Today In Music History: The Beatles Perform On Ed Sullivan On Feb. 9, 1964

The Beatles made their legendary appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on this date in 1964. The band had arrived in the United States for the first time two days earlier and were greeted by thousands of screaming fans at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Their performance on Ed Sullivan was watched by 74 million people, which was then a whopping 40 per cent of the United States' population. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr performed "All My Loving," "Till There Was You" and "She Loves You" on the first segment of the show before following it up with "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" during the second part. Here are the performances in full: MORE ©CHARTattack

'Grunge Is Dead' Author Compares Kurt Cobain To John Lennon, Johnny Rotten

Omega's Apple recently published an exclusive email interview with Classic Rock journalist Greg Prato, conducted by Robert Gray. Topics of discussion included his book "Grunge Is Dead", as well as his other books, namely "A Devil On One Shoulder And An Angel On The Other: The Story Of Shannon Hoon And Blind Melon", "Touched By Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story", and "No Schlock... Just Rock". Several excerpts from the interview follow: Omega's Apple: "Grunge Is Dead" was inspired by a Soundgarden article for Classic Rock magazine. What about the article prompted you to take the subject further with a book on grunge, and from there, how did the book develop? [read more]

Ringo Awarded Starr

Ringo Starr was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday (08.02.10). The Beatles drummer unveiled the award on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the pavement bearing the names of showbiz personalities. Ringo's was the 2,401st to be unveiled on the Walk of Fame. Speaking outside the Capitol Records building, Ringo said: "This is the start of the next 50 years of stars. I'm proud to be the first one." The unveiling of the star was also the first in the walk's history to have been performed at night. Ringo quipped: "It's cool to get one at night. I don't know about you, but where I live, the stars come out at night." Film director David Lynch, comedian Eric Idle and Ringo's wife Barbara Bach - along with around 500 fans - watched as the 'Yellow Submarine' singer's star was uncovered. The Beatles as a group were given a star on the walk in 1998, and while singer John Lennon and guitarist George Harrison both also have individual stars, bassist Paul McCartney remains without one. However, a source at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said a star for Paul: "Was selected and approved many years ago. We are just waiting for his people to give us a date on when he would like to do it." Paul attended the unveiling of George's star last year. [source]

Drummer Zak Starkey Of “The Who” Was Amazing In Super Bowl Halftime Show

“The Who” halftime show during Super Bowl 2010 in Miami was amazing. The band with Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend as well as the drummer Zak Starkey was really a treat for the audience and the viewers. The English rock band led by the singer Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend and backed by the drummer Zak Starkey performed a medley of 5 classic tunes in a 12-minute medley at Sun Life Stadium on Sunday. Zak Starkey, the son of the former “The Beatles” member Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) along with bassist Pino Palladino, a second guitarist and a keyboard player accompanied Roger Daltrey as he started singing “Pinball Wizard, ” from its 1969 rock opera, “Tommy.” Fireworks immediately started erupting. [read more]

Ringo Starr announces tour dates with All-Starr Band

Ringo Starr has announced the first batch of dates for the North American summer tour supporting his 15th and latest album, Y Not, and, once again, he’ll be joined by his All-Starr Band. The 11th rendition of the outfit features rhythm guitarist Wally Palmar of The Romantics, guitarist Rick Derringer, Edgar Winter and Gary Wright on keyboards, Mr. Mister frontman Richard Page on bass, and Gregg Bissonette on drums. He may also have God, whom he has recently discovered, on his side — so this tour is sure to be a can’t-miss. The tour will kick off with two dates in Niagara Falls in late June. Ringo and the crew will stay for a couple weeks in the Northeast (including Ringo’s birthday gig at the Radio City Music Hall!) before heading south and hitting the Hard Rock Live arena in Hollywood, Florida. [read more]

It’s Me, I’m Alive: A Conversation with Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono began 2010 by participating in “Art Adds,” a project that exhibits her artwork on New York City taxicabs. Replacing advertisements that traditionally decorate the rooftops of taxis, Ono’s peace-promoting works (along with pieces by Alex Katz and Shirin Neshat) move throughout the city as a kind of public art. In Carol Vogel’s New York Times article about the project, Ono likens the experience to a dance, saying, “The message is always in motion.” In a sense, Ono’s contribution to “Art Adds” is an extension and distillation of her life’s work. Principles of motion and collaboration run throughout her oeuvre, although sometimes these qualities are obscured by other aesthetic or social factors. [read more]

Paul McCartney on The Beatles: ‘We Were a Great F-ing Band’

Paul McCartney watched the rehearsals for the Beatles’ “Love” show from Cirque du Soleil and this is one thing he had to say: “We were a great f-ing band.” This moment is captured in the documentary, “All Together Now,” which seems like it was supposed to have come out last fall, did or didn’t, and is being pushed this week. Regardless, I watched it over the weekend, and it’s wonderful. Beatles fans will just eat this up. What a pleasure. First of all, you get a real sense of the main players involved: George Martin, who deserves a purple heart; his devoted and talented son Giles; McCartney, of course and Ringo Starr. You also get a real sense of Olivia Harrison, George’s incredibly loyal and devoted widow; and Yoko Ono. And there are the people from Cirque du Soleil: from creators Guy Laliberte and director Dominic Champagne; to a South African dancer who’s struggling to fit in. [read more]

