"The footnotes for my nineteenth book. This is my standard procedure for doing it. And while I compose it, I'm also reviewing it"-Jeremy Hillary Boob Ph.D
For those fortunate enough to have seen The Andy Griffith Show you may recall the little fair skinned, lighter hair son of Andy, Opie, played by Ronnie Howard. If you don't recall that name maybe you've heard of Richie Cunningham, a hard working student, musician, son of Marianne and Howard, and a regular at Arnolds with his friends Potsie Weber, Ralph Malph, and Arthur Fonzarelli in Milwaukee from the popular 1970s television show, Happy Days ,who was also portrayed by Ron Howard. But why am I telling you about Ron Howard? If you must know it's because this past Wednesday, 16 July, 2014 it was released that the childhood actor, with help from Apple Corps, Nigel Sinclair- who produced the Grammy award winning documentary, George Harrison: Living In The Material World along with No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, producer Brian Grazer, and Scott Pascucci, will be directing a new Beatles documentary about the touring years of the Fab Four.
Ron Howard himself has been a long-time Beatles fan, at the age of nine and already a star he wanted one specific item for his birthday,
During 1974 Ron Howard, along with the rest of the Happy Days crew, had the thrill of meeting ex-Beatle John Lennon along with his son Julian and Lennon's girlfriend, May Pang, while Yoko and him were on their Lost Weekend, as the three of them toured the set. With this new opportunity to direct a film of the mop-topped phenomenon starting with their Scotland Tour in 1960 to the craze that became known as Beatlemania, The British Invasion, from ground breaking concerts such as their 1965 Shea Stadium to the puzzling concert in the Philippines, ending with The Beatles last stop in 1966. All tours filled with thrills and shrills drowning out the sounds of The Beatles themselves and challenging the security as they tried their best to hold back the crying, fainting girls and boys who pushed themselves as close to the stage as they possible could. Ron now has the oppurtunity to interview Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison. In the same Rolling Stone interview with Stacy Anderson Howard says,
Hamburg, 1960
"What's so compelling to me is the perspective that we have now, the chance to really understand the impact that they had on the world. that six-year period is such a dramatic transformation in terms of global culture and these remarkable four individuals, who were both geniuses and also entirely relatable. That duality is something that is going to be very interesting to explore."
The Fab Four on Tour
All of those working on making this film possiable are positive they will create a concert feel with footage that they have unraveled along with original recordings. The Documentary will not only go through the frenzy of putting on a show but interviews with the two surviving band mates, McCartney and Starr, and Howard is looking to talk to fans who had the thrill of drowning out The Beatles amplifiers and interview what life was like during Beatlemania then talk to those Apple Scruffs (A nickname later coined by George Harrison) grandchildren as a continuous passing of The Beatles through generation to generation.
When a man buys a ticket for a Magical Mystery Tour, He knows what to expect. We guarantee him the trip of a lifetime, And that's just what he gets.The incredible Magical Mystery Tour!
Although this documentary isn't a colourful bus traveling through England you can still Roll up! and be patient until you purchase a ticket to the incredible documentary, which as of right now doesn't have a set date.
The following video is from The Washington Coliseum;
On 7 February, 1964 The Fab Four had made one of the most historic landings of all time as they stepped out of their PANAM flight 101 and onto US soil starting the world shaking event that we call, The British Invasion (read about The Beatles arrival here). During their first US press conference that day it was brought to The Beatles attention that a campaign originating in Detroit Michigan called "Stamp Out The Beatles" began. When asked about the campaign Paul replied, "Yeah, well... first of all we're bring out the Stamp Out Detroit campaign.", John said "What about it?", while Ringo asked, "How big are they?", but today 22 July, 2014 a new meaning was taken to the campaign. Instead of stamping out our beloved Liverpool lads we're looking to stamp out bark beetles and ladybug beetles who have taken a liking to a memorial for George Harrison, who passed away from cancer at a friends home in Los Angeles on 29 November, 2001, in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.
Part of Friar Park gardens
It's arguable that George Harrison was the friendliest of the mop-headed crew (read about some of his closest friends from Ravi Shankar to his son Dhani Harrisonhere ), which leads to no surprise that many memorials have been dedicated for not only his music but for his love and long lasting impressions he left in the world. George Harrison, a musician, writer, and a dedicated gardener, he himself saying, "I'm not really a career person, I'm a gardener basically." (Read about George the gardener here). Harrison even took care of his home, Friar Park's, lavished and full grounds and gardens and often attending the Chelsea Flower Show with his wife Olivia, Ringo, and Ringo's wife Barbara, It was only appropriate for "Our favorite Angelenos," as called by Councilmember Tom Labonge in 2004, to be honored with a plant, a tree in fact, at the base of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park.
On approaching the tree a black black with bronzey- gold lettering reads;
The
George Harrison Tree
In memory of a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist,
a musician and a gardener.
"For the forest to be green, each tree must be green."
George Harrison (1943-2001)
ॐ
George Harrison
On the 22 February, 2004, now marked in LA's history as George Harrison Day, Councilmember LaBonge hosted the tree's opening as they revealed the plaque along with live performances by Keith Chagall, who performed his own tribute to George with his "Soundlight", Paul and Ringo crooning through two of their baby brothers greatest works with "Here Comes The Sun" and "My Sweet Lord", and even Jackie Lomax performed an original piece about his beloved friend, and memories shared by friends, amongst two who couldn't attend, Billy Preston and Olivia Harrison, who both sent in messages thanking and remembering George, which were read to the audience. At the opening ceremony Labonge stated the following;
"George Harrison was and always will be one of our favorite Angelenos. His performance with the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl was unforgettable. He lived on Blue Jay Way in the Hollywood Hills and wrote a haunting song about it. He married a native Angeleno, Olivia Arias, and they were a devoted team. His legacy as a humanitarian has few equals in the world. And, sadly, he died in Los Angeles. But upon his demise, he became an angel in the City of Angels and we are forever grateful for his contributions to the world."
