John Lennon: Bull in Search of a China Shop

The evening seemed to turn a corner, though, when Elvis proposed a jam session and summoned the guitars. “This beats talking, doesn’t it?” said John Lennon, once the music was underway and it seemed as though they would get along after all. Later, however, Lennon began to press Elvis on why he’d abandoned rock ‘n’ roll for Hollywood. The star of Tickle Me and Kissin’ Cousins bragged defensively: “I’m making movies at a million bucks a time and one of ’em—I won’t say which one—took only fifteen days to complete.” [read more]

Today In Rock History: George Harrison Passes Away

On this day in 2001, legendary guitarist, songwriter, philanthropist, and (most importantly) former Beatle George Harrison passed away from complications involving brain and lung cancer. He was 58 years old. A heavy smoker during his youth, Harrison had been receiving treatment and underwent invasive surgery during the previous year. He was survived by his second wife Olivia and son, musician Dhani Harrison. (thenewno2, Firstful Of Mercy) [read more/video]

John Lennon and the Cult of Celebrity: “They’re Gonna Crucify Me”

It should come as no surprise that when the appeal of traditional religion began to fade, mass entertainment rushed into the vacuum. In fact, pop culture and the temporal values of entertainment effectively compete with those of religion to such an extent that celebrity has increasingly become the religion of our consumer society. “And fans are the mystical adepts of this religion,” write Judy and Fred Vemorel in their book Starlust, “who dramatize moods, fantasies and expectations we all share.” [read more]

Stella McCartney Launches Newly Designed Website and Ecommerce Today

Today Stella McCartney announces the launch of a newly designed web and ecommerce site, www.stellamccartney.com. The online shop is a re-launch in the US and now available in the UK before expanding in 8 more European countries by spring 2011. The site is designed to emulate the designer's signature clean and modern aesthetic. In addition to the launch a new iPad application featuring original content will be available soon. [read more]

How an Iconic Portrait of John Lennon Began With Photographer Bob Gruen’s T-shirt

Lennon needed a cover image and press photos for the new album, but he also wanted to get back to the studio. He’d worked with Gruen and knew he would shoot fast. “It was a beautiful, sunny day,” says May Pang, Lennon’s companion at the time. “John smoked his French Gauloises and drank lots of strong coffee.” Gruen asked Lennon to put on a T-shirt he’d bought on the sidewalk for $5—white with NEW YORK CITY in bold black type, the black sleeves cut off with a buck knife for a tougher effect. It seemed right: “John had been in the city awhile,” says Gruen. “He was becoming a New Yorker.” One of the shots captures Lennon pale and unsmiling, his arms folded across his stomach. “That was his street stance,” says Pang. “John was self-conscious about the cutoff sleeves, but I assured him it was fine.” [read more]

John Lennon's Jukebox

In 1989, a Bristol music promoter purchased at auction an old Discomatic jukebox owned by John Lennon in the 1960s. Its track list, written in Lennon's own hasty handwriting, catalogued 41 remarkable discs of American soul, R&B, and rock 'n' roll -- a collection that shaped his musical education and became the musical style source from which the Beatles sound derived. Below is a complete list of all the 45s included in the jukebox. [read more]

John Lennon's last day.. as told by the people who were with him

It was on December 8, 1980, that five gunshots rang out in the New York night, signalling the end of an era. The victim was John Lennon, the former Beatle who had adopted the city as his home and was enjoying a musical comeback after five years out of the limelight. Now to mark the the 30th anniversary of his death, a remarkable new film reveals what happened in his final hours, including interviews with the medical staff who tried desperately to save his life after he was shot by crazed fan Mark Chapman. [read more]

Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney’s house custodian claims he was unfairly dismissed over medical problems

THE man who lived and worked in Sir Paul McCartney’s childhood home for 11 years was sacked by the National Trust – after complaints his breath smelt of alcohol. John Halliday has shown tens of thousands of visitors around 20, Forthlin Road, Allerton, the house where many early Beatles songs were written, since it first opened to the public in 1998. [read more]

