Across the Universe

How John Lennon And Paul McCartney First Met

admin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:17:04 +0000

John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met on July 6, 1957 at the St. Peter’s Church Hall fête in Woolton. On that day, Lennon was performing with his band, The Quarrymen (sometimes written as The Quarry Men), for the church’s annual garden festival. Although McCartney initially wasn’t really interested in attending the gathering, he was convinced by his friend Ivan Vaughan that it might be a good place to meet girls. Paul had a change of mind.Vaughan, being a mutual friend of both 15 year old McCartney and 16 year old Lennon, introduced the aspiring musicians between the first and second of the Quarrymen’s sets. Paul was also introduced to the other members of the group by Ivan, and he hung around for a while. At one point McCartney picked up a guitar and played one of Lennon’s favorites,“Twenty Flight Rock”, a song popularized by Eddie Cochran. Lennon was impressed with McCartney’s singing the tune with the correct lyrics and proper chords. Paul then wrote down the lyrics of the song for John. Lennon himself had a short memory for lyrics as was evident when he sang the Del-Vikings’ song “Come Go With Me” with incorrect and made up lyrics.

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Cazenovia College professor John Robert Greene takes a look back at the ’60s

admin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:09:17 +0000

What is our most common fallacy about the ’60s?
Easy answer. It’s the “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll” fantasy, that the sixties were no more than a bohemian reaction to the 1950s.
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Music Review: George Harrison - Brainwashed

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:53:36 +0000

George Harrison died of cancer November 29, 2001 at the age of 58. He had not released a studio album since 1987’s Cloud Nine. His participation with the Traveling Wilburys, a tour with Eric Clapton and its resultant live album (Live in Japan), plus his work on The Beatles Anthology project had kept him out of the studio for well over a decade.

He had been working on a new release for a while but once he realized that his latest cancer diagnosis was not treatable he began a final push to complete the album. He died before finishing but left notes for his son, Dhani, and longtime friend, Jeff Lynne, concerning its completion. It took a number of months to finish the work but it was finally released just about a year after Harrison’s death in November of 2002.

Brainwashed was a worldwide commercial success and received a gold record award for sales in the United States.
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John Lennon ’still with me in spirit’, says Yoko Ono

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:56:47 +0000

Yoko Ono has disclosed how she believes her former husband, John Lennon, is still “helping” her in her various endeavours, 30 years after his death.

Yoko Ono sits in the front room of John Lennon’s former home in Mendips, Liverpool Photo: PAOno made her comments as she discussed the couple’s relationship during a visit to his childhood home in Liverpool.The Japanese artist, musician and peace campaigner said she still felt the spirit of Lennon, who would have turned 70 on October 9, beside her.READ MORE (more…)

The Ten Worst Beatles Songs Of All Time

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:41:20 +0000

Rolling Stone is about to release a special issue counting down the magazine’s choices for the 100 best Beatles songs of all time, and previewed the list by posting the Top 10 onrollingstone.com. Maybe it’s just that Rocks Off doesn’t have quite the encyclopedic knowledge of the Fab Four as the RS staff, but 100 songs seems excessive to us.

Although we would hardly be the first to shout John, Paul, George and Ringo’s praises from the mountaintop, most of the people here at Rocks Off - although not quite everyone - count themselves about as big of a Beatles fan as they come. Short of blowing rent money on a bunch of live bootlegs from the Cavern Club or Reeperbahn or trolling eBay for a matching set of Yellow Submarine coffee mugs, that is.

Still, the Beatles weren’t perfect. Any band has its share of bum notes and filler tracks, and like so many other things, the Fabs were first among equals here as well. We suspect Paul McCartney or Ringo would agree, and we’d be glad to pick their brains for their lists of songs they wish they could take back if they’d care to ring us up.

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Deep Cuts: George Harrison - “Rising Sun” (2002)

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:37:30 +0000

That George Harrison kept recording until just two months before his death at age 58 in November of 2001 was its own blessing. After all, he hadn’t put out a new album of solo material since 1987.But you wondered what would become of Harrison’s final works, since producer Jeff Lynnehad decided to finish the project in George’s absence. After all, this former frontman of 1970s hitmakers the Electric Light Orchestra—perhaps even more so than Harrison—was prone to unsuccessfully ornate albums.What happened was one of the best two or three records Harrison issued. For me, it ranks right alongside George’s debut and his 1979 self-titled album.READ MORE (more…)

John Lennon ‘Gimme Some Truth’

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:42:09 +0000

FULL TRACKLISTS AND COVER ART UNVEILED FOR EIGHT ALBUMS REMASTERED FROM LENNON’S ORIGINAL MIXES AND SEVERAL NEW COLLECTIONS TO BE RELEASED ON 4TH OCTOBERSweeping Catalogue Initiative Overseen by Yoko Ono and EMI Music Commemorates Lennon’s 70th Birthday

LONDON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ — EMI Music unveils today the complete tracklists and cover art for a broad selection of remastered John Lennon albums and new collections to be released on CD and digitally on 4 October (5 October in North America). Announced last month, EMI Music’s global John Lennon ‘Gimme Some Truth’ catalogue campaign is being overseen by Yoko Ono and commemorates the music legend’s 70th birthday on 9 October, 2010. Featured in the sweeping initiative are eight remastered John Lennon solo albums and new titles including Double Fantasy Stripped Down, Power To The People: The Hits, Gimme Some Truth, and the John Lennon Signature Box.

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Fans Can Experience The Beatles On Ed Sullivan

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:28:59 +0000

When The Beatles stepped onto Sullivan’s New York stage on Sunday, February 9, 1964, to make their American TV debut, 86 percent of all TVs on at that hour–73 million Americans–tuned in. It was the most-watched program in history to that point and remains one of the most-watched programs of all time. Nearly 50 years after the four landmark live performances of The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” those legendary appearances with newly remastered audio and carefully restored video will finally be made available worldwide on home video through a major distributor. It was announced today by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) and SOFA Entertainment thatThe 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles will be released September 7, 2010, by UMe , a division of Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company. The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles was produced by SOFA Entertainment.

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Ringo Starr Quotes

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:36:19 +0000

“I met The Beatles while we were playing in Germany. We’d seen them in Liverpool, but they were a nothing little band then, just putting it together. In fact, they weren’t really a band at all.”

“So we went in and we did the album in twelve hours… because we did everything we’d been doing on the road for the last year or so, you know.”
About recording the Beatles’ first album

“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’”

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New Lennon Reissues, Celebration for 70th Birthday

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:36:03 +0000

Yoko Ono describes Iceland ceremony, show with Sean; producer Jack Douglas on a new box set that includes previously unheard home recordings

The celebrations for what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday, on October 9th of this year, have begun to take shape. On October 5th, EMI will reissue freshened versions of Lennon’s solo albums, along with some previously unreleased home recordings. And on the actual anniversary, Yoko Ono will hold her annual lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower on an island off ReykjavÌk, Iceland. “The fact that this year is John’s 70th birthday year is very special for us all,” Ono tells Rolling Stone. “We are all together celebrating John for having given us so much good energy in his lifetime and now.”

READ MORE Photos: John & Yoko: A New York Love Story (more…)