To this day the tree planted in his memory has grown over ten feet tall and had unfortunately been removed due to it's battling with a bug infestation. The Los Angeles Times posted;
"By the time we got to Let It Be we couldn't play the game anymore."- John Lennon, Anthology
Recorded: 4 February 1968- 1 April, 1970
Released: 8 May, 1970 (UK)
18 May, 1970 (US)
Producers: George Martin, Phil Spector
Engineers: Martin Benge, Peter Brown, Jeff Jarratt, Glyn Johns, Phil McDonald, Ken Scott
John Lennon: Vocals, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, organ
Paul McCartney: Vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, maracas
George Harrison: Vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, maracas, tambura
Ringo Starr: drums, percussion, svaramandal
Billy Preston: Hammond organ, electric piano
George Martin: Hammond Organ, shaker
Linda McCartney: backing vocals
The album also featured eighteen violins, fourteen chorus singers, four cellos, four violas, three trumpets, three trombones, two additional guitarist, a tenor saxophone, and a harp.
Twickenham Studios
Although the group started a quick recording in February 1968 it wasn't till early January 1969 that The Beatles had found themselves back in the studio to record their twelfth and (arguably) last album, Let It Be. The group however weren't recording in their usual home away from home at Abbey Road nor did they work completely with their usual producer, George Martin. Instead the group had set up at a familiar studio where they used during 1964 and 1965 while filming A Hard Days Night and Help!, Twickenham Film Studios, London with producer Phil Spector.
"They were going through a revolutionary period at that time, and were trying to think of something new - and they wanted a new engineer. They have Geoff Emerick, so Glyn Johns came in. I guess basically they wanted a new producer, but they never actually said that to me. So i was still there."- George Martin, Anthology
Ever since 29 August, 1966 when The Beatles played their last concert, Paul had always wanted The Beatles to do something else, especially after the death of their manager, Brian Epstein in 1967. Paul had pushed the group into making their third film, Magical Mystery Tour, right after Epstein had passed away to keep the band together and occupied. During 1969, McCartney, along with the other Beatles began to film their last film, a documentary, filmed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and his crew, who had previously helped The Beatles with their promotional films for "Paperback Writer/Rain" and once again with "Hey Jude/Revolution". By filming themselves recording the album it was the best Paul could do to get close to a concert like sound , but wasn't the best for the group itself as it was soon became a very hostile environment.
"What can we do if we can't think of any sort of gimmick? Well, the worst that we have is a documentary of us making an LP, if we don't get into a show. All the things we do, the whole point of it is communication. And putting it on TV is communication, and we've got a chance to smile at people, like "All You Need Is Love". So that's my incentive for doing it."- John Lennon, 1969
Although John was quoted saying it was a chance for them to smile at the people he was quoted the following year saying" making Let It Be was hell followed by,
"It was the most miserable session on earth."
Ringo at Twickenham
Maybe it was the environment that made the recording and filming so red, long-time Beatles roadie and friend, Neil Aspinall recalls;
"Twickenham was very cold in January, and a strange place to be making an album. It was like half recording and half filming. It didn't really feel right. Nobody was that comfortable out there."- Anthology
or maybe it was in the filming itself;
"And so he (Paul) has these ideas that we'll rehearse and then make the album. And of course we're lazy fuckers and we've been playing for twenty years, for fuck's sake , we're grown men, we're not going to sit around rehearsing. I'm not, anyway. And we couldn't get into it. And we put down a few tracks and nobody was in it at all. It was a dreadful, dreadful feeling in Twickenham Studio, and being filmed all the time. I Just wanted them to go away, and we'd be there, eight in the morning. You couldn't make music at eight in the morning or ten or whenever it was, in a strange place with people filming you and coloured lights."- John Lennon,1970
George made a point in saying that The Beatles never had privacy anyways and now they were being followed around smushing their faces against the camera lens in the one place where they were never bothered before, a recording studio. Going into this environment was especially odd for George who had just spent the last few months in Woodstock hanging out with Bob Dylan, The Band, and Jackie Lomax.
"But I can remember feeling quite optimistic about it. I thought, 'OK, it's the new Year and we have a new approach to recording.' I think the first couple of days were OK, but it was soon quite apparent that it was just the same as it had been when we were last in the studio, and it was going to be painful again."- George Harrison, Anthology
George Harrison
It had got the feelings every since The Beatles stopped touring and the passing of Brian that Paul had been taking over the group. George had felt that Paul wouldn't listen to anyone's ideas, John thought Paul was running the show, telling when everyone should arrive, what they would record, when they would do this and that, even the idea of having them be constantly filmed, and Ringo had the feelings that instead of the early Beatles being "I've just written this song- give me what you can" it became "I wrote this song and I want it this way." George Martin see's half of Paul's side and half of the others whereas Paul had just been trying to keep the group together by doing activities but John and George especially could careless about it. George with his well known quote, "I'll play what you like or I won't play at all." and John with his constant being with Yoko Ono, showing up late together at the studio or not showing up at all.