Boyle eyeing McCartney duet

Susan Boyle dreams of working with Sir Paul McCartney - because she's such a huge fan of The Beatles. The Scottish singing sensation has listened to the Fab Four since she was a youngster, and now she's found fame Boyle admits she'd love to collaborate with her idol McCartney. She tells Britain's The Sun, "The Beatles are still around now, their records live on. I hope to be in the same calibre one day. "I know I've got a lot to do yet though. I'd like to meet Paul. If he ever wanted to perform together, I'd have no problem with it - here I am, baby!" (CL/WNTSU/LR)

Sean Lennon And Yoko Ono: DNA Memory

Sean Lennon recently sat down with his mother, Yoko Ono — not to talk about John Lennon or The Beatles, but to talk about her life. "I was born from my mother, who is a Yasuda, and my father, who is an Ono," Ono says. But Ono was essentially disowned from the latter family because of "having a very kind of outlandish life," she says. The Ono family was very conservative. "Yeah, well, you know, my father was a banker, but he was an independent spirit," Ono says. "He was a very good pianist and very much into music." [Read More]

Yoko Ono talks about the life and art of John Lennon

Yoko Ono is the ultimate outsider. As the wife of John Lennon she is often vilified as the woman who broke up the Beatles. Although her avant-garde leanings are a far cry from the pop and rock and roll origins of her fallen husband's songwriting, she is an indelible part of the Fab 4's story, and the keeper of Lennon's legacy.[read more]

Killer's Copy of ‘Double Fantasy’ For Sale

“The album is the most extraordinary artifact in rock and roll history,” Zimet told the New York Post. “It has Lennon’s signature on the cover and Chapman’s forensically enhanced finger prints on the sleeve. There are evidence markings from the NYPD. I originally sold it in 1999, but it has come back up for resale. The current owner doesn’t want to be named because he received death threats.” [read more]

Sir Paul McCartney falls on stage

Sir Paul McCartney, former Beatles member, took a nasty fall during a curtain call while performing in Brazil this week. McCartney who was performing to 67,000 fans fell, face first, as she left the stage in Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo. [read more]

Beatles sell over 2 million in first week on iTunes

The Beatles sold more than two million individual songs and more than 450,000 albums worldwide in their first week of release on Apple's iTunes store, Apple said on Tuesday. Of the catalog of 13 Beatles studio albums released last week, "Abbey Road" was the top-selling digital album in the U.S. at the iTunes store, landing at No. 6 overall for the week ending Nov 22. "The Beatles Box Set" was No. 10 on the iTunes U.S. album charts for the week. "Here Comes the Sun" was the best-selling Beatles digital single but did not place in the top 10 for the week, Apple said. [read more]

You Are Here: The 10 Best John Lennon Solo Songs - PopMatters

Maybe it was his presence as part of the Beatles. Perhaps it’s the lingering impact of his most famous songs. It could be the senselessness and untimely nature of his murder. It may also be his limited output and lack of strong commercial returns. Whatever the case, John Lennon is often viewed as the most meaningful of the solo Fab Four, an intellectualized response to the silly love laments of partner Paul or the difficult Zen extrapolations of George (As for Ringo… meh). From the primal scream primer of early single “Cold Turkey” to the doomed optimism of Double Fantasy, it was as if everything he did was given more layers and psychological important than merely being a wise world musician or a member of a band on the run. [read more]

Julian Lennon shows his photographs in Miami

Julian Lennon, son of late Beatles legend John Lennon, is showing off what he can do with a camera. About 30 of Lennon's photographs will be on display at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Centre for the Performing Arts from Dec. 1-5. The exhibit, called "Timeless", runs during Art Basel Miami Beach. Photos cost approximately $3,500 each with a portion going to the White Feather Foundation, started by Lennon. Lennon said by phone Tuesday the photos are either painterly or reportage. He has a passion for clouds and often takes photos of them on airplanes. Lennon says when taking these photos, "It's a Zen moment. It's almost like meditation." Some of his photos can also be purchased at the SCOPE Miami Art Show, a satellite fair from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.