Click to download: new Beatles mash-up

Since Danger Mouse came to prominence with his brilliant 2004 Beatles/Jay-Z mash-up, the Grey Album, the net has been on the lookout for his successor. The latest hot contender is Tom Caruana, a 28-year-old music teacher from Brighton, who is causing quite a stir with Enter the ­Magical Mystery Chambers (pictured), a ­wonderful free album which mixes Wu Tang Clan raps with Beatles instrumentals. ­Caruana has been releasing records ­online for years, but nothing has had this impact. He's had a Twitter shout-out from Wu Tang member Raekwon, been interviewed by the New York Times and seen more than 30,000 ­copies downloaded from his website (teasearecords.net). The album's big twist is that many samples are taken from ­obscure Beatles covers, by everyone from ­Dionne ­Warwick to the London Jazz Four. [Click For MORE]

The Great Hoax: The Beatles Death Curse

November 6, 1966. Paul steps out of the EMI building in London, seemingly disappointed, he enters his car and he quickly leaves the place. Something must have happened with the other Beatles, a hard confrontation or an argument. Paul is tired but, while driving back home, he meets Rita on the way, a young girl looking for a lift. Rita is definitely a bit too nervous and in an alcoholic state, she distracts Paul from driving and prevents him from realizing that the traffic light is still sadly and unavoidably red. Paul loses control of his car while trying to avoid another vehicle and hits a tree. Something sparkles in the car: Rita dies all of a sudden and Paul literally loses his head, decapitated by a sharp piece of glass that exploded in the impact, as described in the song that completes the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, A Day in the Life. [read more]

A Hard Day's Night

This film is a classic, and beloved by Beatles fans. And it also features the fab four running around London, being wacky, so it clearly appeals to us as well. This is the earliest film we've featured that shows the actual London, not a studio built to look like London. London's changed a lot in the last 46 years, so there wasn't a whole lot we recognised though. We're perhaps not best suited to judge the London accuracy of that time, as we weren't born yet, but it's always fun to see the London of yesteryear. The first thing that jumps out in this film is that John, Paul, George and Ringo are not actors. Adorable? Yes. Charming? Yes. Actors? Oh my, no. The plot of the film, such as it is, features the boys travelling from Liverpool to London to perform for a TV broadcast. [read more]

PLUNDERING PEPPERLAND FOR SUNDAY UNDER THE COVERS

I'm drawn to covers like bird poop to a newly cleaned windshield. This is especialy true when covers of my favorite artists are involved. Realizing that The Beatles are a tough act to follow, i try to be generous in my assessments....but 99% of the time........The Beatles did it better. There are a few instances where i think the Fabs got bested......One of which I've posted before, long ago when we were little, but i'm gonna post it again. Phoebe Snow.....Don't Let Me Down for my money Ms Snow transforms this song so well. She takes Lennon's lewd barstool boast into the reverie of a Lady In Love. Compare how she sings (@ the 2:28 mark) about how..... "nobody ever really done me"........She's sitting at the breakfast table, tea in hand, reliving the experience, feeling the ecstacy. As opposed to Lennon's own reading of the song...He's sitting in a smokey bar bragging to his friends with his hand on his crotch. [read more/listen to 5 Beatle covers]

Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell get stranded in the Hollywood Hills

Former Beatle Paul McCartney needed a little help from his friends after his car broke down in California. The 67-year-old singer was left stranded following a Santa Monica hiking trip with girlfriend Nancy Shevell, when the vehicle’s engine died. But the couple were not forced to hang around and wait for a tow truck – or jump leads – themselves, as they were immediately whisked off by McCartney’s waiting security team. [read more/pics]

Abbey Road On The River

Recently I observed that if someone had told me in 1969 I would be organizing a tribute festival for a rock group about to break up, and that very same group would be still innovating and changing popular culture in the year 2009, it would challenge all conventional thinking. No futurist, no matter how clairvoyant, could have predicted this continued surge in The Beatles’ worldwide popularity. For while their images are timeless, and while we have difficulty placing them in a particular time, the fact is they are from another time. But, clearly what they created was so artistically original and brilliant that two generations later their art is not only being listened to as originally intended, but seen in Las Vegas as theatre, played with on hi-tech game systems, chronicled and analyzed in countless books, and imitated by thousands of bands in every country on the planet, while the two surviving members who left behind live touring 44 years ago, still tour, and sell out stadiums. [read more/win tickets!]

Ringo Starr Finds God, Quits 60-a-day Smoking Habit

So, say you’re up for approximately 16 hours a day. And say you smoke 60 cigarettes during the course of one day. That’s about 3.75 cigarettes per hour, which is basically like smoking one cigarette every 15 minutes (and each cigarette takes about five minutes to smoke, so there’s really only a 10-minute break in between each cigarette)… all day long. If you’re Ringo Starr, or a character on Mad Men, that’s how you do it. But then, Starr kicked the habit (along with a few others) and attributes the turn around in his life to finding God again. I have to say, that’s quite the turn around indeed. I once cut back from five smokes a day to none and turned into Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Very not God-like. But perhaps there is a lesson in there somewhere. I do not know. Another potential lesson to take away from all of this here, is that he made it to 70 years of age not looking nearly as ravished as someone who smoked 60 cigarettes a day for God knows how long should, so maybe cigarette label warnings should stick that in their pipe and smoke on it. In conclusion, Ringo Starr is 70 and found God and doesn’t smoke 60 cigarettes a day anymore. Yay. [source]

Stella McCartney booked Guy Ritchie's band for catwalk

Stella McCartney used Guy Ritchie's The Punchbowl Band for her Paris fashion show. The British fashion designer, who is best friends with the director's ex-wife Madonna, was so pleased with the reaction the crowd gave the group - who the filmmaker recently gave a record deal - at the stylish event, she has asked them to perform for her next season too. A source told The Sun: "They were surprised to be asked considering the Guy connection and because Stella is such good friends with Madonna. [read more]