"It's easy for someone like me, who likes to get stuff done, to come on too strong. I get excited and I get too keen about something , and talk too fast - 'Oh, we could do that and we'd be there on Monday morning - Twickenham - we'll do it - it's great...' And then it got a bit difficult. I would say, 'It would be great if we could film The Beatles working. It would be fabulous.' and they'd be like, 'Well, are you sure you want to do it that way?' It was getting very lukewarm reception- and I didn't quite realise how I was."- Paul McCartney, Anthology
Early in the recording sessions on 10 January, George Harrison had got up and left the band after getting into an argument with Paul, leaving for what seemed for good. During his absence it was suggested by John Lennon that they should get Eric Clapton to fill in for him, after all they had worked with Clapton before during their previous album, The White Album, but their plan for Eric never fell through as they waited for the return of George. While at Twickenham recording what Ringo recalls, "Jamming violently" and Yoko Ono wailing her strain vocals throughout the tapes, George had found himself at home with his guitar and wrote "Wah Wah" which would be released on George's second solo LP, All Things Must Pass in 1970. The following video is George Harrison's "Wah Wah";
"I was called to a meeting out in Elstead in Surrey, at Ringo's house that he bought from Peter Sellers. It was decided that it would be better if we got back together and finished the record. Twickenham Studios were very cold and not a nice atmosphere, so we decided to abandon that and go to Savile Row into the recording studio."- George Harrison, Anthology
On 15 January, George's break from the band was put to a rest after that meeting where he suggested that the band record in the basement of Apple where a recording studio was being built at Savile Row. They started recording at Apple on 21 January, 1969 till the 31 January.
"The days were long, and it could get boring, and Twickenham just wasn't really conducive to any great atmosphere. It was just a big barn. Then we moved to the new studios in the basement of Apple to carry on.
The facilities at Apple were great. It was so comfortable, and it was ours, like home. It was great to go to, and when we weren't working we could sit round the fire, which we'd had put in because we wanted it really cosy."- Ringo Starr, Anthology
Billy Preston and Paul McCartney
During the time of Get Back, the working title of Let It Be, The Beatles had been working with Glyn Jones but his work hadn't worked well with The Beatles and the group went back to find their old friend, George Martin who had brought his EMI studio equipment to Apple Studios after studio builder and John Lennon's little follower, Magic Alex, claimed that Apple Studios were going to be better than EMI studios but had forgotten to even add holes in the wall in between the control room and the studio itself. After coming to Apple Studios with their original producer, things seemed to die down a bit. On one appearance, The Beatles last recording together for the album, George Harrison had brought in Billy Preston, an old acquaintance from The Beatles early Hamburg days in 1962, after George and Eric Clapton saw him open for Ray Charles at the Festival Hall.
"Billy came down and I said, 'Remember Billy? Here he is - he can play the piano.' He got on the electric piano, and straight away there was 1005 improvement in the vibe in the room. Having this fifth person was just enough to cut the ice that we'd created among ourselves. Billy didn't know all the politics and the games that had been going on, so his innocence he got stuck in and gave an extra little kick to the band. Everybody was happier to have somebody else playing and it made what we were doing more enjoyable. We all played better and that was a great session. It was more or less just as it is on the record."- George Harrison, Anthology
"Billy was brilliant - a little whizz-kid. We'd always got on very well with him. He showed up in London and we all said, 'Oh Bill! Great - let's have him play on a few things.' So he started sitting in on the sessions, because he was an old mate really."- Paul McCartney, Anthology
The following video is from the Let It Be sessions "Get Back" featuring Billy Preston:
By clicking the track-name above you will be brought to a Youtube page of the album version of the tracks, by clicking on the track-name as you read below you will be brought to a Youtube page on the Let It Be film version or Let It Be sessions.
McCartney had originally wrote the song for his wife, Linda but as The Beatles began to break-up the song had took a new meaning towards him and John who sing the song together.
Part of The Beatles rooftop concert line-up. The song was originally called "Con a Lowry" but when singing didn't flow as Lennon had wanted and the lyrics had been changed to "Dig A Pony".
"'Across The Universe' was first recorded at the end of the 'White' album. I couldn't get it on because we'd done so much material. It wasn't a very good recording. By the end of the double album we were really sick of recording. It was a shame because I liked the song.
I was lying next to my first wife in bed and I was thinking. It started off as a negative song and she must have been going on and on about something. She'd gone to sleep and I kept hearing, 'Words are flowing out like endless streams...' I was a bit irritated and I went downstairs and it turned into a sort of cosmic song rather than, 'Why are you always mouthing off at me?'
But nobody was interest in doing it originally; everyone was sickened. The tune was good, but subliminally people don't want to work with it sometimes. I was so disappointed that it never went out as The Beatles. I gave it to The Wildlife Fund of Great Britain and it went out.
And then I tried to do it again when were were making Let It Be, but anybody who saw the film saw what reaction I got with it when I tried to do it. Finally Phil Spector took the tape, and did a damn good job with it and made a fairly reasonable sound out of it, and then we released it again.
The words were purely inspirational and were given to me - except for maybe one or two where I had resolved a line or something like that. I don't own it; It came through like that."- John Lennon, 1971 and 1980
A "Heavy waltz" style as George called it with the 3/4 time signature.
George and Ringo
"I Me Mine is the 'ego' problem. There are two 'I''s: the little 'i'
when people say 'I am this' and the big 'I'; i.e. OM the complete whole,
universal consciousness that is void of duality and ego. There is
nothing that isn't part of the complete whole. When the little 'i'
merges into the big 'I' then you are really smiling!
So there is the little ego -- The little 'i' -- which is like a drop of the ocean. Swami Vivekananda says 'Each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest the divinty'. We have to realise that we are of the little 'i' by the drop becoming merged into the big 'I' (the ocean).
I suppose having LSD was like somebody catapulting me out into space. The LSD experience was the biggest experience that I'd had up until that time. The mind goes so fast and so far, and I had flashes, realisations, where I would work out the whole Universe and then get back to the starting point and think 'Shit -- I'm back to where I started' because relativity goes round and round . It actually left me confused for a while, and after one dose of acid I felt I was stuck in this thing, which later I realised is called 'relativity'. So, the big 'I' I'm talking about is the absolute, whereas we're in the relative where everything is good-bad, yes-no, up-down, black-white. That's why they called it the heaven and hell drug! But life is heaven and hell, we see it as, or make it into hell or heaven: there's no heaven and hell beyond relativity.