John Lennon's I'm Only Sleeping Lyrics to Be Sold

Entertainment Memorabilia auction on 15th December 2010 is a must for any fans of the music legend John Lennon. Handwritten lyrics for the Beatles’ hit I’m Only Sleeping, an acoustic guitar used during the Walls and Bridges album recording session and a written note of personal expenses from May 1968 are just a few of the important items up for grabs thirty years after the musician’s tragic death. [read more]

The Story of the Beatles Love Me Do Drummer

It was September 1962 when top session drummer White was called to participate in a Beatles recording session at the EMI Studios at Abbey Road, London. White was a seasoned drummer, 10 years older than The Beatles and had backed up some rock and roll greats including Chuck Berry. White told MyCentralJersey.com in 2008 about his band backing Berry in Scotland: "We used some big band arrangements and put a back beat to it to fit in with the rock 'n' roll thing. I got the chance to hear rock 'n' roll in the flesh. That was where I got a good idea about what it was supposed to happen, drum-wise. It helped me in the studio game because the musicians at the time didn't like it – the jazz guys didn't dig rock 'n' roll." [read more]

TV preview: 'LennoNYC' and 'Lennon Naked' on PBS

It's been a John Lennon sort of year. He would have been 70 in October and has been dead for 30 years next month, and I'm beginning to wonder if it will be another few decades before our hagiographic tendencies will subside, allowing history (and filmmakers and documentarians) to tell the fuller and less sentimental Lennon story. [read more]

Why The Beatles' arrival on iTunes matters

It's tempting to dismiss the Beatles' long-delayed arrival on iTunes as a non-event. After all, it's been more than seven years since iTunes began selling music. And EMI Music reissued the band's entire discography on CD barely a year ago. Still, here are five reasons why the Beatles-iTunes deal is important: [read more]

The Who's Roger Daltrey Brands 'X Factor' 'Absolute Tripe' - Spinner

Daltrey's solution to the current musical climate is simple. "We really need to break away from the 'X Factor' and 'American Idol.' I really think the music industry will beat this slump and come back stronger." The 66-year-old singer joins fellow 60s veteran Ray Davies who, as previously reported by Spinner, is concerned by the 'X Factor' generation's approach to music. The Kinks legend explained, "I think there's a danger that musical aspirations might get trapped in a bubble of mass media acceptance. It's the desire to be on TV over the fact that you want to say something and be an individual." [read more]

Will The Beatles' Debut on iTunes Help or Hurt Their Legacy?

This past summer, Yoko Ono expressed her doubts about The Beatles ever making their iTunes debut. "Don't hold your breath...for anything," Ono told Reuters in August 2010. Music fans collectively exhaled when Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the big news on Tuesday, November 16: “We love the Beatles and are honored and thrilled to welcome them to iTunes,” said Jobs in an official statement. “It has been a long and winding road to get here. Thanks to the Beatles and EMI, we are now realizing a dream we’ve had since we launched iTunes ten years ago.” Single albums can be downloaded for $12.99 each, double albums for $19.99 each and individual songs for $1.29 each. 2009's remastered box set can be purchased for $149. [read more]

Imagine John Lennon in New York -- it isn't hard to do

In the 30 years since Lennon's life came to a bloody end in front of his Upper West Side home, his genius has been celebrated. Books, articles, films and plays have so exhaustively chronicled him that fans feel they know all there is of his 40 years. And that's a mistake. [read more]

"Bring on the Lucie": Lennon's Last Overtly Political Stand

All it took was one song. A track buried as the fifth song on Mind Games, was the last stand of John Lennon’s political theme sound that he co-opted in the early 1970s. He was moving towards lyrics with a more personal edge. “Bring on the Lucie (Freda People)” was the song that caught my ears, as a naïve 17-year-old, on a college radio Beatles show in San Antonio. From John Lennon’s energetic spoken word introduction, “All right boys, this is it, over the hill!” to the extraordinary wailing guitar-like-sound coming from my Mami’s car speakers. I was hooked. “Lucie” was an illuminating, rebellious and strange song that was new to these virgin ears. Almost instantaneously, after the DJ announced the song, I instructed my Mami to drive me to my favorite used LP store in San Antonio, called, ironically enough, Apple Records. I walked in and asked for the Lennon album that had “Bring on the Lucie”. They handed me Mind Games and my life was changed forever. [read more]

John Got By With Help From Jewish Friends

"We forget how profoundly antisemitic Britain can be," Epstein says. "I think that larger prejudice in England, which Brian Epstein felt, not only being Jewish but also being gay, was something of what Yoko experienced being Japanese and being a strong woman. I think it's a very, very regimented and closed society. And John clearly was a very open-minded person with nary a prejudicial bone in his body. You just go through his entire life and you see an open, inquisitive and generous soul." In an interesting side note to the Beatles' saga, the filmmaker reveals that part of Lennon's vehement dislike for Linda (nee Eastman) McCartney's family had to do with the fact that her American Jewish father had changed his name from Epstein. [read more]

