
THE FAB FOUR IN ’73
Beatles expert extraordinaire Robert Rodriguez had me on his super podcast Something About The Beatles to talk about the ex-Beatles during the era of …
The website for the book Still the Greatest: The Essential Songs of the Beatles' Solo Careers
Beatles expert extraordinaire Robert Rodriguez had me on his super podcast Something About The Beatles to talk about the ex-Beatles during the era of …
The solo Beatles appear quite a bit in the book — as it was the year of Band on the Run, Mind Games, Living …
In June 1973 Yoko Ono told Lennon she wanted a separation right before the sessions for the Mind Games album began began. Lennon didn’t …
When McCartney and his wife Linda were on vacation in Jamaica in 1973, they visited the set of the feature film Papillon starring Dustin …
The long-awaited follow up to the one-two punch of All Things Must Pass and The Concert for Bangladesh, Harrison’s second solo album Living in …
In 1973 or 1974 (accounts vary) while Lennon was in L.A. during his infamous “Lost Weekend,” he produced a song for Mick Jagger — …
Bored with recording in England in 1973, McCartney checked out a list of EMI’s international recording studios and discovered one in Lagos, Nigeria. Dreaming …
A 1957 hit for Larry Williams, Lennon sang “Bony Moronie” in the only show his mother saw him play before her death, hence the …
Hosts Ryan and Chris of the excellent McCartney podcast TAKE IT AWAY and I recently discussed THE SONGS THE BEATLES GAVE AWAY TO OTHER …
In the early ’60s, girls used to stand in line for three hours before the Beatles’ daily Cavern Club shows, sometimes clawing Starr’s future …
It’s time for the next installment of our year-by-year comparison. While they were in the Beatles, John and Paul attributed all the songs they …
“The Man” is the second of McCartney’s three collaborations with Michael Jackson, recorded in 1981 and released on Pipes of Peace (1983). Jackson wrote …
One of the 1970s stars who came closest to reaching Beatles heights was Elton John, and he worked with both Lennon and Starr in …
McCartney’s symphony Standing Stone (1997) was the natural progression from “Yesterday,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and 1966’s The Family Way soundtrack (the first Beatle solo album). Recounting …
People have asked what an anthology of the Fabs’ greatest hits since 1970 would include so below is my proposed track listing. I tried …
An acoustic demo of this song was recorded during the Get Back sessions in January 1969. McCartney chimes in on the chorus, and as …
The rock snobs of 1971 were underwhelmed by the cute and seemingly non-tortured “Another Day,” but had they listened to the flipside they would …
From Thunder Press, it’s a take off on Where’s Waldo with twenty double-page illustrations packed with Beatles trivia in which you have to find …
Today “Beaucoups of Blues” (1970) stands as one of his finest moments. Click the link below to check out the story: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/book-excerpt-ringo-starr-realizes-a-dream-with-his-1970-country-album-20120818
Beatlemania ignited in March 1963 during the group’s second British package tour. The headliners were Chris Montez and Tommy Roe from the U.S., enjoying …
In 1980 Lennon returned to the studio for the first time in almost 6 years and recorded enough material for a complete solo album. …
Between 1971 and 1972, Lennon, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan all released songs of solidarity with the Black Panthers. McCartney had already released …
Hi all, I’ve got a new book coming out called WHERE’S ELVIS. For fans of the King, I’ve started a new Facebook page with …
In the mid-60s, with Dylan saying things in lyrics that had never been said on record before, the Beatles and Stones worked hard to …
Excerpts, videos, and more are available at http://www.1965book.com and http://www.facebook.com/1965book. Fifty years ago, friendly rivalry between musicians turned 1965 into the most ground-breaking year …
In 1974 Lennon produced Harry Nilsson’s album Pussy Cats in Los Angeles. With Nilsson’s gift for gorgeous melodies and his peerless voice, there was …
The stately piano and Phillip Jones Brass Ensemble give “Wanderlust” perhaps the finest sense of grandeur of any McCartney composition, which is why it …
Ken has been hosting his Beatles show for 33 years and you can listen here. (This photo on the Solo Beatles home page, by …
With its jangling twelve-string guitar and vocal harmonies, 1976’s “Beautiful Girl” sounds, as Harrison scholar Simon Leng says, like it could have come from …
The dark climax of 2005’s Choose Love album, “Free Drinks” glamorizes Starr’s playboy/Arthur-like lifestyle even as the sinister music hints at disaster lurking just …
This lost gem was written by Bob Dylan circa 1970 but never recorded by him. Harrison laid down an acoustic demo during the All …