So Suddenly, I looked around and everything I could see was relative to my ego-- you know, like 'that's my piece of paper' and 'that's my flannel', or 'give it to me' or 'I am'. It drove me crackers; I hated everything about my ego-- it was a flash of everything false and impermanent which I disliked. But later, I learned from it: to realise that there is somebody else in here apart from old blabbermouth (that's what I felt like - I had seen or heard or done anything to my life, and yet I hadn't stopped talking). Who am 'I' became the order of the day.
Anyway that's what came out of it: I Me Mine. The truth within us has to be realised: when you realise that everything else that you see is and can answer the question 'who am i'?.
Allen Klein thought it was an Italian song-- you know, Cara Mia Mine but it's about the ego: the eternal problem..."- George Harrison,I Me Mine
The song was coined from a common phrase being used 'Dig It'. The original track name was "Can You Dig It" which can be heard at the end of the Let It Be film version and at the beginning of "Two of Us" studio version when John can be heard saying "That was 'Can You Dig It' by Georgie Wood, and now we'd like to do 'Hark The Angels Come'."
Although many people think that the song is a religious message with Mother Mary, in fact the song is about Mother Mary, but not Jesus Christ mother but Paul's own mother, Mary McCartney (read about her here), who passed away from breast cancer when Paul was only fourteen years old. Struggling with the album and the time of The Beatles fights he was becoming a bit paranoid, going to bed with a lot on his mind he had a dream of his mother coming to him and simply speaking words of wisdom, "Let It Be".
The track is said to be the last song that Paul and John had wrote together. It consists of Paul's "I've Got A Feeling" and John's "Everybody Had a Hard Year" in which they had decided to mix them together to create the final piece.
Although the song appears on The Beatles last album it was written by John at home in 1959. Yes, that's before the group released their first album, Please Please Me in 1963 and even three years before Ringo had joined the group. The song could be heard as far back as the early Cavern Club days. The following video is an early version of the song performed at the Cavern Club
"I just sat down at my piano in Scotland, started playing and came up with that song, imagining it was going to be done by someone like Ray Charles. I have always found inspiration in the calm beauty of Scotland and again it proved the place where I found Inspiration."- Paul McCartney
The song being about the tension between the group and Paul following the B842, a road that runs through the east coast of Kintyre towards his High Park in Campbeltwon (read about the home here).
The song being about Britain's anti-immigrant laws and telling everyone to Get Back to their own countries.
The track featured Billy Preston,
"Billy Preston was a great help and a very good keyboard guy, and his work on 'Get Back' alone justified him being there. He was an amiable fellow too, very nice and emollient. He helped to lubricate the friction that had been there."- George Martin, Anthology
Mixing;
Let It Be recordings ended on 31 January, 1969 at Apple Studios with a total of about twenty-nine hours of tape that was given to The Beatles new engineer, Glyn Johns, who took the lengthy tapes on 10 March, 1969 in London at Olympic Sound Studios after John and Paul had met with him at EMI Studios where The Beatles themselves have done little work on them with what was the original track-list to Get Back, as it was still called during this time being;
One After 909
Rocker
Save The Last Dance For Me
Don't Let Me Down
Dig A Pony
I've Got A Feeling
Get Back
For You Blue
Teddy Boy
Two Of Us
Maggie Mae
Dig It
Let It Be
The Long and Winding Road
Get Back (reprise)
Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns produced two different versions of the album. The first version was rejected by the group in late 1969 which allowed The Beatles to head back to the studios (a complete year after the initial recordings) on the 3 and 4 January, 1970 were they recorded new versions of two tracks, "I Me Mine"- which just featured Paul, George, and Ringo while John was on vacation in Denmark. The second sessions was working on overdubbing "Let It Be" on 4 January which became The Beatles last recording sessions together.
Johns' second version of the album started on 5 January, 1970 when the track-listing changed to;
One After 909
Rocker
Save The Last Dance For Me
Don't Let Me Down
Dig A Pony
I've Got A Feeling
Get Back
Let It Be
For You Blue
Two Of Us
Maggie Mae
Dig It
The Long and Winding Road
I Me Mine
Across The Universe
Get Back (reprise)
Just like the first version of the LP, The Beatles rejecting Johns work again;
"I originally put together an album of rehearsals, with chat and jokes
and bits of general conversation in between the tracks, which was the
way I wanted Let It Be to be – breakdowns, false starts. Really the idea
was that at the time, they were viewed as being the be-all-and-end-all,
sort of up on a pedestal, beyond touch, just Gods, completely Gods, and
what I witnessed going on at these rehearsals was that, in fact, they
were hysterically funny, but very ordinary people in many ways, and they
were capable of playing as a band, which everybody was beginning to
wonder about at that point, because they hadn’t done so for some time –
everything had been prepared in advance, everything had been overdubbed
and everything, and they proved in that rehearsal that they could still
sing and play at the same time, and they could make records without all
those weird and wonderful sounds on them.