McCartney to play at Apollo Theater next month

Paul McCartney will perform at New York's famed Apollo Theater next month - a first for the singing legend. The 68-year-old former Beatle is scheduled to perform at the Harlem venue on Dec. 13. Sirius XM made the announcement Tuesday. The show will celebrate the station reaching 20 million subscribers. The invitation-only concert will be held for Sirius XM listeners. It also will air live on six Sirius XM channels. The station also is launching "Paul McCartney's Band on the Run Radio," a monthlong music channel devoted to McCartney's music catalog. It runs Nov. 29 through Dec. 26. © AP

Good Morning! Beatles On iTunes!!

Well gentlemen, it took some time but the Beatles have finally hit the big leagues. And by that we mean the iTunes music store. The Wall Street Journal wrote that Apple (Inc., you guys, not Studios) is expected to announce the deal today. Yesterday they teased the news with a message on their homepage saying "Tomorrow is just another day. That you'll never forget," most likely a reference to that solo song by you, Sir Paul, and the first of many Beatles puns sure to come. For its part, The Journal went with "Steve Jobs is nearing the end of his long and winding pursuit of the Beatles catalog." [read more]

Sir Peter Blake reprises Beatles Sergeant Pepper sleeve for Holburne Museum campaign

Sir Peter Blake has recreated his most famous artwork to help kick-start a £300,000 fund-raising campaign at the Holburne Museum in Bath. The father of British Pop Art was at the museum on November 12 to unveil a living reconstruction of his iconic Sergeant Pepper Beatles album cover artwork – with a little help from the museum’s friends and supporters. [read more]

New Generation Gives Lennon’s ‘Peace’ a Chance

For the first time in the 30 years since John Lennon’s assassination, the Lennon estate has granted someone permission to reinterpret The Plastic Ono Band’s iconic single, “Give Peace a Chance,” and even to add a new verse in Spanish. More than 20 musicians and 100 children congregated to record the song, which Lennon wrote in 1969 during his “bed-in” statement-making honeymoon with wife Yoko Ono. Contributing to the new single are Cuban band Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, innovative guitarist Newton Faulkner, Supertramp’s Roger Hodgson, 10cc’s Graham Gouldman and Eugene Hideaway, Louis Armstrong’s grandson Herb Armstrong and many more. [read more]

Beatles' former publicist: 'I've hit rock bottom but Paul McCartney still God to me'

Geoff admits his behaviour had been erratic. In 2003, he was diagnosed with manic depression and started a course of medication. That same year he took an overdose while on tour with Sir Paul in America. Geoff said: ‘When Paul made his “Geoff’s unstable” statement, it didn’t give me the best reference in the world. But I understand that he was cross. ‘I care for him and like him. He’s very witty and has a good sense of humour. But it was a love-hate relationship. I was hurt by it – absolutely. This man is God. I did think that I would walk into another job, or at least be in the running for one. But in the months afterwards the phone never rang. There is a sense of injustice, but I think I brought it on myself in the way I acted. I wasn’t a yes man – I refused to play the game.’ [read more]

Liverpool photographer Dick Matthews who took early Beatles pics dies at 80

A TALENTED amateur photographer who took some of the earliest pictures of the Beatles died at the age of 80. Dick Matthews took around 200 pictures of the Beatles in their black leather jacket days before they shot to fame. But he never got the recognition he deserved for the images, some of which went on to become internationally famous. [read more]

Celluloid Heroes: John Lennon and How I Won the War

Want to know when John Lennon started wearing those trademark round-rimmed glasses? Well, it all began with the character he played in the 1967 black comedy film How I Won the War, directed by Richard Lester. After the movie, he wore that style of spectacles for the rest of his life. How I Won the War, an absurdist anti-war satire set in the thick of World War II, was also the first and only movie Lennon was in that wasn’t specifically a Beatles-related film, being done just after the band stopped touring. By many accounts, his impersonation of soldier Muskateer Gripweed, a witty and glib fascist thief, stole the show. [read more]