After the Beatles signed James Taylor to their label Apple in 1968, McCartney played bass on the original “Carolina in my Mind” and Harrison …
You might have thought the animators for the Beatles’ Saturday morning cartoon would have been at a loss for how to build an episode …
In 1967, the Beatles discussed starring in LORD OF THE RINGS. John wanted to play Gollum, mystic George was going to be Gandalf, Paul …
Harrison had a habit of offering his best tunes to his friends. He originally gave “My Sweet Lord” to Billy Preston. He gave a …
Backed by what sounds like a villainous circus organ from a creepy 1930s cartoon, McCartney lurches in with a voice that has gone beyond …
A jewel that could have come off of Help! or Rubber Soul, “I Don’t Believe You” was a track on one of Ringo’s best …
In the early ‘70s Ringo was wondering what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He drummed on Lennon and …
The triple album All Things Must Pass was the culmination of a remarkable recipe of influences George Harrison had been synthesizing for years — …
I didn’t cover this song in my book but here’s an article on it from the fantastic website http://www.beatlesbible.com: The b-side to John Lennon’s …
Wings’ rhythm guitarist Denny Laine lived on a houseboat, so he suggested making their next album (which would end up being called LONDON TOWN) …
The mid-‘80s saw a dip in McCartney’s career after the triumph of his 1982 album Tug of War. Pipes of Peace (1983) received lukewarm …
Two interesting takes on Lennon’s 1964 classic. Guaraldi of course did the music for the Peanuts TV Specials, starring the world’s biggest loser, Charlie …
Larry was kind enough to have me on last week to talk about the music of John, Paul, George, and Ringo after 1970. You …
In the mid-’80s, the commercial drop off that had hit Starr and Harrison finally caught up to McCartney. First, his feature film GIVE MY …
The titular palace was the home of legendary comedian Lord Buckley. His manager Mr. Grief (name checked in the lyrics) showed Harrison around the …
A song about troubled marriage and inescapable guilt by alternative power pop band The Posies, producer Peter Asher heard it while driving cross country …
Richard Linklater’s terrific film Boyhood has a great sequence where the father, Ethan Hawke, gives his son a mix of solo Beatles tracks. Buzzfeed …
For the first time, Apple and iTunes released a compilation of solo songs featuring cuts by all four Beatles last month. Perhaps they are …
On November 1 1968, French director Jean Luc Godard filmed the Airplane playing a set on the roof of Manhattan’s Shuyler Hotel. The shots …
If you’re a Beatles fan in L.A. this weekend you can’t miss the Fest for Beatles Fans – it’s like Comic-con for Beatles maniacs! …
When John Lennon informed manager Brian Epstein that he planned to tell the audience of the Queen’s Royal Variety Performance to “rattle their fuckin’ …
To mark the release of Paul McCartney’s new album NEW (out today), Slate.com asked me to come up with his Top 10 solo songs. …
When the Beatles were given the rare luxury of time off in September 1963, John Lennon and his wife Cynthia went to Paris, Paul …
While on vacation in Bermuda during the summer of 1980, Lennon tried to call Yoko Ono but couldn’t get through to her and channeled …
Founded in 1966, the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC). is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings in …
When Lennon and McCartney skipped school to write songs as teenagers, they envisioned themselves becoming a great composing team like Leiber and Stoller or …
Harrison started smoking in 1957 and quit in 1992, but in 1997 he developed a lump on his neck and in his lung. But …
No song by McCartney captures the loneliness and anger of the Beatles’ feud as intensely as “Too Many People,” in which all his vitriol …
Jude is the author of The Lennon Series, a 9-volume work on the life of John Lennon. The first book, Shoulda Been There, covers …
The lyrics of the single from 1993’s OFF THE GROUND album recall the stiff upper lip of World War II–era Britain. They’re married to …
After being unable to get distribution for his 1983 album OLD WAVE in the States or the UK, Starr dropped out of the music …
Breakfast With The Beatles is the nation’s longest-running Beatles radio program, heard weekly on 95.5 KLOS-FM in L.A. and on Little Steven’s Underground Garage …
When Lennon and Ono co-hosted The Mike Douglas Show for a week in January 1972, they brought in friends ranging from radical political figures …
If you’re near the Sunset Strip on Tuesday, December 4 at 7PM, please drop by my reading at Book Soup and bring your own …
Host Happy Nat and I will play and discuss the Solo Beatles’ Best Songs of the ’70s. (Video playlist here.) Fab Four Radio continuously …
Recently I spoke with Beatles expert Steve Marinucci about pivotal moments in the Fab Four’s saga after the break up. Here’s the link to …