That became an obsession with me, and I got the bit between my teeth
about it, and one night, I mixed a bunch of stuff that they didn’t even
know I’d recorded half the time – I just whacked the recorder on for a
lot of stuff that they did, and gave them an acetate the following
morning of what I’d done, as a rough idea of what an album could be
like, released as it was…
They came back and said they didn’t like it, or each individual bloke
came in and said he didn’t like it, and that was the end of that. A
period of time went by and I went to America to work with Steve Miller,
and when I came back, I got a call from John and Paul asking me to meet
them at EMI, which I duly did. They pointed to a big pile of tapes in
the corner, and said, ‘Remember that idea you had about putting together
an album?’ and I said, ‘Yes’. They said, ‘Well, there are the tapes –
go and do it’. So I was absolutely petrified – you can imagine. I was
actually being asked to put together a Beatle album on my own. So I did –
I went off and locked myself away for a week or so and pieced an album
together out of these rehearsed tapes, which they then all liked, really
liked. This was some months after the thing had actually been recorded,
and we’d actually started work on Abbey Road about the same time."-Glyn Johns, The Recording Producers
Phil Spector
Phil Spector stepped into the picture on 23 March, 1970 when the LP was now officially called, Let It Be., after becoming friendly with Beatles manager Allen Klein and his dream to work with the Fab Four. Spector was put on the album by John and George without Paul or even Beatles producer, George Martin knowing about it .
"He really can play a control board. He just plays it. He can really make any sound you like within seconds. His knowledge is incredible. I learnt a lot from him. Phil leaves you to present him with a picture you think you want, and then he'll take the best shot of it with his camera sort of thing. You present him with the stage set and he'll make sure you get a good picture out of it, a good sound. You get what you're making. The usual trouble is t&R man. He likes the same old kind of rock crap that I like."- John Lennon, 1970
After working "like a pig", Phil's mixing was over on 2 April, 1970 and the album was finished. During this time The Beatles had stopped working with each other with a lot of tension being tossed around. After Spector had shown the group his version of the album with hard work on 1 April adding orchestra to John's "Across The Universe" and without Paul knowing, and orchestra and choir to Paul's 'The Long and Winding Road", which raged Paul;
"To me, it was really because Let It Be was the bare record that Glyn Johns had mixed - with no over dubs on it, no orchestras, no nothing. It was very, very simple. It was just a band, very live sounding - in a room or on a roof - and I really liked that. Maybe it was a bit tough to take. Maybe it wasn't that commercial, but anyway these were the kind of things that were starting to go wrong."- Paul McCartney, Anthology
In 1970 Paul spoke out again about the Orchestra and choir added to his song;
"The album was finished a year ago, but a few months ago American record producer Phil Spector was called in by John Lennon to tidy up some of the tracks. But a few weeks ago, I was sent a re-mixed version of my song 'The Long and Winding Road', with harps, horns, an orchestra and women's choir added. No one had asked me what I thought. I couldn't believe it. I would never have female voices on a Beatles record. The record came with a note from Allen Klein saying he thought the changes were necessary. I don't blame Phil Spector for doing it but it just goes to show that it's no good me sitting here thinking I'm in control because obviously I'm not. Anyway I've sent Klein a letter asking for some of the things to be altered, but I haven't received an answer yet."- Paul McCartney, April 1970
But what did the others think of Spector's work? George Martin wasn't a fan of it, although he was a fan of Phil Spector's previous work. He thought that Spector had taken the album and had done everything he could do with it to change it around instead of the bare and Beatles original take on it,
"It was always understood that the album would be like nothing the Beatles had done before. It would be honest, no overdubbing, no editing, truly live.... almost amateurish. When John brought in Phil Spector he contradicted everything he had said before. When I heard the final sounds I was shaken. they were so uncharacteristic of the clean sounds the Beatles had always used. At the time Spector was John's buddy, mate and pal... I was astonished because I knew Paul would never have agreed to it. In fact I contacted him and he said nobody was more surprised than he was"-George Martin, Rolling Stone
George Martin even went on to say that Phil had taken the record to make it sound like an LP sung by someone else. Ringo and John loved Phil's work on the album and everything he did with it. While Glyn Johns hated the album saying he can't even listen to it. What does Phil say about it?
"Paul had no problem picking up the Academy Award for the Let It Be movie soundtrack, nor did he have any problem in using my arrangement of the string and horn and choir parts when he performed during 25 years of touring on his own. If Paul wants to get into a pissing contest about it, he's got me mixed up with someone who gives a shit."- Phil Spector
Album Cover
Original cover- Note the album title "Get Back"
The original cover was suppose to be a mock at the groups first album, Please Please Me, taken on a stair case at the EMI offices by Angus McBean. As the time for the album to be released was drawing closer the group had decided just to have the four portraits of themselves from the recording sessions become the cover, separating each of them with thick black bars. On the back cover read;
"This is a new phase BEATLES album...
Essential to the content of the film, LET IT BE was that they performed live for many of the tracks; in comes the warmth and the freshness of a live performance; as reproduced for disc by Phil Spector."
Those words started a row between Lennon and McCartney as Paul said that the statement was "nothing further from the truth" that it wasn't a new phase, it was the last phase of The Beatles, while John saying it was adding a parody from The Beatles first album in the last album with the writing style of Tony Barrow which appeared on early Beatle works, then by pointing fun at McCartney and his new band, Wings (read about Wings history here and Wings touring here), album Wild Life.
Release
The album isn't like any other album when it comes to the release. The album may of been the last Beatles album released but was the second to last album recorded as their Abbey RoadLP was recorded during the mixing and hassle of the Let It Be project.
"In May 1970 Let It be came out as the last album, thought Abbey Road was, of course, the last to be recorded. It goes to show how quirky the world is- that the next to last album comes out as the last album, and the last album came out before it. But we split up after Abbey Road and weren't really thinking about splitting up on the one before. It's all very strange."- Ringo Starr, Anthology
On April 10, 1970 Paul McCartney had announced that he had left The Beatles and newspapers printed the story that The Beatles have broken up. Despite The Beatles split about a month after the announcement The Beatles "The Long and Winding Road"/"For You Blue" were released as singles in the US as Allen Klein tried to make the most money off of The Beatles as he can having sold 1.2 million copies in the first two days of it being on sale with "The Long and Winding Road" becoming The Beatles final number one single.
