krishna gurus to solve their problems for them. In addition, he says he’s “seen religion from Jesus to Paul.” The line itself is ambiguous, as the Paul in question could be Paul the Apostle or Paul McCartney. However, the Beatles Bible reports the lyric is about the latter, so John appears to be equating the Beatles fandom to a religion in that line. Fans often interpret “I Found Out” as a condemnation of people looking to religious figures or celebrities for salvation rather than themselves.

Source:enterta details

Whenever we read into the histories and motivations behind the songs by the Beatles, we’re opened up to a labyrinth of their memoirs of life. Before them, it was uncommon for musicians to make songs out of their own life experiences. But, there were no better trendsetters than the fab four themselves. And their one album that influenced the music industry the most for all times to come was ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’. It’s a serious contender for being the greatest album of all time.

But, did you know that Paul McCartney wrote a song from this album because he was just tired of being a part of the Beatles? It’s true!Many people don’t know this, but there was a time before the breakup when the Beatles were just tired of being themselves. After the craziness that was the Beatlemania, they were done touring. And if that wasn’t enough, there were some serious controversies too, like the comment John Lennon made that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. And after Brian Epstein’s death, the fab four were simply done being the center of attention for the world as “the British boy band”. They wanted to disassociate themselves from this identity. And so, details

Despite passing away relatively early, the legendary keyboardist had the privilege of playing with some of the biggest names of different genres, from Little Richard to The Beatles.

Late American musician Billy Preston passed away 14 years ago at the age of 59, and his talent was so impressive that he caught the attention of several high profile soloists and bands that recruited him as a session keyboard player.

But apart from recording and touring with at least four generations of musicians (he even played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers), Preston cemented his reputation as a solo artist with several albums and No.1 hits.

Source: Pedro Marrero/news.amomama.com

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Elvis Presley became both famous and infamous — and John Lennon wasn’t always a fan. He and the other Beatles went out of their way not to mimic Presley in a very specific way. In addition, John felt Mick Jagger replicated one of Presley’s mannerisms that he couldn’t stand.

John opened up about so much in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, where he discussed everyone from Judy Collins to Bob Dylan to Chairman Mao Zedong. He made some surprising comments about Presley and how he moved. Presley was known for swiveling his hips — an act which many people felt was too sexual back in the 1950s.

Initially, the Beatles had some interesting stage antics of their own. “When we were younger, we used to move, we used to jump around and do all the things they’re doing now, like going on stage with toilet seats and sh*tting and p*ssing.” However, the Beatles deliberately wouldn’t movie like Presley.

Source: cheatsheet.com

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In 1960, John Lennon's art school friend Stu Sutcliffe coined the Beatles' name (originally, as Beatals) in tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. By 1961, Lennon had grown tired of explaining the roots of the group's name, with its manifold permutations. In a humorous story for Mersey Beat, he famously claimed that the word had come to him "in a vision—a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them, 'from this day on you are Beatles with an A.'"

For his tenth solo album, Paul McCartney drew his title from Lennon's whimsical story, honoring his fallen mate and christening his most sentimental post-Beatles release in the same breath. This month, "Flaming Pie" enjoys deluxe treatment as the latest installment in the Paul McCartney Archive Collection, complete with a host of unreleased demos, bonus tracks, and outtakes.

Source: Kenneth Womack/salon.com

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Of his relationship with Yoko Ono, John Lennon once said: "If you love somebody, you can't be with them enough. There's no such thing. You don't want to be apart."

From the outside the two artists certainly seemed inseparable. For many, their love story is synonymous with images entwined around one another, most famously on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Behind the photos, Lennon and Ono's bond was not one without incident or controversy.

The relationship began when they were both married with children, and Ono was widely perceived to have been a factor in The Beatles breaking up. They also separated during their marriage, with Lennon starting an affair that Ono admitted to having encouraged.

Here, 9Honey looks at some of the key moments of Lennon and Ono's relationship before it was cut cruelly short with the former Beatle's murder in 1980.

Source: Kahla Preston/msn.com

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Twin Cities songwriter and Music in Minnesota editor Erik Ritland releases a new article every Friday. Ranging from fun lists to serious music commentary, they are a companion to his podcast, Erik Ritland isn’t so Bad.

The Beatles are perhaps the most revered band in pop/rock history. Since their later material is so revered, it’s hard to imagine just how impactful their earliest songs and albums were.