Writer David Jenison interviewed me for this month’s CULTURE MAGAZINE in honor of the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles’ first single …
Go sing with the crowd at Strawberry Fields. I don’t live in New York but I happened to be there back in 2003. I …
“Love Me Do” was released on October 5, 1962, so in honor of the Fabs’ Golden Anniversary, here’s a couple of stories on the …
By Tom Frangione/ Beatlefan Magazine: Ok, Ok…. let’s get the obvious out of the way right now …… No telling of the Apple Records …
When George produced Billy Preston’s album “That’s the Way God Planned It” for Apple Records in 1969, he scraped together a pretty decent little …
The romantic songs Lennon composed in the Beatles’ early days still resonate with millions of fans, but for the most part there has not …
Beatle expert Tom Frangione (Beatle Brunch, Beatlefan Magazine) pointed out that I had erroneously included Li’L Abner cartoonist Al Capp as one of the …
Ringo officially became a Beatle on August 18, 1962. Here’s a great interview with Beatles biographer Bob Spitz about how it was only when …
Two classic songs in which George expressed his mixed emotions at the dissolution of the Beatles. Click here for the story at Rolling Stone.com: …
Paul reconquered America in 1976 ten years after the Beatles’ last tour with the help of this classic single. Please click the link below …
Rolling Stone is running excerpts from the book this week for the Beatles’ 50th anniversary (Ringo joined on August 18, 1962). Click the link …
I’ll be talking about the book this Sat. 8/11 at 7:00 pm and Sun. 8/12 at 4:45 pm, and on a panel with other …
In 1984, Michael Jackson wore a Sgt. Pepper–style jacket when he collected an honor at the White House from President Reagan for his efforts …
Lennon began the song in 1976 with the title “Everybody’s Talkin’, Nobody’s Talkin’,” a nod to his friend Harry Nilsson, who had covered Fred …
1973’s RINGO album was a smash, so the idea was — in the time-honored pop tradition — if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, …
In 1997, two years after the Beatles Anthology documentary was released, McCartney released an autobiography covering his youth and the Beatles era called Many …
Lennon resented the fact that his girlfriend Cynthia Powell got pregnant right as Beatlemania was exploding in 1962, but he appreciated how she had …
In honor of his 72nd birthday, here’s 5 great Ringo songs (that he never plays in concert, unfortunately!)
Spurred on by McCartney’s Band on the Run comeback, Lennon produced one of his finest albums with 1974’s Walls and Bridges. The record was …
Originally performed on the Jimmy Fallon Show December 10, 2010, McCartney and Fallon’s duet has been included on Fallon’s new album “Blow Your Pants …
McCartney originally attempted “Beautiful Night” with producer Phil Ramone in 1986. Musically it is reminiscent of their big song together, “Once Upon a Long …
Hammering the piano like a ticking bomb, Lennon recalls how when he was young it seemed the outlaw heroes always escaped. But now it’s …
Paul’s touching speech inducting John into the 1994 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In the early ‘90s, Harrison and Apple Records manager Neil Aspinall asked Yoko Ono if she had any unreleased Lennon demos the other Beatles …
A short film about McCartney and Starr’s reunion on April 4, 2009, for a benefit concert for David Lynch’s Transcendental Meditation foundation. The foundation …
The L.A. pad where George wrote the eerie Magical Mystery Tour track “Blue Jay Way” is available for $4.6 million. (The address is 1567 Blue Jay Way, …
The video playlist for the songs the Solo Beatles wrote venting about the group’s acrimonious split. To play the mix continuously, please go to …
A clip from the Martin Scorsese documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World.
The video playlist for the songs profiled in chapter two. Unfortunately, the George Harrison tracks from All Things Must Pass are not available on …
With Heather Mills as his muse in the 2000s, McCartney wrote and performed with a startling new level of honesty and vulnerability. From the …
1970: Not the happiest year for either of them. Even though they had just split up as a band, Lennon and McCartney’s debuts were …
In 2000, the Beatles released the album 1, which gathered every single by the band that had topped the charts in either the U.S. …
When McCartney’s mother died from breast cancer in 1956, he buried himself in the distraction of rock and roll. When his wife Linda passed …
In 1976, promoter Bill Sargent offered the Beatles $50 million for one reunion show. Then Sid Bernstein, the promoter of the Beatles’ Shea Stadium …
The video playlist for chapter one. To play the mix continuously, please go to the YouTube playlist below and select “Play All” in the …
Walt Disney wanted the Beatles to voice the vultures of The Jungle Book and gave them mop-top haircuts, but Lennon nixed the idea, as …