On 8 May, 1970 the UK release of Let It Be which up til the following November was released as a box set containing a 168-paged book containing the script of the album film, calling the book Get Back. Ten days later on 18 May, the album was released in the US with 3,700,000 orders in advance, becoming the highest orders placed for any album in history in US history.
"Ringo is Ringo, that's all there is to it. And he's every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles."- John Lennon
From his early music, his days with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, from the little group called The Beatles, and beyond Ringo Starr reflects and thrives on his past support, group and love. Here you'll find in Ringo's own and in others words from previous interviews, programs, etc. about his love for music and his memories.
Question: "Sorry to interrupt you while you are eating,
but what do you think you will be doing in five years time,
when all this is over?" Ringo Starr: "Still eating."
If you haven't been following 7 Days of Starr I recommend you check out the following;
"I've never really done anything to create what has
happened. It creates itself. I'm here because it happened.
But I didn't do anything to make it happen apart from saying
'Yes'"- Ringo Starr
"They looked out for me and I looked out for them, and we all supported
each other," Starr said of the four Beatles. "It was really beautiful to
be part of that. And besides that, we made some great records."-From Rolling Stone 9 February, 2010 (Read more: here
)
To start off Starr's walk down memory lane it's only right to reflect the band that shook and still continues to shake and change the world, The Beatles.
It was 18 August, 1962 that Ringo Starr had formally joined The Beatles with group members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. The group would go on to perform together until 10 April, 1970 when Paul McCartney had publicly announced that The Beatles had broke up and he was leaving. Thorough the eight years they were together they released thirteen studio albums; Please Please Me, With The Beatles, A Hard Days Night, Beatles For Sale, Help!, Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles (White Album), Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road, and Let It Be, and had topped the charts since their release of "Love Me Do" in 1963. From damp cellars to Beatlemania to Meditation Camp in India to crossing Abbey Road for the billionth time The Beatles had defined the word "Music" again and again and again but where would they be without Ringo? John Lennon even said in an interview with Playboy 1980 that with Ringo's talent he would of been heard whether he joined The Beatles or not;
"I don't know what he would have ended up as, but whatever that spark is
in Ringo that we all know but can't put our finger on -- whether it is
acting, drumming or singing I don't know -- there is something in him
that is projectable and he would have surfaced with or without the
Beatles. Ringo is a damn good drummer."
Paul and George had even stated that The Beatles are like a four sided figure (Paul) or in a joke approach with How Many Beatles does it take to fix a light (George)? Ringo was that other leg of that four sided figure and The Beatles that fixed the light.
"We were honest with each other and we were honest about the music. The
music was positive. It was positive in love. They did write - we all
wrote - about other things, but the basic Beatles message was Love.”-Ringo Starr
Although in the beginning John, Paul, and George were skeptical about Ringo who was drumming with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, Ringo will admit he looked tougher than the rest, first of all he was older (Only a few months older than John but two years older than Paul and three older than George), he wore his Teddy Boy clothing with a grey streak on the side of his hair. After they had gotten to know Ringo they realized that the nastier one (as George said) turned out to be the nicest one followed by the comment;
"Playing without Ringo is like driving a car on three wheels."- George Harrison
Paul McCartney will still admit that Ringo is one, if not his favorite drummer, George said in an interview in 1974 that Ringo could play twenty-four hours a day and still be great.
This past February David Letterman had reunited the two Beatles for a Grammy Salute to the worlds best band (The Night That Changed America) where musicians and good friends such as Jeff Lynne, Dave Grohl, Dhani Harrison, and many more performed Beatles classics to honor the groups success and love they had provided and still provide. The Salute closed with Ringo and Paul performing together with the closing statement;
"Well, we were in a band" as he describes his memories with The Beatles, "and whenever we play, John and George are always with us."
"Tonight we're remembering our beautiful friends. John and George. Let's hear it for John and George"- Paul McCartney at The Night That Changed America.
The following video is Ringo reflecting on The Beatles first trip to the US;
For more Beatles reflects and about The Grammy Salute check out The Night That Changed America website here.
"I
want to deal with what's in front of me now to the best of my
abilities, and sometimes that's not very good. But a lot of the days it
is really great."
To celebrate the Hollywood Walk of Fame's anniversary, which started on 8 February, 1960 Ringo Starr was honored with a Star on the Walk's 50th birthday becoming the 2,401st member. Not only is he a member of the Hollywood Walk of Fame but along with The Beatles, Starr was appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1965 (read about their honor here). He has awards from many Grammy's, Diamond Award, Lifetime achievement award, and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame With A Little Help from his Friends (The Beatles).
"More than any other drummer, Ringo Starr changed my life."- Max Weinberg
With a starting role in The Beatles A Hard Days Night film in 1964 Ringo continued to become the acting Beatle with parts not only in Beatles films but he landed a role in Candy (1968), working besides Peter Sellers in The Magic Christian (1969), in 1971 he was in Blindman, 200 Motels, and The Point followed by Thatl'll Be The Day (1973), Son of Dracula (1974), Caveman in 1981 where he met his second wife, Barbara Bach. In 1985 he appeared in Alice in Wonderland, followed by other roles in movies, as the Conductor in the children's show Thomas and Friends, and others like appearances on The Simpsons and the Powerpuff Girls. Christ Carter, host of Breakfast with The Beatles on KLOS-FM said;
"He was used perfectly in the movies. In A Hard Days Night, he had his own scene and his own theme; in Help! It's all about the ring and Ringo; he sings the title song for Yellow Submarine. So if you think about it, he was really used to great effect, and I don't think the other guys minded it in the least."- Variety.com
The following video is the many sounds of Ringo Starr throughout his work with Thomas the Train Engine;
It was no shock that Ringo would be the one to get into cameras and film making, while The Beatles began earning money they'd have the leisure of spending it on whatever they'd like, while the others were buying their objects Ringo would invest in cameras. When The Beatles opened their own business, Apple, Ringo had suggested they start Apple Films;
"'I want this to be the way of Apple Films.' If you had a great idea we'd supply the cameras and the money and you'd bring the product back. But most people forgot to bring anything back, they just ran away with the cameras."