There was plenty of other great music released in the early ‘60s, but singles like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” were explosive. There was nothing like their music. Some would say that there still isn’t, although their early material is now obscured by everything that was influenced by it.

Below are 10 essential Beatles songs from the first half of their career, showing their arc from Hamburg-hardened pop/rock band into a more sophisticated sound. Find a playlist featuring each of these songs here.

Source: Erik Ritland/musicinminnesota.com

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One summer day in 1968, Paul McCartney recorded “Blackbird” while John Lennon looped tape for “Revolution 9” in another studio. Though these tracks sound about as similar as Sting and Stravinsky, they ended up on the same album—the Beatles’ self-titled double album (aka the “White Album”).

McCartney’s unusual fingerpick-and-strum technique gives “Blackbird” its distinctive sound. Try strumming across the strings with just your index finger and you’ll get a sense of McCartney’s feel. Unlike a strum that uses your whole arm, these mini-strums are all done with your hand in the same place: your index finger moves from the base knuckle joining your finger to your hand.

Look at the first measure of “Blackbird” and see that McCartney grabs each note of the tenth intervals on the beat with his thumb and middle finger, filling in the upbeats with index-finger plucks. In measure 2, he slides all the way up to the tenth and 12th frets, grabs two strings again with his thumb and index finger, and does a quick index-finger strum—down and up—on the second half of beat 1.

Source: acousticguitar.com

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Earlier this month, Sir Ringo Starr celebrated his 80th birthday with his fans. The Beatles drummer streamed a Big Birthday Show on his official YouTube channel, which included footage of him and his friends performing in recent years. And included was the latest Beatles reunion, when Sir Ringo performed with Sir Paul McCartney at one of the latter’s solo concerts in Los Angeles last year.

The footage of the two surviving Beatles performing Helter Skelter together at Dodger Stadium last summer featured at the end of Sir Ringo’s charity birthday show.

But now it’s no longer available on his YouTube channel.

However, for fans who missed The Beatles reunion and the rest of the show, Sir Ringo has made it available again for one week only on an exclusive platform.

The 80-year-old wrote on his Instagram: “I want to thank @CEEKVR for supporting my charity & birthday broadcast – RINGO’S BIG BIRTHDAY SHOW.”

Source: thewashingtontime.com

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I know it’s hard to believe, but according to Nielson, the Beatles were the biggest-selling rock band during the first half of 2020. No one, other than perhaps the Beatles themselves, would have predicted their monumental success in 1962 when a catastrophic mistake nearly broke up the band.

Fortunately, “Quitting” Wasn’t In The Beatles’ Songbook

“Listening to the tapes, I can understand why we failed the Decca audition. We weren't that good…” Paul McCartney

The words “failure” and “The Beatles” seldom appear in the same sentence. However, much like a nascent startup, the Beatles’ early career was comprised of a series of failures, culminating in their unsuccessful audition with the leading record company of their era, Decca Records - a misstep that nearly caused the band to call it quits.

Entrepreneurs can draw several startup lessons from the way the Beatles dealt with Decca’s devastating rejection.

Source: John Greathouse/forbes.com

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Paul McCartney is one of pop's fountainheads, one of the defining figures in the development of the artform.

A songwriter with no shortage of magic in the vaults, he recently decided to turn his sights to 1997 album 'Flaming Pie'.

Paul McCartney's tenth solo album, it was an international success, a record that ranks amongst the highest echelons of his storied discography.

Later this month a lavish re-issue hits the shelves, featuring rarities and unheard gems galore.

We've obtained this early, raw version of album cut 'Somedays' and it's a gorgeous listen, little more than guitar and that instantly recognisable voice.

A beautifully affecting piece of music, this is the original recording, before George Martin developing the finished song's distinctive arrangement.

You can download it on Paul McCartney's official website HERE and check it out below.

Source: Robin Murray/clashmusic.com

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John Lennon sometimes made provocative comments that got the Beatles in trouble, however, he once made an innocent comment about food that made things very difficult for the Fab Four. At first, fans started sending the Beatles bags of candy. Things got progressively worse from there — and may have contributed to the band retiring from touring.According to the book Ringo: With a Little Help, John and George Harrison once told a magazine they liked Jelly Babies – a soft British candy. These remarks appeared harmless enough. According to The Guardian, some fans responded to them by sending boxes of Jelly Babies to the band.

Source: cheatsheet.com

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