The city of Los Angeles looms large in Beatles folklore. Outside of London and Liverpool, no other place has influenced the Beatles more than the sprawling metropolis of L.A. Ringo Starr still lives there with his movie-star wife Barbara Bach. They own two residences: one in Silver Lake, and another in Malibu. John Lennon spent most […]
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: a classic album for sure, no doubt about that, but frequently elevated to ridiculous status by critics and fans alike. The Kinks’ Face to Face appears to predate it, arguably, as a mid-60s psychedelic ‘concept album,’ with all the mid-60s graphics found in Sgt. Pepper. Chronologically, The Pretty Things’ […]
I Feel Fine marked an important turning point for The Beatles. It was a great tune, and one of their favorite songs to perform live: it opened every set post-1964, and they played it right up until their final concert at Candlestick Park in August of 1966. I Feel Fine stayed at No. 1 for […]
Q: Why did the ‘Paul Is Dead’ controversy continue to hold credence with Beatles fans for as long as it did despite the Beatles’ insistence that there weren’t hidden messages about it in any of their album covers/songs etc? Did the Paul is Dead belief/conspiracy theory reflect changes in the mood of the Beatles fan […]
Musings on the Beatles and Manson Another bizarre twist to this tale involves a little guy by the name of Charles Manson. He was so obsessed with The Beatles he thought they were sending hidden messages directly to him through their music. While this had nothing to do with the ‘Paul is dead’ controversy per […]
The nineteen sixties were a time of great upheaval in American culture. The decade saw a revolution in fashion, art, and moral attitudes. The biggest revolution by far, though, took place in popular music. Before 1964, pop music in the USA still replicated the style of the previous decade [a notable exception to this is […]
The Beatles revolutionized popular culture in the 60s, and their influence is still being felt today. Music, culture, lifestyles, hairstyles, clothing styles and attitudes all changed radically because of them. They are given proper credit for inventing the music video, along with the creation of an entire genre of film-making – the mockumentary – thanks […]
John Lennon had nothing but disdain for people who tried to interpret his music in any way shape or form. Outwardly, he was just trying to write good rock & roll songs. That was difficult enough considering the quality output he was able to consistently maintain for so many years as a Beatle. By the late […]
Author Jonathan Gould refers to the song Yer Blues as a perfect example of the “cultural realism” which distinguished the Beatles from their musical contemporaries. Yer Blues is a satirical, totally over-the-top faux-lament written by John Lennon. He mockingly acknowledges the British blues boom of the late sixties and the likes of Cream, Fleetwood Mac, […]
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