Ringo's acting career ended in the 1980s,
" I was too busy doing other stuff. And I realized that there's enough actors; I'm a musician."
This past year Ringo had released an e-book with his own photography starting as early as 1963 called Photograph.
"I'm not the creative one. I know that. If Rory Storm
hadn't come along... and then The Beatles... I would have
continued running around in teddy boy gangs. Today, well...
I'd probably be a laborer. I'm glad I'm not, of course. It'll
be nice to be part of history... some sort of history anyway.
What I'd like to be is in school history books and be read
by kids." -Ringo Starr, 1968
Since 1989 Ringo has been touring with various other musicians called The All-Starrs, read about the groups here.
"The special thing about it is you get to play with really good musicians that you would never get to play with."- Joe Walsh, The Eagles, Variety
Ringo's has had the opportunity to perform with many musicians from E-Street Band members to Toto's Steve Lukather, and many more and each group that comes along to tour his love and passion for music never seems to leave.
Today we come together to wish Ringo Starr a very Happy seventy-fourth Birthday. No matter where you are at noon, let's all wish for Peace and Love as Ringo had asked for his birthday gift last year.
"I'd like to end up sort of unforgettable."- Ringo Starr
"Everybody on stage is a star in their own right"- Ringo Starr
For over two decades Ringo has been traveling with thirteen All-Starr bands, But what's an All-Starr? An All-Starr are other musicians, who just like Ringo after The Beatles break-up, needed a new start, the idea for the band was conceived by producer David Fishof and since 1989 Ringo had toured with members from The E-Street, Saxophone legend, Clarence Clemons to Toto vocalist and guitarist, Steve Lukather. Although the band is "Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band" it's not nearly a show based around Ringo, Ringo will open the show with the usually "It Don't Come Easy" followed by one or two more tracks from his solo or Beatles career, but after that he may only appear singing three or four more times while his all-starrs all perform songs from either their solo work or an early career with a band.
1989:
The First All-Starr Band was (the tour I personally would of liked to see the most);
The 1989 group
Ringo Starr
Joe Walsh
Nils Lofgren
Dr. John
Billy Preston
Rick Danko
Levon Helm
Clarence Clemons
Jim Keltner
With special appearances by;
Zak Starkey
Bruce Springsteen
John Candy
Tom Lofgren
Garth Hudson
Paul Schaffer
Max Weinberg
The band would tour throught the US and in Japan in from 23 July- 3 September, 1989 with songs like Ringo's "No No Song" and "Back Off Boogaloo" to Joe Walsh soloing "Desperado" and "Life In The Fast Lane" from his career with The Eagles, Billy Preston wailing through "Nothing From Nothing", "The Weight" performed by Band members Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Dr. John, and many other songs.
1992:
While on tour in 1992
Ringo Starr
Joe Walsh
Nils Lofgren
Todd Rundgren
Dave Edmunds
Burton Cummings
Timothy B. Schmit
Zak Starkey
Timmy Capello
Guest;
Harry Nilsson
James Gang
Jeff Healey
Tom and Mike Lofgren
Hoyt Axton
Bonnie Raitt
Gary Busey
Kenny Passarelli
Nick Lowe- who filled in for Timothy B. Schmit on several occasions
This tour was launched to promote the new Ringo album Time Takes Time. The show opened with Ringo singing "I'm The Greatest", he'd also go on to sing hits like "Yellow Submarine", "Act Naturally" and others, while Todd Rundgren sang "Bang the Drum All Day", Timothy B. Schmit singing "I Can't Tell You Why", and many other songs by each other. The All-Starrs would be traveling through the US and Europe from 2 June- 6 September, 1992.
While performing in Houston, Texas 1995
1995:
Ringo Starr
Randy Backman
Billy Preston
Felix Cavalier
Mark Farner
Zak Starkey
John Entwistle
Mark Rivera
Guests:
Joe Walsh
Steven Tyler
Max Weingberg
Slash
Stevie Nicks
Expected to be on the tour;
Nils Lofgren- who was suppose to be on the tour but had to leave do to a reunion of the E-Street Band, replaced by Mark Farner
Clarence Clemons- who also had returned for the E-Street reunion, replaced by Mark Rivera
From 2 July- 28 August, 1995 The All-Starrs traveled through the US and Japan with songs like "Takin' Care of Business" by Randy Bachman, "Good Lovin'" from Felix Cavaliere, even "Boris the Spider" sung by John Entwistle, and plenty others.
1997-1998
Ringo Starr
Peter Frampton
Gary Brooker
Jack Bruce
Mark Rivera
Scott Gordon
Taken on 12 August, 1998
Simon Kirke
Guest:
Ginger Baker
Leo Kottke
Bob Mayo
David A. Stewart
Dave Mason- who left before the tour started
The fourth All-Starr Band may seem to be the shortest at that time but that didn't effect the set-list. IN fact the band had an average show filling their venues with twenty-five songs from "Show Me The Way" performed by Peter Frampton, "White Room" by Jack Bruce, and even "Photograph" by Ringo himself. The band played in US, Europe, and Russia with a scattered tour from 28 April- 7 June, 1997 and again on 7 August-5 September, 1998.