INTERVIEW: Dave Sholin recalls: "We may have delayed John Lennon’s murder"

I think it would have been the limo ride that we gave him to the studio after the interview was over. Their car hadn’t shown up yet, and ours was there, so John stuck his head in and said “Can we get a lift?” So they got in, and we had the best chat on the way. He started singing Little Richard stuff---can you believe it? It was great. He was singing all this 50’s stuff and it was so enjoyable. Then he talked a little about Paul (McCartney). Now mind you we didn’t have any of this recorded. He said that the rift with Paul had been overblown by the media, and that it really wasn’t that bad. That they were brothers, and brothers have issues at times. But that they loved each other. Had it been today, of course, I could have recorded the whole thing easily and also gotten a video of it. But not then! Read More At Examiner.com

John Lennon's First Group the Quarrymen Tell Tales Out of School

Well, exactly, thought the band members. Now 13 years into their reunion, Davis, fellow frontman Len Garry and drummer Colin Hanton are still playing the skiffle and old-time rock 'n' roll they played when 16-year-old John Lennon first brought them together. Lennon, who would have been 70 years old on Oct. 9, is the subject of the 30th annual John Lennon Tribute, taking place Friday, Nov. 12, with guests including Patti Smith, Jackson Browne and Aimee Mann at the Beacon Theatre in New York. [read more]

Fistful of Mercy On Conan

Fistful of Mercy is a fairly new band that is scheduled to make an appearance tonight on The Conan O’Brien Show. Most people do not know of this group and many have never even heard the name. The band has not went mainstream yet. This is their chance to introduce their music to the world. [read more]

A boy named John

In terms of big musical biopics, Nowhere Boy is not really on the map. The movie takes as its subject the early adolescence of John Lennon, his discovery of music, the formation of his first band, and his fateful meeting with a boy called Paul. And that’s where director Sam Taylor-Wood leaves it. But crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s is hardly necessary — after all, we all know what happened afterward. While Nowhere Boy does underline some of the music and attitudes that shaped the future Lennon, the focus of the film is not on him alone. In fact, there are moments when he plays a secondary role. [read more]

John Lennon's Art, Colored by Yoko, Tours on the Beatle's 70th Birthday

John Lennon is being celebrated around the world this year, marking both what would have been his 70th birthday and memorializing the 30th anniversary of his assassination, with most paying tribute to the widely loved music he made first with the Beatles and later in his politically charged solo career. But Yoko Ono, the singer's widow, is taking pains to make sure that his lesser-known vocation as an artist is not forgotten, working to bring his lithographs, serigraphs, and drawings to audiences around the United States — as she did last weekend at a venue in downtown Boulder, Colorado. [read more]

Dave Sholin to air new radio program: "John Lennon: The Final Interview" Dec 3rd

Dave Sholin was the last person to interview John Lennon before he was killed, on December 8, 1980. It was an incredible three-hour interview. We have learned from Dave that he is airing a new radio program about the interview. Called “John Lennon: The Final Interview,” it commemorates the 30th anniversary of John Lennon’s death and will air for a week beginning December 3rd to the 10th. It is being carried by all major markets around the U.S. [read more]

John Lennon Jacket May Nab $200,000 at 'Icons' Auction

Also in the mix are some unusual goods, including X-rays taken in 1945 of Albert Einstein's head, a guitar that was once played by both John Lennon and Elvis Presley during a jam session in L.A. and a custom-designed leather monkey suit that Jackson commissioned for his pet chimp Bubbles. The big-ticket item of the lot, however, is a band jacket worn by Lennon for a 1966 Life magazine photo shoot that is expected to bring in between $150,000 and $200,000. [read more]

Dick Cavett's Conversations: 'When People Simply Talk'

Guests on Cavett's 1970s show included John Lennon, Richard Nixon and Groucho Marx. And he let them talk. Cavett, now 74, looks back on it all in his new book, Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets. Cavett got his start writing for the big TV guys of his day — Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin. Before Cavett launched his own show, Paar gave him some great advice: "Kid, don't come out and do interviews — that's dull," the veteran TV host told him. "That smacks of clipboards, and 'What's your favorite color?' That's junk. Just make it a conversation." [read more]

Holy cow! Pampered cows produce Britain's most expense pint of milk at a staggering £1.70