1999:
Ringo Starr
Todd Rundgren
Gary Brooker
Jake Bruce
Simon Kirke
Timmy Cappello
Guest:
Ginger Baker
Joe Walsh
From 12 February- 29 March, 1999 the All-Starrs performed "It Don't Come Easy", "Love Me Do", "All Right Now", "Hammer in My Heart" and twenty more songs as they traveled through the United States.
2000:
Ringo Starr
Dave Edmunds
Eric Carmen
Jake Bruce
Simon Kirke
Mark Rivera
Guest:
Andy Summers
Gone before the tour started:
Billy Squier
Billy Preston- replaced by Eric Carmen
Ray Davis
"Hungry Eyes" by Eric Carmen, "I Knew the Bride" performed by Dave Edmunds and many more could be heard as the All-Starr's performed various venus from 12 May- 1 July, 2000 in the United States.
2001;
Ringo Starr
Roger Hodgson
Howard Jones
Sheila E.
Ian Hunger
Greg Lake
Mark Rivera
The Supertramp hit "Give A Little Bit" was performed by Roger Hodgson, "With A Little Help From My Friends", Howard Jones with 'Things Can Only Get Better" with twenty-three others were heard from 12 May-1 July, 2001 as the All-Starr's toured across the US.
2003;
Ringo Starr
Paul Carrack
Colin Hay
Sheila E.
John Waite
Mark Rivera
Guest;
Simon Kirke
Mark Hudson
Steven Van Zandt
Gary Burr
From 24 July- 7 September,2003 The All-Starr's played the US supporting Ringo's new album Ringo Rama. "A Love Bizarre" by Sheila E. even "Never Without You", a song about the love and friendship of George Harrison was beautiful sung by Ringo.
2006;
at the Gibson Amphitheatre 2006
Ringo Starr
Billy Squier
Richard Marx
Edgar Winter
Rod Argent
Sheila E.
Hamish Stuart
Left Prior To Tour;
Mark Hudson
The tour started on 14 June ending on 20 July, 2006 traveling through the United States promoting the Choose Love album. Billy Squier had sang "Everybody Wants You" with Edgar Winter shortly playing his well known "Free Ride" with the Zombie classic "Time of the Season" and many more like Ringo performing "Act Naturally" and other favorites as well as the other musicians.
2008;
Ringo Starr
Billy Squier
Colin Hay
Edgar Winter
Gary Wright
Hamish Stuart
Gregg Bissonette
Guest;
Levon Helm
Supporting Ringo's new album, Liverpool 8, the All Starr's toured the United States opening with "With a Little Help From My Friends" closely followed by Billy Squier's "Lonely is the Night" and other favorites like "Dream Weaver" and other classics.
2010-2011;
Ringo
Wally Palmar
Rick Derringer
Edgar Winter
Gary Wright
Richard Page
Gregg Bissonette
Guests;
Paul McCartney
Mark Rivera
Zak Starkey
Joe Walsh
Jim Keltner
Jeff Lynne
Supporting another one of Ringo's albums, Y Not, the group played in the United States, Europe and South America from 24 June to 7 August, 2010 and continuing about a year later 4 June to 17 July, 2011 and again from the first of November to the 20 November, 2011. Songs like Richard Page's days with Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings" to "Hang On Sloopy" from Rick Derringer's days with the McCoys, and "What I Like About You" from Wally Palmar's group The Romantics.
2012-2013;
Photo taken by me at the 19 June, 2012 concert
Ringo Starr
Steve Lukather
Gregg Rolie
Todd Rundgren
Richard Page
Mark Rivera
Gregg Bissonette
Guests;
Joe Walsh
Nils Lofgren
Pat Mastelotto
From 14 June- 21 July, 2012 then again from 7 February to 1 March, 2013 followed by a short break and continuing back on the road from 29 October to 23 November, 2013 the All Starr's performed songs like "Black Magic Woman" from Gregg Rolie's previous band, Santana, "Hello It's Me" from Todd Rundgren, "Hold The Line" from Steve Lukather's Toto, and other classics like "It Don't Come Easy", "Don't Pass Me By" and many more as they supported Ringo's new album, Ringo 2012. 2014;
Ringo Starr
Steve Lukather
Gregg Rolie
Todd Rundgren
Richard Page
Warren Ham
Gregg Bissonette
Ringo and the All-Starr's are currently touring the US since 6 June to 19 July and will continue to perform after a short break from 2 October to 23 October, 2013 with performances from Ringo's "Wings", "I Wanna Be Your Man" and others with Gregg Rolie's "Oye Como Va", Steve Lukather singing "Rosana" and other's in between.
I personally have seen Ringo twice at the TD Bank of America Pavilion in Boston, MA on 29 June, 2010 and 19 June, 2012, both shows were phenomenal filled with jokes, laughs, and high energy performances by all musicians. If you haven't seen them yet, I highly recommend it.
To read about Ringo's current tour dates check out RingoStarr.Com and remember to Save The Rhinos!
Note; I have to give credit to where it's credit is deserved and I had found the set list and tour dates at wikipedia.com
For those fortunate enough to have seen The Andy Griffith Show you may recall the little fair skinned, lighter hair son of Andy, Opie, played by Ronnie Howard. If you don't recall that name maybe you've heard of Richie Cunningham, a hard working student, musician, son of Marianne and Howard, and a regular at Arnolds with his friends Potsie Weber, Ralph Malph, and Arthur Fonzarelli in Milwaukee from the popular 1970s television show, Happy Days ,who was also portrayed by Ron Howard. But why am I telling you about Ron Howard? If you must know it's because this past Wednesday, 16 July, 2014 it was released that the childhood actor, with help from Apple Corps, Nigel Sinclair- who produced the Grammy award winning documentary, George Harrison: Living In The Material World along with No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, producer Brian Grazer, and Scott Pascucci, will be directing a new Beatles documentary about the touring years of the Fab Four. 