Their comfortable existences begin at birth. Each new arrival at Bhaktivedanta Manor, near Watford in Hertfordshire - which was donated to the Hare Krishna movement by George Harrison - is celebrated before a naming ceremony is held several days later. It seems like a business model doomed to failure but those producing Ahimsa Milk - Sanskrit for 'without harm' - believe the good karma, or perhaps cowma, that goes into their produce will win over British animal lovers. 'This premium milk will offer consumers the chance to avoid buying from an industry which is based around slaughter and suffering and instead buy from a fresh, new, and compassionate alternative,' said spokesman Radha Mohan Das. [read more]

BEATexpo 2010 Snags Tommy Roe

Tommy Roe played on the same bill as The Beatles and he is coming out of retirement to join us at BEATexpo. This isn't only his first BEATexpo -- it's the first convention he's appeared at -- ever! The international hit-maker wrote or co-wrote and recorded six Top 10 hits between 1962-69, more than any other single artist/songwriter during this period of the sixties. Four were certified gold records. Two of his hits, "Sheila" and "Dizzy," topped the Billboard chart at #1. "Sweet Pea," "Hooray for Hazel" and "Jam Up & Jelly Tight" were his other pop rock classics. On March 9, 1963, The Beatles began their first British tour opening for Tommy Roe (and Chris Montez). In that month, they played 21 dates throughout England, including a showcase concert at Liverpool's Empire Theater. Tommy is making this very rare appearance to meet fans, talk onstage, sign autographs and play a few songs. [read more]

Jackie Lomax Can't Catch a Break, Despite All His Rock Connections

Though they followed in the Beatles' footsteps, first at the Cavern Club and then in Hamburg, the Undertakers were not destined for similar recognition. Their first misstep came when they declined Epstein's offer to manage them. The band signed to Pye Records, which released four singles, including one with a B-side cover of Barrett Strong's 'Money (That's What I Want),' which the Beatles would themselves record later that year. Only one Undertakers single, 'Just a Little Bit,' sniffed the charts, squeaking into the UK Top 50 for a single week. [read more]

Paul McCartney: Fab, flawed and fallible

It wasn’t a great surprise to Howard Sounes when one of the Beatles’ Merseyside clan members did a sudden about-face as he was about to be interviewed during the research process for Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney, the British author’s unauthorized biography of the famous and unimaginably wealthy bassist and composer. “I had no co-operation from McCartney, nor did I expect any,” Sounes said Tuesday in the offices of Fab’s Canadian publisher, Random House. “Paul actively tried to stop people talking to me, and that reveals a fundamental insecurity that becomes increasingly evident in my book.” [read more]

John Lennon's Last Audio Recording and Rare Autograph Revealed

A Beatles historian has come across one of the last autographs John Lennon signed before his fatal encounter with Mark David Chapman thirty years ago. CNBC has learned that rock historian Denny Somach will put the autograph up for sale next week. "We never thought a piece like this would be discovered," says Somach, who is also an avid collector. CNBC obtained an image of that autograph and what is likely the last known audio recording of Lennon. (You can hear the recording later in this story). [read more/hear audio]

Sean Lennon interview

One night early last month he was onstage at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, playing his guitar. In his capacity as the musical director of the Plastic Ono Band, the conceptual group formed in 1969 by his mother, Yoko Ono, and father, John Lennon, his duties also involved wrangling a menagerie of guest performers: Iggy Pop, Paul Simon, the actor Vincent Gallo, the Wu-Tang Clan rapper RZA. The occasion was a gala concert being held in the week leading up to what would have been his father’s 70th birthday. [read more]

BBC - Memories of The Beatles in Weston-super-Mare

Just weeks before The Beatles became headline news, the band spent six days in Weston-super-Mare in 1963. They played at the town's Odeon Cinema twice-nightly, went on photo-shoots and spent time mixing with local people. Now a BBC film has visited Weston to retrace the Fab Four's footsteps and uncovered mementoes and memories. BBC Inside Out West spoke to local people who encountered the band or saw them perform at the resort and have never forgotten the experience. [read more/video]

Hey, Julia: an ode to John Lennon's mom

For my money, it's one of the best songs Lennon ever penned: Its lyrics echo the impressionism of the better known "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," describing an "oceanchild" with "seashell eyes" and "windy smile"; but where "Lucy" was all playful psychedelic wonder, "Julia" is more poignant and heartfelt, an ode to a memory, the studio frippery of producer George Martin shorn in favor of a stark voice and guitar arrangement. (In fact, it's the only time Lennon sang and played solo on a Beatles record.) [read more]

Ravi Shankar & George Harrison: The Boxed Set Collaboration

Two masters from different musical spheres--Ravi Shankar and George Harrison--are being honored this week via a special deluxe box set collecting some of their most distinguished work together. Titled Collaborations, the package is a limited edition, numbered box set containing 3CDs and 1 DVD, all containing music composed by master musician Shankar and produced by Harrison. [read more]

Andy Warhol predicted Lady Gaga’s style: Yoko Ono

John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono has said that Andy Warhol had first advised her to dress in an over-the-top style like Lady Gaga. “[Warhol] said, ‘Yoko, you should be doing like this and that,’ ” the New York Post quoted Ono as saying at the Loomba Foundation’s Gala Diwali dinner at the Essex House. Gesturing as if wearing a wild headdress, Ono recalled, “He was actually predicting something like Lady Gaga, you know, the costumes and all that. He said, ‘You should do that,’ but I said, ‘Well I’m an activist and I’m not going to do that.’ I was in a different mood then. What she’s doing is beautiful,” said Ono, who performed with Gaga last month in a tribute to Lennon. I don’t think I would like to be too near a meat dress,” she added. (ANI)

The untold story behind In My Life

What happened next is a dispute that will never be resolved. In My Life is one of only a handful of Lennon-McCartney songs where the two strongly disagreed over who wrote what: According to Lennon, “The whole lyrics were already written before Paul even heard it. His contribution melodically was the harmony and the middle eight.” According to McCartney, Lennon basically had the first verse done. At one of their writing sessions at Lennon’s Weybridge estate, the two painstakingly rewrote the lyrics, making them less specific and more universal. (Some of Lennon’s lines, like his reference to the late Stu Sutcliffe, the Beatles’ former bassist, in “some are dead and some are living,” remained.) McCartney also says he wrote the melody on Lennon’s Mellotron, inspired by Smokey Robinson, as well as the gentle opening guitar figure. [read more]

John Lennon Commemorative Coins Issued by Royal Mint

On Friday, the Royal Mint in England started issuing silver commemorative coins with the image of John Lennon. Lennon, who was killed on December 8, 1980, will be immortalized with the £5 silver commemorative coin. The fans of the former Beatles member supported the drive to have his likeness placed on the coin in a Royal Mint survey. The results of the survey showed Lennon had more votes than poet Walter Raleigh and novelist Jane Austen. He won around ninety two percent of the total votes in the survey after fans gathered enough support for the English music icon to be featured on the commemorative coins. [read more]

Come Together: The Night Lennon and McCartney Reunited

Indeed, the night was late, the day’s “official” sessions were complete, and, by all accounts, the gathered musicians – including Lennon and McCartney – were, to varying degrees, in chemically-induced altered states of mind. Disappointed he had missed the session, McCartney edged toward the drum kit, where Ringo Starr had been sitting earlier, and picked up the sticks. “Ah, okay,” Lennon said, looking around for his guitar. “Maybe we’ll have a little jam.” As detailed by Carlin, Linda then seated herself at the organ, Wonder manned the electric piano, Jesse Ed Davis picked up his six-string, and a musician from a session next door strapped on a bass. Lennon began ad-libbing some vocals, and Wonder launched into a gospel-style progression that evolved into a funky version of “Lucille.” “Stand By Me” came next, with Lennon, McCartney, and Nilsson sharing vocals. Pang later recalled that the ad-hoc group also pulled together a skiffle rendition of the Leadbelly classic, “Midnight Special.” [read more]

Paul McCartney: Music is better than ever

Sir Paul McCartney thinks that modern music is better than in his heyday with The Beatles. The 68-year-old singing legend finds it frustrating when people reminisce about the musical past as he thinks they should appreciate the variety and skill that goes into contemporary tracks. In particular, Paul is a huge fan of Kings of Leon and British rapper Plan B, who is due to perform at the European MTV Music Awards this month. [read more]